Chris Lewis cursed under his breath. The two of them stood back to back as Stephen Wood picked up the sword tip with both hands, using the sharp blade to cut the ropes binding Chris Lewis.

“Snap!” The rope was severed. At that moment, a commotion suddenly erupted ahead, and a soldier shouted frantically, “The Cao army is attacking!”

Cao’s troops charged in from all directions, completely blocking all of Brian Lewis’s army’s escape routes. With no advantage of terrain, the Yellow Turban soldiers immediately fell into chaos. Brian Lewis regretted it bitterly, but could only grit his teeth and shout, “Don’t be afraid! Listen to my command—fight your way out with all your might!”

The army was in utter disarray, the situation extremely dire. Chris Lewis flipped over, dodged behind Stephen Wood, and snatched the sword tip from his hands. Just then, the Han soldier escorting them strode over, grabbed Stephen Wood, and tried to hoist him onto a horse.

This one and only chance was seized by Chris Lewis. He quickly cut the ropes on his feet, lunged forward, grabbed the Han soldier’s hair, and slammed his head hard against the saddle. At this time, the saddle was not the arched type, but a cylindrical one, with iron hoops on both sides.

“Bang!” With a dull thud, the Han soldier’s head struck the iron hoop heavily, blood gushing from his forehead. He let out a miserable scream, clutching his head with both hands. Seizing the opportunity, Chris Lewis snatched the short sword from his grasp and stabbed it fiercely into his back.

The Han soldier collapsed limply to the ground. Chris Lewis quickly cut the ropes binding Stephen Wood’s hands and feet, then grabbed the water pouch from the soldier’s back and slung it over his own shoulder.

By now, the Cao army had already charged into the Yellow Turban ranks from all sides. The Yellow Turban soldiers’ morale collapsed; they scattered in all directions, slaughtered like cattle and sheep, their screams echoing across the fields.

“Master, what… what do we do?” Stephen Wood’s voice trembled with fear.

“You idiot, get on the horse and run!”

Chris Lewis couldn’t ride, but Stephen Wood could, and could take him along to escape. Even though it was an old horse, as long as they could make it bolt, maybe they could survive.

At this time, warhorses didn’t have stirrups yet, but there was a single-sided stirrup for mounting, and both feet were placed in rope loops on either side.

Stephen Wood was so weak with fear that he failed several times to mount the horse. Just then, several arrows whistled over, striking the old horse squarely. The horse neighed loudly and collapsed, dead.

Dozens of Cao soldiers were charging toward them. Chris Lewis grabbed Stephen Wood and turned to run. After about a li, taking advantage of the chaos and people’s distraction, Chris Lewis suddenly threw himself into a pile of corpses, smearing blood all over his face and body.

“Hurry up! Don’t just stand there!” Chris Lewis cursed in a low voice.

Only then did Stephen Wood snap out of it, grabbing blood from the ground and smearing it on his face and body. “Master… will this really help us escape?”

“I don’t know either. Let’s just get by for now!”

Chris Lewis knew they were surrounded by the Cao army on all sides. Unless they had a horse, running out meant certain death. Even with a horse, it might be useless—under a rain of arrows, they’d die all the same. If the Cao army didn’t clear the battlefield, maybe playing dead could save them.

But on second thought, that was impossible. The Cao army would eventually burn all the corpses to prevent plague. For the first time, Chris Lewis felt true despair in his heart. He didn’t know if he could survive this time.

The battle was gradually drawing to a close. Dozens of warhorses galloped over, stopping right beside Chris Lewis. The general on horseback was none other than Frank Hall.

A human head hung from his horse’s neck—it was the head of the Yellow Turban rebel leader Brian Lewis, killed by Frank Hall. His eyes were wide open in death, refusing to close, and drops of fresh blood dripped from his neck cavity, landing right on Chris Lewis’s head, sending chills down his spine.

Frank Hall shouted loudly, “Search the battlefield! Execute all Yellow Turban soldiers pretending to be dead!”

Chris Lewis’s heart sank. This time, his life was truly in danger. He had hoped to go and claim William Lewis’s inheritance, but now all his dreams were shattered.

Just then, a sudden commotion broke out in the northwest corner. A soldier shouted, “Liu Bei’s army is here!”

In his despair, Chris Lewis saw a glimmer of hope. He secretly raised his head to look and saw a force of several hundred charging into the Cao army, holding high a yellow banner with black characters, bearing a single large character: “劉.” It really was Liu Bei’s army.

Chris Lewis sighed inwardly—unfortunately, they were a step too late. Brian Lewis had already been killed. If they learned of this, they would surely retreat immediately.

But Liu Bei’s forces were too few and were quickly scattered by the Cao army. The leading general, however, showed no fear, charging alone into the Cao ranks, sending soldiers and horses flying wherever he went. Cao’s soldiers fled in terror wherever he passed.

Frank Hall was furious. “Who the hell is that, fighting so fiercely all alone?”

“General, it looks like Richard Scott!”

“Richard Scott!” Chris Lewis’s heart leapt—he saw another glimmer of hope.

At that moment, a long, piercing cry echoed from afar, growing louder and louder, like a dragon emerging from the sea.

In the sunlight, a general in white robes with a silver spear charged swiftly from the distance. He brandished his spear, his warhorse galloping valiantly beneath him, his momentum like a dragon soaring through the clouds. He charged forward, blocking the path of Frank Hall and the Cao soldiers. This was Richard Scott, sent by Liu Bei to rescue Brian Lewis, but he had arrived too late.

“Where is Brian Lewis?” Richard Scott shouted from dozens of paces away.

Frank Hall sneered coldly, “Isn’t he right under my horse?”

Richard Scott caught sight of Brian Lewis’s head and flew into a rage, spurring his horse forward. Dozens of Cao cavalry surged up, thrusting their spears at Richard Scott from all sides, surrounding him completely.

Chapter 9: Pursued All the Way