Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

In the midst of life-and-death peril, his own brothers had arrived!

Several familiar faces appeared before Fang Zheng Yi, and Zhou Tie grabbed Fang Zheng Yi, pulling him onto the horse, and led everyone in a mad dash back.

At this moment, the people inside the ship had also noticed something was wrong, and many ran out of the ship!

Pursuers began to appear behind Fang Zheng Yi and the others. Halfway through the escape, Zhou Tie roared, "Fire the cannons!! Fire the cannons!!"

Within the forest, the second round of artillery fire was unleashed!

"Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!"

The already damaged ship was once again subjected to a violent bombardment!

The scene was extremely tragic.

The people inside the ship were not fools either, and had retreated to the other side of the ship early on, preventing major casualties.

However, this round of artillery fire was not without merit.

The pursuers were severely deterred! They stopped their pursuit.

Everyone opened their mouths wide, staring in terror at what was behind them.

Then, with faces full of fear, they looked towards the forest. Many even began to retreat subtly.

Fang Zheng Yi and the others took this opportunity to safely retreat back into the forest, successfully reuniting with the main force.

Seeing that no one was pursuing, Zhou Tie jumped off his horse and picked up his binoculars to observe the situation.

The others, seeing Fang Zheng Yi's face covered in blood, surrounded him, showering him with concern.

Zhao Lie asked with concern, "Master, are you alright? Did that Prince Wu do anything to you?"

"Yeah, Master, how could you get captured? We're always the ones capturing others! When have we ever suffered such a loss!"

"Master, I brought you your gun, take it first."

The bloodstains on his face concealed Fang Zheng Yi's red face.

It was indeed too damn embarrassing. As a bandit leader, making such a basic mistake was truly unacceptable!

How would he command respect in the future?

Fang Zheng Yi pushed through the crowd and laughed, "Don't worry, I'm fine! That Prince Wu treated me as a guest of honor, and even insisted on marrying his daughter to me, wanting me to be his son-in-law! Haha!"

In the forest, a group of people looked at each other, their expressions strange, glancing back and forth between Zhou Tie and Fang Zheng Yi.

Zhou Tie hurriedly called out, "Master! Stop talking!"

"I saw a person wearing a red robe. Look and see if it's Prince Wu?"

Ah? Brother Tie has never even seen Prince Wu's face before!

A group of people behind him began to whisper....

Fang Zheng Yi took the binoculars and looked towards the ship. He saw Prince Wu, surrounded by many guards, already leaving the ship and walking down the gangplank.

"That's right! He is Prince Wu."

"Let's give him another shot! If we kill him and leave them without a leader, let's retreat," Zhou Tie said with hatred.

Just as the people around him were about to take action, Fang Zheng Yi raised his hand to stop them, "Don't be reckless. He's more valuable alive, leave him a dog's life."

"Have our people pack up their things. Make sure to collect everything related to gunpowder, and retreat immediately!"

Everyone began to pack up their equipment.

The people of Prince Wu in the distance still dared not come forward. The earth-shattering blow of the Flying Thunder Cannon still shocked them.

Prince Wu hid in a safe corner, his eyes flashing with greed and fear. He glanced at the damaged ship and roared at his soldiers, "Everyone set off immediately! One group goes to block the official road, one group detours to encircle them, and the rest split up and enter the forest to pursue! Whoever captures Fang Zheng Yi alive will be rewarded with ten thousand taels of silver! Killing one person will be rewarded with one thousand taels!!"

"You don't need to be afraid! They're in the forest, that weapon can't be used at all!"

"I'll give you a maximum of two days. Whether you succeed or not, return here immediately!"

With heavy rewards, there must be brave men!

Moreover, these people were originally loyal to Prince Wu, desperate "outlaws."

After the order was issued, without much hesitation, the main force began to disperse, advancing in three directions.

Zhou Tie was still observing the situation here, and seeing the large number of enemy troops, he immediately said urgently, "Pack up and set off immediately! The other side is dividing their forces, they must be trying to encircle us. We can't take the official road, let's go into the mountains!"

