I Will Not Enjoy Alone

Unity is always more important than winning or losing.

The power unleashed by a truly united team is by no means a simple addition of individuals, but a true force.

Unstoppable and invincible.

The Golden Feather Guard had strict military discipline and followed orders to the letter, making them the elite of the elites.

But Gu Chengyin knew very well that humans were not machines.

This was already a high-stakes gamble with their lives on the line. Now, with hundreds of thousands of rebel troops closing in on them like a tidal wave, an invisible pressure weighed down on everyone's hearts like a mountain at all times.

Under this suffocating atmosphere, for many hot-blooded men, a vigorous and bloody battle would actually relieve the pressure better than avoiding combat, and it would also better reflect their worth.

Therefore, Gu Chengyin's orders naturally drew a lot of confusion and silent criticism among the rank-and-file soldiers.

However, military orders were absolute, and no one dared to question them openly.

But this undercurrent hidden beneath the silence could not escape Gu Chengyin's exceptionally sharp perception, which had been enhanced by the system.

Since he had closely tied his own interests to Fake Luo Zhao, this naturally became the primary problem that had to be solved.

Otherwise, it was highly likely to bring a fatal blow at some point in the future.

Furthermore, Gu Chengyin's current foundation of true qi was derived from his influence over these thirty thousand Golden Feather Guards.

Whether Luo Zhao herself would be heartbroken over their casualties, Gu Chengyin did not know.

But he was truly heartbroken. After all, whoever died among the Golden Feather Guards would result in a loss of his true qi.

At this moment, inside the central command tent, it was dead silent.

Whether it was the battle-hardened senior commanders or the fierce and resolute Chen Busha.

Or the faction of female officials led by Shangguan Yunying, every single one of them was earnestly pondering over Gu Chengyin's deafening and enlightening words.

The air was filled with an unprecedented solemnity and reflection.

Even True Luo Zhao, who had been watching from the sidelines, had deep and complex ripples rising in her phantom-like eyes.

When she first formulated the Golden Cicada Shedding its Shell stratagem, she had indeed felt sorrow and reluctance for these thirty thousand Golden Feather Guards.

But the situation was critical at the time, and returning to the Divine Capital took precedence over everything else.

Thus, with the resolute mindset of a warrior cutting off their own wrist to survive, she chose to sacrifice them.

Her planning was mostly based on calculating trade-offs in the current situation. She truly had never, or perhaps had no time to, act like Gu Chengyin.

To elevate the life, death, and value of every individual to a strategic perspective equal to, or even higher than, the ultimate goal.

So when Gu Chengyin articulated this in a way that felt almost like a soul-searching interrogation, True Luo Zhao's heart was suddenly touched.

If this Golden Feather Guard, which had gone through countless hardships and believed in her implicitly, could truly be brought back to the Divine Capital intact...

Then, after jointly experiencing this miraculous life-and-death breakout, what she would possess would no longer be just an inner guard defending the royal family.

But an iron-blooded core whose souls were completely bound to her, whose loyalty was unshakable, and who would be enough to become the foundation of her rule!

This power was something that no amount of gold, silver, treasures, or high-ranking positions could buy; it was a truly priceless treasure.

But the premise was that they could actually return completely unscathed.

Up until this moment, deep down, True Luo Zhao still believed that the casualty-free speedrun Gu Chengyin spoke of was nothing but a fairy tale.

There had to be a more dangerous conspiracy hidden behind this man.

However, after experiencing this thought-provoking mental rectification that struck straight to the heart, a trace of fantasy that even she hadn't anticipated involuntarily and quietly sprouted from the deepest part of her heart.

If this man, acting in her name as Luo Zhao, truly created a miracle within the ironclad encirclement of hundreds of thousands of rebels and brought these thirty thousand Golden Feather Guards back to the Divine Capital without a single scratch...

Then what an incredibly solid foundation of power and capital of prestige she would possess!

This fantasy flashed like a spark, but it was immediately and ruthlessly extinguished by True Luo Zhao with astonishing willpower! She immediately reflected on herself:

I am the Crown Princess of Great Luo! How can I harbor such unrealistic fantasies and place my hopes on a man?!

There is no one in this world worthy of my expectations, nor is there anyone worthy of my reliance!

The only things I can rely on are absolute calmness and balance!

Forcefully suppressing her surging emotions back into the frozen abyss of reason, True Luo Zhao once again cast her gaze toward the figure speaking with assurance in the tent.

Only this time, the coldness and killing intent in her eyes seemed to have faded a bit, replaced by a more complex and incomprehensible scrutiny.

And hidden within that scrutiny was a trace of something she herself hadn't fully realized, a trace of forcefully suppressed...

Expectation.

I hope that after you all return, you will earnestly convey this to everyone.

Gu Chengyin's voice pulled everyone's attention back.

Do not let down Her Highness's earnest intentions.

After saying that, he neatly sat back in his seat and handed back the floor.

On the main seat, Fake Luo Zhao, who had been resting with her eyes closed, finally slowly opened her eyes.

Her phoenix eyes calmly swept across every face in the tent.

Then, she spoke. Her voice was not loud, but it carried an extremely strong penetrating power:

What Director Gu said...

She paused slightly, ensuring that every word fell clearly into everyone's ears.

...is exactly what is in my heart.

Immediately after, her gaze became even more profound, sweeping past the crowd as if looking toward a more distant future:

When we achieve success in the future, this glory.

I shall not enjoy it alone.

These two extremely short sentences were like a raging fire igniting dry firewood!

Except for Gu Chengyin, everyone in the tent instantly began breathing heavily, their eyes bursting with a blazing light!

They uniformly straightened their bodies, standing tall and at attention as if being inspected. With hearts full of a determination to swear loyalty to the death, their voices rang as loud as a bell, bursting out in unison with two words as heavy as mountains:

Loyalty! Devotion!

The wave of sound almost blew the roof off the tent.

Gu Chengyin quietly watched this scene, secretly marveling at Luo Zhao's influence in his heart while simultaneously giving a thumbs up to his own brilliance.

He had not been eager for quick success and instant benefits; instead, he chose to become Her Highness's most trusted spokesperson, cleverly attaching himself to this naturally powerful rallying cry.

As long as this great banner did not fall, he could lay low and develop, safely getting through the early stages.

As for the crises Luo Zhao encountered, in Gu Chengyin's eyes, none of them were very difficult problems to solve.

He even couldn't quite understand how such a good hand of cards had been played so terribly.

Fake Luo Zhao's performance was also taken in by True Luo Zhao.

But this time, what it brought her was not anger, but a chill bordering on horror.

Simply because of the words Fake Luo Zhao said, that brief yet extremely weighty declaration.

The train of thought, the angle, the wording... it was exactly how she herself would have declared her stance if she were in this situation.

Precisely because of this, True Luo Zhao felt even more terrified.

She had originally thought that Gu Chengyin's manipulation technique was merely like controlling a marionette, making Fake Luo Zhao give some simple responses.

But looking at it now, Fake Luo Zhao's words, deeds, demeanor, and logical thinking, and even that aura belonging to a superior and the exact tact needed to win people's hearts...

...were almost indistinguishable from the real her!

No wonder Shangguan Yunying and Chen Busha hadn't noticed the slightest thing up to this point.

If there was any difference at all, it was that Fake Luo Zhao had absolute trust in Gu Chengyin.

As for her, she harbored nothing but absolute killing intent toward Gu Chengyin.

"Fortunately, he failed to notice that my soul was preserved by the jade bracelet."

True Luo Zhao felt her heart settle slightly. This was her sole advantage at the moment, and her only hope of turning the tables.