"Thank you, this is... my New Year's wish."

He stopped breathing.

The fake smile on Sebastian's face vanished in an instant. He stared stiffly at the dead Martin, then slowly reached out and closed Martin's unfocused eyes.

Thick smoke filled the passageway, and the burning deck above kept falling off. Some soldiers had already suffocated in the smoke.

Sebastian collapsed to the ground, his face flushed red from the thick smoke. He coughed violently at first, but soon calmed down.

He had chosen to escape out of fear, and he had cried out, become hysterical, collapsed, and despaired because he could not return to the port.

But by this point, Sebastian had calmly accepted everything.

War is supposed to be this cruel.

Pierced by bullets, shattered by shells, burned by flames, submerged by seawater, the homeland so close yet so far is now unreachable, the corpses left behind are left unclaimed, the brave, the cowardly, those who held on, those who gave up, warships, people, won't everything be swallowed up by the flames of war and utterly annihilated?

In his final moments, Sebastian turned to look at Martin and murmured:

"I'm sorry, I can't do it, Martin."

"This damned war has spared none of us. From the day we launched our expedition, we were caught in its vortex. We are all..."

The snowflakes, which should have been pure white, were stained with gray dirt as they slowly drifted down. Shells were still flying through the air, and Sebastian's groans had stopped abruptly. A warm tear slowly slid down his gray face.

——

"Thump!"

Twelve seconds before midnight, the West Bright Clock rang out precisely for the first time.

The resounding chimes echoed through the now quiet St. Marienplatz, illuminated by the lights. The West Clock Tower, bathed in light, stood tall, its four hands slowly turning. Tens of thousands of people gathered inside and outside the square, closing their eyes, resting their foreheads on their clasped hands, and making devout New Year's wishes in their hearts.

The scene was grand and magnificent, tranquil and sacred.

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

As the sixth note was played, Gustav hesitated about whether to make the wish to "become the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy and the Emperor's left hand." This wish seemed somewhat difficult to fulfill. Although Muller had already sacrificed himself, there were still two admirals in the Navy, Edman and Chick. It would be quite difficult to surpass these two and seize the position of Grand Admiral.

'Why not be more pragmatic?' Gustav thought to himself.

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

On the eleventh note, Gustav finally chose to give up, opting for a wish that was more likely to be fulfilled.

'Lord, please let me find my lost medal.'

'That seems much more practical,' Gustav said with satisfaction.

Unlike Gustav's hesitation, von Palen, standing in the center of the square, had already closed his eyes devoutly and made a firm prayer in his heart before the New Year's bells rang.

"In the new twelve years, let me conquer the Yan Kingdom and make it the empire's first overseas colony!"

"After that, I will gain control of the continent of Feni! If the nations of the continent of Leon, led by the Kingdom of Sari, dare to stop me, then I will have the opportunity to conquer them!"

"I will lead the empire to trample all other nations under my feet! Let us Golters become the most superior race in the world! Let the flag of the empire fly over every land!"

In silent prayer—

"Thump!"

The West Bright Bell rang for the last time.

The moment the sound faded, the cannons roared, and the night sky was instantly ablaze with color. This was a New Year's salute prepared to celebrate the glorious achievements of the empire's twelve-year campaign.

People opened their eyes and looked up at the magnificent scene in the sky, which far surpassed the previous fireworks display on Lan Furong Street and the beauty presented in previous New Years.

Brilliant fireworks burst in the night sky, gradually fading away amidst the initial golden light. However, the falling fireworks are at their most beautiful, with long, golden beams streaking across the night sky. Snowflakes flutter down, and the combination of the two creates a rare and enchanting scene.

The usually serious Feng Palen quietly wiped his reddened eyes and said with emotion:

"This is absolutely the best era for our empire."

No one else could express the same sentiment as Von Palen, because in this dreamlike scene, people were so moved that they could not control themselves and their bodies trembled with excitement.

Some even had tears in their eyes.