Chapter Forty-Three: I Won't Dare Next Time

Yet at that moment, Lin Fan felt no joy.

It was not because Situhong now saw him as an enemy.

No, what weighed upon him was that Situhong’s ascent to godhood had been built upon the sacrifice of those young soldiers!

Gazing at Situhong, whose eyes were bloodshot with rage, Lin Fan seemed to abandon all resistance. He turned away, presenting his back to her.

“Why—why did you come so late?” Situhong, blade in hand, struck once more!

The knife tore through the air, thrusting straight at Lin Fan!

“Stop!” Dao Wanqian shouted urgently.

But after the fierce battle, the members of the First Squad of the Godslayer Army were already at their limits. Though their hearts yearned to intervene, it was far too late!

Yet—

Just three inches from Lin Fan’s back, the blade halted abruptly.

With a dull thud, Lin Fan, still facing away from Situhong, fell to his knees amid the scattered corpses.

Silent tears streamed down his face.

The young man looked upon the fallen, his peers in age but already gone. His hands dug into the earth, his body trembling.

“Situlan, you were right.”

“It’s our fault—we were too late.”

“I, Lin Fan, owe you all an apology.”

He bowed three times, his forehead striking the ground with force.

As Situlan had said, it was their lateness that had brought all this.

Lin Fan’s actions moved everyone present.

The workers slowly stepped forward, knelt beside the cold bodies of the young soldiers, clenched their fists, and bowed three times.

These young soldiers had exchanged their lives for the hope that others might escape.

One worker pounded the ground, his voice shaking. “They… they were just kids!”

“They’re no older than my son who enlisted just yesterday!”

Suddenly, a worker called out loudly, “Rest easy, all of you! Leave the rest to us!”

“We’ll take it from here!”

“We will build this Iron Wall so strong that not even the gods can break it!”

Elsewhere, young soldiers from other worksites also knelt, voices hoarse. “Brothers, don’t worry! We will carry on your will and continue to fight for our homeland!”

“We’ll take it from here!”

The entire First Squad of the Godslayer Army knelt as well.

“Don’t worry,” Wang Hu said, voice trembling, “We’ll take it from here.”

“Next time, we won’t be late.”

Suddenly, the fierce wind that had raged across the land fell silent.

As if the wandering souls laughed joyfully and departed, escorted by the living.

Witnessing this, the anger in Situhong’s eyes gradually gave way to sorrow. She could no longer bring herself to drive the blade downward.

With a clatter, the broken military sword slipped from her grasp.

She collapsed to her knees before the fallen soldiers. “Old Wu, Heizi… I’ve failed you,” she wept.

“You can rest easy now.”

“I, Situhong, swear this—should any god set foot on our land, I will kill them, one by one!”

With those words, she finally succumbed to her wounds and fainted, quickly carried away by medics.

A profound silence fell.

Lin Fan slowly rose and spoke in a deep voice, “These people are true patriots.”

“Give them a hero’s burial!”

“They shall rest in the Martyrs’ Cemetery!”

“In this struggle with the gods, sacrifice is inevitable. There will be more to come. But those of us who live must press on—never let their sacrifice be in vain!”

“From this day forward—”

“I, Lin Fan, swear that as long as I stand, no god shall ever set foot on our land!”

He raised his blade to the heavens.

Thunder boomed across the sky, as if the gods themselves raged.

Yet beneath the storm, the youth with the sword did not yield, but glared defiantly at the heavens.

Ten minutes later, as the majestic national anthem played, the bodies were wrapped in the flag.

Lin Fan rested beside the construction site, keeping watch with the First Squad over the corpse of the corpse-king, to guard against any mishap.

Elsewhere, the work pressed on—not because death meant nothing, but because everyone understood: only by laboring with all their might, by raising the Iron Wall as soon as possible, could they honor those who had fallen.

In everyone’s eyes, flames burned. No one cared for their exhaustion; they gritted their teeth and worked on.

At that moment—

The phone rang.

Lin Fan answered, and heard Elder Jin’s heavy voice. “I’ve spoken with their families. They’re grieving, but they haven’t complained. They have only one request.”

“What is it?”

“They ask that their children not be buried in the Martyrs’ Cemetery.”

Lin Fan was stunned, then shook his head. “No, they deserve—”

“Let me finish,” Elder Jin said gravely. “The families want the fallen to be buried beneath the Iron Wall itself—right here, beneath the very site where they gave their lives.”

“In this way, they can see with their own eyes the Iron Wall rising, see our homeland’s prosperity, and continue to guard our borders, even from beyond.”

Lin Fan fell silent.

After a long while, he rubbed his eyes, his voice trembling. “Very well.”

“That’s all, then,” Elder Jin sighed.

“By the way, compensation for the families will be doubled from now on. For their children’s schooling—” Lin Fan began.

But Elder Jin interrupted, “Don’t worry, I’ve arranged everything.”

“They did their duty to the homeland, and the homeland must do right by them! Trust me, I understand.”

Sorrow tinged Elder Jin’s voice.

“Thank you,” Lin Fan said, ending the call.

Dao Wanqian, standing nearby, sighed as well. Seeing Lin Fan’s reddened eyes, he changed the subject. “By the way, Commander, since you could slay the corpse-king Jiang Chen with a single stroke, why did you have us attack first?”

Wang Hu, wrapped like a mummy, was surprised. “Yeah, were you trying to get me hurt on purpose?”

“Nonsense,” Lin Fan snapped, forcing himself to compose. He glared at Wang Hu. “If I’d just cut down every god or corpse-king myself, what would be the point of building the Iron Wall? I could just guard the border alone!”

“If that were the case, why would I bother gathering you all in the first place?”

Lin Fan let out a breath, massaging his brow. “The point of this battle was to help you work together, and to give you a taste of the fights to come.”

“These enemies, these battles, are already beyond anything you’ve known. It’s good to face them early.”

He lowered his voice. “You all did reasonably well. Though your strength is still lacking, since you’ve only just begun training in the Godslayer technique, it’s a start.”

“Except for you, Wang Hu.”

“You’re too reckless.” Lin Fan eyed the bandaged Wang Hu coldly. “I meant for you to attack with the Compassionate Master defending. But you rushed ahead and clashed head-on with Jiang Chen!”

“If Jiang Chen hadn’t awakened early and been at his weakest, you’d be dead already!”

“If you do that again, take yourself to the military office and file for retirement. Understand? I don’t want to see you die senselessly on the battlefield!”

Lin Fan glared fiercely at Wang Hu.

Wang Hu knew Lin Fan’s harsh words were for his own good. The burly man scratched his head, embarrassed, and mumbled, “I won’t do it again…”