Chapter 497: The so-called nation! You must come back

"Am I that good?" Su Yang rubbed his nose and raised an eyebrow.

"When it comes to winning hearts, who can compare to you?"

At this moment, a soft moan suddenly came from behind.

Su Yang turned his head to look and saw Lin Yang struggling to prop himself up on the flatbed cart with his elbows, lying on his side as he said, "Help me up. This board is so damn hard, my waist feels like it's about to break from sleeping on it."

Su Yang shook his head with a smile, walked over, crouched down, and hoisted him onto his back, tilting his head to say, "That's what you get for not exercising. Now you're tasting the bitterness, aren't you?"

"Exercising isn't as good as getting more points. If I had your physical fitness, Su Kang wouldn't be able to hurt a single hair on my head even if he gave me ten tons of explosives," Lin Yang said.

"Smack!"

"Ouch, take it easy! Are you trying to kill me, brother?" Lin Yang let out a strange cry and rubbed his thigh.

"You forget the pain once the wound heals. You were lucky this time; if it had been any later, you would've lost your life," Su Yang said irritably.

"Hehe, it's not like you don't know how tough my life is. I guess I can count this as having died once," Lin Yang said, as if collecting stamps, wearing his escape from death like a medal.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have let you draw the fire." A trace of self-reproach appeared in Su Yang's eyes.

"Smack!"

This time it was Lin Yang's turn to slap the back of his head. He said with dissatisfaction, "What kind of talk is that? If you say that again, I'm going to get angry."

"Besides, drawing fire is considered the safest job. If you had sent me to deal with that pair of dogs, Xiong Yu and Fan Rui, who knows if even my bone fragments would have been gnawed away."

Su Yang was startled, then shook his head and laughed, "Alright, alright, I won't say things like that in the future."

Recalling the conversation he had heard between Su Yang and Shadow while he was drifting in and out of consciousness, Lin Yang couldn't help but ask curiously, "What was your purpose in sending the Shadow Hall to deal with the remnants of the Mighty King?"

A sharp glint flashed in Su Yang's eyes. "I have a plan that is both crazy and bold. Once it succeeds, I can get rid of the last player once and for all!"

"Tell me about it."

"It's not convenient to disclose it for now. Even with your brain, you wouldn't be able to figure it out."

"Damn, what do you mean by that? Am I that stupid?"

"Hehe... there's really no one else who could mistake Su Kang for the last player."

"How was I supposed to know it was a paper puppet? This is what you call... an information gap!"

"I've warned you so many times, don't trust your intuition, but you never listen."

"I can't help it, the premonition was too strong this time, just like a hint from the heavens. Do you understand that feeling?"

"I don't. I never trust intuition when I play games."

"Tch..."

————

An hour later, all the soldiers were fully equipped and ready to go.

They were arranged in rows, eyes fixed forward, their momentum magnificent.

Su Yang stood on a large rock, surveying their spirit and energy, then nodded with satisfaction. "Everyone, there is an opportunity before you now, a heaven-sent chance to bring honor to your ancestors and leave a name for generations to come!"

"If you seize this opportunity—Jinshan City will regain its freedom, and you will become great heroes!"

"But if you fail to seize it—the common people will continue to be enslaved, and the entire Jinshan City will turn into a slum!"

"Tell me loudly, what do you intend to do?!"

As his voice fell, a thousand people shouted in unison: "Expel the invaders!"

Seeing this, Su Yang continued to ask, "Who can tell me, what is the necessary condition to destroy a nation?"

Zhou Xiaoshi raised his hand high and said loudly, "Kill everyone in that nation!"

"The method is correct, but the warlords won't do that. Only while the people are still alive can they continuously suck blood from them," Su Yang said.

"Enslave this nation!" someone shouted.

"How do you enslave them? How do you manage over two hundred thousand people?" Su Yang asked again.

Silence fell over the field...

Su Yang jumped down from the rock, walked to the front of the formation, and his expression turned cold. "The best way to destroy a nation is to break their spine!"

"Make them kneel on the ground, like maggots in a latrine, swallowing the feces excreted by those above them day and night!"