Looking at the continuous small mountains not far away, Fang Zheng Yi asked, "Can't we take a shortcut?"

"No! We're not familiar with the environment here at all. The other side has far more people than us. Only by going into the mountains can we have a chance to shake them off. Once we enter the mountains, we'll have to abandon our horses and travel on foot. Although the other side is well-trained, our advantage will definitely be greater in the mountains!"

"The other side's forces are scattered, gunpowder won't have much effect, let's go into the mountains and fight a guerrilla war with them!"

Fang Zheng Yi nodded, "Okay! I'll leave everything to you!"

A moment later, more than a hundred people were ready to go, and began to run madly towards the distant mountain road...

After half an hour of desperate running, Fang Zheng Yi and the others had ridden their horses into the mountains.

The team was divided into two groups. The main force, led by Fang Zheng Yi, was at the front, and another team of twenty people, led by Bai Rui, was at the rear, guarding the rear and scouting for enemy activity.

The two teams communicated with bird whistles.

As the mountain road gradually became difficult to travel, Zhou Tie raised his hand to signal the people behind him to stop, and shouted loudly, "Brothers, dismount and walk!"

Fang Zheng Yi jumped off his horse and looked behind him, "Can't the horses go any further?"

"They can... but there's no need. We're walking up the mountain, the steeper the terrain, the more advantageous it is for us. Those horses are already a burden."

Zhou Tie closed his eyes and carefully listened to the bird calls coming from the distance, frowning, "The other side is following very closely, there are still a lot of people, we have to hurry."

Fang Zheng Yi silently nodded. Some things are better left to the professionals.

Although Zhou Tie had only fought losing battles, he had after all received professional training. The martial arts examination even had a written test!

Talking about war on paper is always better than not talking about it at all!

Walking on the mountain road was nothing for these elite special forces from Taoyuan County, even with their equipment.

Not a single person had any objections, and they all jumped off their horses and began to walk.

An hour passed, during which bird whistles continued, and several explosions were heard in the distance.

It seemed that Bai Rui and the others had been forced up and were using gunpowder to repel the enemy.

Fortunately, news later came that they had not been overtaken, so everything was going smoothly.

However, an unexpected situation still occurred after all....

Fang Zheng Yi was sweating profusely and leaned against a rock with a pale face.

A group of people around him were silently waiting for him.

Zhou Tie said anxiously, "Master, have you rested enough? We've rested three times already, and the pursuers haven't retreated yet."

"No... I can't, I can't do it anymore! I definitely can't do it! Leave me, you guys run!" Fang Zheng Yi waved his hand repeatedly, swallowing his saliva.

Staring at the ground, he only felt dizzy.

Damn it! These past two years of living in luxury, neglecting exercise, my body has seriously deteriorated!

Although he was still much stronger than the wimps in modern office buildings, two hours of continuous, non-stop walking on the mountain road had almost finished him off!

He didn't expect to drop the ball at this critical moment!

A group of people were waiting for him anxiously at this moment of life and death. Even Fang Zheng Yi, who had a thick skin, couldn't bear it.

Just then, Bai Rui's team caught up and urged, "Why are you still here! I've used up all my explosive packs, and the other side is starting to accelerate their pursuit. It won't be long before they catch up!"

"I'll carry you!" Zhou Tie came up and was about to carry Fang Zheng Yi, but he was pushed away.

"I'll find a place to hide myself. You guys are still carrying equipment. Carrying me will slow you down anyway. You guys run first...".

Looking at the dead branches and fallen leaves on the ground, Fang Zheng Yi had already started to give up.

He had always been the one to shoulder everything, but today he had become a burden. Continuing to walk with the main force would probably increase the danger for his brothers. He couldn't delay any longer. After they left, he would bury himself in the leaves and lie down.....

"Prince Wu should be afraid of our people running back to call for reinforcements. He's very cautious. I dare say they'll only chase for a day or two at most! As long as you guys survive for two days, they should retreat... I'm just a burden to you, don't worry about me."