Eric Bennett picked up a round object from the divine beast’s horn and placed it on his head, then shouted toward Little Grace.

　　Little Grace, blushing, hugged his waist tightly.

　　“Hey, little girl, hurry up and serve Brother Cooper back home! If you’re any later, I’m afraid he won’t be saved!”

　　Eric Bennett kindly shouted to the Little Maid driving his carriage. At the same time, his right hand twisted sharply, and the divine beast beneath him roared and shot forward at great speed.

　　Well, actually, it was a motorcycle.

　　The cool off-road motorcycle with a 250cc engine roared as it sped wildly down the ancient official road on a night in 1700. The speed instantly shot past fifty, and behind it, a sea of torches flooded the spot where the carriage had been, like a river. The same river of torches followed in pursuit, but unfortunately, Adam Cooper’s elite cavalry were destined to be no match for high-tech from three hundred years in the future. Soon, the pursuing team was left far behind by Eric Bennett, and the pitch-black city of Zhuozhou appeared ahead. He could even see a squad of torches rushing out from within the city.

　　Clearly, the garrison here already knew their emperor had been kidnapped.

　　Although he could have skirted around the city on the open plain, there was no time now. The cavalry behind were only about two kilometers away, and at such a short distance, horses weren’t much slower than an off-road motorcycle. If he tried to find a side road around the city, they could just cut through the city and block him ahead.

　　“Is your home around here?”

　　He shouted loudly to Little Grace behind him.

　　She was clinging to his waist in terror, her face pressed tightly against his back. The feeling of two soft things squeezed in between made Eric Bennett quite satisfied. He remembered this little girl’s home was in Zhuozhou.

　　“Huh?”

　　It took Little Grace a moment to understand what he was asking.

　　“I... I was sold off when I was very young. I’ve already forgotten the roads to my hometown.”

　　She said weakly.

　　“I see. Then hold on tight!”

　　Eric Bennett said.

　　That meant he could only take a gamble. The message Zhuozhou had received was definitely that a demon had kidnapped the emperor and was coming through. Now, seeing the lights, they’d naturally know the demon was here, but they couldn’t possibly know Adam Cooper had already been rescued. In other words, they weren’t here to intercept, just to line up and show their loyalty. In fact, just like Fangshan and Wanping, they would keep the city gates open and let him pass.

　　Since that’s the case, might as well go for it!

　　The road near Zhuozhou was already quite smooth, so he simply twisted the throttle up past seventy. In the blink of an eye, he shot up to the city gate.

　　He had bet right.

　　The Green Standard Army soldiers of Zhuozhou were indeed just out to stand in formation. The motorcycle, going seventy kilometers an hour, flashed past them before they could react, and he had already rushed through the city gate. Along the empty streets at night, he sped through this small city, less than two kilometers from north to south, and then dashed out the equally open south gate into the boundless darkness.

　　Meanwhile, Adam Cooper had already been rushed back to the imperial palace, where the imperial physicians, who had been waiting, swarmed forward to begin rescuing the emperor, who was already unconscious with a high fever.

　　But soon, the head of the Imperial Medical Institute nervously reported to James Walker, as well as Lady Grace, Lady Helen, Lady Margaret, and a whole bunch of other masters, that His Majesty’s condition was very bad. First, the right eye was definitely blind—the eyeball was half melted, the eyelid was charred, and even a layman could tell it was hopeless. Second, more than half his face was burned, especially with a chunk of his nose burned off and half his lips scorched away. Although none of this affected function, his face would be unrecognizable from now on.

　　Of course, these things weren’t important. At worst, he could just wear a mask from now on.

　　The real problem was that the wounds were already festering, which was the most dangerous part.

　　So, his fate was up to the heavens. Fortunately, he was the Son of Heaven, so maybe the heavens would look after him. But maybe not—after all, the Lord above probably wasn’t a Bannerman. In short...

　　Everyone should prepare for the worst!

　　“Send an urgent order four hundred li to all regions: spare no effort to capture this demon and execute him by slow slicing to avenge the Emperor!”

　　James Walker said viciously.

　　In fact, he was quite happy. He was the crown prince, the legal heir. If Adam Cooper died, he would naturally become emperor. If anyone else dared to compete, it would be treason. As he said this, he glanced unintentionally at Big Brother William Walker, Third Brother Charles Walker, Eighth Brother Edward Walker, and of course Teen Idol, especially the last one.

　　But the latter didn’t react much.

　　However, Eldest Brother William Walker couldn’t sit still.

　　“Let’s go, go home, gather the family retainers—I’m going to hunt down that demon. Who’s willing to come with me?”

　　He jumped up and shouted.

　　“Yes, let’s go personally kill that demon to avenge the Emperor!”

　　Third Brother Charles Walker, always in agreement with him, immediately said.

　　“Elder brother, third brother, there’s no need for you to do this kind of thing. Just let the servants handle it. We should stay here and guard the Emperor.”

　　James Walker said with a dark face.

　　Damn, so shameless—going out to hunt the demon to avenge the Emperor? If you go out, it’s just to gather your own followers, and as soon as the Emperor dies, you’ll turn on me. If I let you go, I’ve wasted all these years. Want to leave? Not so easy. You’ll all stay here obediently, and when that old man kicks the bucket and I take the throne, I’ll deal with each of you bastards one by one.