At this sudden question, Lanling was surprised, yet not surprised!
He was not surprised because Lanling had long anticipated this outcome. After all, his military merit would eventually become a clear number appearing before Constantine. After unparalleled shock, Constantine would certainly weigh the interests behind it.
What surprised him was that Lanling knew Constantine loathed him deeply. Would he be willing to suppress his own disgust and choose to truly buy him over?
Then came Lanling’s turn to answer.
“Of course I am willing. I have dreamt of marrying Miss Ninian every single night.” Lanling answered without the slightest hesitation, straightforwardly.
He was no fool. Why would he refuse an opportunity to bed a beauty?
Moreover, it would raise his own power and status. More importantly, it would give him sufficient buffer time.
After all, his martial arts were still not high enough at present.
But based on his understanding of Constantine, this matter would definitely not be so simple.
Seeing Lanling agree so easily, Constantine’s eyes instantly lit up. He patted Lanling’s back very affectionately again, saying, “Good, good. Being able to take you as my son-in-law is like adding wings to a tiger. Sit, sit!”
He had long prepared an exquisite banquet.
Lanling sat down without hesitation and directly began eating, devouring with great relish.
Since his rebirth, everything he had eaten had been terrible. It had been a very, very long time since he had tasted refined delicacies.
Constantine gazed at him with an extremely warm gaze, very regretfully and enthusiastically pouring wine for him. But after pouring two cups, he called out again, “Bring Nini here.”
Very quickly, Ninian walked in.
Her face was very calm. Only her gaze was somewhat complex. The task of pouring wine was handed over to her.
Constantine said, “Lanling, say it again in front of Nini.”
Lanling unhesitatingly reached out to encircle her slender waist, lightly pinching it as he said, “I am willing to marry Miss Ninian.”
This action made Constantine’s eyes twitch slightly. But the smile on his face remained unchanged.
And Ninian’s delicate body tensed. She could not describe what she felt. But inwardly, she cursed “bastard” fiercely twice.
You, Lanling, are truly not polite at all, directly taking advantage with your hands. If Constantine were not here, your hand would not be on my waist. It would either be a bit higher up, or a bit lower down.
“So happy. Today is my happiest day.” Constantine said, “Little Ling, calling you this, you don’t mind, do you.”
“Of course not.” Lanling said.
He was truly sighing with emotion now. Character determines fate.
The chieftain Constantine before him possessed wisdom, scheming, and methods all of the highest grade. But patience alone was lacking.
This person had no patience in anything he did. Whether buying people’s hearts or cold-shouldering someone, he showed no patience, often letting joy and anger show on his face. The most important thing was his lack of patience. When he wanted to buy someone over, he impatiently hastened the pace, completely lacking the naturalness of letting things take their course.
Had it been a hero of the human kingdom, after settling the marriage, he would certainly first have his daughter use her feminine wiles to hook Lanling in.
Then, small banquets every three days, large banquets every five days, deepening the bond with Lanling.
Only after the feelings were in place would he call him Little Ling and such.
But Constantine was not like this. When he released goodwill towards you, he hoped you would immediately accept it. Then he would immediately enter the next stage. Completely without patience.
Of course, he definitely understood these principles. It was simply his character.
For example, to make several young people exert themselves in this battle, he had actually shouted out that whoever rendered the greatest service would marry his daughter Ninian. Then at the final moment, he would definitely cheat and not truly marry his daughter off. This also fully displayed his eager-for-quick-success character.
“So, Little Ling…” Constantine raised his wine cup, “On this land, foreigners are after all despised and rejected. And as my son-in-law, I certainly cannot let you be looked down upon. So I am willing to pay a huge price to let you change your tribe.”
“Change my tribe?” Lanling said in surprise.
“Yes, change your tribe!” Constantine said, “You know, the several hundred tribes within several thousand li of here are actually all one race, descendants of the ancient Rakshasa Race. All foreigners are subject to exclusion. And beside the Barbarian King is an extremely powerful shaman priest. He can help a person change their tribe, can let you become a Rakshasa.”
Lanling said, “Then my body will change? My bloodline will change?”
“No, the bloodline will not change.” Constantine said, “Only the outer appearance of the body will change. You will grow a Rakshasa tail. Your face will still be your current face. Only your eye pupils will grow larger, your nose will grow longer. But once the tribe change is complete, you will no longer be discriminated against. Of course, the price of changing tribes will be enormous. It will cost a considerable portion of our tribe’s savings. But for you, I am willing to do this.”
Lanling immediately saluted, “Many thanks, Lord Chieftain.”
Constantine continued, “Also, after you become my son-in-law, you will naturally take charge of the tribe’s elite troops. You can no longer lead that tattered army of the foreign army. You must draw a clear line with the foreign army, because you are a noble Rakshasa now. As for the foreign army, leave it to Du Yan!”
