He stepped back, and Henry Carter was already pressing in close. With the sound of sharp slaps, in the blink of an eye the two were fighting for their lives. Richard Hill had lost the initiative and could only keep retreating, barely managing to shield his face with his arms. Henry Carter pressed forward relentlessly, showing no mercy. His fists were fierce and powerful, each punch as heavy as a thousand pounds, leaving Richard Hill in utter misery and deep regret for underestimating this so-called weakling.

The scene before them left everyone present dumbfounded. Such a deadly, desperate fight—they had never witnessed anything like it. The Ming soldiers at Julu Dun had already stopped fighting, simply staring blankly at what was happening in the center. A chill rose in each of their hearts. This Wang... Henry Carter, when did he become so fierce?

Suddenly, with a muffled groan, Richard Hill took a heavy punch to the chest from Henry Carter. He felt a salty taste rise to his lips and forced himself to swallow it down, barely keeping from spitting out a mouthful of blood. But by now his legs had gone weak, unable to support him any longer, and he collapsed heavily to the ground.

The scene was utterly silent. Henry Carter swept his cold gaze across the crowd, and not a single person dared meet his eyes. Even Thomas Bell, who had been about to shout in anger, swallowed his words. When he saw Charles Grant, a trace of shame appeared on his face, and he lowered his head to look at his own shoes.

Henry Carter said to the old man, “Old sir, you can go now. Be careful on the road.”

The old man knelt down and kowtowed deeply, his voice choked with emotion. “Thank you, officer. You are a good man, and you will surely be rewarded.”

They supported each other as they slowly left, getting farther and farther away, until only faint, intermittent sounds of weeping could be heard.

No one dared stop the commoners from leaving. The soldiers at Julu Dun stood there awkwardly until the group of villagers had disappeared from sight. Only then did Goldie Carter cough. His expression was gloomy as he said to Thomas Bell, “Dayong, your men are brave, but they’re just too disobedient. You, as the squad leader, heh heh…”

Thomas Bell was already furious at losing the severed head he’d had in hand. Hearing Goldie Carter’s words, his face grew even darker, and finally he shouted angrily, “Henry Carter, how dare you! You’ve defied me several times—do you think I won’t punish you? Remember, I am the leader of this post!”

Henry Carter replied calmly, “Zhongtou, aren’t you just mad that I stopped you from killing innocents for false credit? If you want a head, I’ll go chop off some Tartar heads for you.”

Thomas Bell’s face turned blue, then white. Before he could speak, someone from Julu Dun interjected, “You’re saying you’ll go chop off those Tartars’ heads? Hmph, what a big mouth you have!”

Henry Carter knew this man was Peter Ford, also one of the night patrol at Julu Dun and a friend of Richard Hill. Since Richard Hill had lost face today, he was naturally upset, and now seized on Henry Carter’s words to mock him.

Henry Carter said coolly, “Even if you didn’t say it, I was going to kill Tartars anyway. Who among you has the guts to come with me?”

Frank Howard, who had been silently cradling his wife’s corpse, slowly stood up and said, “Brother Wang, I’ll go with you. Now that Erya is dead, I don’t want to live either. I want to kill Tartars and avenge her.”

Henry Carter praised him, “Good, at least there’s one man with guts. Who else dares to come?”

John Grant suddenly jumped up and shouted, “I’ll go too! Damn it, what’s the point of killing civilians? Killing Tartars is real skill. Brother Wang, I’m with you.”

Henry Carter called out loudly, “Good, another hero joins us. Who else?”

Charles Grant said calmly, “I’ll go too. I’ll follow Brother Wang to kill the enemy, and take you as my leader.”

Henry Carter was even more pleased. With the brothers Charles Grant and John Grant on his side, he felt much more confident about taking down those Later Jin soldiers.

Brian Reed gritted his teeth. “I’ll go too!”

His wife, Madam Tao, looked worried and tugged at him, but Brian Reed declared boldly, “Damn it, if I die, so be it. Living like a coward isn’t worth it—I’d rather fight!”

Henry Carter shouted, “Good! We’re all brothers of the same post. Let’s work together and kill the enemy for glory!”

The situation had changed dramatically. Thomas Bell and Goldie Carter were both stunned, especially Thomas Bell, who hadn’t expected the soldiers in the post to all side with Henry Carter. He was furious, but then quickly thought it over. This might be for the best—if Henry Carter and the others really did bring back enemy heads, he’d share in the credit. If they failed and died outside, so much the better; that Big Fool Carter wouldn’t be a problem in the post anymore.

He exchanged a glance with Goldie Carter—truly relatives, they understood each other instantly. Goldie Carter gave a slight nod, and Thomas Bell coughed and said in a shrill voice, “Fine, the troops’ morale can be put to use. Killing the enemy for the country is the duty of every Ming soldier. If you achieve merit, I will certainly report it to the higher-ups and request rewards for you. Of course, as the squad leader, I must stay and guard the post, and will await your triumphant return.”

The remaining David Miller quickly said, “If only Zhongtou is left in the post, it’s a bit too thin. The Tartars’ situation is still unclear, so I’ll stay and guard the post with Zhongtou.”

At these words, everyone in Jingbian Dun looked at him with contempt. Even his wife, Madam Liu, glanced at him in disappointment. David Miller forced a smile, turned his head away, and didn’t dare meet anyone’s eyes.

Henry Carter didn’t even look at David Miller, just gazed coolly at Richard Hill. After being knocked down, the man still glared at him fiercely, eyes full of malice. But this guy was skilled—he might still be useful.