The three elite cavalrymen closest to him saw a blur before their eyes, and their throats were slit. With looks of disbelief, they all fell from their horses.

But among this group of rampant bandits, there were also fierce and brave men. A burly, black-faced man rode past, thrusting a long spear at an oblique angle, aiming straight for William Reed's throat. Judging by his aura, he seemed no weaker—he must also be of Black Iron rank.

William Reed, having just unleashed his ultimate move, was at his weakest in terms of battle energy.

In his hurried defense, the spear slid downward, piercing through the tattered rhinoceros-hide armor and stabbing deep into his shoulder. Even with William Reed's resilience, he couldn't help but let out a muffled groan of pain, his face contorting. But before the savage smile could fully form on the man's face, the sound of a bowstring rang out. With a whoosh, a sharp arrow shot out at close range, striking him squarely in the face, the heavy force driving it several inches deep.

Blood sprayed as the burly man screamed and fell to the ground. Clearly, they had all overlooked the small girl behind William Reed.

"Hmph." William Reed grabbed the spear in his shoulder with a backhand, yanked it out forcefully, and the blood, after spurting briefly, was quickly staunched by a subtle use of battle energy. With a grim expression, William Reed hurled the spear like a startled swan, piercing through a cavalryman's chest.

In just a few breaths after the two sides clashed, amidst the brutal and direct slaughter, six of the enemy had died, two of whom were Black Iron warriors. Of course, one of those Black Iron warriors was shot by Emily Harris.

This also showed the unpredictability and cruelty of the battlefield—any accident could happen. It was completely different from a head-on duel. Especially that Black Iron warrior—if he had faced Emily Harris one-on-one, it would definitely have been Emily Harris who died.

But William Reed had paid a heavy price as well.

Fortunately, relying on William Reed's bravery and Emily Harris's support, in just a few breaths, they managed to break through this small group of cavalry's blockade, and the scruffy nag dashed through. At this moment, William Reed dared not delay even a second, pouring his remaining battle energy madly into the nag.

The nag's eyes were already bloodshot, hot steam snorting from its nostrils, panting heavily. Yet with William Reed's battle energy, it still burst forth with tremendous speed, breaking through the blockade and galloping toward the pine forest.

To break through the blockade in such a short time was due, first, to William Reed's valor, and second, to a stroke of luck. Especially without Emily Harris's godlike arrow, the two of them and the horse would likely have perished there.

If the enemy had even slightly entangled William Reed, preventing his horse from gaining speed, the pursuing cavalry would have hacked him to pieces. In fact, even if William Reed had to do it all over again, he wouldn't be confident he could break out.

The crisis was far from over. Though William Reed had killed several in his charge, eight cavalrymen remained. If it were just the eight of them facing such a fierce William Reed, they might not dare pursue, perhaps even flee, but there were still dozens of their comrades behind them.

Immediately, those eight cavalrymen reacted first, reining in their horses and chasing after William Reed. The distance between the two sides was only seven or eight zhang, and though William Reed's nag had been spurred to speed, it was still far from being able to easily shake off the pursuers.

Among those cavalrymen, three or four were skilled mounted archers. At such a distance, they naturally drew their bows and shot arrows at William Reed.

William Reed had been trained in horsemanship since childhood and was extremely skilled at riding. With his life on the line, he pushed his ability to read the wind and sense danger to the limit. Pulling the reins, he constantly changed direction after each twang of the bowstring, nearly achieving unity between man and horse.

As arrow after arrow missed, Emily Harris, also skilled in archery, twisted her petite body at an incredible angle to shoot back steadily at the mounted archers. There were only four or five arrows left—she couldn't afford to waste any.

After a dozen breaths, William Reed and Emily Harris were working together perfectly. When Emily Harris fired her last arrow, she was lucky enough to hit another mounted archer dead on. That was the second mounted archer to die by her hand in such a short time.

Unfortunately, the arrows were gone, and two enemy mounted archers remained. With a whoosh, an arrow shot out and struck Emily Harris's thigh. But Emily Harris only let out a low, muffled groan, gritted her teeth, and refused to distract William Reed no matter how much the pain pierced her.

Fortunately, after a bout of hard riding, the nag, spurred on by battle energy, began to show its advantages, and the distance between the two sides stretched to fifteen or sixteen zhang. At this range, the enemy's mounted archers could no longer shoot accurately.

As time dragged on, the nag's advantage became more and more apparent. By now, they were less than a li from the pine forest. But just then, the nag beneath them finally couldn't take the whipping anymore. With a miserable neigh, its front legs buckled, and it collapsed to the ground, twitching and unable to rise.

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Chapter 12: Life and Death Speed

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