Wang Dou waited calmly, his thumb gently pressed against his middle finger, with a copper thumb ring above his thumb. Seeing Henry Carter like this, everyone on the watchtower couldn’t help but look at him. This Wang... what is Henry Carter planning to do? Even the two brothers, the Night Watchers Charles Grant, inside the blockhouse weren’t confident they could hit that Tartar, does Henry Carter really have that confidence?

Henry Carter’s mind was as calm as still water. He waited for the white-armored cavalryman to charge closer, closer still—one hundred paces, ninety, eighty, seventy—now!

With a loud shout, Henry Carter drew his bow like a full moon. “Whoosh!” The white-armored cavalryman of Later Jin only had time to dodge his vital points before being shot off his horse by Henry Carter’s arrow.

“Good!”

Everyone on the watchtower couldn’t help but shout in approval. Not only Thomas Bell and the others, even the brothers Charles Grant and John Grant looked at Henry Carter in shock. This Henry Carter... actually has such archery skills.

The Later Jin white-armored soldier was hit near the right shoulder. The force of the arrow was so great that it shot him straight off his horse, slamming him heavily to the ground. The white-armored soldier was half scared out of his wits by the fall, mostly out of humiliation and rage. He had roamed all over Ming territory, never expecting to suffer defeat at this small Huolu blockhouse. It seemed the Southern Dynasty was not without talent after all—he had truly underestimated them.

But he was fierce and brave. Gritting his teeth, he climbed up and broke off the arrow shaft. By now, the other Later Jin soldiers had noticed what happened and, ignoring the slaughter of the surrounding Ming civilians, hurriedly rode over to surround him, helping the white-armored soldier to a relatively safer spot at the rear.

They chattered in their native tongue for a while. The one with the banner on his back, the bāshíkù, stayed behind to tend to and command, while the other three mounted up and charged, shooting several willow-leaf heavy arrows around the blockhouse gate. Henry Carter, along with Charles Grant and John Grant on the watchtower, kept shooting back. After a brief exchange, the Later Jin soldiers, seeing they could gain no advantage, let out a whistle, switched horses, and rode off in a cloud of dust, soon disappearing from sight, leaving only the corpses of several Ming civilians on the ground.

At this moment, the people inside the blockhouse looked at Henry Carter with a new sense of respect. David Miller touched his toothless mouth and looked at Henry Carter with fear in his eyes. John Grant grinned widely and gave Henry Carter a thumbs-up, while Charles Grant also nodded at Henry Carter in a friendly manner.

Thomas Bell gave a dry laugh and said, “I never expected such skill from you, Brother Carter. Today you struck a blow to the Tartars’ morale. I’ll be sure to report your merit to our superiors!”

Henry Carter silently gazed at the corpses of the civilians outside the blockhouse, blood everywhere on the ground, especially the tragic remains of the Shi woman in the distance—so glaring to the eye.

He looked into the distance. All the other blockhouses and forts were silent; it seemed no Ming soldiers dared come out to intercept this band of Later Jin raiders.

……

Outside the blockhouse, Frank Howard was weeping bitterly over his wife’s corpse, while the others watched in silence. A few women occasionally offered him quiet words of comfort.

Henry Carter felt a pang of sorrow. The Shi woman had been a good person, always kind to him inside the blockhouse. Just yesterday she was fine, and now she was a cold corpse. In these times, human life was as cheap as grass. At this moment, he couldn’t help but worry about Grace Bennett and his mother back in Xinzhuang. They should be safe... right?

At this time, a few surviving civilians timidly gathered around. Some threw themselves onto the corpses on the ground, wailing in grief. Among them was an old man in his fifties, his face full of misery. He led a few people to bow in thanks to Thomas Bell: “Thank you, officer, for saving our lives. Your great kindness, this old man will never forget!”

Henry Carter noticed these civilians were all in ragged clothes, faces sallow and filled with the terror of having survived disaster. Judging by their accents, they didn’t seem to be locals from Bao’an.

Thomas Bell picked up on this as well. Puffing out his fat belly, he asked the old man, “Judging by your accent, old man, you don’t seem to be from around here. Where are you from?”

With tears streaming down his face, the old man replied, “We came from the Huailai area. Our hometown was struck by disaster and then plundered by the Tartars. We couldn’t survive there, so we tried to seek refuge with relatives in Yu County. Who would have thought we’d run into the Tartars again today? If not for your rescue, officer, we’d all be dead here!”

As he spoke, he kowtowed several more times.

Thomas Bell responded absentmindedly with an “Mm.” Stroking his sparse beard, it was unclear what he was plotting. His narrow eyes darted between the old man and the surviving civilians, a flash of cruelty passing through them. David Miller beside him glanced at his expression, then also looked over at the old man.

Sensing something off about Thomas Bell and the others, the old man and the civilians grew uneasy.

Chapter 008: Who Dares to Go Together?

Just then, Brian Reed suddenly exclaimed, “Hey, government troops are coming!”

Everyone looked over and, sure enough, a few Ming soldiers were rushing over from the direction of Juludun. Judging by their attire, they were likely the garrison from inside the blockhouse.

At the front was a squad leader carrying a small banner, wearing worn-out armor, in his forties—he looked like a blockhouse sergeant. Behind him were a few soldiers in tattered “mandarin duck” jackets, all looking tense, glancing around nervously as if afraid a few Later Jin cavalrymen might suddenly appear.

Thomas Bell’s face lit up with joy. He hurried over and called out, “So it’s you, brother-in-law! I never thought you’d come to my aid.”