But in the next second, he felt a sharp pain in his chest.

Henry Clark made the first move, plunging a dagger straight into the chest of the Taiping soldier, taking him out instantly.

“Sorry, brother!”

Then, Henry Clark dashed out, grabbed Samuel Stone, and pressed a knife to his neck, taking him hostage.

The Taiping Army strategist Charles Quinn was furious. He seized George Washington, pressing a knife to his neck as well.

“Henry Clark, how dare you? I’ll tear you to pieces!” Charles Quinn roared.

At this moment, Henry Clark’s mind was racing, replaying the plan.

So far, the plan had been relatively successful.

Several paths lay before him.

The first path: he could take Samuel Stone, and let Charles Quinn use George Washington as a hostage. The two could cooperate and escape together.

The second path: ignore George Washington, take Samuel Stone hostage, and escape alone—each minding their own business.

The third path: open fire and kill George Washington to gain Charles Quinn’s trust, then escape together.

No matter which path, there was a sixty to seventy percent chance of survival.

Though none were perfect, at least he could live.

Which path should he choose?

None were perfect, and Charles Quinn was too difficult to cooperate with—he only wanted to kill Henry Clark.

But now, a fourth path appeared—a better one.

Double kill!!!

The current situation was just too perfect, too coincidental.

So, the fourth path might be the most perfect, with almost no flaws.

But this fourth path also carried great risk.

If there’s a seventy percent chance in life, it’s worth the gamble!

And just then—

Charles Quinn was already in a frenzy, roaring, “Henry Clark, do you think taking Lord Samuel Stone hostage will scare me?”

“I don’t care. As long as I can kill that demon Zeng, I’ve won.”

“As long as I avenge my countless brothers, that’s enough.”

“I’ll kill that demon Zeng first, then chop you into mincemeat, tear you to pieces!”

With that, Charles Quinn suddenly raised his broadsword.

George Washington felt icy cold all over, filled with despair, and closed his eyes to await death.

To die before achieving victory!

The great cause unfinished, to die so violently here.

Unwilling, so unwilling!

Henry Clark raised his pistol, focusing all his energy to aim, but did not fire, waiting for Charles Quinn to make the first move.

“Demon Zeng, die!” Charles Quinn roared.

“Swish!” Charles Quinn’s broadsword slashed fiercely at George Washington.

With a loud chopping sound, George Washington’s body collapsed!

At that moment, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside—the Xiang Army elites in Guangji City had arrived and were about to burst in.

Time’s up!

Henry Clark fired suddenly!

“Bang!”

In a flash of lightning and thunder!

Charles Quinn was shot in the forehead and slowly fell to the ground.

Chapter 7: Fate

Looking at George Washington lying in a pool of blood, Henry Clark instinctively wanted to rush forward and finish him off.

The next second, the Xiang Army elites in Guangji City burst in.

Seeing George Washington lying in a pool of blood, they were stunned.

From George Washington’s neck to his back was a wound over a foot long, blood gushing out.

“Commander!”

“Commander!”

George Washington’s trusted general Andrew Rowe rushed forward, feeling as if the sky was falling.

Henry Clark stopped his charge and shouted, “The rebel leader Samuel Stone hasn’t escaped, Samuel Stone hasn’t escaped, I’ve caught him!”

“Rebel Charles Quinn led men to break into the prison—he killed Commander Zeng. I killed Charles Quinn, I’ve avenged Commander Zeng!”

“I’ve made a contribution!”

“I’ve made a contribution!”

“I want to see Lord Stephen Hill, I want to see the Governor of Huguang, Lord Anna Young!”

Andrew Rowe and Edward Thompson exchanged glances.

The situation was now perfectly clear.

Charles Quinn had killed the commander, Henry Clark had killed another rebel officer, seized his pistol, and shot Charles Quinn.

The broadsword in Charles Quinn’s hand and the bullet hole in his forehead proved everything.

“Men, secretly carry the commander out and hide him in the sedan chair. Don’t let anyone see him, to avoid shaking the army’s morale.”

“Send someone to secretly invite Lord Stephen Hill to take charge.”

Hearing the name Stephen Hill, Henry Clark breathed a long sigh of relief.

George Washington was ruthless and merciless, but Stephen Hill, the Xiang Army’s second-in-command, was the opposite—a shrewd man who didn’t want to offend anyone and was always happy to accept money.

If the Governor of Huguang, Anna Young, could arrive, that would be even better. He valued money above all else—Henry Clark had bought official positions from him twice.

If Stephen Hill came, Henry Clark would be innocent.

If Anna Young took charge, Henry Clark would not only be innocent, but even credited for merit.

Henry Clark immediately stepped forward and shouted, “Commander, Commander, why didn’t you trust me? If you’d released me earlier, you’d have had another fighter and wouldn’t have died!”

Just now, Henry Clark had replayed everything many times.

Because that idiot Charles Quinn wouldn’t cooperate, the first three paths were nearly impossible—the chance of being hacked to death by Charles Quinn was too high.

Only the fourth path was perfect.

Let Charles Quinn kill George Washington first, then Henry Clark would kill Charles Quinn, so he could redeem himself with merit.