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

"You all think so?"

Shen Lang glanced back and surveyed the brothers of the Sharp Knife Battalion.

But seeing them staring blankly at him, he felt no guilt whatsoever.

Their silence already revealed their attitude.

A strong sense of powerlessness washed over Shen Lang.

He put down the weapon he had placed on Sun Lang's shoulder, waved his hand, and said, "Since that's the case, I don't want to force you. If you want to leave, just go ahead. I won't stop you."

"But you absolutely must not defect to the Yan state; that's my bottom line."

Sun Lang's eyes narrowed: "Shen Junwei, what exactly are you insisting on? What has the Bingzhou Army given you? What has the imperial court given you that makes you persist like this?"

"With your abilities, as long as you serve the Great Yan Kingdom, you will enjoy wealth and honor for the rest of your life. Why waste your life in this small military camp?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang gave a desolate smile: "You're right, the Bingzhou army can't give me anything, and the imperial court won't remember a nobody like me."

To be honest, I have no feelings for the State of Chu. We were merely pawns in the hands of powerful royal families, tools for them to climb the social ladder.

I know the injustice of this world better than any of you.

As he spoke, Shen Lang walked to the other end of the beacon tower and gazed towards Bingzhou.

"I just don't want to see that land, with its tens of thousands of innocent people like us, suffer the ravages of war."

I don't want to see the tragic scene of parents burying their children, and I don't want my selfishness today to bring endless turmoil to this land.

After speaking, Shen Lang took a deep breath.

"Since fate has brought me to this land and made me a soldier, I must shoulder the responsibilities of a soldier."

An ant can't shake a tree, but I still want to try. Since I'm still in military uniform, I have no choice but to force myself to shoulder this mission.

I, Shen Lang, love money and wealth, but not at the cost of the lives and deaths of the people of Chu. Such wealth is beyond my capacity to bear.

Upon hearing these words, Sun Lang and the brothers from the elite cavalry slowly gathered together and walked towards Shen Lang from behind.

Shen Lang, however, seemed oblivious and continued speaking to himself, "Oh, I was thinking that after this mission is over, I'd like to go with you guys to the other side of the Han River and find some women to have some fun with."

To be honest, I've never been with a woman before. Isn't that a bit embarrassing to admit?

Now it seems that this wish can never be fulfilled.

Sun Lang laughed and said, "Shen Junwei, surrender with us. We will still be good brothers. I believe that when we reach the Great Yan Kingdom, life will be better than it is now."

Shen Lang opened and closed his hand holding the knife, then gripped it tightly again.

"I'm sorry, but I, Shen Lang, can be a bandit, a local thug, or a hooligan. But I will never be a traitor to Chu."

He turned around abruptly, his eyes filled with gloom: "And if my brother wants to become a traitor to Chu, I will do everything in my power to stop him."

puff-

As soon as he finished speaking, a dagger was plunged directly into Shen Lang's abdomen.

Shen Lang, however, remained calm as he looked at a young man on his right who was only a few years older than himself.

"Shen Junwei, I'm sorry, this is the only thing we can do. The Yan people said that if we can't win you over, we have to get rid of you."

The young man, his eyes almost filled with tears, burst into sobs as he looked at Shen Lang.

"Just surrender, Lieutenant Shen. We really don't want you to die!"

Shen Lang smiled faintly, letting the blood on his lower abdomen seep out along the nail plates.

"I know, but let's consider this a severing of our years-long brotherhood."

Pushing the young man aside, Shen Lang drew his dagger without changing his expression.

"Alright, all of you, get to work. If I don't die, none of you will leave here today unless you swear that you will never betray us for the rest of your lives."

"Shen Lang! Why are you forcing us! We brothers just want to live the normal life!"

Sun Lang almost collapsed and shouted.

"What are you pretending to be so high and mighty for? Do you think those high-ranking officials will give you a second glance by putting on this act?"

