Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Zhou Tie frowned, pondering the feasibility of this matter.

Initially, he hadn't thought it through thoroughly, and had actually forgotten about Master, that weak scholar.

Indeed, if he continued to rest, the people behind might catch up, and continuing like this wouldn't solve anything.

Two days was a very difficult time to search for someone intentionally hiding in the mountains!

Moreover, there was a large force attracting the pursuers' attention, so it was unlikely that anyone would chase him.

Zhou Tie hesitated and said, "Master, then we'll do as you say, and send ten more men to escort you away!"

"You go north! Our men will lead them south, using gunpowder along the way to attract their attention."

"There's no need for that!" Fang Zheng-yi refused decisively.

Ten people escorting him would still make him a burden. If they were really caught, it would implicate his own people.

"Don't worry, Wu Wang would definitely not dare to kill me. The worst outcome would just be me being captured and taken back... Me running alone is no different from ten people running, and ten people are even more conspicuous. You just need to lead them away."

"Hold out for a day or two, and come find me after they retreat. Don't worry, I'm not some weakling! I can't possibly not survive two days in the mountains, right! You think too little of me!"

Having said that, Fang Zheng-yi pulled out a short pistol from his chest: "I also have a gun, so dealing with wild beasts and the like won't be a problem!"

"I'll leave you one, and I'll take one. It won't matter if they send too many people after me."

Seeing his firm attitude, Zhou Tie sighed deeply: "Alright!"

"Take a firework. Remember to send us a signal on the evening of the day after tomorrow. We shouldn't be too far in the mountains, so we should be able to see it. After sending the signal, hide in place and wait for us to come. Try to find shady places to hide along the way."

"Get Master some dry rations!"

Fang Zheng-yi took the dry rations and the firework, feeling much more relaxed. He nodded and said, "Okay, you guys go. I'm leaving too. Don't get caught up in fighting, prioritize your lives, and remember not to let them get their hands on the gunpowder."

"Also, which way is north?"

Zhou Tie pointed, and said seriously: "Master, be very careful! There are many dangers in the mountains... Keep the pistol with you at all times."

"Stop talking nonsense! It's not like I've never been in the mountains before, let's go!"

Fang Zheng-yi got up and staggered away. Zhou Tie and the others stayed where they were, watching Fang Zheng-yi off.

Seeing his figure gradually disappear, Zhao Lie said, "Brother Tie, are you really comfortable letting Master go alone?"

"In this situation, Master is more dangerous with us. He should be fine in the mountains for two days."

"Set up camp here now! Prepare all the gunpowder. We'll fight them here first, and then lead them south."

"Yes!"

........

By the coast,

Wu Wang stood silently in front of the broken ship.

The astonishing power of the Flying Thunder Cannon still flashed in his mind from time to time.

He had imagined the power of the Gongde Wuliang to split mountains and crack rocks, but when he really faced this kind of powerful weapon, he realized how pale his imagination was.

Wu Wang clenched his fists, his eyes full of unwillingness...

One day earlier! If he had gone to sea one day earlier! He would have successfully taken Fang Zheng-yi away.

Once overseas, he would have no choice but to follow him to conquer the world.

With this magical weapon, small overseas countries would be completely vulnerable!

One step away... always one step away... every time it was because of Fang Zheng-yi!

Perhaps he should have killed him sooner...

Chen Jian looked at Wu Wang's increasingly ugly face and whispered, "Your Majesty, after the others return, do we still have to wait for our people from the capital?"

As soon as these words came out, Wu Wang suddenly turned to look at Chen Jian, his eyes full of blood: "Wait? Fang Zheng-yi has such weapons, do you think those people can still come back?"

"We don't have time anymore... If we don't capture Fang Zheng-yi within two days, we will set sail immediately!"

"How many people died this time? How many people are left on the ships?"

"Your Majesty, a total of two hundred and thirty-seven people died... Five hundred people remained on the two ships."

