The job change is a bizarre and calamity; the nation begs me to tone it down.

The next moment, without even exchanging pleasantries, Su Qiong snatched Gu Xu from Wang Cang's arms.

Her movements were clean and swift, like a mother leopard guarding her prey.

She looked down at Gu Xu's deathly pale face, his tightly closed eyes, and his barely perceptible breathing, and her eyes instantly welled up with tears.

Tears welled up in her eyes, her lips trembled, and she couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

Before Su Qiong could speak, a petite figure suddenly darted out from behind her.

"Your Highness!"

Jiang Shu, the little girl, immediately let out a loud howl, her voice incredibly penetrating and soaring into the sky.

She knelt down on the beach with a thud, grabbing Gu Xu's arm with both hands, crying her heart out.

"Your Highness, open your eyes and look at me! You sacrificed yourself to save us, how am I supposed to live now?!"

"How could you just leave like that!"

Jiang Shu wailed and wiped away her tears, looking exactly like she was mourning at a grave, almost as if she were about to burn paper money for Gu Xu on the spot.

Zhou Yi and the others watched from behind, their eyes also reddening.

These tough men had tears welling up in their eyes.

In their view, Gu Xu was left alone in that deadly place, facing four demigods and a source-level projection.

He was brought out by the Night's Watch elders in this half-dead state because he must have sacrificed his own life to protect them.

Wang Cang's ears were ringing from Jiang Shu's loud voice, and his mouth twitched wildly.

The old man couldn't hold back any longer. He lightly tapped Jiang Shu's forehead with his pipe and scolded irritably, "Stop howling! Are you wailing like you're mourning?! This kid's so tough even the King of Hell would find it hard to handle, he's not dead!"

Jiang Shu's crying stopped abruptly.

She hiccuped, snot bubbles coming out of her nose, and looked up at Wang Cang with pleading eyes: "Senior, you're not lying to me? But he's not even breathing anymore."

"fart!"

Wang Cang rolled his eyes: "He drained his mental energy, and his body overexerted itself, triggering a deep hibernation as a self-protective mechanism."

"Listen carefully, this kid's breathing is more even than a turtle in a pond. Even if he's asleep, he'll probably sleep for days and nights."

Upon hearing this, Su Qiong quickly checked Gu Xu's pulse. Although it was weak, it was still beating.

Her tense body instantly relaxed, and she let out a long breath.

Tears finally welled up and fell, but she quickly turned her head away to wipe them away.

Zhou Yi and the others exchanged glances, and they all grinned at the same time, their smiles more like cries.

"It's good that you're not dead, it's good that you're not dead..."

Zhou Yi muttered to himself.

At this moment, Ji Wenzhou, the commander of the East China Sea, who was standing to the side, took a step forward.

He didn't speak, but slowly raised his right hand and gave a standard military salute to Wang Cang, Chen Zhenyuan, and Gu Xu, who was being held in Su Qiong's arms.

Following Ji Wenzhou's movements.

"Whoosh—"

A unified sound rang out along the coastline.

Among the hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the God-Slaying Army, not a single one shouted a slogan, yet all their actions were remarkably synchronized.

When hundreds of thousands of people saluted simultaneously, the invisible military might and respect soared into the sky, scattering the clouds.

They all knew in their hearts that if this young man hadn't forcibly reversed time today, if he hadn't single-handedly saved everything, the hundreds of thousands of people standing here would all be cold corpses.

Looking at the spectacular scene before him, Wang Cang took two puffs of his pipe and exhaled a thick smoke ring.

He turned his head, looked at the devastated yet still standing East China Sea defense line, and then at the soldiers who had come back from the dead, and remained silent for a long time.

"Old Chen..."

Wang Cang's voice was a little hoarse, carrying an indescribable sense of感慨: "I always thought that Gu's growth would only reach our level!"

Chen Zhenyuan stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Gu Xu's young face, and nodded: "And now?"

"Now?"

Wang Cang gave a wry smile and tapped his pipe on the sole of his shoe: "This kid is no longer some prodigy. He's practically the key to this era."

"A key that can turn a dead end into a path to survival."

Two days later. Longjing, Supreme Command Headquarters.

Gu Xu lay in the repair fluid, sleeping soundly like a hibernating bear.

This medical pod is the most advanced equipment in Shenxia; one gram of the repair fluid inside is equivalent to a traditional courtyard house within the Second Ring Road of Longjing.

At this moment, these liquids emitting a pale blue light were being continuously transported into Gu Xu's body through various tubes.

This kid's body is like a bottomless pit that can never be filled.

They've been sleeping for three days and three nights now. The amount of repair fluid consumed each day is making the old men in the logistics department's hearts bleed as they look at the bills.

If it weren't for Li Weiguo's strict order that no matter how much money it costs, Gu Xu must be brought back.

The logistics department had wanted to pull the plug for a long time.

Meanwhile, in the Supreme Command conference room less than 200 meters away from the medical pod.

The atmosphere, however, was as oppressive as a frozen lump of iron.

The conference table was packed with people; if you pulled any one of them out, the stars on their shoulders would be dazzling.

Li Weiguo sat in the head seat, his eyes bloodshot.

Clearly, he hasn't had a moment to close his eyes in the past two days.

In the center of the conference table lay a thick document with the word "Top Secret" printed on the cover.

This is the final battle damage assessment for the East China Sea battle.

Li Weiguo lit a cigarette, took two puffs, and spoke in a low voice.

"Gentlemen, we have held the East China Sea defense line. The attack of the Forbidden Water Clan has been repelled, and their main force in the East China Sea has been almost completely wiped out. We have won this national war."

Upon hearing this, not a single one of the generals present smiled.

Because everyone knows very well how heavy the price was behind this victory.

Li Weiguo's hand holding the cigarette trembled slightly as he continued, "However, there is something I must inform everyone."

"Although we won, we lost a pillar of the nation."

The breathing in the conference room suddenly became heavy.

"Senior Ye Nantian, the God of War..."

Li Weiguo's eyes reddened: "Before Gu Xu arrived at the battlefield, in order to hold back the four demigods of the Forbidden Water Clan and buy time for the East Sea God-Slaying Army to retreat!"

"Old Master Ye burned out all his life force and essence, sacrificing himself for his country."

The moment those words were spoken, the entire conference room fell silent.

Several elderly generals burst into tears and slammed them onto the table.

Someone couldn't help but ask, "Minister, didn't Major General Gu Xu use time reversal? Zhou Yi and the others were able to be brought back, but Old Master Ye...?"

Li Weiguo shook his head painfully: "It's no use. Zhang Daoxuan and the Night Watchman have already gone to the site to investigate. Gu Xu's time reversal also has its limits."

"In order to kill the enemy, Elder Ye not only detonated his Origin-level physical body and origin, but also burned his soul to ashes."

"Gu Xu did his best."