"Wrong, they don't care about our lives at all! Is it worth dying for such a court?"

Shen Lang stopped the bleeding from his lower abdomen and gave a bitter smile: "Of course it's not worth it, but I, Shen Lang, have never fought for that damned imperial court."

My choice to stay here isn't out of any sense of superiority, but because I don't want my conscience to suffer inhuman torment for countless years to come. Do it! Don't hesitate!

Sun Lang stared blankly at Shen Lang, and seeing his resolute attitude, he finally made up his mind.

"Brothers! Bring Shen Lang's head to surrender to the Great Yan, and His Highness the Second Prince will reward us with a million taels of silver. From now on, we brothers will have everything we need for the rest of our lives! Kill!"

"kill!"

In an instant, ninety-nine figures rushed towards Shen Lang.

Shen Lang's eyes turned cold. Before a hammer could strike, Bing Zhu had already made his move, preemptively severing the throats of the three people in front of him.

"Brothers, if we meet again in the next life, I'll definitely treat you to a life of luxury! Come on!"

The soldiers drew blood, their killing intent boiling.

Alone with his sword, Shen Lang engaged in a fierce battle with ninety-nine of his former comrades-in-arms within the Beacon Tower...

Each slash takes away not only a life, but also the bond forged through shared life and death.

With each fall, the passion within them grows colder.

Who is the person in front of me?

What are you doing?

Right and wrong are irrelevant at this moment.

Does it hurt? Yes, it hurts so much that I'm numb and can hardly breathe.

Do I hate it? Yes, I hate my own incompetence, which led to this tragic end.

Tears have long been replaced by blood; I want to cry, but I can't shed a single tear.

The once burning heart turned icy cold the moment the blade was raised.

Shen Lang knew nothing, his mind was blank, and he was simply acting on instinct, hacking down his former comrades one by one into pools of blood.

Everyone was slit in the throat; this was the last bit of dignity Shen Lang bestowed upon them.

He never imagined that one day, the blood of his comrades would stain his life in battle...

puff-

As the final stab slowly plunged into Sun Lang's chest, Sun Lang gripped the blade and let out a mournful laugh at the blood-soaked Shen Lang.

"Shen Lang, you've killed me again..."

Sun Lang's words immediately startled Shen Lang.

A mouthful of blood gushed from his mouth as he stared straight at Shen Lang.

"The Duke of Zhenguo of Great Chu, the Empress, quite impressive, isn't it?"

"In the end, you're just like us, trying to curry favor with the powerful and wealthy."

"But you used the blood of your brothers in the elite cavalry to gain wealth and glory for yourself. Doesn't your conscience hurt?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang felt a sudden ringing in his ears.

"No, this isn't right..."

He suddenly drew his weapon and stood up to look.

At this moment, the beacon tower was littered with corpses, and the area outside the city was engulfed in flames, with thick smoke billowing into the sky, creating an extremely oppressive apocalyptic scene.

"I……"

Shen Lang wanted to say something, but at that moment his head was throbbing with pain, and the sound of a spinning top kept echoing in his mind.

At this moment, Sun Lang, who should have been dead, slowly stood up and spoke behind him.

"Shen Lang, do you really think you're the Duke of Zhenguo of Great Chu, or the Emperor of Great Chu? Think about it carefully, the moment you entered the Empress's palace..."

"You're already dead. Everything you experienced afterward was just a hallucination born of your guilty conscience and your resentment before death."

As soon as he finished speaking, a white light flashed before Shen Lang's eyes.

When he came to his senses, in front of the Weiyang Palace gate, Shen Lang saw himself in prison clothes, dead from being pierced by ten thousand arrows.

"what--"

With a roar, Shen Lang dropped his weapon, clutched his head, and collapsed to the ground.

"Was it all just an illusion?"

"I am already dead?"

As his obsession dissipated, Shen Lang's consciousness gradually sank into boundless darkness, and the life force in his pupils began to rapidly dissipate.