David Cooper thought to himself, My face may be yellow, but I’m no yellow apple. This brat is trying to get me to talk—hmph, who am I? I’ve fought in more battles than you’ve seen women. So he focused his mind, kept his composure, and continued to advance step by step, just waiting for Grace Miller to run out of strength or options, so he could finish him off with a single stroke.

　　Charlotte Harris heard Grace Miller still making sly remarks and, both anxious and embarrassed, said:

　　“Hurry up and kill him already, what are you waiting for?”

　　Grace Miller chuckled:

　　“No rush, no rush, I’m not done having fun yet.”

　　But inside, he was growing more and more anxious. If this fight kept dragging on, when would it ever end? He pointed his thumb over his shoulder, and with a thud, a captain fell from his horse—at least he’d dealt with the threat behind him first.

　　The seven remaining captains turned pale, unable even to cheer in trembling voices. A few exchanged glances, all thinking the same thing: their lord was still fighting, so they couldn’t run, but waiting to die wasn’t an option either. Might as well go all in. So they all jumped off their horses, just like David Cooper, brandishing their sabers and closing in on Grace Miller and Charlotte Harris step by step.

　　Now the situation was even more dire. Grace Miller pointed and struck again, killing two more captains, but the rest had already closed in. In just a few more steps, they’d be surrounded front and back, with truly nowhere to retreat.

　　This time, Grace Miller was genuinely panicking. He ran through all the spells he’d learned in his mind—those of too high a level he couldn’t use now, those too low were useless. He cursed inwardly: this Sword God was too arrogant, spending hundreds of years in the Heavenly Court and never learning any little tricks like the Seventy-Two Transformations or Earth Escape—so useful for running away!

　　Suddenly, inspiration struck. Grace Miller realized that to defeat the enemy, there was only one way.

　　The black-clad enforcers had already closed in on Edward Miller, just two or three strikes away from ending the fight. They all breathed a sigh of relief, and even the last two captains still on horseback hesitated, wondering if they should jump in now to claim some credit.

　　Grace Miller burst out laughing, grabbed Charlotte Harris’s left hand with his right, wrapped his arm around her slender waist, pulled her into his embrace, seized her right hand with his left, and pointed it outward. Then, in full view of everyone—he kissed her deeply, spinning around like a compass as he did so.

　　This unexpected move caught everyone off guard—not just David Cooper and the captains, but especially Charlotte Harris. Their lips met, her body held tightly by Grace Miller, leaving her limp and powerless, panic-stricken, her vision going black as she nearly fainted.

　　The kiss might not have lasted forever, but it was certainly long. Suddenly, Charlotte Harris snapped back to her senses, summoned all her strength to break free from his grasp, and slapped Grace Miller across the face. Overcome with shame and anger, she forgot all about the pursuers, only wanting to find a sword—should she stab “Sword God Brother” or herself? She couldn’t decide.

　　Grace Miller grinned, holding his left cheek, pointed around, and said:

　　“Look, Sister Ting.”

　　Only then did Charlotte Harris remember there were still several black-clad enforcers around them. Why hadn’t they taken the chance to attack? She looked down and was shocked—David Cooper and five captains were lying flat on their backs, already dead, all with looks of disbelief frozen on their faces.

　　And indeed, they had died in disbelief. Victory had been within reach, but Grace Miller’s finger strength had suddenly increased tenfold, piercing straight through David Cooper’s treasured saber, striking his chin, shooting out the top of his head, then turning to kill the captains behind him one by one.

　　Only two captains remained, the ones who had been with Mr. Clark. Without a word, they turned their horses and fled in panic, not even heading toward the capital—who knew where they were going? They just wanted to get as far away from the “demon” as possible.

　　“What… what just happened?” Charlotte Harris asked, eyes wide, momentarily forgetting about the kiss.

　　Grace Miller grinned again. Though his cheek hurt, the warmth of the beauty’s lips still lingered, and he said, floating on air:

　　“It’s all thanks to you.”

Chapter Six: There Really Are Sneak Attackers

　　“Thanks to me?” Charlotte Harris asked, puzzled.

　　“That’s right, it’s all your doing. Just touching you restores ten percent of my ‘Sword Qi Finger’ power, hugging you restores thirty percent, and a kiss sends my sword qi soaring. If we ever became husband and wife—heh—if I pointed upward, even the Jade Emperor’s dragon throne would get a hole burned in it.”

　　Charlotte Harris blushed furiously, thinking Grace Miller’s explanation was too far-fetched, but the facts were right in front of her, so she couldn’t help but believe. She stammered:

　　“Really?”

　　Grace Miller replied solemnly:

　　“Really, absolutely true. If you don’t believe me, we can try again.”

　　Charlotte Harris quickly waved her hands and backed away a few steps, saying:

　　“No, no, I believe you.”

　　The more flustered Charlotte Harris became, the happier Grace Miller was. He thought, The power I got from that slap was pretty good too. I’d better keep this a secret, or she’ll choose to slap me instead of kissing.

　　This time, there were plenty of horses left by the black-clad guards, so the two each picked one and rode off.

　　Along the way, Charlotte Harris kept her head down, deep in thought, her face alternating between pale and flushed. It was Grace Miller who couldn’t guess what she was thinking.

　　Suddenly, Charlotte Harris pulled on the reins and asked:

　　“When we go to kill Shi Dacheng and the Li father and son, are you going to… do that again?”

　　Grace Miller frowned, pretending to be troubled, and said:

　　“If there are more experts like Yellow Apple, I’ll have no choice but to sacrifice myself once or twice more. Just don’t reward me with a slap afterward, Sister Ting.”