In ancient times, this kind of behavior was called loyalty and righteousness—a noble sentiment praised by countless scholars and poets throughout the ages. Perhaps this is the difference in values and beliefs between people of ancient times and those of today. For someone like George Washington, who comes from the money-driven twenty-first century, this moved him more than anything else.

Although George Washington also wanted to drink water, he truly could not. “Today, everyone has been fighting for most of the day, yet not a single grain of rice has passed our lips. Now, if you don’t even drink water, where will you get the strength to protect me?”

“I can only escape with your desperate fighting and protection. If this bit of water can help you recover even a little strength, then our chances of escaping from here will be that much greater. So, I hope you will share this half bag of water among yourselves.” George Washington earnestly handed the water pouch to Stephen Grant with both hands.

“Your Majesty…” Just this simple gesture made Stephen Grant—a man who had watched countless comrades fall beside him, who had suffered more than a dozen wounds, and who had killed dozens of enemies without so much as blinking—tear up, his voice becoming choked with emotion, all because of George Washington’s action.

All the guards around them immediately knelt down in unison, and some of the men even wiped away tears. Seeing this, George Washington’s own eyes grew moist. “What are you all doing? Get up, all of you.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. Please rest assured, unless we are all dead, even if we have to crawl, we will get Your Majesty to Huailai. Once we reach there, Your Majesty will be safe.” Stephen Grant took the water pouch, but only sipped a tiny bit from the wide mouth before passing it to the next person. Each guard treated it as if they were tasting the finest wine in the world—taking a light sip before handing it to the next.

After making a full round and returning to Stephen Grant, the half bag of water still seemed to be half a bag.

“Your Majesty, we have all had some. Please, you should have some too.” The still-hoarse voice sounded especially bitter to George Washington’s ears.

“All right, I’ve had some too. Now you take another sip.” George Washington took the water pouch and, cherishing it, took a small mouthful, letting the sweet coolness linger on his lips and tongue before reluctantly swallowing it. He then handed the pouch to the eunuch beside him.

“General Grant, come quickly and look!” At that moment, a guard who had been scouting the enemy below the slope suddenly turned pale and called out. Hearing this, George Washington’s heart, which had just calmed, began pounding wildly again. He quickly followed Stephen Grant to an open spot and looked down.

With just one glance, George Washington suddenly felt utterly hopeless. He never imagined that so many Mongols had gathered at the foot of the slope.

“Elite Wala cavalry—at least three thousand of them. Damn it!” Stephen Grant’s face, still smeared with blood, grew even more grim as he looked in despair at the enemy, whose numbers at least outnumbered their own by a hundredfold, spreading out at the foot of the hill and slaughtering the few Ming soldiers who had managed to escape there.

“They’ve already spotted us. Look, those men are dismounting—they seem to be preparing to surround us.” A guard said grimly, drawing his battered sword, which had already notched countless times.

“It’s over…” The middle-aged eunuch who had fled here with George Washington looked ashen, staring blankly at the brief skirmish at the foot of the hill, muttering to himself.

This hill was not high—at most a few dozen meters. Now, with three thousand cavalry spread out, the entire hill, no more than two hundred meters in diameter, was tightly encircled—so much so that not even a mosquito could get through. On the hill, aside from a few large trees, there were only a few low bushes.

“Your Majesty, please hide. We will draw these Wala bandits away.” Stephen Grant wiped his face, and in just a few blinks seemed to regain his composure. After glancing at the nearby bushes, his gaze fell on George Washington.

“Draw them away?” George Washington looked at the hill, now surrounded like an iron barrel, and suddenly felt a sense of absurdity. Was he going mad? Clearly, they were in a desperate situation, yet he felt an urge to burst out laughing.

“Your Majesty!” The head of the guards beside him couldn’t help but speak up.

“What good would hiding do?” George Washington gave a bitter smile and pointed at the Wala Mongols below the slope. “Even if you charge down, can you really draw those cavalry away?”

“…” Stephen Grant and the others fell silent, but the head guard spoke up: “Your Majesty, even if we can’t draw them away, we can at least kill a few more Wala bandits for you.”

Tightly pressing his lips together, George Washington looked at the blurry figures at the foot of the hill, his mind racing.

With just a dozen or so people going up against three thousand elite Wala cavalry, it was a joke. If the enemy fired a volley, everyone here would be dead—he really would become the unlucky soul who time-traveled for just one day.

If he didn’t send people down, in just a few minutes those Wala cavalry would surely surround them anyway. By then, there would be no escape.