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

As the horde of corpses approached the walls of Rangzhou, they suddenly turned into blood and vanished without a trace, yet Yue Fei remained completely calm.

He knew that Shen Lang had successfully prevented a catastrophe.

However, just to be on the safe side, Yue Fei did not lift the alert throughout the night. It wasn't until the sun rose and the heavy, foul smell of blood was diluted by the purification of the air that he was finally able to relax completely.

There were no cheers, no celebrations; all the soldiers guarding their posts let out a weary sigh.

"hehe."

"Haha."

At that very moment, people from Chu, Taiji, Yunshang, Goguryeo, and even the Solon tribe all looked at each other and smiled.

This can be considered the first time that various ethnic groups have joined forces to resist a calamity.

As the first rays of sunlight shone on Rangzhou City, the cook in charge of logistics tiptoed up to Yue Fei and cautiously asked, "General, is dinner ready?"

Yue Fei waved his hand and nodded.

At this moment, his spirits were at their limit, and he was too exhausted to say another word.

Soon, the wooden buckets containing rice, vegetables, and meat were pushed to the front of the defense line.

"Guys, dinner's ready!"

The cook banged on his wooden clapper, warmly inviting the soldiers to start their meal.

Upon opening the bucket, a surge of steam revealed the meal: white rice, braised pork, pickled cabbage, and a large bucket full of vegetable soup and braised eggs.

But having just experienced a bloody battle, and with the lingering smell of blood in the air, many soldiers felt nauseous and couldn't eat anything.

However, this did not dampen the spirits of the Cloud Kingdom and the Solon people.

Hailan and his brother Hailanzhou each held a large bowl overflowing with rice, topped with a few pieces of braised pork and a hard-boiled egg. They sat directly on the broken wall and began to eat heartily.

For the Solons, having enough to eat is more important than anything else, even on the bloody battlefield.

Moreover, such a sumptuous meal is something that cannot be found in the tribe at all, so it is absolutely not allowed to go to waste.

"These barbarians are really something. They can eat all this, and they eat it with such relish. I admire them."

Ban Dingyuan had little appetite and only ordered a bowl of vegetable soup. Seeing the Solon people eating with relish, he couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile.

Just then, Hailanzhou finished a bowl of rice, then went to the cook, filled a large bowl to the brim, poured on a spoonful of delicious meat gravy, and continued to eat heartily.

Perhaps influenced by the Solons, the soldiers, who had previously been unable to eat anything, now had a great appetite and went one after another to get their share of food.

Yue Fei leaned against the east side of the city wall, his eyes slightly closed, gazing at the slowly rising sun in the east: "I wonder how the Commander is doing now."

……

On the other side, after resolving the zombie horde problem, Shen Lang and Murong Ke sat facing each other, each leaning against a withered tree.

Neither of them spoke for the entire night.

As the sun rose, Murong Ke chuckled softly.

"I planned for nearly twenty years, but in the end, I still failed."

Shen Lang did not reply, but looked up at Murong Ke without moving.

Murong Ke: "I remember it was when I was eight years old that I accidentally found a notebook under the ancestral hall. It recorded many things from ancient times."

It was an era of flourishing cultivation, with all sorts of wondrous and bizarre creatures emerging, which fascinated me. Among them, the legend of the undying flame was the most intriguing to me.

Later I learned that the Unextinguished Fire was derived from the Southern Ming Fire, and whoever obtained the Southern Ming Fire could become the most powerful person in the world.

He paused, then continued, "Shen Lang, you probably can't understand what kind of mission you, as a descendant of the Great Yan royal family, have shouldered since childhood."

From as far back as I can remember, my father constantly told me that we must revitalize the Great Yan Kingdom, and that we must ensure the people of the Great Yan Kingdom are well-fed and clothed, even at the cost of everything.

To achieve the goal of reviving the Great Yan Dynasty, I have given almost everything.

At only nine years old, I had to work alongside my father from dawn till dusk, learning how to handle affairs and how to deal with foreigners.

Furthermore, I had to constantly hone my skills in the military and under the command of my subordinates; my childhood was almost entirely spent under severe beatings.

At that moment, I felt immense pressure; the overwhelming force was almost suffocating me.

Just when I felt I couldn't hold on any longer, I unexpectedly found an inextinguishable fire in the mountains.

It's amazing, really. As long as the fire keeps burning, my energy is incredibly high, and it can sweep away all the negative emotions in my heart.

So, in order to maintain my unwavering spirit, at the age of thirteen, I resolutely embarked on the journey to find the inextinguishable fire.

At that time, I never imagined that the fire would bring about such earth-shattering changes, nor did I ever think that this thing could truly revitalize the Great Yan Kingdom.

I felt that as long as I collected all those scattered, inextinguishable flames, I could forever maintain my high spirits.

But who knew that after I obtained the third Unquenchable Flame, I felt my expression become unusually excited, and my belief became stronger than ever before.

And realizing that possessing the Undying Flame grants unfathomable power, I believed the rumor in the notebook that collecting all seven Undying Flames could turn the tide of battle.

In the years to come, collecting all the eternal flames became my lifelong dream.

Shen Lang: "Placing everything on these vague rumors is a mistake. What a strong nation needs is proper guidance, not these mystical theories."

Murong Ke gave a bitter smile: "Yes, I only understand this now, but it's too late."

I never imagined that the inextinguishable flame I had entrusted to changing the fate of the Great Yan Dynasty was actually a sealing vessel for evil, and that I had released the evil.

Having been corrupted by it and gradually losing myself, I now have to thank you, Shen Lang, for it has given me liberation.

"Any last words?"

Shen Lang asked a question with a blank expression.

"Could you please not make things difficult for the Great Yan Kingdom?"

For the first time, Murong Ke cast a pleading look at his opponent.

Shen Lang did not reply, but the indifferent expression on his face said it all.

“I knew it…” Murong Ke shook his head and gave a self-deprecating laugh, “Under your influence, Great Chu is ambitious and how could it possibly tolerate Great Yan? Oh well.”

I've toiled for the Great Yan my entire life, and in this final moment, I choose to let go. The rise and fall of dynasties is an immutable law of history; why should I stubbornly try to defy this natural order?

After saying that, he slowly got up and walked towards Shen Lang.

"Shen Lang, please go back and tell Her Majesty the Empress that when the Great Chu sets foot on the land of the Great Yan one day, please do not make things difficult for the people living on this land. They are all innocent."

"Okay, I promise you."

Upon receiving Shen Lang's definite answer, Murong Ke immediately breathed a sigh of relief and then faced the direction where the sun was rising.

"What beautiful sunshine! Yet... I've never truly appreciated it..."

The next moment, Murong Ke's figure gradually vaporized, and he disappeared from the spot as the sun fully rose.

"it's over……"

Shen Lang slowly closed his eyes and leaned wearily against the tree trunk.

"The Liaodong war is over, and the Great Chu is no longer threatened by external forces. It can now officially step into a new era."