Instantly, Lanling’s heart trembled fiercely.
Though Constantine lacked patience, his scheming was truly top-tier.
No matter what he did, he would maximise benefits.
In his view, even if he could no longer marry Ninian, Du Yan was still an obedient loyal dog. Unlike Suomo, having him take charge of the foreign army best suited Constantine’s interests.
And Lanling, having completely drawn a clear line with the foreign army, would have only Constantine to rely upon.
Constantine continued, “Of course, you must publicly announce your departure from the foreign army, and completely draw a clear line with Suomo. Because in the future we will conquer the land within a thousand li. I do not want my son-in-law to be gossiped about, called a non-Rakshasa, a lowly foreigner, a near-human and so on.”
At this point, Lanling could see Constantine’s intentions with his eyes closed.
Have him sever relations with Suomo, sever relations with the foreign army, and publicly announce it.
This way, Lanling’s retreat would be cut off. All the foreign army would despise Lanling, despise his ingratitude.
This way, Lanling could only wholeheartedly sell his life for Constantine.
Verbally, Constantine said he would let Lanling take charge of a tribe elite unit.
Very clearly, this unit existed. Perhaps the unit Lanling commanded would exceed two thousand, three thousand people.
But without a doubt, he would merely be a commander with no troops. No one would truly obey his orders. Constantine’s trusted men would control all power within this army.
As for Lanling’s sole purpose, it was to become Constantine’s reaper of death on the battlefield, killing over a thousand enemies every great battle.
Only this suited Constantine’s interests.
Of course…
If he truly did this, Lanling was absolutely confident that in a very short time, he could completely seize power over these two to three thousand troops.
And he was also confident in using Ninian’s ambition to greatly swallow up the Chimera Tribe’s power, continuously expanding the troops in his hands.
If Suomo were not Lanling’s uncle, Lanling might truly have agreed.
But now…
Suomo was his only family in this barbaric world. For Lanling, he was willing to pay a tremendous sacrifice.
And there was Dina. She who should have come to the battlefield was instead at home caring for the little girl.
Most importantly, the foreign army was Lanling’s most important capital at present.
Indeed, the individual combat power of this thousand foreign army was inferior to the Chimera Tribe’s elite. But their spirit, their loyalty, was as precious as gold.
In the Chimera Tribe, even if Lanling truly commanded three to five thousand elite soldiers, it would be full of deceit and betrayal, filled with interests and treachery.
This was unlike in the Nu Lang Kingdom, where Lanling had the backing of King Bi Bian and Princess Bi Yan.
This time, Lanling was to build his own empire with his own hands. So the loyalty and purity of the troops were of the utmost importance.
Honestly, in Lanling’s eyes, those thousand brothers of the foreign army were more important than ten thousand troops of the Chimera Tribe.
Because this was the seed of his future empire!
This troop was a force that Suomo had cultivated for over a dozen years with fairness and justice. The spirit within it was worth more than gold!
…
“How about it?” Constantine asked, “You draw a clear line with the foreign army, draw a clear line with Suomo. Then I spend a huge price to let you change your tribe, become one of our Rakshasa, and marry my daughter Ninian. This way, in the Chimera Tribe you will no longer be a lowly foreigner. You will rank fourth in the entire tribe.”
Lanling could not help but sigh inwardly.
Pies truly do not fall from the sky!
Next came the most, most dangerous moment.
His life and death completely hung by a thread. As long as his performance showed the slightest error, he would be separated from his head.
This was no joke. It was real! If he responded incorrectly, it would not simply be offending Constantine. It would be certain death, and immediate death at that.
The moment to test his acting skills had arrived.
Then, his voice trembled, “Lord Chieftain, there is not a moment when I do not think of rising above others. That is why I exerted myself so in this great battle. Towards Miss Ninian, I am also incomparably obsessed…”
With that, he gazed at Ninian with an obsessed, fiery gaze. He exerted his spiritual power, stirring Ninian’s brain domain, stimulating her dopamine and hormones.
Taking a deep breath, Lanling said tremblingly, “Miss Ninian, you may think that I have been opposing you at every turn, verbally teasing you, even publicly humiliating you. This is different from Du Yan and the others. They worship you as a goddess every moment, enshrining you in their hearts, not daring to profane you. But I bit you, pinched your bottom…”
At these words, Constantine’s face twitched fiercely, nearly turning hostile.
“But, I am actually the same as them!” Lanling said with fiery gaze, “The moment I saw you, I was utterly captivated, obsessed beyond measure. Even in my spring dreams at night I dreamt of you. Every time I had to get up and wash my trousers.”
Instantly, Constantine beside him began grinding his teeth. And Ninian also glared at him fiercely. But within her body, a wave of heat surged.
