The two weapons clashed again. Ethan Brooks only felt a tremendous force jolt through his hands, making his spear tremble uncontrollably, as if it were about to leap out of his grip. Ethan Brooks immediately withdrew the spear, spinning twice with the momentum before finally steadying himself, standing in place with his weapon. At this moment, Ethan Brooks felt as if his hands were no longer his own, completely numb. The only sensation left was a splitting pain at the base of his thumb. Sneaking a glance at his hand, he thought to himself, “Michael Bolton truly lives up to his name—his strength is monstrous.”

“Hahahaha! That was exhilarating!” Michael Bolton seemed to realize that Ethan Brooks could no longer continue, so he flipped his serpent spear in his hand, laughing heartily as he said to Ethan Brooks, “Zihan, your skills are indeed extraordinary. Just now, I almost lost my life to you!” Michael Bolton was not exaggerating in the slightest. At first, he hadn’t paid much attention to Ethan Brooks’s abilities, facing him with just one hand on the spear. After two consecutive moves, he nearly suffered a major loss. It wasn’t until the final exchange that he used his full strength to deflect Ethan Brooks’s spear.

Ethan Brooks rested for a while and soon recovered, though his hands were still tingling, it no longer hindered his movements. He cupped his fists with both hands and said, “General, your martial skills are truly unmatched. Thank you for going easy on me just now!” He had clearly seen that Michael Bolton had only used one hand at the start.

“No need to be so polite! When I say your skills are good, I mean it. Come, let’s go eat and have a few drinks together!” As he spoke, he pulled Ethan Brooks toward the main hall, asking as they walked, “How did you manage to deflect my serpent spear at the start?”...

From that day on, Ethan Brooks more or less took up residence at Michael Bolton’s house. Every day, aside from drinking with Michael Bolton, he would spar with him in martial arts. Over these days, Ethan Brooks’s combat experience improved rapidly, and long-term bouts with the mighty Michael Bolton also greatly increased his own strength. However, the speed at which Ethan Brooks’s strength grew puzzled Michael Bolton, as it was so fast that even Ethan Brooks himself couldn’t understand it.

So, more days passed. Although Ethan Brooks didn’t dare to match Michael Bolton’s brute force head-on, he was no longer afraid of Michael Bolton’s monstrous strength in their matches. Moreover, as Ethan Brooks became more adept at using the Taiji techniques, he actually made Michael Bolton unwilling to spar with him anymore, saying that he felt he had nowhere to use his strength during their bouts, which was extremely frustrating. This left Ethan Brooks smiling wryly, thinking to himself, “Who was it that told me, ‘This move is good, you must practice it well!’ in the first place?” Not long ago, during a casual conversation, Michael Bolton had also told Ethan Brooks, “Kid, your moves are too complicated. Using a spear actually limits your skills. You should really find a weapon that suits you!” Ethan Brooks agreed. After all, the spear is mainly for thrusting and stabbing, but Ethan Brooks often used sweeping and chopping moves, which couldn’t inflict much damage with a spear. If he used a saber, though, it didn’t quite fit his style either. Just as Ethan Brooks was troubled over what weapon to use, an order forced him to set the matter aside—Cao Cao’s army was attacking, and James Carter urgently summoned his generals to discuss strategies for repelling the enemy.

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Chapter 7: The Burning of Xinye

Upon hearing that Cao Cao’s army was invading, James Carter gathered everyone. Ethan Brooks and Michael Bolton hurried to the city governor’s office, and when they arrived, Robert Evans was already standing in the hall, though the others had not yet arrived. James Carter and Benjamin Reed were quietly discussing something at the front. Seeing this, Ethan Brooks saluted James Carter and then quietly moved to the side to wait for the others.

But Michael Bolton was not one to sit still. As soon as he entered, he shouted loudly, “Cao Cao the old scoundrel is attacking? Let me lead some troops to meet the enemy!” As he was shouting, he noticed James Carter glaring at him, so he reluctantly fell silent and stood behind Robert Evans. Soon after, David Clark, Thomas Evans, and others arrived in the hall one after another. Seeing that everyone had arrived, James Carter straightened up and said to the group, “Cao Cao’s vanguard has reached Bowang. I have summoned you all to discuss strategies for facing the enemy!”

At this moment, one of the civil officials standing to the left stepped forward and said, “Cao Cao’s forces are strong. With our current strength, I fear we cannot resist. It would be better to retreat to Xiangyang to avoid their advance!” Ethan Brooks looked over and saw that the speaker was Stephen Collins. Over these days, staying at Michael Bolton’s residence, Ethan Brooks had gotten to know all of James Carter’s civil and military officials, if not as friends, at least by face. Seeing Stephen Collins step forward to speak, Ethan Brooks began recalling this part of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. “It seems Frank Carter has already surrendered Jingzhou by now. The urgent gathering must mean Benjamin Reed is about to set the second fire!” Thinking of this, he realized another battle was coming, and he couldn’t help but feel a slight sense of anticipation.

“Zizhong does not know, Philip Carter has passed away, and his son Frank Carter now controls Jingzhou. At this moment, Jingzhou has already been surrendered to Cao****!” At this, James Carter let out a long sigh, though it was unclear what he was sighing for.

Everyone in the hall was shocked at these words. Jingzhou had been surrendered to Cao Cao? Didn’t that mean they no longer had a secure rear base? Even David Clark showed a grave expression.