Traveling Between Two Worlds: From Bread for Maids to Fantasy Overlord

As the sun set, its crimson afterglow bathed the walls of Qin Family Fortress, the shouts of battle deafening. Five thousand bandits from Black Wind Ridge surged towards the fortress like a tidal wave. Their leader, a burly man with a menacing face and sinister eyes, rode a tall horse, brandishing a machete and roaring the order to attack: "Charge! Break through Qin Family Fortress! Loot all the women and treasures! Kill that pretty boy Huang Yiming, and bring Yang Xiu back to be your wife!"

The bandits roared and charged towards the city gate, carrying ladders and ramming logs. Arrows rained down on the city walls, striking the battlements and sending up sprays of wood chips. Qin Cang, clad in armor, personally led the charge from the city walls, wielding a long sword and slaying the bandits who had scaled the walls. His eyes were wide open, his momentum undiminished, but he was, after all, over fifty years old, and after fighting continuously for half an hour, his breathing was becoming somewhat disordered.

"Fire the crossbows! Slam the catapults!" Qin Cang shouted the order. The improved crossbows were incredibly effective, bolts piercing the air as rows of bandits fell to the ground, screams echoing everywhere. The catapults hurled stones into the bandits, instantly clearing a space. The bandits' offensive was halted, and for a time they found it difficult to approach the city gate.

The guards on the city wall were greatly encouraged and shouted for a counterattack. Qin Yuling, wielding a long sword, moved with agility, slaying the bandits who had scaled the wall. Her cool face was filled with determination, and her swordsmanship was fierce, each strike hitting vital points with precision, no less than that of a man. She would occasionally glance at Huang Yiming beside her, and seeing his calm command and steady gaze, the panic in her heart gradually subsided.

Huang Yiming stood in the center of the city wall, not acting rashly, but calmly observing the battle situation, directing the crossbowmen to concentrate their firepower on the main force of the bandits, and precisely controlling the defensive rhythm. Every order hit the nail on the head, turning the originally scattered defense into an impenetrable barrier.

The bandit leader, watching from the front lines, was burning with rage—he hadn't expected Qin Family Fortress to have such a formidable defense. His eyes hardened, and he pulled a bow coated with deadly poison from his back, nocked an arrow, drew the string, and aimed at Qin Cang, who was directing operations from the city wall. This poisoned bow was his trump card; the arrow, coated with a deadly poison, would kill instantly upon contact with blood. Countless experts had fallen victim to this arrow before.

"Qin Cang, you old bastard, prepare to die!" the bandit leader roared, and a poisoned arrow shot out like lightning, heading straight for Qin Cang's chest. At that moment, Qin Cang was wielding his sword to kill a bandit soldier climbing the city wall, his back completely unguarded. By the time he realized the danger, it was too late to dodge.

"Father! Be careful!" Qin Yuling's face changed drastically, and she cried out in alarm, trying to rush over to stop him, but it was too late.

With a "thud," the poisoned arrow struck Qin Cang precisely in the chest, penetrating deep into his flesh. Black venom instantly spread along the wound. Qin Cang groaned, his longsword fell to the ground, his body swayed, and he spat out a mouthful of black blood before collapsing to the ground.

"Lord!" "Father!" The guards cried out in alarm. Qin Yuling rushed over like a madwoman, embracing the collapsed Qin Cang, tears streaming down her face, her voice trembling: "Father, how are you? Don't scare me!"

Huang Yiming's face darkened. He quickly stepped forward, reached out to check Qin Cang's pulse, and then examined his wounds. He saw that the area around the wounds had turned black and ulcerated, and the venom was rapidly attacking his heart. Qin Cang's eyes were tightly closed, and his breath was weak. He could die at any moment.

"Quickly, carry the lord down! Summon the doctor!" Huang Yiming ordered sternly. Two guards hurriedly carried Qin Cang to the main hall. Qin Yuling wiped away her tears, trying to suppress her grief and continue to command. However, without a leader, the guards on the city wall instantly lost their composure. The originally solid defense was exposed, and the bandits took the opportunity to scale the wall, making the situation instantly critical.

Upon hearing the news, the doctors in the fort rushed to the main hall with their medicine chests, taking turns to treat Qin Cang, administering acupuncture and pills. However, seeing Qin Cang's dark complexion and increasingly weak breath, the doctors' expressions grew more and more grave. They shook their heads, sighed, and shifted responsibility among themselves.

"This is the Seven Deadly Poisons, it kills instantly upon contact with blood, and we have no antidote! Pills can only temporarily alleviate the poison, they can't cure it at all!"

"I told you long ago, this poisoned arrow is extremely vicious, and no one within a hundred miles can cure it. The fortress lord won't last three hours; he should prepare for his death!"

The doctors chattered amongst themselves, none daring to take responsibility, all shrinking back and revealing their utter disgrace. Qin Yuling listened, her body turning cold, her eyes filled with despair—she had already lost her mother, and couldn't bear to lose her father too, yet she was powerless against this incurable poison.

The news quickly spread throughout the castle, and the already panicked elders instantly erupted into chaos, gathering at the entrance of the main hall to wail and wail, showing no backbone whatsoever.

"It's over! The fortress lord is critically ill, we can't defend the fortress at all! We should just open the gates and surrender, hand over Huang Yiming, and maybe we can save our lives!"

"It's all Huang Yiming's fault! If he hadn't offended the bandit leader, how could the fortress lord have been shot? I told you long ago not to take in refugees, and now you've brought this upon yourself. You deserve it!"

The elders' cowardly nature was laid bare; they blamed each other, and some even suggested surrendering the city, creating utter chaos. Qin Hu was furious and raised his fist to punch the elders, but Huang Yiming stopped him.

Huang Yiming's gaze turned icy as he looked at the unconscious Qin Cang, then swept over the despairing Qin Yuling and the wailing elders. Qin Cang was the backbone of Qin Family Fortress; if he died, the fortress would inevitably descend into chaos and collapse without a fight. He had finally managed to establish a foothold within the fortress, and he couldn't allow the situation to crumble.

He spoke in a deep voice, cutting off all the noise: "Shut up! Lord Qin is only poisoned, not beyond cure! Anyone who dares to mention surrender again will be treated as a traitor and executed without exception!"

Huang Yiming's aura intimidated everyone present, and the elders instantly fell silent, daring not to utter another word. Qin Yuling looked up at Huang Yiming, a glimmer of hope igniting in her eyes, and choked out, "Young Master Huang, do you... do you have a way to save my father?"

Huang Yiming nodded, his eyes resolute: "I have a way, but he needs to be treated alone, and no one is allowed to disturb him—including you." He knew that the only way to save Qin Cang was to use modern antibiotics and antidotes, and these things must never be exposed in front of others.

The elders outside the door were still unwilling to give up, whispering through the crack in the door. The goatee elder even wiped away tears and muttered, "If even Young Master Huang can't save the fortress lord, we should pack our bags and run, lest we be buried with him!" Before he finished speaking, Qin Hu kicked him away, hands on his hips, roaring, "If you dare to talk nonsense again, I'll throw you out to feed the bandits!" The elders were so frightened that they ran away with their heads in their hands, making a complete fool of themselves, which actually calmed the anxious Qin Yuling down a little.