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

"Whoo~"

With a startled cry, Shen Lang awoke from his nightmare to a desolate Gobi Desert.

Before he could react, someone handed him a bowl of freshly fried millet.

Looking up, Shen Lang's pupils contracted involuntarily: "Old Sun, it's you...!"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Who else could it be but me? Hurry up and eat."

Old Sun looked at Shen Lang suspiciously and stuffed the bowl into his arms.

After Shen Lang took the bowl, Old Sun sat down opposite him against the wall, took a pipe from his waist, lit it with a flint, and took a deep drag.

After exhaling a smoke ring, he asked, "What nightmare did you have just now? You startled everyone like that."

Shen Lang didn't answer. He looked at the bowl of golden millet in his hand and glanced around at his surroundings.

He saw busy figures all around him, and realized he was now on a fortress.

Looking closer, I realized that I was actually...

"Beacon tower?"

No sooner had he said that than Old Sun, who was sitting opposite him, suddenly laughed and said, "Looks like you really are still half asleep. You haven't forgotten how you got here, have you?"

Shen Lang smiled faintly: "Yes, I had a dream, but I can't remember what it was about. Old Sun, my mind is a mess right now. Tell me what's going on?"

Old Sun, with his pipe dangling from his lips, gave Shen Lang a suspicious look, frowned, and said, "Don't scare me. If you lose your mind, we're all doomed."

Shen Lang waved his hand: "I told you, I'm a little confused. I just had a nightmare, and it felt like I experienced it myself."

Upon hearing this, Old Sun tapped his pipe against the wall behind him a few times before slowly speaking: "Our elite vanguard battalion was ordered by Commander Wang to patrol the beacon tower, but we never expected to encounter an ambush by the vanguard of the Northern Yan army."

"It was you who led us to the beacon tower, where we stopped the Northern Yan army from invading."

Shen Lang nodded: "Yes, I remember now. No matter what, the beacon tower must not be allowed to be breached by the enemy."

This is the only way to Bingzhou. Even if only one person dies, we must hold out until reinforcements arrive.

Old Sun didn't answer, but silently smoked another pipe.

After a long silence, he slowly said, "Lieutenant Shen, I have a question in my mind. May I ask you?"

Shen Lang: "What question?"

Old Sun slowly exhaled a smoke ring: "Do you think people with such lowly status, risking their lives for the Chu Kingdom, will remember us?"

Shen Lang frowned: "Old Sun, what do you mean by that?"

Old Sun silently puffed on his pipe, his eyes gradually darkening: "Will the powerful families of Chu know that our Sharp Knife Battalion has sacrificed everything, that we have fought against the enemy for so many years for the sake of border security?"

"I don't think so, right? After all, we are born lowly people. For example, me, Sun Lang, was sold to the Bingzhou military camp when I was five years old."

He had signed a life-or-death contract with the military, destined to serve there for life and die on the battlefield one day, regardless of how many merits he achieved.

He doesn't belong to us. The world and the court will only remember those who were executed while stationed in the army. Do you think such a world is fair to us?

Shen Lang swept his cold gaze over them: "Old Sun, what do you mean by saying this to me?"

Sun Lang gave a wry smile: "It doesn't mean much, it's just that I suddenly feel a little sorry for myself."

Must we spend our entire lives living on the edge, constantly risking our lives?

Why, after sacrificing so much for the court, do I not even have a home of my own? This is so unfair!

Shen Lang replied, "Old Sun, you're overthinking it. Fate has been unfair to us, so we must rely on our own abilities to carve out our own path."

"Do you even believe that yourself?" Sun Lang retorted. "The Sharp Knife Battalion, to put it nicely, is an elite border army, but in reality, it's just a bunch of carefree suicide soldiers."

As long as they live, they will forever be on the front lines, until they all perish in battle.

Shen Lang: "So, what exactly are you trying to say by telling me this?"

"Let's find a different way to live," Sun Lang suddenly said. "Let's find a way for the brothers in the Sharp Knife Battalion to survive."

"Live?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang instinctively reached for his waist.

"Ok?"

But what he held was not the familiar dagger, but the hilt of a straight knife.

Before Shen Lang could react, Sun Lang said, "Now that things have come to this, I won't hide it from you anymore, Commander Shen. I want to take the brothers to the Yan Kingdom. If you still consider us your brothers, then come with us."

"You want to betray your country!"

Shen Lang suddenly stood up, drew his weapon, and held it to Sun Lang's neck.

This scene instantly drew the attention of the other elite soldiers of the Beacon Tower.

“Sun Lang, if you are dissatisfied with this world, I will not stop you even if you desert. But if you dare to betray the country, then don’t blame me, Shen Lang, for not showing any mercy for our years of friendship.”

"Hehehe, hahaha."

Sun Lang smiled as he extinguished his pipe, paying no attention to the military knife held to his neck. He slowly stood up, supporting himself against the wall with one hand, and stared at Shen Lang with a serious expression.

"Shen Junwei, you and I were sold to the army by human traffickers at the same age. We've been fighting on the battlefield since we were five."

We've come this far by supporting and encouraging each other. If you want to kill me, I won't blame you, but all we want is to live with some dignity. Is that wrong?

As he spoke, he took out a letter from his pocket.

"This is my fourth application for discharge from the military. I don't want any military merits; I just want to leave this godforsaken place. I'd be willing to beg for food."

But four times in a row, the army wouldn't allow me to be discharged, even after I turned over all my military merits!

Shen Lang's pupils contracted, somewhat incredulous.

Sun Lang said helplessly, "Shen Junwei, Wang Zhongsi and his men never intended to let us go. If there had been any other way out, we wouldn't have set this trap to lure you here."

We have no choice; all we want is a home, a wife, and children, but the imperial court will never grant us these requests.

From the moment we were sold into the army, our lives were no longer our own. The only way for a suicide soldier to find release was to die on the battlefield.

I'm only sixteen. I don't want to die, and I certainly don't want to spend the rest of my life in this place filled with killing. So, Lieutenant Shen, let's surrender.

The second prince of the Great Yan Kingdom has promised us that as long as we pledge our allegiance, he will arrange our food, clothing, and lodging immediately. Only after arriving in the Great Yan Kingdom will we have a home of our own.

Shen Lang: "What a joke! You actually believed the enemy's lies? If Fengsui Fort falls, the enemy can advance straight in from here, bypassing the Bingzhou camp and taking the heartland."

Have you thought about how many lives will be lost?

"What does that have to do with us?" Sun Lang roared. "We're just insignificant nobodys. The Chu Kingdom has never paid any attention to us."

Even if I give my all and no one cares, why should I bear burdens I shouldn't have to bear?

“Shen Junwei, look back at the brothers of the Sharp Knife Battalion, take a good look at how hard their lives are, and give them a chance to choose again.”

Shen Lang glanced back and saw that all the brothers from the elite cavalry around him were now looking at him with eager anticipation in their eyes.