"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, Marshal Wolfgang still requests to see you." Bormann's voice came from outside the door.

Baumann, who came in person, also felt helpless at the moment. Near eleven o'clock, he suddenly received a message from his subordinates saying that Wolfgang requested to see the emperor. For this reason, he went to meet with Wolfgang and asked him what was the matter.

But Wolfgang kept avoiding the question, and just kept saying that he needed to have a meeting with the emperor. Although the emperor had just refused, Wolfgang still refused to leave and just said that he needed to ask again. As a last resort, Bormann had to come in person.

And now, with a creaky sound, the heavy door opened from the inside out, and von Palen's stern face appeared in front of Bormann.

He quickly took a step back and said, "Your Majesty, I'm sorry to bother you so late, Marshal Wolfgang..."

Before he could finish his words, von Palen pushed Bormann away with a cold face, walked out with big strides and asked in a cold voice:

"Where is he now?"

Bowerman quickly followed: "It's in the reception room on the first floor. I don't know why he came to see you so late..."

Von Palen ignored him and just strode forward.

After a while, von Paalen walked to the corridor on the first floor. A few meters away, he saw Wolfgang standing at the door of the reception room at the end of the corridor with his back to him, looking outside. There was smoke all around.

"Wolfgang!" von Palen shouted coldly, but Wolfgang did not turn back.

"'Wolfgang!" After von Palen called out again, Wolfgang turned around and hurriedly took out the pipe from his mouth and put out the tobacco.

"What do you need to see me about now?" Feng Palen asked coldly as he walked over with big strides.

"Um... Your Majesty... It's about... some things that will happen next..." Wolfgang stuttered, as if he had not prepared what to say beforehand.

Baumann on the side had already frowned tightly. Wolfgang's behavior tonight was really abnormal, which made him suspicious. His eyes kept scanning Wolfgang.

"Let's go in and talk." Von Palen glanced at the bewildered Wolfgang, said this coldly, and then walked towards the reception room. Wolfgang hurriedly followed him, whispering as he walked:

"Your Majesty, please give me a space to talk to you alone..."

Von Palen raised his eyebrows but did not respond. Wolfgang said no more, but followed him in with his head down. When the two of them walked into the conference room, Bormann also quickly followed.

But as soon as Bormann stepped into the room, von Palen turned around and said, "Get out."

Bowerman was stunned: "Your Majesty, are you referring to me?"

"Is there anyone else here? Do you want Wolfgang to go out so that I can talk to you?" Von Palen pulled out a chair and sat down and asked in a deep voice.

"Um... Your Majesty, but I need to provide you with..." As soon as Bormann said this, von Palen interrupted unhappily:

"Wolfgang and I are the only ones here. Are there any assassins? Do you think I'll be in danger here?"

Wolfgang sat motionless beside his chair, still holding his pipe which had not yet been completely extinguished.

"No, Your Majesty, that's not what I meant..." Bormann quickly explained.

"Okay, get out." Von Palen waved his hand.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Bormann said no more, just looked at Wolfgang deeply, then turned and walked out of the meeting room and closed the door.

And a few seconds later.

"Don't stand at the door and listen!"

"I know you're out there, Bowerman, stay away."

After hearing the cold shout coming from inside the door, Bowerman, who had his ear pressed against the door, felt his heart tighten. He touched his nose helplessly, tiptoed and quietly left the meeting room.

In the conference room, Von Palen placed his hands on the table and looked at Wolfgang who remained silent.

"Sit down, Wolfgang."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wolfgang responded in a low voice, then sat down in the chair, facing von Palen across the table.

"Now it's us. What's the matter that makes you look for me so urgently? Wolfgang."

Wolfgang was about to speak, but von Palen interrupted him with his hand:

"Don't rush to answer. I hope you can organize your words before you speak. You give me the feeling that you are in a trance and obviously not in the right state. There is something wrong with your emotions."

"Wait until you have calmed down, then explain your purpose."

"We have all night to talk."

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I..." Looking at the calm face of von Palen, Wolfgang felt a mixture of emotions for a moment, and finally he sighed and closed his mouth.

Von Palen didn't seem to care about it. He tapped the table lightly and said, "You can smoke. I know it can relieve your current stress."

Hearing this, Wolfgang nodded, silently picked up the pipe in his hand, and blew away the remaining fire inside.

A few minutes later, a thin layer of smoke filled the conference room, which to a certain extent blocked von Palen's sight. So Wolfgang finally lowered his eyes and spoke:

"Your Majesty, if we continue to send in a large number of troops, we may not be able to hold on..."

Having said this, he looked carefully at von Palen's face, but von Palen remained calm after hearing this, and did not show any anger as usual.

"I'm listening. Go on." Von Palen tapped the table with his index finger.

Wolfgang's palms were already covered with sweat. He took a deep breath and continued:

"Through the recent battles, it has been shown that the military strength of Yan Country is clearly superior to ours. We...we simply cannot defeat them."

"So I think... maybe we need to find another way to end this war..."

As he was saying this, von Palen suddenly stood up from his chair, which startled Wolfgang so much that he almost dropped the pipe in his hand.

And then, von Palen walked around the chair and towards Wolfgang.

Wolfgang was horrified, cold sweat streaming down his temples. He quickly stood up, feeling extremely regretful. He cursed himself for being so impulsive and talking to von Palen about this matter in the most stupid way.

He stared closely at von Paren's waist as he walked towards him, where a short-handled musket was hanging.

But the gun was not pulled out of the holster, von Paalen simply came over and sat on the table in front of Wolfgang.

He sat on the edge of the table, put his hand on the flustered Wolfgang's shoulder, and asked Wolfgang to sit back in his chair.

Then he looked at Wolfgang and said:

"Wolfgang, do you want to surrender to the Yan people?"

Wolfgang no longer dared to answer. His face turned pale and his teeth began to tremble uncontrollably.

Von Palen tilted his head and looked at him:

"Look at you, what are you afraid of?"

"If you are afraid that I will shoot you, then it means you still have dignity and know what shame is."

"But if you are afraid of the Yan people, then you are not worthy of being a Goth. You have no sense of shame."

"No, Your Majesty, I..." Wolfgang shook his head repeatedly.

Von Palen interrupted with a grim expression: "I believe that the Wolfgang I know will not be afraid of the enemy's strength."

"It's not just you. I firmly believe that every Golt is the same. They will never be afraid of this."

At this point, Feng Palen raised his head and said with emotion:

"But as the war has progressed to this day, even you seem to have wavered in your resolve."

"But we have to admit that we are indeed suffering from defeat after defeat, which is really testing our will."

"Anyone with a weak will would think at this time... 'War is so cruel, my God, we should end this damn war'."

Wolfgang shrank into his chair. He didn't even dare to look up at von Palen. But von Palen leaned forward, put his hand on his shoulder, and said with a deep look in his eyes:

"But listen carefully."

"Only those who are born weak will be afraid of war and think it is too cruel. Such people are destined to be eliminated and do not deserve to survive. If you want to survive, then join the war. Only those who become the dominant force in the war are qualified to survive."

"This includes everyone and every nation, even us, so if we cannot pass the test of this war, then we are not qualified to survive."

“Do you feel it’s cruel? But I tell you this is the reality.”

"Because war will always exist in this world, and there is no way to change it."