Wu Wang closed his eyes and sighed to the sky: "Such power... Order someone to burn this broken ship, burn it clean. We can't take everyone on the remaining two ships, go take care of it."

......

"Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!"

Explosions rang out in the mountains.

The pursuers finally caught up with Zhou Tie and the others, and the two sides had been deadlocked here for a short time.

More than a hundred Taoyuan people occupied the high ground to the south, constantly throwing explosive packs down.

The enemy soldiers who came to pursue were obviously also of first-class quality.

In such a short period of time, they had gradually begun to adapt to the pressure brought by the explosions.

They also began to not fight in groups, but instead dispersed into teams of one or two people.

Although they were a little calmer than before, their eyes were inevitably filled with fear as they watched their unfortunate companions being blown away.

The explosive packs were consumed extremely quickly, and the frequency of throwing them became lower and lower.

The enemy officer obviously saw this trend, raised his knife and roared: "They're almost out of those Sky Thunders!! Brothers, charge with me! Capture Fang Zheng-yi alive and you'll be rewarded with ten thousand taels of silver! Kill an enemy and you'll be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver!"

The enemy soldiers hiding behind the trees, seeing that the situation had improved, also began to cautiously poke their heads out.

Then they began to charge towards the high ground!

Zhou Tie had been vigilant around him. Seeing that the number of enemy soldiers on the opposite side was gradually increasing, he instructed left and right: "Don't throw any more, keep some explosive packs, prepare for hand-to-hand combat! Remember, don't get caught up in fighting! Don't take the initiative to meet the enemy, retreat south while fighting."

The enemy soldiers continued to move upwards, and Zhou Tie's men also began to slowly move south.

Looking at the approaching enemies, Zhou Tie actually smiled and said loudly: "Brothers, we've been training for so long, today is finally the time to see blood! Don't any of you be cowards! If you are, you'll be disgracing me!"

Having fought against the other side before, he already knew their strength.

Although their level was not bad, they couldn't compare with the soldiers he brought!

"Kill with me... Damn it!"

Leading the troops for the second time! Zhou Tie was so excited that he couldn't help but rush towards the approaching enemy.

But it was a slope... his foot stepped on a gravel, and his whole body staggered, rushing diagonally into the other's arms... The two of them started rolling down the slope...

Fortunately, his martial arts foundation was still there. While not forgetting to dodge the opponent's weapons, he stabbed his long knife straight into the opponent's heart.

Zhou Tie stopped rolling not far away, quickly got up and began to kill the surrounding enemy troops!

He swung his two knives extremely fast, and no one could get close to him!

Seeing this, Zhao Lie couldn't help but roar: "Kill! !"

"Kill! ! Kill!"

Both sides were shouting, and for a time, shouts of killing rang out.

Just as one person ran to Zhao Lie, Zhao Lie raised his broadsword and jumped down from a high place, using all his strength to chop down!

The opponent raised his knife to block.

Only a sound of metal clashing was heard, and the opponent's long knife shattered... Zhao Lie, holding the broadsword, chopped from the opponent's shoulder all the way to his abdomen!

Half of the enemy soldier's body slumped down, blood gushing out, his face still maintaining a tense expression.

The two people around him who were about to rush up to kill were stunned by this brutal scene.

Zhao Lie was also stunned! He didn't expect that this knife could chop so hard, that the other party's knife was so brittle, and that his strength was so weak!

This is much easier than... killing pigs....

But there wasn't much time for him to hesitate. Someone else was approaching him, and he quickly drew his knife to fight the enemy.

The other Taoyuan people were also slashing wildly, and when the other side blocked, most of the long knives shattered!

Wu Wang's people were terrified, and their morale fell again and again, but fortunately, there were many people, and they took a breath when they saw their brothers stepping forward!

Zhou Tie's side was greatly boosted for a time! They actually fought with the momentum of thousands of people with only a hundred people!

