Looking at the soldiers before him, Gongsun Zan called out loudly, "Brothers! Aren't you tired?"

"Not tired!!"

Upon hearing Gongsun Zan's question, the soldiers of both battalions immediately perked up and shouted in unison.

Gongsun Zan smiled and shook his head. "I know. Although you say you're not tired, your snoring just now tells me you are tired and you need to rest!"

I'm exhausted too. I just want to cuddle up with a woman and get a good night's sleep—just sleep, of course!

Haha~

Gongsun Zan's words made everyone burst into laughter.

"But... even if you're tired... you have to keep going!!"

Gongsun Zan's expression turned serious as he looked at the crowd and declared loudly, "We are known as the most elite force in the Han Dynasty!! What does 'elite' mean??"

"Emperor's personal guards! We swear to advance to the death! We will fight to the last man! Protect our Great Han!!"

The soldiers of the two battalions shouted out the slogan that Liu Hong had set for their Northern Army!

"Excellent!! To become the Emperor's personal guards, the elite of the Han Dynasty, is an unparalleled honor."

We'll do what others can't!

We'll walk the paths that others can't!

We'll endure the hardships that others can't!

Only in this way can we be worthy of the name "elite," and only in this way can we live up to the glory you bear!

As soon as he finished speaking, the scene fell silent. Everyone straightened their backs and looked intently at Gongsun Zan. The passion in their hearts swept away their fatigue, and a burning light shone in everyone's eyes.

"Morale is up to par!!"

Seeing the renewed spirit of his soldiers, Gongsun Zan raised his right arm high, then clenched his fist and shouted:

"The Han army is mighty!"

"The Han army is mighty!!"

Two thousand soldiers, like Gongsun Zan, shouted in unison.

The Imperial Guards, who had been awakened, also stood up and shouted loudly.

The soldiers' shouts shook the remaining withered leaves off the trees, startling the birds in the forest, which then fled into the distance.

A spirit of courage and fearlessness gathered above the four thousand soldiers, like a blazing fire that helped them dispel the winter chill of the north.