The Clark Army cleaned up the battlefield very quickly, probably because Adam Young was too badly injured and his men were eager to return to camp. They barely dealt with the corpses scattered around the battlefield, and didn’t notice Grace Walker, who was trembling in the woods.

It wasn’t until the sounds of The Clark Army had completely faded that Grace Walker finally unclenched his hands and let out a loud, miserable scream.

“Damn it, Mom, I came here just to be beaten to death by thugs, and now I have to be burned alive before I can go home… Does this return ticket come with a VIP seat or not!”

Just as he was writhing in pain, the icy current inside Grace Walker’s body suddenly surged again. It wound its way up several meridians, rushed to his forehead, circled once, and then flowed back down to his lower abdomen.

He vaguely felt the pain ease a little, and Grace Walker, as if grabbing a lifeline, desperately tried to guide the cold energy. Whether it was a flash of inspiration or just desperation, after several failed attempts, Grace Walker finally figured out that this cold energy could only circulate along certain specific routes. Gradually, he became more adept at controlling it.

Each time the cold energy completed a circuit, it grew a little stronger. Eventually, it went from a mere trickle to a gentle stream. Unconsciously, Grace Walker fell asleep while manipulating his internal energy…

A few steps away from his feet, the bronze ruler that had caused him so much pain also gradually cooled down, turning from fiery red to a refined yellow. The patterns engraved on it became clear and detailed, depicting the very image of that exquisite bronze war chariot.

Chapter Six: The Fire Dragon Chariot

Squeak, squeak!

A wild mouse in the forest was running frantically on its four little paws, chased to a dead end by a small beast with the head of a leopard and the body of a rabbit. Just as it was about to leap up a tree, a corpse that seemed to have been dead for a long time suddenly stretched out, its body lengthening, and with one hand, grabbed the small beast by the neck and lifted it up.

The beast with a leopard’s head and a rabbit’s body tried to bite back, but the hand gripping its neck tightened, and—crack!—its neck was snapped.

Grace Walker let out a long sigh of relief. He had slept well that night, and upon waking felt full of energy. The threads of cold energy in his body could now be moved at will, but he also realized something: this body of his was no martial arts prodigy, but had probably practiced some kind of skill for a few years, leaving a foundation of internal energy.

The wild mouse from earlier had escaped and was nowhere to be seen. Grace Walker opened his eyes and saw the beast, and, remembering his hunger, made his move. The mouse was only the size of a fist, so he hadn’t paid it any attention.

Grace Walker grabbed the corpse-controlling bronze ring, and the five corpse soldiers immediately stood up in unison, their movements synchronized, though their heights varied, making them look a bit odd. “Corpse Soldier A, go gather some firewood. Corpse Soldier B, you start a fire by drilling wood. Old Henry, you clear out the weeds in the forest and make a space for a barbecue. Don’t let us set the whole forest on fire when we light up.”

After assigning the tasks, Grace Walker touched his head and found that although the blister hadn’t gone down, it didn’t hurt much anymore. Remembering the thing that had hit him, he glanced around and spotted the now-cooled six-inch bronze ruler.

Annoyed, he stomped on it twice, but still felt unsatisfied, so he picked it up and tried to break it with both hands.

But as soon as he gripped the small bronze ruler, Grace Walker felt how hard it was. He tried to bend it a dozen times, but it didn’t budge at all. After changing his grip several times, somehow he touched a certain spot, and the bronze ruler suddenly heated up, burning him again. Startled, Grace Walker quickly let go.

But the bronze ruler didn’t fall to the ground. Both ends emitted a faint red light, stretching out seven or eight meters, and with a twist, it swelled a thousandfold. In the red glow, the bronze ruler transformed into an exquisite bronze war chariot, pulled by eight strange beasts, appearing right there in the forest.

“No way! I actually ran into something like this?”

Blasted by the force of the war chariot’s manifestation, Grace Walker was sent flying over ten meters, crashing into Corpse Soldier B, who was still drilling wood for fire. The two of them rolled across the ground like gourds.

Getting up, Grace Walker stared dumbfounded at the bronze war chariot. Compared to his earlier distant glimpse, seeing it up close was even more awe-inspiring. The eight beasts pulling the chariot were massive, with long legs, and even larger than any breed of fine horse on Earth. Their heads resembled rhinoceroses, each with a coral-red single horn. Though they now looked exhausted, they still appeared extremely fierce.

The bronze war chariot was even bigger and wider than a stretch Hummer. The body was made of a metal that looked like refined bronze, but on closer inspection, its exact material was unknown. It was like a small mobile fortress, big enough for twenty or thirty people to run around on.

Though it had seen many battles and was somewhat damaged, the bronze war chariot still exuded an extraordinary aura, with a faint, bloody air of countless battles.

The corpse of the red-robed general was incomplete, slumped on the bronze platform at the front of the chariot, his body battered everywhere. His spear was stuck behind him, giving him his last bit of support so he wouldn’t fall over.

Grace Walker patted the dust off his backside, then kicked aside Corpse Soldier B, who was still trying to start a fire with sticks. With a leap, he landed on the bronze war chariot.

The chariot stood a full meter off the ground. Standing atop it, Grace Walker couldn’t help but feel, “So high! It’s really high…”