In the process, with Zhou Xu's permission and to avoid unnecessary trouble, Gilt made a special trip to receive them.
The journey had clearly been far from peaceful. Of Peter's men, fewer than two thousand soldiers had managed to flee alive into Great Zhou's borders. Even Peter, a Vajra Realm martial artist, had been wounded, and Kapal had not survived.
There had been no helping it. Kapal's injuries had been too severe, and he had lost the ability to move long ago.
In peacetime, with the physical constitution of a Hundred Refinements Realm martial artist, he could have recuperated slowly and forced his way through it. But they happened to be under pursuit.
For goods like matchlock guns, they could abandon the carts, have each of their soldiers grab a matchlock gun, stuff two bags of bullets and gunpowder into their hands, and run. But the wounded were another matter.
The final result was obvious.
On the way back to the Northeast Fortress, Gilt had already explained everything to Peter. In fact, before setting out, he had already mentally prepared Peter, and Peter had accepted it.
Now that Peter heard Gilt's reminder again, he took a deep breath, adjusted his emotions, and nodded heavily.
"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."
After entering the Northeast Fortress and meeting Zhou Xu, Peter immediately dropped to one knee without saying another word.
"Peter Petrovich Tchaikovsky pays his respects to His Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty, for saving my life! I am willing to serve Your Majesty from this day forth!"
"Rise. Since you're willing to submit to Great Zhou, you're one of us now."
As he spoke, Zhou Xu gestured for Peter to rise and, as was customary, used the Secret Peeping Eye to inspect Peter's attribute panel.
``` Name: Peter Petrovich