After traveling for several more days, by evening, James Carter led his people to camp on a mountain. It was just the beginning of winter, and the night wind was bone-chilling, freezing everyone to the core. All over the mountain, the cries of the common people could be heard. Listening to these cries, Ethan Brooks felt a deep ache in his heart, but there was nothing he could do. As a result, he couldn’t sleep at all that night. Deep into the night, not knowing what time it was, Ethan Brooks vaguely heard shouts coming from outside. Soon after, the sound of warhorses trampling the ground reached Ethan Brooks’s ears clearly. Ethan Brooks immediately jumped up and thought to himself, “This is bad! Charles Miller has caught up!” He had only remembered from reading the books that James Carter was caught by Charles Miller’s army halfway through the journey, but couldn’t recall exactly when it happened. Now, upon hearing the shouts, he instantly understood the situation. Grabbing his spear, he rushed out of the tent to check what was happening.

Fortunately, he hadn’t taken off his armor at night these past days, so he wasn’t flustered. He ordered the officer beside him, “Quickly prepare the troops for battle!” Then he took the reins from his subordinate and mounted his horse. As a newly promoted assistant general, Ethan Brooks didn’t have any direct troops under his command. However, since James Carter was heading south, every general had been assigned some soldiers to command. Ethan Brooks had just over two hundred men, assigned by James Carter to protect the accompanying civilians. But at this moment, Ethan Brooks couldn’t worry about the civilians. He hurriedly gathered his men and went everywhere looking for James Carter.

At this time, James Carter was leading two thousand soldiers to meet the enemy, engaging Charles Miller’s vanguard. Ethan Brooks, however, didn’t know this. He only felt that there were Charles Miller’s troops and horses everywhere around him. After charging for a moment, he couldn’t tell east from west. He could only fight his way through the chaos, dashing about and killing enemies. After a short while, Ethan Brooks looked back and saw that only about twenty riders remained with him; the infantry had long since scattered. He thought to himself, “This is bad!”

By now, dawn was breaking and it was already morning. Ethan Brooks had fought back and forth in the chaos until both he and his horse were exhausted. Looking back, he saw that only a few riders were left behind him. He thought, “If I keep fighting like this, I’ll die of exhaustion. I need to find my own people soon and figure out which way to go!” With this plan in mind, he began scanning the surroundings, hoping to spot a familiar face.

But all he saw were dead soldiers and fleeing civilians—how could he find anyone he knew? Anxious, Ethan Brooks turned his horse in circles, but kept running into Charles Miller’s soldiers, so he couldn’t even rest for a moment. In this way, after killing several more groups of Charles Miller’s soldiers, Ethan Brooks finally found a moment to look back, only to discover that there was no one left behind him—he was all alone. Now he was even more anxious. He couldn’t tell directions to begin with, and now there was no one to ask. What was he supposed to do?

Growing more desperate, Ethan Brooks charged blindly through the chaos, but still couldn’t find a way out. Just then, Ethan Brooks spotted a Charles Miller general ahead, wielding a broadsword and leading over a thousand soldiers, escorting a captive to claim credit. From his horse, Ethan Brooks could see clearly that the bound man was Stephen Collins. Seeing a comrade, how could he not try to rescue him? Ethan Brooks forgot that the man ahead had over a thousand men with him, shouted loudly, and charged forward with his spear.

The Charles Miller general escorting Stephen Collins was Simon Cooper. Having captured Stephen Collins, Simon Cooper was feeling pleased with himself when he suddenly heard a loud shout from not far away. Then he saw a general in a red robe and silver armor charging at him with a spear. Simon Cooper thought to himself, “What fool is this, coming to deliver himself?” He brandished his broadsword and rode forward to meet him.

Ethan Brooks saw that Simon Cooper didn’t order his soldiers to swarm him, but instead came at him alone. He cursed, “Idiot!” but also felt secretly relieved. At that moment, the two horses met. Simon Cooper swung his broadsword, but Ethan Brooks easily dodged it. As their horses passed each other, Ethan Brooks twisted in his saddle and thrust his spear right into Simon Cooper’s back. His warhorse kept galloping, and Ethan Brooks used the momentum to pull out his spear. Poor Simon Cooper didn’t even realize what had happened before he lost his life, his body thrown heavily to the ground by his horse.

Ethan Brooks straightened up and continued charging forward. The thousand or so soldiers, seeing their commander killed, were now terrified. When they saw Ethan Brooks—alone, on horseback, charging at them without a hint of fear, his silver armor stained with blood and his fierce gaze like a demon from hell—they panicked. After a brief clash, the thousand soldiers shouted and scattered in all directions. Ethan Brooks took advantage of the chaos to kill a few cavalrymen and seize their horses. Then he turned back and untied Stephen Collins’s ropes.

With Stephen Collins by his side, Ethan Brooks was no longer charging about blindly. Guided by Stephen Collins, they headed toward Dangyang. But after only a short distance, they encountered a group of civilians. There were civilians everywhere, so this was nothing unusual. But just as Ethan Brooks and Stephen Collins were about to ride past, someone suddenly called out to them.

Ethan Brooks quickly reined in his horse and turned to look, only to see a general in white robes and silver armor riding a white horse toward them. Hearing someone call his name, Ethan Brooks immediately gripped his spear tightly. When he looked closely, he saw it was David Clark, and joyfully shouted, “Zilong, are you unharmed?”

David Clark reined in his horse and said to Ethan Brooks, “Zihan, the mistress is here! We must protect her at all costs!” Upon hearing this, Ethan Brooks immediately followed David Clark to Lady Gan’s side.