At the same time, they vaguely began to pursue the other side!

But at this time, the other side's follow-up manpower had begun to gather more and more!

Seeing that everyone had become bloodthirsty and red-eyed, Zhou Tie roared: "Don't get caught up in fighting! ! Don't get caught up in fighting! ! Retreat quickly! !"

"Everyone, retreat! !"

However, most people were so hot-blooded that they could hardly hear what he was saying, and most of them still took their knives and took the initiative to chase and kill.

The enemy soldiers ran and blocked, cursing in their hearts... They all said don't get caught up in fighting! Why are you still chopping endlessly?!

"Don't get caught up in fighting! !" An enemy soldier who couldn't resist shouted with a crying voice, and the next second he was deeply stabbed in the chest and died.

Zhou Tie was anxious, rushing left and right, and began to shout loudly: "Retreat quickly! ! Retreat quickly! ! Lord Fang is running out of energy!"

Having said that, he took out the short pistol Fang Zheng-yi gave him and shot the enemy soldiers twice!

Hearing Zhou Tie call Fang Zheng-yi, plus the sound of the gun, many people reacted and began to quickly and orderly retreat to the south.

Seeing that the other party had withdrawn, the enemy army felt a sigh of relief in their hearts.

"Fang Zheng-yi is still inside! Chase him! !" Suddenly someone shouted loudly.

The enemy army moved at the sound and began a new wave of pursuit....

........

Late at night.

Zhou Tie stared straight at the bonfire.

Zhao Lie was reporting the battle situation: "No one died, thirty-six people were slightly injured, and there are still... explosive packs left. The landmines have been set up in the necessary places."

"Well, I don't think we need to wait until two days later, those pursuers should retreat tomorrow."

"Why?" Zhao Lie asked.

"I found out during the day that those people were chasing in a hurry and didn't bring any dry rations. The physical exertion in the mountains is too great, they can't stand it. At most, they will start to retreat before sunset tomorrow."

"Brother Tie is amazing, you can see that!"

Zhou Tie raised his eyes and glanced at Zhao Lie, shaking his head in disappointment: "You have disappointed me too much. If it weren't for being too entangled in fighting, so many people wouldn't have been injured."

"But... they didn't seem that strong either, Brother Tie. I killed six today!" Zhao Lie's eyes showed a hint of excitement, as if he hadn't had enough.

"You only had the advantage of your weapons. They were using willow-leaf sabers, with thin, slender blades, while you were using broadswords that were wide, thick, and heavy. Naturally, they couldn't block them. Plus, you're stronger. There's nothing to be proud of. So what if you're strong? You just ate more meat than others."

"Having good physical qualities is useless if you can't follow orders! You guys should stay away from Zhang Biao in the future. You learned all these bad habits from him!"

"Hmm... but you didn't chicken out, that's like me, good job!"

Zhao Lie heard this, picked up his saber, and looked at it.

"Brother Tie... why would regular soldiers use those thin sabers? Why not use our sabers? Broadswords are clearly better."

Zhou Tie took his broadsword, twirled it a couple of times, found it unsuitable, and handed it back.

He was skilled with fast sabers and wasn't used to this kind of weapon.

"This kind of saber doesn't exist anywhere else, only in Taoyuan County. It's a broadsword personally supervised by the Master, called the Anti-Japanese Broadsword. It's made entirely of the finest steel. Ordinary willow-leaf sabers simply couldn't afford to be equipped with this kind of material, and broadswords are heavy, making them tiring to use. Ordinary soldiers don't have your kind of stamina."

Zhao Lie couldn't help but wipe the blade when he heard this. He hadn't expected it to be such a treasure. Everyone in the team was issued one, and he always thought it was just an ordinary weapon.

"Brother Tie, what if the Master goes too far and we can't see the signal?"

"With the Master's stamina, he can't go too far. Don't worry."

"By the way, the Master took the fireworks. Did Huo'er bring them?"

"Huh?"