But the two in the arena were completely unaffected, their long spears whirling up and down, fiercely exchanging blows, having already fought over a dozen rounds in the blink of an eye. Normally, in such a duel between masters, Ethan Brooks should have been carefully observing, hoping to learn something from it. Unfortunately, at this moment, his mind was preoccupied with David Clark's secret signal, leaving him no mood to watch the exquisite moves of the two. After the two had fought for more than ten rounds, Ethan Brooks suddenly noticed David Clark's spear movements retracting, as if he could no longer hold out, and he turned his horse to retreat, immediately shouting to those around him, "Scatter! Make way for a passage!" Just then, David Clark shouted loudly from horseback, "Retreat!"

The soldiers on both sides heard clearly, and immediately opened up a path, allowing David Clark and several cavalrymen to charge through, then turned around and ran toward Bowang Slope.

Henry Foster, caught up in the heat of battle and feeling he was about to kill David Clark with his spear, suddenly saw the fellow turn and run without a word. Furious, he shouted to those around him, "Chase! After him!" With that, he spurred his horse and charged after David Clark.

The two groups of troops, the smaller one running ahead as if for their lives, with a large group in hot pursuit behind. Moreover, David Clark did not simply keep running; after a while, he would turn back and fight Henry Foster for a bit, then turn and continue running. In this way, both sides entered Bowang Slope. Gradually, the hundred-thousand-strong army was stretched into a long line, due to both the terrain of Bowang Slope and Henry Foster's overzealous pursuit. Yet even with this chase, they still could not catch up to David Clark. At this moment, Samuel Harris rode up to Henry Foster's side and said anxiously, "David Clark seems to be luring us deeper; I'm afraid there may be an ambush ahead!" Before he finished speaking, a burst of cannon fire sounded from the flank. Henry Foster and Samuel Harris looked over and saw that it was James Carter personally leading his troops in a charge. Henry Foster turned and laughed to Samuel Harris, "So this is the ambush? With just these few hidden soldiers, they think they can defeat my army? Today, I swear not to rest until I take Xinye!" With that, he ignored Samuel Harris and continued to urge his troops forward, joining battle with James Carter and the returning David Clark.

David Clark led his troops to lure the enemy, always fighting for a while and then running for a while. At first, he could rely on his own strength to duel with Henry Foster, but after running for a long time, the soldiers on both sides began to clash. Ethan Brooks had been following David Clark all along, and by now he had no idea how many people he had killed. He only knew that whenever he saw someone not wearing his side's armor, he would thrust his spear at them; whether he killed them or not, he did not know. Hearing the cannon fire, he knew James Carter had also entered the fray, and he himself had to follow David Clark in fighting their way back. Ethan Brooks let out a long breath, gripped his spear tighter, and thought to himself, "Come on! Let me kill a few more, earn more merit, and carve out a place for myself in this chaotic world as soon as possible!"

------------

Chapter 2 First Battle (2)

Ethan Brooks thrust his spear, pulled it back, then thrust again. His arm moved like a machine, endlessly repeating the same motion. At this moment, he was surrounded by Cao soldiers, and his horse no longer had room to charge. His only advantage now was being on higher ground. While stabbing with his spear, Ethan Brooks kept an eye on his position, knowing that after fighting for a while, he would need to keep retreating, continuing to lure Henry Foster deeper. Therefore, Ethan Brooks was careful not to go too deep, lest he be surrounded and unable to escape. He knew he did not have David Clark's ability to move through an army of a million as if through empty space, so he was cautious at every step. After fighting for a while, Ethan Brooks felt his palms growing weak and his arms sore. He no longer knew how many he had killed; his nerves were almost numb, and the howling, weapon-wielding figures before him seemed like nothing more than a bunch of targets, no longer resembling people at all. Just then, Ethan Brooks heard David Clark's shout, knowing it was time to retreat again. He swung his spear a few times, driving back the surrounding Cao soldiers. These last few swings felt especially exhausting, and when he drew back his spear, he saw that the tip had broken off at some point. Seeing this, he immediately turned his horse to retreat. The moment he noticed the broken spear tip, he was momentarily distracted, his attention wavering, and in that instant, an arrow came flying from who knows where and struck his leg.

Ethan Brooks felt a sharp pain in his leg, looked down, and saw a feathered arrow trembling, embedded in his right leg. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Ethan Brooks spurred his horse to gallop, following David Clark away from the front lines and deeper into Bowang Slope.

By now, dusk was falling, and as the two armies had been locked in fierce fighting, no torches had been lit. As soon as David Clark and James Carter's forces began to retreat, they soon disappeared from Henry Foster's sight. Seeing James Carter escape right before his eyes, Henry Foster shouted and raged atop his horse, immediately urging his troops to pursue, ignoring even Samuel Harris's advice and recklessly charging forward.

As for Ethan Brooks, by now David Clark and James Carter's two forces had completely shaken off Henry Foster, and the two armies joined together in the depths of Bowang Slope, taking a brief rest and preparing to break out at any moment. Ethan Brooks, still on horseback, gritted his teeth and pulled the arrow from his leg, sprinkled wound medicine on it, then tore off a piece of cloth to bandage the wound. After all this, Ethan Brooks was sweating profusely from the pain, as if he had just taken a bath.