At the same time, Henry Clark shot out both arms like lightning, grabbing the reins of two galloping warhorses. With a loud shout, he pulled them together in the middle. The two horses neighed miserably, dragging him forward a few steps, but ultimately had no choice but to submit. Henry Clark flipped himself onto one of the horses, then slung his lamppost across the back of the other.

Old Harris, seeing this, hurriedly mounted as well.

Henry Clark spurred his horse forward. As he passed by the young woman, he reached out his hand, meeting her terrified gaze.

The young woman stared at him blankly.

At that moment, a ray of sunlight squeezed through the clouds behind Henry Clark, casting his figure in dragon robes in an aura of majesty. The young woman, dazed, reached out her hand. Henry Clark leaned over, wrapped his arm around her, and with a bit of force lifted her onto his horse, seating her behind him. He then turned to look at her delicate face and said in a deep voice, "Don't be afraid, I'll get you out of the city!"

He immediately spurred the horses, and the two warhorses set off together, galloping toward the Bei'an Gate in the clear sunlight, and then...

"You'd better get down and wait for a bit!"

Henry Clark said gloomily.

On the nearly one-kilometer-long street leading straight to the Drum Tower, a massive army of several thousand was pouring in. At the front, a middle-aged general sat upright on his horse, his cold gaze fixed on Henry Clark, surrounded by hundreds of elite cavalry.

"Turn right!"

The young woman suddenly whispered.

Henry Clark snapped back to his senses, hurriedly spurred his horse out the Bei'an Gate and turned right. At the same time, the cavalry opposite charged forward with a shout. He and Old Harris, one after the other, raced eastward along the imperial city wall, but were soon blocked by a detachment of Shun troops coming head-on.

"Turn left!"

The young woman shouted.

Henry Clark quickly turned his horse into a nearby alley.

Two Shun soldiers, clutching gold and silver, rushed out from a nearby house and stared at them in shock, only to be knocked down and trampled by the galloping horses. But just then, at the other end of the alley, dozens more Shun soldiers appeared. Before the young woman could speak, Henry Clark turned and darted into a side alley on the right, charging all the way out onto the main street facing Anding Gate. But there, too, a squad of Shun troops was heading south.

"Hold on tight!"

Henry Clark shouted.

The young woman quickly clung to him.

Suddenly, Henry Clark grabbed his lamppost and smashed it forward. The horse beneath him nearly collapsed under the weight, but at the same time, the hundred-plus-pound lamppost, with a strange whistling sound, crashed into the advancing Shun troops. Blood and flesh flew everywhere. Amid screams, the soldiers scrambled to dodge. Henry Clark then yanked the tail of the horse beside him, causing it to neigh in pain and charge forward. As soon as it burst out, a volley of arrows—and even bullets—struck it. As it fell to the street from inertia, Henry Clark charged out fiercely.

Shun soldiers on both sides rushed forward in panic to block them, but together with Old Harris, the three of them burst through the not-so-wide street in an instant, dashing into the alley opposite. By the time the soldiers caught up, the two horses had already darted into a narrow alley heading south.

"Where to now?"

Henry Clark glanced back at his lamppost and shouted.

"Straight east, head for Juxianfang!"

Old Harris shouted from behind.

The two horses galloped wildly through the narrow alleys, with the young woman behind Henry Clark constantly telling him which way to go. Soon, they burst onto a main street. There were no Shun troops here, but they saw a group of Ming soldiers fleeing in panic. These men knew what was what—they recognized that Henry Clark was wearing the emperor's dragon robe, not a prince's. Immediately, the leading officer shouted, "Quick, it's His Majesty!"

"Move it, damn it, where's your honor!"

Henry Clark cried out in grief and anger.

"Quick, capture him and present him to Chuang Wang!"

The officer shouted.

Two soldiers immediately stepped forward, spears thrusting. At the same time, a gunshot rang out behind Henry Clark, and one soldier was shot down by Edward Harris. Henry Clark grabbed the other spear, and with a bit of force, snatched it away, then reversed it and struck the soldier hard across the face. His horse charged straight into the man. Henry Clark then tossed the spear upward, caught it by the butt, and whipped it forward like a lash. His strength was now astonishing; the flexible white waxwood shaft swung like a whip, whistling through the air and drawing cries of pain from the soldiers.

As they scrambled to dodge, Henry Clark charged straight into the alley opposite.

This was Juxianfang. To the north was the Taicang granary, and the area was full of ordinary residences. The Shun army had mainly entered the city along the north-south roads, targeting the palace and government offices. This area was already considered Daxing County, and with the young woman behind him clearly very familiar with the terrain, they darted through alley after alley, encountering only a few stragglers and refugees, but rarely any Shun troops. As for those stragglers and refugees—at this point, everyone was looking out for themselves; who cared about anyone else? Although the dragon robe was eye-catching, he wasn't the only one wearing it now. He was just in a plain blue uniform—unless you counted the number of dragons on his robe, who could tell if he was the emperor, a prince, or even a duke?

Who had time to count the dragons on his robe now!

But none of this was any damn use.