I only wanted to retire, but I ended up becoming an extremely popular character.

Zod was getting impatient: "I promise I won't harm you, and besides, I have no interest in your lives."

If it weren't for these two people stopping Zod's escape plan, he might have already swum to the other side.

Mofisen was still uneasy: "I want you to swear an oath of honor as a soldier of the Oserwell Empire."

Zod rolled his eyes at Morpheus, thinking to himself: At least let me swear on something I own.

He pointed three fingers to the sky: "I swear by the honor of the soldiers of the Oserwell Empire that once you lay down your weapons, I will release the hostages in my hands and guarantee the safety of both of you."

Only after hearing Zod's oath did Morpheus drop the gun and sword in his hand to the ground.

Mofisen spread out his empty hands: "As agreed, you should release them."

Zod aimed at Morpheus and kicked Delanker hard, sending Delanker crashing into Morpheus.

Taking advantage of the moment when the two were unable to resist, Zod circled behind Morpheus and knocked them both unconscious with the hilt of his sword.

Seeing the two of them roll their eyes and faint, Zod patted the dust off his hands with satisfaction.

As soon as he turned his head to look in the direction of the imperial border, he saw three furtive figures in the darkness, holding two other figures hostage, and moving hurriedly towards the imperial border.

Based on what Morpheus just said, it's not hard to guess that the person on the other end is Morpheus's accomplice.

The two figures being dragged and pulled are very likely the two hostages that Zod has been searching for.

The other party must have seen Morpheus and Delanck being killed by Zod, and because it was nighttime, they also saw the flash of Zod's sword.

Therefore, the other side concluded that Morpheus and Delanck had died by Zod's sword.

So they made a last-minute decision: completing the mission was the priority, no matter what, and hurriedly fled towards the border with the two hostages.

If Zod can rescue the two hostages, then it seems there's no need for him to flee for the time being.

After all, the risks of fleeing are great. Being able to stay in the empire as a junior officer, earning a salary that most people envy, is better than living a life of hardship.

Furthermore, as this group of Holy Kingdom soldiers ran towards the border, there was no doubt that Holy Kingdom troops were there to meet them on the other side.

If Zod were to stick to his original escape plan and run straight there, wouldn't that be like throwing himself into the lion's den?

After a few seconds of weighing the pros and cons, Zod made what he considered the best decision—to immediately intercept the two hostages.

Zod picked up his Imperial sword and the pistol the Holy Kingdom soldier had left on the ground, and ran straight toward the few sneaky figures in the darkness.

Upon seeing the eerie figures of the Imperial soldiers approaching, the Holy Kingdom soldiers immediately panicked, dragging and pulling their two hostages along as they hastened their escape.

One of the hostages, upon seeing Zod in his Imperial uniform, seemed to see a savior and actually broke free from the Holy Kingdom soldiers holding him.

Then, he ran with all his might toward Zod.

However, he was tackled to the ground by Holy Kingdom soldiers who caught up with him after only a few steps.

In the few dozen seconds that the Holy Kingdom soldiers hesitated, Zod sprinted over at top speed.

He was quite certain that in those few dozen seconds of his sprint, he had broken his unit's sprint record.

He had never run that fast in his life. Even when he was on Earth, he only needed to pass the physical education exam at school.

"Stop! Don't come any closer!" Three Holy Kingdom soldiers blocked the two hostages in front of them.

The two hostages looked almost identical to the people in the photo, and without a doubt, they were the hostages that Zod had been searching for all this time.

The leader of the soldiers, named Kirk, pulled out a pistol, pointed it at the temple of one of the hostages, and shouted, "If you come any closer, I can't guarantee the safety of the hostages."

Zod had to stop. He held the Imperial Greatsword in one hand and a pistol in the other, staring straight at the Holy Kingdom's soldiers.

Kirk, a soldier from the Holy Kingdom, carefully observed Zod, who was dressed in an Imperial officer's uniform. He noticed that Zod was not making any rash moves, which suggested that he was also hesitant.