"Once a nation loses its spine, the slave mentality will be deeply carved into the minds of their descendants, their descendants' descendants, and even unto infinite generations, impossible to erase."

"The invaders will tamper with history and order all the descendants of the slaves to learn this fabricated fact, so they will never be able to stand up."

"As time goes by, there will be classes between people. Even if one day your descendants awaken and stand up to say the word 'no', it will be considered treason, and their entire clan will be implicated!"

"Greed is the original sin. Whether the twenty-four thousand people of Jinshan City can live standing up depends on today!"

"Of course, if anyone wants to die on their knees, I, Su Yang, will never stop you, but I pray that when your descendants see your ashes, they can shed even a single tear."

"Now... tell me loudly, what do you intend to do?!"

Everyone shouted in unison, their voices deafening: "Expel the invaders, expel the warlords!"

Su Yang nodded slightly and said in a loud voice, "Break camp... move out!"

"Boom!"

The soldiers were of one mind, their blood boiling, their waists held straight, their spines like spears standing between heaven and earth!

As the main force marched toward the North City District, Su Yang returned to the tent and carried Lin Yang out.

"What a 'live standing up' speech. It made me want to pick up a gun and go to the battlefield to finish them off," Lin Yang said, gesturing wildly.

"Pre-battle mobilization is always necessary, but this time I didn't use money as a reward, but national righteousness," Su Yang said.

Lin Yang sighed, "That's true. If measured by money, it would somewhat taint their fighting spirit."

"This final battle will completely put an end to this game," Su Yang said indifferently.

"It's about time it ended. This month has been really hard to endure..."

"Hehe, don't you plan to enjoy yourself here for a few months before going back?"

"Forget it. I'm afraid of picking up the bad habit of extravagance. You know, I'm the type who finds it hardest to resist temptation."

"I think you've become addicted to being in prison."

"Screw you!"

————

The army pressed on, traveling from the outskirts of the West City District through the town, all the way to the border of the North City District.

Along the way, the Liuhe Association drew many gazes—some hopeful, some vigilant, but most were nervous.

Once bitten, twice shy.

They were very worried that if one warlord faction was wiped out, another would rise in its place.

However, with the explanations from many soldiers, the common people were somewhat reassured.

They even sent out the food they had treasured in their homes, hoping the main force would have a smooth journey and return safely.

Seeing the righteous deeds of the elders and fellow villagers, everyone's fighting spirit grew even more vigorous.

Like a raging fire, they wanted to burn through this sky!

"Su Yang!"

Su Yang, who was waving his hand to politely decline a gift, suddenly heard a shout.

Turning his head to look, he discovered a beautiful figure caught in the crowded crowd, holding a cloth bag in her hands.

She wanted to squeeze forward, but couldn't resist the enthusiasm of the villagers, so she could only raise her hand and shout.

"Su Yang!!"

"Make way."

Su Yang gently pushed aside the people surging up, reached out to grab her hand, and pulled her out.

"Why are you here?"

Feng Yan's small face was flushed, dimples appearing. She stuffed the cloth bag into Su Yang's arms. "Here, these are buns I made myself, mutton filling. You can share them with others, but don't finish them all. Remember to eat some yourself."

When Su Yang held her hand, he felt the chilblains on her skin, and the warmth in his chest deepened a few degrees. "Alright, I will definitely finish them."

"Mm..." Feng Yan nodded gently, her small mouth slightly parted, words stuck in her throat, unable to be spoken.

A thousand words gathered into one.

Just a single sound contained all her expectations.

"It's getting late, I'm leaving." Su Yang rubbed her head as usual and smiled slightly.

As he followed the main force into the territory of the North City District, Feng Yan stood on tiptoe, waving her hand high, shouting with all her might: "You must come back!"

"I'll be waiting here for your triumphant return!"

The sound was drowned out by the shouts filling the sky as soon as it was uttered.

Feng Yan looked dejected, not knowing if her words had been heard.

Just as she was feeling lost, she saw Su Yang raise his hand and wave gently.

Feng Yan felt a surge of joy in her heart, staring blankly at that retreating back, her hands clenched into fists in front of her chest, whispering:

"You must come back..." ===== CHAPTER 498 =====