Lanling continued, “The reason I have been so disrespectful to you actually has only one purpose, and that is to attract your attention. Others fanatically adore you, pursue you, carefully enshrine you. You must have long grown tired of it. So I must use a different method, advancing by retreating, playing hard to get, making me seem special. But the ultimate goal is still the same. I want to obtain you. I am just as obsessed with you as they are.”
Then, Lanling took a deep breath. His captivating eye pupils stared at Ninian, “Whether feelings are true or false, one glance can tell. A woman’s intuition is even more accurate. With one breath she can know whether this man truly loves her. I believe at this moment, you can already feel my affection.”
While saying this, his spiritual power methods rose another level.
Not only was he stimulating Ninian’s dopamine and hormones, he was even using certain heart resonance techniques.
Unfortunately, regarding heart resonance techniques, he only knew the basics. After all, this was the absolute secret of the Dragon God Temple. Princess Bi Yan did not know much either.
Under Lanling’s methods, Ninian clearly felt an intense affection rushing towards her.
It was almost as if substantive, like warm spring breeze, or like intoxicating wine.
But in any case, she clearly felt intense affection, not the least bit inferior to Du Yan and the others, even more pure.
And what shocked her even more was that her heart was responding.
Whether her heart or her body, both were longing.
She actually felt excitement and sweetness. Her body actually felt empty, hoping to be filled. And her entire body surged with waves of heat.
Very clearly, between her and Lanling there was actually mutual attraction and longing.
Lanling said, “Why did I exert myself so in this great battle, even risking my life to overdraw my spiritual power, and be viewed as a thorn in the side by Du Yan and the others, even being secretly harmed. It was all because of the chieftain’s words, that whoever’s head count military merit was greatest could marry Miss Ninian. Everything I did was for Miss Ninian. Nini, we are different from humans. Our emotions completely rely on scent. The moment we see each other, we are attracted by the other’s energy scent. Then our hearts race, our bodies surge with heat.”
With the加持 of spiritual power, Lanling’s acting skills completely crushed Oscar-winning actors, making Ninian’s heart tremble.
Lanling continued, “Nini, I dream of marrying you every night. Letting me leave the foreign army is fine. But making me sever relations with my uncle, I truly cannot do it. He is my only family in this world. He is the person who treats me best in this world. If, for the sake of riches and honour, I sever ties with him, then what difference is there between me and a beast?”
Then, Lanling’s gaze turned to Constantine, “Lord Chieftain, if I agree to you today, and sever ties with my uncle to marry Ninian, then one day I might betray you for even greater benefit.”
With that, Lanling’s eyes brimmed with hot tears, “I dream of marrying Ninian every night. But making me betray my uncle, I cannot do it!”
Lanling’s performance ended, and it was just right.
Whether he could live depended entirely on how good his acting skills were.
Constantine sighed, waving his hand, “You may leave for now!”
Lanling withdrew. Only Constantine and Ninian remained in the entire great tent.
…
“Nini, do you think his words are true or false?” Constantine said.
“I don’t know.” Ninian said.
Constantine said, “Tell me the truth.”
Ninian hesitated for a good while, then said, “He was right about one thing. A woman’s intuition is very accurate. With one glance I can tell whether a man is speaking truth or lies. And just now, when he said he liked me, was obsessed with me, I felt my scalp tingling, the pores all over my body opening. That feeling was very intense.”
Constantine said, “His feelings towards you should be genuine. It’s just that his methods are higher, playing hard to get.”
Ninian said, “Moreover, if it were not to marry me, he had no need to exert himself so on the battlefield. This would only place him in danger. Someone as clever as him should understand this point. But to conquer you, to make you marry me to him, he exerted himself desperately, overdrawing his spiritual power, even drawing the pursuit of the Wild Horse Tribe chieftain’s daughter.”
Constantine nodded, “Yes, one cannot look at what a person says, but at what a person does.”
Then, Constantine looked deeply at his daughter, “Nini, you are also quite moved by him, are you not?”
Ninian fell into silence.
Constantine said, “You hate this point. But indeed, you are quite moved by him.”
Ninian said, “What do you plan to do? Kill him? Or keep him?”
On Constantine’s side, there were only two answers.
Use Lanling, make him his son-in-law.
And if he could not be used, such a demonic genius as Lanling could only be killed, and killed immediately.
Constantine said, “For Lanling to want to marry you, he must be completely loyal to me without reservation. So he must sever ties with the foreign army, must sever ties with Suomo. This way he has no retreat whatsoever. Wanting to marry you while still occupying the benefits of the foreign army side, this is impossible.”
Ninian said, “But he has already refused to sever ties with Suomo. With his character, it is very difficult to turn him around. A person like him is almost impossible to persuade.”
Constantine asked, “Nini, if you were to make the decision, what would you do? Keep him, give him a chance? Or kill him immediately?”
Ninian’s eye pupils trembled. She took a deep breath, then said, “Kill him!”