“Lord Lyons, these people… it’s impossible that they’re all lying to us,” someone said.
If one person surrendered, became a traitor, that was possible. But twenty or so, exactly the number that escaped, all surrendering, all becoming traitors, none showing any backbone, the likelihood of that was very slim.
“You!” Maclean Lyons, with a long sword in hand, glared at these people with bloodshot eyes.
With their arrival, they had already caused disarray among the soldiers. He wanted to kill them all.
However, the twenty or so men now stood behind their own captains. The captains exchanged looks and solemnly said, “Lord Lyons, we can’t keep killing.”
This time, it was different from before.
They were outrightly defying Maclean Lyons.
“You!”
Maclean Lyons was trembling with rage.
However, these captains, although holding lower ranks, had accumulated a lot of prestige in the army over the years. With a single glance, the army immediately surrounded Maclean Lyons.
They didn’t attack, but merely surrounded him.
“You, what are you trying to do!”
Maclean Lyons brandished his sword at them.
His loyal men rallied around him.
“We… want to live.”
The captains exchanged glances and simply made this statement.
“Do you dare betray South Land?”
Maclean Lyons’ voice was somewhat hoarse.
“We just want to live.”
Someone among them spoke up.
They wanted to live.
Previously, their continuous resistance was motivated by Maclean Lyons’ constant reassurances that reinforcements were coming. This belief had been inspiring them.
But now, no one was coming to save them.
South Land had already abandoned them.
They could only starve to death here.
But they didn’t want to die.
“Lord Lyons, forgive our insolence, but we just want to live. South Land has abandoned us, so we must find our own way to survive,” said one of the team captains.
In truth, they didn’t want to betray.
Who would willingly betray their own country?
But they had been abandoned by their country and were left here to die, to die alone.
Under these circumstances, how many could maintain their loyalty?
“You…”
Maclean Lyons wanted to say something, but he saw murder in some of their eyes.
He then understood.
He couldn’t salvage the situation anymore.
These men, who had already contemplated this, and the few guys who were thrown in today, were the last straw that broke the camel’s back. The situation was beyond salvage.
Laughing loudly, he said with heavy self-mockery, “I’ve always thought highly of myself, believing that I’m the best among those scholars. I often feel that if I were to become a general, I would be no less than Aston Jones. But now, I’ve lost. The hundred-thousand-strong army has been buried by my hand. I lost to Aston Jones, I let down the king, I failed South Land. I lost. Today, I will end this life, to apologize to the king.”
Maclean Lyons swung his long sword.
He was never a coward.
If he lost, then he lost.
But he wouldn’t surrender. The spirit of a scholar was ingrained in him.
However, with a bang, he was knocked unconscious.
“Lord Lyons, we not only want to live, but we also want a life of wealth and honor,” said one of his confidants.
In fact, his confidants also wanted to live.
They had also betrayed him long ago.
Unlike others, they wanted more than just survival from Robin; they wanted wealth and honor. To achieve that, they needed a token of allegiance. The living Maclean Lyons was exactly such a token.
After all, South Land had surrendered.
What shocking news it would be for South Land.
On this day.
In the Valley of the Wolf.
The remaining twenty thousand starving soldiers, each supporting one another with pale faces, walked out from the Valley of the Wolf carrying a white flag to signify their surrender. Just as they had said, South Land had abandoned them, but they wanted to live.
“We are the Eighth Expeditionary Brigade of South Land. We surrender.”
The highest-ranking officer among them stepped forward and knelt.
Behind him, supported by others and already unconscious, was Maclean Lyons, a symbol of their submission.
The news that Maclean Lyons had led his army to surrender to Kisia spread like wildfire within an hour across the entire South Province. Nobody had anticipated that the first army to surrender would be led by Maclean Lyons.
Inside Pierre Calder’s grand tent.
“Damn it, damn it, damn it, Maclean Lyons is damned!”
Pierre Calder yanked everything off the table in a fit of rage. The objects shattered on the ground with a series of loud clatters, but his eyes were still bloodshot, his face full of anger. He had never expected Maclean Lyons to surrender.
Not to mention leading twenty thousand soldiers to surrender.
This was Lord Lyons!
The father-in-law of Lord Whiteford!
But he had surrendered just like that.
The impact of this was not just on the morale of the troops, but it had also shaken the whole of South Land.
“I’m doing everything I can to get there, but why couldn’t you hold on? No, this is my responsibility. If I hadn’t failed in my judgment at the beginning, it wouldn’t have come to this.”
Pierre Calder roared wildly inside the large tent, blaming himself. After all, it was his initial judgment that the War God of Kisia was in the east, and under his encirclement, otherwise, how could such a big mistake have occurred now, resulting in Lord Lyons being captured, and now, Lord Lyons’ surrender.
He was also responsible.
A single pebble can cause a thousand ripples.
The surrender of Lord Lyons caused a huge wave between Kisia and South Land, a wave of shock and awe that gave Kisia, which had feared being annihilated, sudden confidence.
Stillwater.
Stillwater had also received this news at this moment. The first battle was a great victory.
“Elise, did you see? Our War God, in an absolutely disadvantaged situation, with one hundred thousand against nine hundred and fifty thousand troops, a vast difference, has managed to make the other side constantly lose ground. Now even the emperor’s father-in-law has surrendered. Such a man is a great hero.”
In Elise’s house, Miranda, watching the news on the television, suddenly pulled Elise and said with great joy.
“The men I used to like don’t matter anymore, I only love the War God now. I don’t care, I won’t marry in this life, I have to marry the War God.”
Miranda was daydreaming on the couch.
“That’s not possible.”
Elise shook her head, a smile at the corner of her mouth, “He’s a married man.”
“A married man, who are you talking about? You’re smiling so happily, you’re not talking about yourself, are you? You’re not saying that the War God is your Robin, are you? Stop kidding, how is that possible.”
Miranda smirked.
“That’s right, Elise, ever since Robin left, you’ve been daydreaming all day. I think it’s better to find you another man, like Mr. Smith we talked about last time.”
Karen also chimed in with Miranda.
However, Elise didn’t pay attention to them, but instead, she stroked Leslie’s face, “Baby, didn’t your dad say that when he comes back, he’s going to hold a wedding ceremony for me?”
“Yes, a big, dazzling one, that will shock the world.”
Leslie raised her hand, babbling.
Even if the whole world doesn’t believe in you, your daughter and I believe in you, Robin!