110: The Fallen Rebel

“How is he?”

On the bed, everyone gathered in a circle, anxiously awaiting Yin Chan’s diagnosis.

The small child’s body was bruised all over, blue and purple from the excessive strain.

After killing Gai Tuo, Mo Wang had fainted.

That exertion beyond his limit was perhaps too much for him, but as the price, he had single-handedly defeated two members of the Jie tribe with his child’s body.

That strength had already surpassed Ming Tian’s — no, it was even beyond An Luo’s.

“This child is an exceptional warrior,” An Luo said, gazing at the unconscious boy with full recognition in his eyes.

Mo’er knelt by the bedside, crying uncontrollably, clutching Mo Wang’s hand as if chanting a prayer, hoping for his safety.

When had these two children become so close?

Ming Tian thought for a moment. Perhaps it was because of shared suffering; the Jie tribe had inflicted enormous trauma on both their childhoods, which was why they were especially close.

A warm sensation came from his hand. Glancing sideways, he saw Xiao Xin Zhu holding his hand.

“Don’t worry, this child will be fine.” Xin Zhu’s gentle eyes conveyed this reassurance to Ming Tian.

“Huff.”

Soon, Yin Chan let out a long breath and stood up.

“Yin Chan sister, how is Brother Feng?” Mo’er immediately grabbed Yin Chan’s hand with concern upon standing.

Yin Chan gently stroked her small head and said he was fine, then proceeded to announce the diagnosis.

“Rib fractures, bruising to the scapula and surrounding ligaments caused by that Jie tribe punch, various degrees of sprains to ligaments and muscles in the limbs, fractures to the right index and thumb bones. He needs half a month of rest, followed by a month of rehabilitation to fully recover. Fortunately, there will be no lasting complications.”

Though it sounded like a lot, Ming Tian knew it wasn’t a serious injury — even less severe than when he had been blown away in the explosion before.

But the fact that such damage came from overexertion meant this child was truly pushed to the edge of his limits.

The two Jie tribesmen had died horribly — one’s head was twisted half around, the other’s shoulder was broken from Mo Wang’s kick, and his face was battered inward.

This child…

“An Luo, are you sure he’s not your illegitimate son with Wonder Woman?”

“Brother Ming Tian, what are you saying? I only came to Yangzhou once three years ago. By the way, who’s this Wonder Woman?”

“Uh… conception from afar? Never mind, forget I said anything.”

In any case, with injuries like this, and that promise of his, it seemed he wouldn’t be able to fulfill it.

According to plan, tomorrow night was to be the full-scale assault on the rebel organization.

Moreover, the child was truly unfit and should not be on the battlefield.

Such a powerful child was indeed astonishing, but from another perspective, it was human greed and corruption that brewed war. This extraordinarily strong child was the best proof of war’s ugliness.

Feng Mo Wang’s power was forged under the pressure of human greed — a malformed product of this era.

“Report!”

Just as Ming Tian was lost in thought, a scout from the Chaos Rippers burst in, breaking the silence.

The scout was frantic and even tripped over the threshold entering, falling flat on his face.

“What’s the matter?” Ming Tian asked.

The scout wiped the blood from his nose, his pale face filled with urgency.

“Report, a major incident has occurred within the rebel organization! Lord Cui Jue is already rushing to the battlefield. Please have Prime Minister Zhuge also rush to handle the situation.”

Ming Tian was momentarily stunned.

Trouble in the rebel organization? What could have happened? Were they making a desperate attempt to break through the siege?

This scout was a seasoned traveler himself, well-experienced, so ordinary matters wouldn’t make him panic like this.

“What exactly happened?”

The scout panted heavily, clearly exhausted from running: “There’s been a mutiny in the rebel group. Some members escaped; the rest, led by De Yi’ao, launched an assault on the encirclement… They’ve gone mad, charging recklessly as if they had no regard for their lives. We held the first wave, but the frontline is on the brink of collapse. If they charge again, we won’t be able to hold!”

A charge? A mutiny?

Though Ming Tian couldn’t quite understand how these two could happen simultaneously, the scout’s urgency told him this was serious.

“Xin Zhu, stay and care for Mo Wang with Mo’er. Keep an eye on Zhao Yu in the next room; don’t let her wander. Yin Chan, how many divine mechanical arrows are ready?”

“Six.”

“Good. Take the scout and all the mechanical arrows over there. An Luo, you and I will go first!”

“Understood!”

After assigning the tasks, Ming Tian took off his shirt and removed the bandages.

It had been a month and a half since the explosion; his injuries had mostly healed. Ming Tian was fully recovered now.

And it looked like a tough battle was imminent — there was no time to slack off.

After quickly preparing the necessary equipment, Ming Tian and An Luo were ready to depart.

“Ming Tian!”

Before stepping out, Yin Chan’s voice stopped him.

“Catch!”

Flying toward him was a silver metallic object.

He reached out to catch the item she tossed — it was as heavy as a lead ball, nearly twisting his fingers.

Looking closer, it was a pure metal wrist crossbow, accompanied by two full bundles of bolts — ninety-six in total.

Compared to the upgraded wrist crossbow shattered by De Yi’ao, this one was clearly crafted on an entirely different level.

The bowstring was made of strong bull tendon cores, wrapped with a layer of iron wire to increase hardness. The pure metal body could double as a bracer and held eighteen bolts in capacity.

Even the bolts themselves were all made of metal.

Even without testing, one could feel the tremendous power this wrist crossbow possessed.

Moreover, its weight was well managed; the heaviness came solely from the ninety-six extra bolts. Loaded with just eighteen, it was no heavier than the previous two wrist crossbows.

At a spot reachable by the thumb on the palm side, Yin Chan had installed a mechanism that, when pressed, would unfold two thin metal wings on the side.

Though these wings were too thin to block swords or knives, their surface area was nearly twice the size of a human head — enough to shield against ordinary arrows.

My goodness, this is truly impressive, Sister Chan. If an army of ten thousand were equipped with these, they could easily overthrow the Northern Wei next door!

Beside her, Yin Chan handed An Luo two battle knives.

Compared to his old, battered Yan Chi knives, these new blades had a rough matte surface without losing weight, seemingly made of carbon steel.

In this era, even iron was scarce. An Luo’s two iron Yan Chi knives were considered divine weapons; carbon steel battle knives were even more rare.

Such steel required extremely sophisticated techniques to refine and forge individually in ancient times. Ming Tian didn’t understand steel well, but he knew no ordinary traveler could synthesize carbon steel alone.

Though devoid of ornate decorations, the knives themselves radiated a strong sense of power.

Truly, Sister Chan is formidable and unpretentious. Though she herself had little combat ability, this traveler from 2458 always produced astonishing inventions… she was like the protagonist of a novel!

An Luo accepted the knives and lightly swung them a few times, moved to the point of tears.

“Yin… Miss Yin Chan, thank you. These knives feel perfect in hand.”

Yin Chan only smiled, glanced at the two of them, and nodded solemnly.

“Be careful.”

Equipped with wrist crossbows and steel knives on their backs, An Luo and Ming Tian nodded together in unison.

“Don’t worry! Leave the frontline to us!”

……………………