Ethan Brooks placed Lady Collins on the horse and said to David Clark, “If I don’t do this, I’m afraid Lady won’t be willing to get on the horse!” As soon as David Clark heard this and saw Ethan Brooks’s actions, he immediately understood what Ethan Brooks was thinking and quickly said, “Andrew, you protect Young Master and leave first, I’ll go on foot and escort Lady out!” He knew that Ethan Brooks’s skills were inferior to his own, and his battlefield experience was also lacking. If Ethan Brooks were to protect Lady, both of them might get trapped in the chaos. Although he himself might not be able to get Lady out safely, at least the chances would be a bit higher.

But Ethan Brooks replied, “Young Master is the priority. General Clark, your skills are better than mine, so you should protect Young Master!” As he spoke, he mounted the horse and continued to David Clark, whose face was full of shock, “Things are urgent now, why worry about trivialities? If Lady is safely escorted out and Lord blames us, Andrew will take full responsibility!” In fact, he knew in his heart that James Carter would never blame him. If James Carter really wanted to kill him over such a trivial matter, Ethan Brooks had already made up his mind to defect to Charles Miller!

David Clark was initially shocked to see Ethan Brooks riding together with Lady, but he also knew that desperate times called for desperate measures, so after hearing Ethan Brooks’s words, he said no more. He walked to the dry well, picked up Brian Carter, held him in his arms, secured him with a strap, and then mounted his horse. Turning to glance at Ethan Brooks, he saw him taking off his own armor and putting it on Lady Collins, and hurriedly asked, “Andrew, what are you doing?”

Ethan Brooks said, “To guard against stray arrows, I have no choice!” As he spoke, he placed the helmet on Lady Collins’s head. Then he used a strap to firmly tie Lady Collins to the horse to prevent her from falling off, and only then did he take up his spear, smiling at David Clark, “Let’s go!”

David Clark stood by, watching Ethan Brooks complete all these actions, and saw that he was still able to joke and smile at this moment. He sighed, “Andrew, a true man indeed!” Then he spurred his horse and galloped toward the direction of Dangyang Bridge.

At this moment, Ethan Brooks was suffering in silence. Since he was determined to save Lady Collins, he naturally didn’t want to bring a corpse back to James Carter. But simply placing her in front of the horse, it was hard to guarantee she wouldn’t be hit by stray arrows, so he had no choice but to take off his own armor and cover Lady Collins with it. However, this left him with no protection, only a set of white underclothes. If someone launched a sneak attack, his life would surely be forfeit. He was gambling—gambling on whether that scene from Romance of the Three Kingdoms would play out, gambling that Charles Miller, upon seeing David Clark’s bravery, would order his men not to use arrows. If so, he would no longer be threatened by archers and might have a chance to escape.

The two of them emerged from behind a broken wall, only to be met head-on by a general leading a squad of infantry. It was Jason Lee, a subordinate of Victor Miller. He was leading his troops forward when he suddenly saw two cavalrymen appear ahead. Knowing at once they were not his own men, he immediately ordered his troops to charge, hoping to capture the two for military merit.

Ethan Brooks was the first to charge out, so he was the first to clash with Jason Lee, quickly brandishing his spear and engaging Jason Lee in combat. Meanwhile, David Clark swung his spear and charged into the infantry formation.

Jason Lee did not recognize the two of them, nor did he ask. Seeing Ethan Brooks rush up, he raised his trident-bladed saber and slashed at Ethan Brooks. With an extra person on his horse, Ethan Brooks was less agile and could only block with his spear. After more than ten exchanges, the spear could no longer withstand the strain and snapped in the middle. Ethan Brooks had been fighting back and forth with this spear all along, and unlike David Clark, he often used wide, sweeping moves, which put a lot of stress on the weapon. By this point, the spear could take no more and broke apart.

Seeing this, Jason Lee burst out laughing and shouted, “Boy! Prepare to die!” He raised his trident-bladed saber high and brought it down toward Ethan Brooks’s head.

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Chapter 11 Changban (3)

Seeing this, Jason Lee burst out laughing and shouted, “Boy! Prepare to die!” He raised his trident-bladed saber high and brought it down toward Ethan Brooks’s head. But the saber had only come halfway down when he could no longer move it. His dead-fish eyes stared blankly at the spear shaft before him, his throat making gurgling, meaningless sounds. Jason Lee only felt as if a huge spike was lodged in his throat, and the air he struggled so hard to inhale immediately rushed out through the wound. This lasted only a few seconds before Jason Lee’s consciousness grew ever dimmer, then his head slumped and he fell from his horse.

Ethan Brooks saw Jason Lee’s body falling and casually grabbed the trident-bladed saber, tossed aside the broken spear, and looked with contempt at the corpse on the ground, thinking to himself, “Who told you a broken spear can’t kill?” It turned out that Ethan Brooks’s spear, unable to bear the weight, had snapped in the middle. Jason Lee, seeing this, became overconfident, assuming Ethan Brooks was as good as dead, and let his guard down. As his saber was only halfway down, Ethan Brooks seized the opportunity and stabbed the jagged end of the broken spear shaft straight into Jason Lee’s throat. The human throat is extremely vulnerable, and the broken end of the spear was rough and bristling with splinters. In his moment of triumph, Jason Lee was struck dead-on, his throat completely shattered, and a spray of hot blood drenched Ethan Brooks’s white underclothes, staining them bright red. Jason Lee died in utter agony. Even in death, he never understood what had killed him, for he clearly saw the part of Ethan Brooks’s spear with the spearhead lying quietly on the ground.