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

Heavy artillery shells roared towards the Holy Kingdom's positions within the city, covering every possible coordinate where troops might be assembling.

The flames from the explosions merged into one, and smoke once again enveloped the entire battle line.

The Holy Kingdom army, which had just been preparing to charge, was now pinned down amidst the ruins, unable to move.

Under the cover of artillery fire, soldiers from the Imperial Blade Legion, the 56th Legion, and the 39th Legion were quietly withdrawing from the city of Sarlom along the route they had come from.

They did not retreat or panic. Each unit maintained its basic structure, providing cover for each other as they fought and retreated, with the wounded being carried forward by their comrades.

On the battlefield filled with the smoke of gunpowder, this massive army, like the receding tide, slowly and methodically withdrew from the ruins of the city.

Olgat stood on the top floor of a dilapidated building on the west side of Watchtower Square.

He looked down at the departing imperial army through the gunfire and billowing smoke.

The figures of imperial soldiers appeared and disappeared in the smoke and dust, like flowing shadows, gradually merging into the distant ruins.

He spoke coldly, his voice low and clear amidst the gunfire: "Old man, you've become a coward."

Even Olga himself, after that fierce barrage of shelling, thought for a moment that Xavier was about to launch a final battle.

The overwhelming firepower and the resolute attitude of not hesitating to use up all the shells were clearly signs of the impending general offensive.

But as the smoke cleared, he realized that it was not an attack, but a retreat.

He was indeed tricked.

Based on his understanding of Xavier, this was almost unbelievable.

That man was never one to admit defeat easily, and he would never retreat voluntarily when the battle was at a stalemate.

unless……

A dark glint flashed in Olgat's eyes.

Unless Xavier has already realized something.

He clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking, and a sarcastic smile slowly spread across his lips.

"You're already here, do you still want to run away?" His voice was even lower, yet it carried a chilling undertone.

His gaze passed over the retreating imperial army and landed in the direction of the town of Segner, further away.

"Do you think you can escape?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and disappeared into the shadows on the rooftop.

The cannons continued to roar, and the smoke continued to billow. The commander of the "Black Sheep Holy Head" division was clearly not going to stand idly by and watch the imperial army come and go as it pleased in his territory.

If that were the case, what face would he have left as the commander of the "Black Sheep Holy Head" division?

……

……

Not long after Zod led his men away from the city of Sarlom, a series of deafening cannon shots came from behind him.

The roar of the explosion tore through the sky, and flames burst forth one after another on the distant edge of the city, causing the ground beneath our feet to tremble slightly.

Zod stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the city shrouded in smoke.

He gazed at the rising flames and plumes of smoke in the distance, muttering to himself with a complex expression:

"Is this your choice, Colonel Xavier?"

"So-called glory... Is a single city really that important? Worth risking the entire 'Imperial Blade' legion...?"

He stopped speaking before he could finish.

To him, this fierce bombardment was undoubtedly the prelude to the imperial army's charge.

After the artillery fire ceases, the Imperial army will engage in a final, desperate battle with the Holy Kingdom's army.

He felt regret and a sense of pity for Xavier's choice.

Zod, who was afraid of death, could hardly understand soldiers who valued honor above life.

But he understood that there were indeed people in this world who were willing to die for honor and their beliefs.

He disagreed, but he couldn't help but respect it.

However, that regret only lingered in his eyes for a moment before being replaced by reason.

He still has his own path to walk.

He hasn't reached a truly safe place yet, and he doesn't have time to lament for others here.

Zod took a deep breath and looked away.

He glanced at the soldiers beside him, who were also standing there watching, stunned by the artillery fire, and immediately shouted in a deep voice: "Don't stop, keep advancing!"

"Don't forget the mission we bear. The situation is dire; we have no time to stand around. All hands on deck, full speed ahead!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zod turned around resolutely and strode towards the town of Segner, never looking back.

The soldiers quickly recovered from their shock and followed closely behind.

The troops marched forward silently amidst the echoes of artillery fire, their footsteps rapid yet resolute.

……

……

In a male dormitory at a university, there are less than four days left until the final exams.

Whether I can pass the exam and avoid failing depends entirely on this final sprint.

Unlike the others who flocked to the library, the four students in this dormitory chose to stay in their dorm room to study.

There was no other way; there was only one genuine academic genius in the dorm, while the other three were academic underachievers who skipped classes and crammed for exams at the last minute, requiring the academic genius to provide guidance at any time.

Since they couldn't make loud noise in the library, they had to stay in their dormitories and pin their hopes on "collective action."

To ensure everything went smoothly, the four made a "gentleman's agreement".

No one is allowed to open the game before the exam ends, so as not to disturb their Daoist mind.

No one is allowed to secretly stay up late to study or engage in that kind of involutionary competition.

We must eat, sleep, and study together, maintain a regular schedule, and work together to ensure that no one in the dormitory fails any courses.

That morning, they had been studying intensively for a full hour and forty-four minutes.

Fang Zhiyuan was the first to give in. He suddenly leaned back and slumped into his chair, his head drooping limply, as if his last bit of energy had been drained.

"No way, Dame... reviewing Linear Algebra and Advanced Mathematics in four days is simply an impossible task!"

Diagonally opposite, Deng Shijie, wearing thick-lensed glasses, looked up and pushed up the glasses that were pressing so hard they were almost leaving marks on his nose.

"Zhiyuan, it's only been three and a half days, and you're already thinking of giving up? We agreed not to fail any courses together, so pull yourself together!"

Actually, he wasn't much better off. After studying for an hour, his brain felt like it was filled with mush, and he couldn't concentrate on anything.

I usually skip class or daydream during class. Now, when I open "Linear Algebra," all I see are matrix symbols that look like gibberish, not much different from reading the "I Ching."

Even if he couldn't understand it at all, he had to grit his teeth and persevere, because he had helped make the dormitory rules, and he couldn't be the one to break them.

"Who said I'm giving up!" Fang Zhiyuan immediately sat up straight and retorted righteously, "I'm planning to try a more efficient learning method!"

"What efficient method?" Upon hearing these four words, the other three people all looked up at the same time, and even Cen Ci stopped twirling his pen and craned his neck to look over curiously.

Fang Zhiyuan glanced at them with a hint of disdain.

He knew perfectly well that these three people's minds were no longer on their books; they were probably long gone.

He deliberately cleared his throat and said in a serious tone, "I'm going to try a more mystical method."

"What kind of mystical method?" Deng Shijie and Sun Junjie asked almost simultaneously, their eyes lighting up.

Fang Zhiyuan spoke slowly, his tone carrying a hint of matter-of-fact: "I request to watch the latest episode of 'Empire's Rise. It's only a few tens of minutes; I want to absorb some of that lucky Lieutenant Zod's good fortune!"

"Agreed!" Deng Shijie immediately raised his hand.

"Agreed! Agreed!" Sun Junjie followed suit, raising his hand high.

They may not really believe in any metaphysical theories about "absorbing good luck," but they all share the same goal as Fang Zhiyuan: they all want to take a break.

Let alone watching "The Empire's Rise," even if they were to watch an episode of "Calabash Brothers," they would rather watch the Calabash Brothers save their grandfather than stare blankly at those densely packed formulas again.

In university dormitories, besides studying, as long as there are enough people, you can have fun doing whatever you want or watching whatever you want.

Even if we watch a horror movie late at night, the whole dorm can watch it together and it still looks like a comedy.