Luo He spent the better part of the day hidden among the ancient trees, silently observing the inner islanders.
The more he watched, the more he understood why Xu Mun had failed. This was not a kingdom that could be conquered through conventional warfare.
The terrain itself was the enemy. Dense forests covered nearly every island. Narrow bridges connected settlements. Small boats moved through waterways that larger warships could never enter.
Every path was known by the locals and unknown to outsiders. An invading army became blind the moment it stepped passed the shore.
The tribesmen could appear from nowhere, strike, and disappear again before a response could be organized.
No wonder thousands had died.
No wonder the city Xu Mun's soldiers captured had become a death trap. Luo He sat high within the branches and watched quietly. Children played.
Hunters returned with game.
Women prepared food. Warriors patrolled the outskirts. At the center of it all sat the chieftain. The leader himself was a large and powerful man.
Beside him stood the giant guardian Luo He had discovered earlier. The sight of that high-grade Golden Bloodline still lingered in his thoughts. Most people would have seen a barbarian.
But Luo He saw opportunity. Eventually he smiled. A plan was already beginning to form. Not a military plan. Not entirely.
A different one. A not very ethical one.
The kind of plan that made armies unnecessary. By sunset he finally returned to camp. The moment he entered the command tent, Xu Mun and Su Kim both looked up.
Luo He casually took the central seat.
Xu Mun immediately noticed the expression on his face. That calm smile.
That smile usually meant trouble for somebody.
"My Lord?" Xu Mun asked carefully. Luo He leaned back on a chair and sipped something from a glass, and then immediately had a sour face knowing it was wine.
Xu Mun immediately gave a guard a gesture, and soon water was baught in. Luo He had a glass full before he started speaking his plan.
"Congratulations." Luo He said proudly.
Neither of them understood what he ment. "Congratulations !?" Xu Mun repeated. "For what?" He asked curiously.
Luo He nodded slightly before answering. "My fellow inmates, I finally found a way out of this prison." He said proudly. Xu Mun immediately straightened.
Even Su Kim's eyes widened slightly.
Luo He spread a map across the table.
His finger landed on the largest area where he saw the settlement.
"The village is ruled by a chieftain." He said calmly. His finger tapped the spot on the map. "And if we control the chieftain, we control the people." He said confidently.
Silence filled the tent. Xu Mun frowned.
"That sounds easier said than done." He added sharply. "It is." Su Kim agreed.
Luo He smiled.
"Which is why we won't be using force." Luo He added calmly. Now both Xu Mun and Su Kim were paying complete attention.
Luo He folded his arms. "A civilization is judged by three things." He said confidently. He raised a finger. "They are Art." Then a second finger. "Food." Then a third finger. "And women."
Su Kim immediately narrowed her eyes.
She already suspected where this conversation was heading. Luo He pointed toward the sword resting beside him.
"My Black Steel Blade." He asked sharply. Even Xu Mun understood its value. That sword alone could make powerful men lose sleep over it.
"It represents the first. Artistry of weapons forging is also an art." He added calmly.
He then glanced toward Su Kim. "The second and third are simpler." He added confidently. Su Kim immediately pointed at herself. "No." She said firmly knowing what he meant.
Luo He ignored her. "Yes." He added calmly. "No." Su Kim argued yet again.
"Yes." Luo He said jokingly. "No." She said for a third time with desdain all over her expression.
Xu Mun wisely remained silent. The argument lasted several moments. "We will discuss it in privately my dear wife." He said calmely.
Finally Su Kim had nothing to argue further so she kept silent. It was more because of how he said it over what he said. The world "wife," stardled her enough to comply without resisting.
Luo He continued. "The chief has likely never seen anything remotely comparable to what we possess." He said calmly, then looked toward both of them.
"We will show him what we got to offer." Luo He said confidently. Xu Mun slowly began understanding. "You want diplomacy." He asked confidently.
"I want influence." Luo He added coldly.
"And diplomacy won't be the only thing I will be doing to win it." Luo He corrected with a ruthless expression.
"Diplomacy sounds much nicer." Su Kim added softly. Then his expression became a little less ruthless. "As for the rest..." He paused.
"I have other methods prepared to encourage cooperation." Luo He added coldly. Xu Mun immediately became nervous.
That sentence sounded dangerous. Very dangerous. "My Lord..." He added caushusly. Luo He simply waved a hand.
"Relax." He said calmely.
That did not relax Xu Mun at all. He was once a ruthless man, and he knew what he had chosen to do.
And yet Luo He had taken him down effortlessly. So if Luo He went on that dangerous path, not even he's totally sure what Luo He might do.
Su Kim sighed. "Whenever he says relax, something terrible follows." She said by instinct alone. Luo He pretended not to hear her. Instead he pointed toward the map again.
"I will return briefly to the Prosperous Silk Isle." Luo He said calmly. Xu Mun blinked. "Now?" He asked confused. "Yes." Luo He said with no hurry in his voice.
"I need supplies." He said calmely. His eyes narrowed slightly. "And I might need a few specialists." He said calmely.
"What kind of specialists?" Xu Mun and Su Kim both asked at the same time with utmost curiosity. "The useful kind." Luo He answered vaguely.
That answer somehow explained nothing at all. Xu Mun rubbed his forehead. "My Lord..." He began to ask something.
"You worry too much." Luo He added softly.
"I've served you long enough to know that's not the case." Xu Mun said calmely. Luo He laughed. Then his voice became serious.
"When I return, take twenty of the best men." He started explaining the plan in detail. "No more." "No less." He said sharply. Xu Mun nodded.
Then Luo He continued. "You will bring gifts." He added. "The sword. The food. And her." He said and pointed at Su Kim's at the end. Su Kim immediately threw a cushion at him.
Luo He caught it without looking. "See?"
He said to Xu Mun. "She's already egarely participating." He said proudly looked at her.
Su Kim looked ready to kill him. Xu Mun suddenly became very interested in the map. Luo He stood. His smile returned.
Everything had already been decided.
The chief would receive a glimpse of civilization. The tribes would receive an opportunity. And if that failed. Luo He looked toward the dark forests beyond the camp.
His eyes became unreadable. He had other plans. Plans he intended to keep entirely to himself. At least for now.
When Xu Mun departed, only Luo He and Su Kim remained. The silence that followed was suffocating, heavy with unspoken tension.
Su Kim rose slowly from her seat, her silk robes whispering against the stone floor. Her eyes, usually soft with obedience and warmth, had hardened into something defiant and raw.
"No," she said simply. Her voice cutting through the air like a blade. "I will not go."
Luo He turned from where he had been gazing out at the camp.
His expression was calm, almost amused. He set down his wine cup carrying water with deliberate slowness.
"I will not go on this mission."
She said stepping closer, her chin lifted despite the tremor in her voice. "I am not your possession to be offered like livestock to the chief. I am not yours to command."
Her hands clenched at her sides. "What right do you have to decide who I stand beside? I will only be with you. You alone. No one else." She said firmly.
Luo He studied her with an intensity that made her skin prickle. He saw her completely.
The fear beneath her defiance, the desperate need to be irreplaceable, the way her voice trembled even as she tried to sound strong.
When he finally spoke, his voice was soft, almost tender. "Come here." He said. She hesitated, caught between her defiance and the pull of his presence.