Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

"Sir, why are you doing this? Didn't we brothers agree to do this?"

"My lord, you've gone too far, this..."

"Alright, that's enough. This was a last-minute change of plans. If we're going to put on an act, we should do it properly."

"You two are no match for this bunch of idiots; you're nowhere near as terrifying as my injury."

Hailan and Hailanzhou never expected Shen Lang to be so ruthless, willing to harm himself to achieve his goal in order to make the performance convincing.

This spirit inspired both of them, and they also felt a deep sense of awe.

Shen Lang gently stroked the arrow shaft on his shoulder blade, but stood up expressionlessly and walked to the palace gate.

"Open the door, it's time for the show to begin."

"Yes, my lord."

Highland State opens its doors.

The moment the door opened, Shen Lang immediately draped an arm over Hailan's shoulder, looking as if he were on the verge of death.

"let's start."

"Ok!"

Hailan responded with a shout, then cried out, "Something terrible has happened! Several clan leaders are dead! The lord is injured!"

The shouts quickly attracted all the Hu people in the surrounding area.

Hailanzhou shouted, "We encountered assassins from the Goguryeo royal family! They attacked you while you were talking to the clan leaders!"

Several leaders were all killed while protecting you, sir!

Upon hearing this, everyone present was immediately at a loss for words.

"The clan chief is dead? That's impossible! Absolutely impossible! We don't believe it, how could the clan chief be dead!"

"Where is the clan chief? We demand to see him alive or dead!"

Hailan said, "It's all true. All the clan leaders are still lying in the main hall. If you don't believe me, go and see for yourselves."

As soon as he finished speaking, a large group of Hu people swarmed in.

When they saw the bloody scene inside the hall, they had no choice but to believe it.

"It's over, it's all over now."

Several Hu people immediately knelt on the ground and began to wail loudly.

"The clan chief is dead, what are we going to do now? Who will take us home?"

"If the people in the tribe find out that the chieftain is dead, they'll probably start killing each other again, and who knows how many people will die!"

These Hu people were like orphans, crying their hearts out, completely unaware of what the future held.

The chieftain's position in their tribe was second only to the gods. Now that he is dead, their backbone is gone, and no one is there to guide them.

Moreover, every change of power among the Hu people and other ethnic tribes brought endless bloodshed and death. It was bloody and brutal, and no one knew how many people would be involved and die.

At this moment, they were filled with uncertainty about the future.

"Listen to me, everyone!"

Just then, Shen Lang forced himself to stand up straight despite his injuries.

“I know that it would be hard for anyone to suffer like this. These leaders were killed by villains while protecting me, so I, Shen Lang, swear to you here.”

"I will definitely seek justice for your clan leader and make those murderers pay the price they deserve!"

"To you, they are tribal leaders and guides, but to me, they are brothers who share life and death!"

“Now, your leader is dead, and I have lost eight brothers. Who killed them? It was the treacherous King Goguryeo, Gojang!”

"It was Gao Zang who killed my brother and your leader! We absolutely cannot let those murderers go unpunished, so what should we do!"

Shen Lang's speech was very inspiring, instantly igniting the emotions of these Hu people!

"revenge!"

"revenge!"

"revenge!"

With a unified shout, the eyes of all the Hu people blazed with the flames of revenge.

Hailan, standing to the side, was completely stunned, her gaze towards Shen Lang's back filled with admiration.

"it is good!"

Shen Lang raised his hand to stop the crowd from shouting.

Then he forcefully pulled the arrow shaft from his shoulder blade.

The moment the arrowhead left the body, a spurt of blood gushed out.

Even the Hu people, who lived among wild beasts all day, felt a chill run down their spines at this scene, but Shen Lang didn't even lift his eyelids, as if he wasn't the one who was injured.

"Brothers from all the tribes in Liaodong, from this moment on, we are brothers who will share life and death."

I, Shen Lang, swear here and now that I will bring back Gao Zang's head to offer as a sacrifice to your fallen leader.

If I break this oath, may I be struck by this arrow!

As soon as he finished speaking, the arrow shaft in Shen Lang's hand snapped in two.

……

"Duke Zhenguo, please forgive my impertinence, but you were far too rash today. Even if you were trying to appease those barbarians, you shouldn't have used such methods."

"You are the Emperor of Great Chu, His Majesty's most beloved person. If this gets back to Jinling, how worried His Majesty will be!"

After successfully calming down all the Hu people, Shen Lang immediately returned to the military camp and, with the help of Wang Xuance and Ban Dingyuan, treated the wound on his shoulder blade.

Shen Lang didn't care at all. After wrapping the bandages properly, he put his clothes back on, stood up, and said...

"If we're going to act, then we should be as realistic as possible. If I were perfectly unharmed, how would that highlight the seriousness of the assassination attempt?"

Moreover, with the elimination of the Shatuo leaders in this battle, Liaodong will soon descend into brutal tribal warfare.

This will also buy us enough time to take over the entire Liaodong region.

Wang Xuance: "I understand what the commander means, but I will not put myself in danger again. I must never act rashly again in the future."

Ban Dingyuan also said, "Yes, Commander, if something happens to you, we won't be able to explain it to His Majesty when we get back."

Shen Lang: "Don't worry, I will explain things to His Majesty myself. You don't need to worry about it. By the way, how is the battle situation in Northern Yan? Is there any new news?"

Ban Dingyuan wiped his hands and said, "There is new information. Gao Cang attacked the Northern Yan camp three nights ago."

Murong Wei's entire force of 7,000 men was wiped out, and he himself was scattered and disappeared amidst the chaos of battle.

Later, Gao Zang clashed with Murong Chui's troops who had come to his aid, but suffered a major defeat and retreated to Anshi City, continuing to rely on fortified positions to block the Northern Yan army.

Two days prior, Murong Ke had seized the opportunity to capture Yincheng, but unfortunately, the city was short of food supplies, and it was recaptured by the Goguryeo army in less than half a day.

The Liaodong battlefield is now in complete chaos, and all the soldiers and civilians living there are trapped.

"Then let's put an end to this turmoil once and for all. Have you sent the grain requisition letter I asked you to deliver to Murong Ke?"

"The letter was sent to the Northern Yan camp when the army entered Rangzhou, so we should receive a reply soon."

Shen Lang thought for a moment and said, "Then we'll wait for Gao Zang's people to come to our aid, and then we'll just wipe them all out in one fell swoop."

Ban Dingyuan: "Is the Commander planning to confront Northern Yan?"

"A showdown would be a poor strategy. What we need to do is use Rangzhou City as a base and wait for the best opportunity to strike."

Wang Xuance: "Does the Commander have any good suggestions?"

Shen Lang smiled slightly, a cold glint in his eyes: "Of course, we should add fuel to the fire."