David Reed, although knocked down by Grace Walker's Fire Dragon Chariot, was rather lucky—he only broke an arm and got a scrape on his back. After lying there for a while, his senses returned; he gathered some inner energy and managed to get up.

“So it turns out this kid picked up the Fire Dragon Chariot of Muyang Military Commissioner John Harris. I was wondering how his skills could be strong enough to kill Qi Liulang. He must have also gotten John Harris's Shuihuo Linglong Pagoda…”

The story of Adam Young, a general under the Western Di Fire Ape Commander, slaying John Harris had already spread throughout Lingzhou. Everyone believed that John Harris's equipment and armor had all fallen into Adam Young's hands. When David Reed saw the Fire Dragon Chariot, he was utterly incredulous. Although he couldn’t figure out how Grace Walker had gotten these things, his greed burned so fiercely that he even ignored the pain in his arm.

“Legend has it that the Shuihuo Linglong Pagoda can amplify inner energy tenfold; it’s a famous treasure. The Transformation Pearl can even let someone temporarily use the ancestral true form, with unimaginable destructive power. If I could get these two treasures, I’d surely be the number one fierce general under the King of Daliang!”

With his heart ablaze, David Reed picked up his spear and started running after the Fire Dragon Chariot. His warhorse had already been crushed to death, so now he could only rely on his own legs.

The eight Crimson Flame Dragon Beasts pulling the Fire Dragon Chariot were so fast they could cover three to four thousand li in a day. Even if David Reed cut off all four legs of his Wind Horse Beast and added them to his own two, making six legs in total, he still couldn’t possibly catch up to this refined copper war chariot.

However, the direction Grace Walker was heading was straight for Yanggu County. There, seventy or eighty of his own bandit soldiers were lying in wait outside the city to intercept. David Reed was still quite confident that, leading his men, he could capture Grace Walker alive.

In his heart, he no longer wanted to catch this kid just to sell him as a slave to some noble family. Instead, a single thought dominated his mind: “Might as well kill them all to silence them. Only if no one knows that I took John Harris's relics and treasures will I have a chance to keep them.”

Because of this, his already slow pace actually slowed down even more.

Clang!

The Flame Beast Spear struck an eight-foot red copper saber. Grace Walker finally suffered from being young and weak; a towering bandit soldier, nine feet tall, knocked aside his spear, and with a sway, Grace Walker nearly fell off the Fire Dragon Chariot.

The people of the Great Qian Dynasty were already quite tall, but this bandit wielding the eight-foot red copper saber was a head taller than his companions. He was like Yao Ming in the NBA—truly a giant among giants, a long-necked deer among a flock of cranes.

However, though this bandit was immensely strong, he didn’t dare block the Fire Dragon Chariot head-on. So after one strike, he spurred his Wind Horse Beast aside, giving Grace Walker a brief chance to catch his breath.

“Damn it, fighting like this is a disgrace to artists!”

Grace Walker, whose eyes were already bloodshot, suddenly became clear-headed after taking that blow. He immediately realized that it would be quite difficult for him alone to kill all sixty or seventy of these bandits.

“This grudge will be avenged sooner or later, but for now, as long as the green hills remain, there’s no fear of running out of firewood!”

Seething with hatred, after breaking through the bandit ranks, Grace Walker didn’t circle the Fire Dragon Chariot back, but instead veered slightly, skirting around the edge of Yanggu County.

At this moment, David Reed grew anxious. He hadn’t expected his bandit soldiers to fail to stop Grace Walker. He immediately cursed loudly, sped up, yanked the first bandit he met off his horse, mounted it himself, and shouted, “Don’t let that kid get away! Everyone, after me!”

These bandits under the King of Daliang all knew Grace Walker's value. Their eyes lit up, and they spurred their horses after him.

The Fire Dragon Chariot was ahead, its eight Crimson Flame Dragon Beasts thundering forward. But since Grace Walker didn’t know how to drive the chariot, he couldn’t fully unleash its speed, allowing the bandits behind to draw ever closer.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

David Reed was in hot pursuit when suddenly three sharp gusts of wind swept toward him. He quickly swung his spear upward—clang, clang, clang—it turned out to be a few stones.

A bandit beside him, lacking his skills, was caught off guard. A fist-sized stone struck his forehead, instantly raising a huge welt. Snot and tears mixed with blood streamed down his face as he tumbled off his horse.

“Good thing I was prepared! I’ll smash you bastards to death!”

Grace Walker had considered before that if he were chased, he’d need some long-range sniping method. Although he’d gotten a bow and arrows from John Harris, there were only a few dozen arrows, and his aim was poor—he’d probably run out in no time.

With years of gaming experience, Grace Walker knew that a handgun with infinite ammo would suit his current situation much better. Since he hadn’t respawned with cheats, he had to settle for second best and picked up a cartload of stones to throw like rotten grenades.

Chapter Thirteen: No Beauty to Save the Hero

In this world, Grace Walker was still extremely bad with directions.

He had no idea how to tell east from west, north from south, nor did he know what lay in any direction.

Relying on his cartload of stones, he hurled them wildly, which at least kept the pursuers from catching up right away. But Grace Walker's anxiety only grew.

“The Fire Dragon Chariot is just too conspicuous. In this chaotic world where killing is as easy as slaughtering chickens, it would be strange if no strongman tried to rob me after seeing it. I might be inviting wolves from behind and tigers ahead…”