“How are your injuries?” At this moment, a voice of concern suddenly came from the side. Ethan Brooks felt the voice was unfamiliar, so he looked up, and was startled by what he saw. It turned out the person asking was James Carter. He had met James Carter once when he first arrived at Fancheng with David Clark, so he recognized him. At this moment, James Carter was sitting on horseback, looking at Ethan Brooks with a face full of concern.

“Thank you for your concern, my lord. It’s just a minor arrow wound, nothing serious!” Ethan Brooks was telling the truth—the wound was on his thigh, where there was more flesh, and the arrow hadn’t gone in deep. The bleeding had stopped by now, so it was nothing serious. Besides, he was still on horseback, so the injury wouldn’t hinder his movement at all.

“As long as you’re alright!” James Carter gave him a relieved smile, then rode over to check on another wounded soldier. Ethan Brooks watched all this from behind, thinking to himself, “No wonder people say James Carter is benevolent. When have the poor commoners of these times ever received such treatment? To have a royal relative personally come to comfort you? If I weren’t from the future, I’d probably be deeply moved by his actions too, wouldn’t I?” With this thought, Ethan Brooks shook his head with a wry smile and rode over to David Clark’s side. The troops had already regrouped, and the soldiers able to fight had formed up, ready to attack at any moment. As for James Carter, he would not be joining the battle again. He would personally lead the remaining men and protect the wounded as they returned to Xinye, waiting quietly for news of victory.

Ethan Brooks asked a nearby soldier for another spear, since his original one was no longer usable and had long been discarded. He casually took a spear from a soldier unable to fight, swung it twice while sitting on his horse, found the feel acceptable, and then quietly stood behind David Clark, waiting for the order to attack.

At this moment, the sky above Bowang Slope was gradually brightening—it seemed a great fire had already been set in Bowang Slope. Judging by this, Benjamin Reed’s first fire attack had already been more than half accomplished.

David Clark stood at the front of the formation. When he saw the firelight, he immediately shouted to his men, “Full assault!” and charged out in the lead. The three thousand soldiers behind him immediately followed closely, charging toward the direction of the flames.

Ethan Brooks followed right behind David Clark. Along the way, they encountered many of Cao’s soldiers, panicked and disorganized by the fire. Some didn’t even know what was happening before their lives were taken by this force. David Clark led his men in a fierce charge, cutting through the vanguard and into the main force, killing countless officers and soldiers along the way, but never catching sight of the Cao army’s main general, Henry Foster. David Clark didn’t think much of it, faithfully carrying out the task Benjamin Reed had given him, while Ethan Brooks thought to himself, “What a pity! If only I could kill Henry Foster here, who knows how history might change!” But this thought only flashed by, as he was still fighting on the front lines, and his spear could not rest for even a moment—otherwise, he would be the next to die.

At first, Ethan Brooks simply followed behind David Clark, bravely charging forward. He found the killing surprisingly easy, as the Cao soldiers were so panicked they didn’t even think to resist. Most of the time, Ethan Brooks only had to swing his spear as he passed a Cao soldier to take his life. The already chaotic Cao army had completely lost the ability to counterattack. The resistance from the Cao soldiers was nothing more than a human’s instinct to survive, but in the face of a large, organized, and disciplined force, the effect of a few people’s resistance was negligible. After fighting for a while, Ethan Brooks looked around and realized David Clark was nowhere to be seen—probably separated in the chaos. Looking back, he found dozens of cavalry and several hundred infantry still following him, which made him want to laugh and cry at the same time. It turned out these soldiers had simply been charging forward with the main force, following the mounted officer ahead. Although Ethan Brooks wasn’t wearing an officer’s armor, his gear was still somewhat different from the regular soldiers, and with his bravery at the front, most of the enemy soldiers were killed by a single thrust from him. So these soldiers took him for a commander, keeping their eyes fixed on him and following him forward. Thus, even after being separated from David Clark, Ethan Brooks still had quite a few soldiers following him, giving him an unexpected taste of being a commander.

Ethan Brooks glanced at them, but couldn’t be bothered to explain to the eager soldiers following him. He picked a spot with more people and continued charging forward. As he fought, he suddenly saw a group of cavalry ahead—less than a hundred men—trying to escape the battlefield. Ethan Brooks pointed his spear and shouted, “Kill!”

He charged at the front, leading the attack. After a short pursuit, he saw that the group was protecting a commander. Judging by the man’s armor, Ethan Brooks guessed he must be a Cao army officer, though he didn’t know who. He also noticed that the man’s right arm was pierced by several feathered arrows, clearly wounded. Seeing this, Ethan Brooks immediately decided to capture him for military merit. He spurred his horse and led his several hundred men in a charge.

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Chapter 3: First Battle (3)