Mallos slowly raised his eyes, but seemed to be looking at everyone present.

The air seemed to be tightened invisibly, leaving no gaps.

"You will choose to sacrifice only if you believe that through sacrifice you can gain something more precious - a posthumous reputation, practical benefits, the safety of others, or pure self-satisfaction."

Mallos's words became more solemn:

"In other words, only after you know what you believe in, what you cherish more, and what you want to trade, can you have the right to choose and what to sacrifice legitimately, such as your life."

Thales remained silent. He seemed to have the illusion that Mallos had been staring at him.

The next second, Mallos turned around quickly, Patterson also raised his arm, and both of them whipped again——

Snapped!

This time, Toledo was too late to react, and the countdown could only catch up.

"Otherwise, your so-called glorious sacrifice," Mallos looked at the two people lying on the ground panting expressionlessly:

"It's just a hot-headed impulse, a foolish act instigated by manipulation, or even blind faith and self-abasement."

Snapped!

Another whip.

Glover dragged his chest up from the ground and gritted his teeth to hold on, while Doyle simply leaned back and knelt on his calves.

"I'm not punishing you, Doyle, because you made the wrong choice."

Mallos said coldly:

"When your father was kidnapped and the situation was tense and unclear, you seemed so heroic. You threw everything behind, drew your sword in your hand and went on a rampage, determined to fight and sacrifice your life to save your father."

Doyle was in a daze for a moment and looked at the watchman.

"But what do you want to sacrifice and what can you get in exchange? Father? Your Highness? Self? Justice? Loyalty?"

"Do you know, do you know?"

Mallos stopped looking at the confused Doyle.

"And you, Glover!"

The zombie straightened up with force and listened solemnly to the instruction.

"Whether you sympathized with Doyle and secretly let him go to save his father, or you wanted to prevent him from going to a duel, so you suggested a sneak attack from behind... It feels very kind, very noble, and very considerate of the friendship between comrades."

"But what are you going to sacrifice and what are you trying to get in exchange for? Comrades? Friendship? Conscience? Responsibility? Mission?"

"You know what? Have you ever thought about it?"

Marius showed his rare serious expression:

"What do you believe in? Why are you fighting? What are you sacrificing? Who are you saving?"

Doyle and Glover were both confused and didn't know what to do.

But they didn't have to answer, because they were greeted by——

Snapped!

Amid the miserable cries, their thoughts were once again interrupted by severe pain.

"No, you can't even tell me about it, you can't tell me sincerely, because you two have no idea."

Mallos's voice calmed down, but it didn't feel loose at all. It still had the same tension of tightening a bowstring.

Everyone in the guard was lost in thought.

"No, the reason why I punish you is not because you made the wrong choice, but because you don't see the choice at all!"

"You just resort to animal instincts when you are unclear and unexamined, move forward blindly, act impulsively, regret it later, and then pretend to be tough, wipe your tears and say 'necessary price', then...

Keep making stupid mistakes again and again."

"And you call that sacrifice?"

Mallos chuckled and shook the blood from his whip.

"Like two miserable chess pieces, they subconsciously make their own moves."

"Until His Highness, in His mercy, lifts you from the chessboard of certain death - along with the enemy's pieces."

Thales, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly shook.

He felt that many people's eyes turned to him.

d.d and the zombies breathed in a daze, as if at this moment, the severe pain of whipping could no longer affect them.

"The result is that your unexplained behavior not only harms you, but also endangers the mission, harms your colleagues, and threatens the overall situation."

"Both sides will not fare well, and nothing will be achieved anywhere."

There was sadness in Mallos's eyes:

"It's just so stupid."

The wind howled and whip shadows flashed.

Snapped!

Amid the screams of pain, the shadows of the two tortured persons formed uncertain shapes on the ground.

"If you are charging warriors, cannon fodder in the war, and death squads on the battlefield, then I may promote you and award you with honors to encourage the troops to continue to risk their lives. Whether you are willing or not, spread the word."

Sacrifice'," Mallos' voice dimmed along with his eyes:

"But you are not."

Mallos looked at everyone and said in a cold voice:

"You are the royal guard."

"Thousands of years ago, your name was—the emperor's imperial guard."

The whip wind sounds again.

Snapped!

But this time, Doyle and Glover just let out a stiff cry, and their figures shook together, but they did not fall down.

Mallos watched Patterson beside him silently put away the whip and handed it to Pezzarosi, and saw Toledo wink at him frantically, indicating that the amount was enough.

"You are not sacrificing yourself like this."

"You are not qualified to sacrifice like this."

The watchman said calmly.

"I'm tired, save your last whip," he turned around and handed the whip to Capone:

"Guard Guard Doyle."

As soon as the words fell, the two people who were standing up breathed their last breath and fell straight down.

Only the bloody back remains in the air, telling the story of the past.

A small commotion broke out in the guard, as if many people were breathing a sigh of relief.

Logistics officer Shi Tuo sighed and waved his hand, and several people who had been prepared rushed over to carry out stretchers, disinfection, cleaning, applying medicine, and bandages with great skill.

Flag Officer Hugo Fubi put away the small book he had been writing down during the execution.

"While you are recovering from your injuries, someone will take over."

"And those who were not whipped," Mallos glanced at the crowd from the corner of his eye, making the other twenty people shudder:

"learn a lesson."

The watchman took his weapon from Toledo and said, neither lightly nor seriously:

"Now, let's dissolve."

The next moment, the entire Xinghu Guards dispersed like loose strings of bows.

But right now.

"Lord, I don't understand," Doyle, who was lying on the stretcher with a pale face, ignored Piroga's stop and raised his upper body with force, speaking in a tired voice: "It is wrong to sacrifice, and it is wrong not to sacrifice."

"Then sir, what should I do?"

Many people were stagnant.

Mallos also gave a slight pause.

He looked at Thales in the distance, making the latter feel nervous.

"Since sacrifice is a deal."

The watchman spoke quietly:

"Then when trading, don't misjudge the value of both ends of the scale. There are too many things in the world - empty lies, sinister conspiracies, and unconscious habits - that can confuse them and trick you into making decisions.

Unfair deal.”
To be continued...