William Carter didn’t have much spiritual energy left in his body, so he couldn’t move the huge boulder blocking the cave entrance, but enlarging the dog-sized hole a bit was no problem. He crawled out of the cave and looked around. The vast valley, as far as the eye could see, was littered with charred, twisted corpses. The air was thick with the stench of burning flesh, making one want to retch.

These corpses were all Wind Nation warriors who had died far from home. He slowly clenched his fists, his teeth biting hard into his lip. The grief and anger in his heart didn’t come from William Carter himself, but from Henry Clark.

Fallen leaves should return to their roots, but unfortunately, he had no way to transport so many bodies back to Wind Nation, nor did he have the ability to bury them on the spot. All he could do was watch helplessly as they lay exposed in the wilderness.

Sigh! He let out a long breath, steeled himself, and ran out of the valley in big strides. He felt that if he stayed here even one more second, he would go mad.

Chapter 0008: Struggle of a Cornered Beast

After leaving Xianyin Valley, he hurried northward, where Wind Nation’s territory lay, and where the crystal was located.

Xianyin Mountain wasn’t far from Wind Land, but it wasn’t close either. On foot, it would take at least three to five days to get there.

Along the way, traces of war were everywhere—broken weapons, shattered armor, even tattered military banners could be found. Most of these belonged to Wind Nation, showing that in this conflict, Wind Nation had lost, and lost badly. The soldiers who died were far more than just the three thousand or so who perished in Xianyin Valley.

As dusk fell, William Carter had already traveled a long distance and was about to find a place to rest when he suddenly heard faint shouts and sounds of battle ahead.

A fight! William Carter’s spirits lifted, and he quickened his pace.

Before long, he saw figures moving ahead. To be cautious, he didn’t rush forward but instead hid in the roadside grass, approaching while observing the situation.

He saw a large group of soldiers in silver armor surrounding the battlefield—at least a hundred of them. He couldn’t see what was happening in the center, but the sounds of fighting and screams were clear.

William Carter sized up the situation, quickly calculating in his mind. After a moment’s silence, he suddenly stood up, intending to charge out. But just then, a low voice sounded behind him: “You’re alone. How could you possibly take on over a hundred of them? Going out now is just suicide.”

Startled, William Carter quickly turned around, taking a fighting stance. Because he had trained in martial arts since childhood, his senses were far sharper than most people’s. Yet he hadn’t noticed anyone approaching behind him at all—something he found almost unbelievable.

About five meters behind him, crouched in the grass, was a young man in Wind Nation’s black armor. Judging by his face, he was just over twenty, and he held a long spear in his hand.

“You… are you from Wind Nation?” William Carter fixed the young man with a cold stare. If not for his connection with Henry Clark, William Carter wouldn’t have understood what the other was saying, let alone spoken the language.

“Heh!” The young man chuckled and said, “If I weren’t from Wind Nation, you’d already be dead.”

Though the other’s words were arrogant, William Carter had to admit they were true. If he could get so close without a sound, killing him would have been easy.

William Carter frowned and said coldly, “You’ve got some skills. Why aren’t you out there fighting, but hiding here?”

The young man grinned and shook his head. “Go out and fight? I’ve never trained in spiritual martial arts. If I go out, I’ll just die quickly.”

A flicker of surprise crossed William Carter’s eyes. He asked, “Then how did you get behind me?”

“I’ve been here the whole time. I never moved.”

“….” William Carter was speechless. He’d thought the young man was some kind of expert, but it seemed he’d overestimated him.

He didn’t bother arguing further. Pointing his chin toward the battlefield, he asked, “What’s going on over there?”

The young man shrugged helplessly. “More than twenty of our brothers are trapped by a squad of enemy soldiers. They’ve been fighting for about half a stick of incense. I’d guess there aren’t many left alive in there.”

William Carter was both annoyed and amused by the young man’s indifferent attitude. He raised an eyebrow and sneered, “Your comrades are fighting for their lives, and you’re just hiding here watching?”

The young man shrugged again. “Even if I went out, it wouldn’t make a difference.”

William Carter’s face darkened. With a sudden leap, he darted right up to the young man. Before the latter could react, William Carter snatched the spear from his hands, turned, and charged silently toward the battlefield.

“Hey…” William Carter was too fast. By the time the young man tried to stop him, it was already too late.

William Carter moved like a black panther, leaping twice to burst from the grass and onto the battlefield, thrusting the spear forward with force.

Pfft!

The silver-armored soldiers were focused on the enemies in the center of the crowd, never expecting an enemy to attack from behind. With a scream, a soldier was run through from the back, the bloodied spear tip jutting out from his chest.

“Ah—”

The surrounding silver-armored soldiers instinctively cried out in shock. Before they could turn to attack William Carter, he flexed his arms and gave a fierce heave. With a whoosh, the corpse impaled on the spear was flung away, crashing into a group of soldiers.

“There’s an enemy here!” The silver-armored soldiers finally reacted, and more than a dozen of them charged at William Carter at once.