Before he could finish speaking, William Carter's sharp gaze was already fixed on him. Having one David Cooper was troublesome enough; he didn't want any more burdens around him.

Although he hadn't known him for long, David Cooper already had some understanding of William Carter's character—he was naturally cold and indifferent. Quickly pulling him aside, David Cooper whispered, "Tang... Brother Tang, having more people isn't a problem. On the contrary, the more people we have, the safer our situation will be. At the very least, having a few more helpers can't hurt. Besides, if you don't help them, they really might not make it back home alive."

Since he needed something from William Carter, David Cooper changed the way he addressed him from just his name to 'Brother Tang' (Mr. Carter).

David Cooper's righteous demeanor didn't impress William Carter, but his words still made William Carter frown. He couldn't help but glance back at those Feng soldiers, who were looking at him with pitiful, wide eyes. In the past, William Carter wouldn't have cared whether these people lived or died, but ever since joining with Yan Lie, his nature had begun to change. He'd become more passionate, less decisive and cold-hearted than before. This change even made him feel a bit disgusted with himself.

"Whatever you want!" William Carter tossed out, saying no more, and continued walking forward.

David Cooper grinned and called back to the others, "Brother Tang has agreed to take you with us, hurry up and follow!" David Cooper was by no means a warm-hearted person; he didn't really care whether these soldiers lived or died. But he had spoken one truth: the more people there were, the safer he and William Carter would be.

William Carter was cold and hard to approach, but the truly smooth-talking and cunning David Cooper quickly blended in with the soldiers.

"My name is David Cooper." David Cooper introduced himself with a smile, then pointed with his lips at William Carter walking ahead and said, "His name is William Carter. You all saw how skilled he is, right? Those dozens of Ning soldiers who attacked you just now were all taken out by him alone!"

"What? He... he killed that many enemies all by himself?" The soldiers looked at William Carter's back in disbelief. No matter how they looked at him, he seemed ordinary—neither tall nor strong, not fierce-looking, and dressed in a regular soldier's uniform.

"Of course! I saw it with my own eyes."

"Then why didn't he take the enemies' heads?" the soldiers asked, puzzled.

Because William Carter didn't even give himself the chance! So many Ning soldiers, over a hundred heads—that would have been a huge achievement! David Cooper felt regret, though only in his heart. Outwardly, he replied righteously, "We're running for our lives right now. Wouldn't carrying all those heads be a burden? What's more important, your life or military merit? Besides, you weren't there at the time. Otherwise..." He shook his head with a sigh.

"That's true!" The group nodded, saying, "If we'd known William Carter was so powerful, we wouldn't have run!"

David Cooper frowned and said seriously, "Now that you're following Brother Tang, you have to follow his orders. Don't call him by name—call him Big Carter from now on!" More people was good, but if they were disorganized, it would only cause trouble. There needed to be cohesion, a core. David Cooper knew he wasn't fit for that, so naturally William Carter was the core.

In chaotic times, the strong lead and the weak follow—especially in the martial culture of Feng, where the idea that the strong are supreme was deeply ingrained. The group looked at each other, nodded in agreement, and quickened their pace to catch up with William Carter, introducing themselves one after another: "Big Carter, my name is Robert Bolton." The burly man who had stabbed William Carter with a spear in the grass was the first to speak.

"My name is John Miller."

"My name is James Bolton."

"My name is..."

Listening to their names, William Carter showed no reaction on the surface, but silently memorized them. These people belonged to a completely different world from him—people he would never have crossed paths with under normal circumstances. But now, fate had brought them together.

Knowing that their strength was nearly exhausted, after walking a bit further, William Carter stopped and said indifferently, "Let's rest here."

"Alright!" Hearing this, the soldiers breathed a sigh of relief, sitting down on the ground and gasping for air—including David Cooper.

After a while, he moved over to William Carter and said, "We're still at least three hundred li from Tongmen. If we had horses, we could probably make it in a day at a forced march. But on foot, it might take three or four days."

William Carter responded, waiting for David Cooper to continue.

David Cooper went on, "So we have to find horses."

William Carter asked in surprise, "Can't we go on foot?"

David Cooper shook his head and said, "I'm worried that if we go to Tongmen on foot, by the time we get there, we won't be able to get in!"

William Carter raised his eyebrows and asked, "What do you mean?"