It's good to have some reservations. On the battlefield, what's most dangerous are hotheads and lunatics with post-traumatic stress disorder who can't understand anyone's words and will reflexively shoot anyone they see.

Kirk rationally judged that he did not believe he could defeat Zod, given that the Imperial officer who had single-handedly killed Morpheus and Delanck was capable of taking them down.

However, Kirk reasoned that Zod, as the officer who had been tracking them all along, should be aware of the value of the hostages he held.

Kirk's lips curled into a wicked smile: "Imperial dog, you don't want important hostages to die here, do you? Drop your weapons."

Good heavens! Zod thought to himself, how dare this guy steal his lines?

The soldiers of this holy nation actually wanted Zod to lay down his weapon.

Are you kidding me!

Even if the hostages on the other side were relatives of high-ranking officers, or even if they were Imperial generals, Zod would never lay down his weapon.

"Better to die than me, my friend? Who is she that Zod would risk his life to lay down his weapon for?"

What hostage could be more important than Zod's life?

Of course, Zod couldn't reveal his true feelings in front of the hostages.

Otherwise, even if these two people are rescued later, they won't appreciate it and might even gossip about Zod behind his back.

Zod will also face similar difficulties at that time.

Therefore, he must have a high stance, and his reasons for not laying down his weapons must be compelling.

He pondered for a moment, then sneered, "The Empire only has soldiers who die in battle, not soldiers who surrender. I bear the glory of the Empire; how can I surrender without firing a single shot or drawing a single sword when facing the enemy? That would only bring shame to the honor of the Empire's soldiers!"

That's fantastic, he really nailed the tough guy look.

Although Zod couldn't be that fearless, it felt good to have a good talk session.

After Zod finished speaking, the biggest reaction wasn't even from the Holy Kingdom soldiers.

Instead, it was the two hostages who were twisting their bodies frantically, trying to say something, but their mouths were tied with a rag, and Zod couldn't hear a single word of their whimpering.

"Are you out of your mind? Don't you know this is a relative of your colonel?"

Kirk stamped his foot, amazed that he had actually encountered such a stubborn and reckless young man.

This is really bad luck.

He feigned composure and explained the seriousness of the situation to Zod: "If anything happens to these two hostages, do you think you can stay in the Imperial army?"

"Put down your weapons immediately. Otherwise, I will no longer guarantee the safety of the hostages!"

Kirk was panicking. He was thinking about what to do if Zod didn't put down his weapon.

"For the glory of the empire, I am not afraid of being crushed to pieces. Since they are relatives of the Imperial Colonel and have received the favor of the empire and His Majesty the Emperor, they should die for the glory of the empire. How can they submit to the empire's mortal enemy?"

Zod spoke eloquently, displaying a fearless spirit of sacrificing others for his own benefit.

No matter how valuable these two hostages are, Zod would never sacrifice himself to ensure their safety.

If the hostages are killed, he will take care of them along with the soldiers from the Holy Kingdom.

With no way to verify the truth since they're dead, a report on the incident can be written afterward, praising them and crafting a set of flowery words to claim they died for the empire.

He's incredibly good at writing reports and exaggerating.

In that case, the colonel probably wouldn't openly reprimand Zod.

As long as there is room for maneuver, it is not impossible to find a way to escape the empire later.

"If that's the case, then what's the point of talking?" Kirk hardened his heart, preparing to give Zod a hard time: "First, kill that older woman!"

Upon hearing Kirk's words, the two hostages struggled even more violently.

The soldier who heard Kirk's order raised his pistol, ready to pull the trigger.

Just then, Zod suddenly spoke up: "Ah... someone's creeping up behind you."

Apart from Kirk, the other two soldiers paused, preparing to turn around to see if what Zod said was true.

"Don't listen to him, it's obviously a feint!" Kirk sneered knowingly, calmly saying, "Are you kidding me? Ignore him, make your move!"