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

He was already quite exhausted.

To say I wasn't disappointed would be a lie.

Submitting articles with high hopes time and time again, only to receive cold rejection letters time and time again—anyone would find it unbearable.

Moreover, he wasn't working part-time and had no source of income whatsoever.

That anxiety was constantly eroding his already meager confidence.

He doubted himself every day, wondering if he was really not suited for this job, and if he should never have had this dream in the first place.

After nearly two weeks of hard work, I finished watching "The Empire's Rise," researched online, studied popular works on the charts, and then wrote, revised, and polished the beginning again and again...

Only he knows how much effort he put into it.

He couldn't help but do the math: what if he went to a construction site to carry bricks, or just found a short-term job?

If you earn 150 yuan a day, and put in the same amount of effort you put into writing a novel, you might be able to earn 1,000 yuan in two weeks.

And what about him now? He hasn't earned a single penny, and his savings have dwindled even further.

What people online said was right: writing novels is a dead end.

Give up!

The voice rose from the depths of his heart once more, like a slippery snake, slowly slithering through his mind.

If you just give up and find a factory job, you'll have no more worries.

I can go to work and leave on time every day without having to rack my brains for plot ideas, stare blankly at the computer, or refresh my email repeatedly to wait for a cold rejection letter.

Why bother? Why torture yourself like this for something that brings absolutely no benefit?

Or, to put it another way, could you send it to a tomato sauce website?

Submitting articles there can get you a visa, and although you can't "prove your path," at least you have something to look forward to.

Even if there are only a few views and comments, it's better than nothing disappearing into the void like this.

Just then, he remembered Zod again.

That shameless entertainer was the only one who brought him laughter during this darkest time.

Zod's pathetic escape on the battlefield, his tendency to run whenever he could, his infuriatingly sarcastic remarks, and the moments when he was clearly afraid of death yet gritted his teeth and charged forward time and time again...

Those images flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.

He shook his head and gave a bitter smile.

In this peaceful era, how bad can things get?

It just means a more frugal and harder life.

Without family burdens, without loans, and with all his limbs intact, he can easily feed himself.

Get up where you fall.

The editors at Zhongdian.com know nothing about novels. Back then, "The Legend of the Old Demon's Immortal Cultivation" only got a contract after 30 words, and in the end, that person became a god with one book.

To decide the fate of a novel based on just the first three chapters—who has such a keen eye!

One day, Yu Feng will make the end-point website clearly realize just how outrageous their arrogance and mistakes really are!

Things change, and fortunes can shift dramatically. Never underestimate a young person's potential.

He made a tough decision.

Straight hair!

But not now.

Once he has saved up 20,000 words of manuscript, he will publish it directly on the terminal website.

Whether it's good or bad, life or death, at least it will be something he earned himself.

As for today...

He glanced at the several glaring rejection emails on the screen, then at the time in the lower right corner.

That's all for today.

After his manuscripts were rejected one after another, his moral compass was shattered, and he could barely manage to write anything of any value.

He decided to play a game to his heart's content, hoping to soothe his battered heart with a resounding victory.

After all, tomorrow is another day.

"Oh right, it seems like 'Empire's Rise' has been updated!"

Yu Feng suddenly realized that all he had been doing lately was writing, writing, and more writing; he hadn't even had time to catch up on anime series.

I wonder if Zod will have a chance to appear in the latest episode; he's really looking forward to Zod's appearance!

The Steam icon that had just been opened was immediately closed by Yu Feng, and then he quickly opened Station 13...

……

……

The roar of artillery fire from the city's artillery positions ceased abruptly after a full twelve minutes.

The sudden silence was even more unsettling than the sound of gunfire itself.

As the smoke slowly dissipated, soldiers cautiously peeked out from their bunkers along the cratered and uneven Holy Defense Line.

"It's stopped?"

"Have the Imperials run out of ammunition?"

Whispers spread through the trenches.

Some people cautiously raised their upper bodies and looked at the Imperial positions opposite them, which were originally covered by artillery fire and could not be raised.

The place was deserted, with only devastated ruins and a few flags still burning.

"They've retreated!" a sharp-eyed Holy Kingdom soldier suddenly exclaimed. "Those imperial sons of bitches have retreated!"

More heads peeked out from behind the bunker.

Sure enough, the imperial army could be vaguely seen retreating in the distance. Although their formation was still relatively orderly, they were indeed moving away from the city.

"Pursue! Pursue them quickly!"

The officers of the Holy Kingdom reacted almost simultaneously.

They roared orders, urging the soldiers to leap out of their bunkers and seize the open ground that had been plowed through countless artillery fire.

The anger that had been building up all night finally had a chance to be released.

We absolutely cannot let the Imperials get away like this!

The soldiers of the Holy Kingdom scrambled out of their fortifications, like beasts slowly awakening, ready to bar their fangs and pounce on the retreating imperial army.

However, just as the Holy Kingdom soldiers leaped out of their bunkers and rushed into the open area...

Another whistling sound suddenly rang out in the sky.

The sound was deeper and heavier than the previous shelling, as if the entire sky was trembling.

The experienced veteran froze instinctively, his pupils suddenly contracting.

That was the sound of heavy artillery.

"Lie down—!"

Before the piercing shouts had even faded, the first heavy artillery shell had already exploded on the clock tower in the square of Sarlóm.

boom!!!

The explosion sent mud and rubble flying several stories high, instantly tearing several running Holy Kingdom soldiers to shreds before they could even scream.

Then, a second, a third... heavy shells rained down like hail, landing on the Holy Kingdom soldiers who had just lost their cover and were now completely exposed in the open.

The ten-minute silence led the Holy Kingdom's army to believe that the Empire had exhausted its artillery firepower, luring them away from their fortifications and into a charge.

The heavy artillery clusters outside the city, which had remained stationary, were waiting for this very moment.

"Retreat to cover! Retreat now!"

But it was too late.

Those Holy Kingdom soldiers who had finally managed to leap out of the trenches and were now forming ranks in the open area became the perfect targets.

Heavy artillery shells rained down on the crowd, each explosion taking several lives.

The Holy Kingdom's army, which had been aggressively preparing to pursue the enemy, was instantly thrown into unprecedented chaos.

Those soldiers who hadn't yet jumped out of their bunkers shrank back into the depths of their fortifications in terror, no longer daring to peek out.

Those who had already reached open ground could only desperately run and dodge amidst the hail of bullets, before collapsing.

On the artillery positions, the gunners were frantically repeating the actions of loading and firing.

"Maximum rate of fire! Don't stop!"

The commander's voice was drowned out by the sound of artillery fire, but everyone understood.

This is the last cover; we must use up all our ammunition and, in the shortest possible time, completely crush the Holy Kingdom's army's will to pursue.