Lan Ling fixed his gaze on Du Yan’s face, staring into his eyes, trying to find deceit or hidden schemes.
However, all he saw was relief.
Du Yan’s relief.
Lan Ling had once said that if Du Yan wished to achieve greatness, he first had to overcome the inner demon in his heart.
That inner demon was the fact that the Lan Ling he had once despised now stood high above him.
Lan Ling had also judged that, with Du Yan’s character, it would be extremely difficult for him to overcome that obstacle.
However, if the humiliation inflicted upon him by others became greater than the humiliation of bowing to Lan Ling, then perhaps everything would change.
But should Lan Ling spare him?
For him, killing Du Yan was extremely simple.
One swing of his sword would be enough.
Du Yan said,
“All the pig iron and refined steel that Constantine has produced here are stored in a secret cave. I will take you there immediately.”
He led the way until they reached a cliff.
He turned a hidden mechanism.
The sound of rushing water echoed.
Then a stone door slowly opened.
Inside was an enormous warehouse.
Even before entering, Lan Ling could smell the scent of metal.
The moment they stepped inside, he drew in a sharp breath.
Duo Long and Gang Duo also began breathing heavily, their hearts racing.
None of them had expected…
Such an astonishing quantity of pig iron and steel ingots.
Du Yan explained,
“The furnaces at this mine have never stopped operating throughout the year. But the iron and steel produced here are difficult to sell. The Chimera Tribe cannot use it all either, yet they cannot stop production. So the stockpile has simply continued growing larger and larger.”
The entire cave was filled with iron ingots and steel ingots.
Some of the iron had even begun to rust.
Lan Ling asked,
“How much iron is here? And how much steel?”
Du Yan replied,
“More than two million jin of iron, and about ninety thousand jin of steel.”
Over two million jin of iron.
Ninety thousand jin of steel.
It was an incredible fortune.
There was now more than enough material to forge weapons, manufacture armour, and reinforce city gates.
Du Yan continued,
“There are many ox carts at the mine used for transporting ore. They can be used to carry these iron and steel ingots back to the tribe.”
Lan Ling looked at Du Yan for quite some time.
“Are you certain you wish to surrender to me?”
Du Yan knelt firmly.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“The inner demon in my heart is gone.”
“How did you overcome it?”
Du Yan replied,
“I once refused to accept you. I believed you were far inferior to me. Meanwhile, I desperately tried to please Constantine and sincerely admired him. Yet he suffered defeat after defeat at your hands. The destruction of his thirty thousand strong coalition completely crushed my jealousy.”
He paused before continuing,
“And there was also the humiliation Nini An inflicted upon me, as well as Constantine’s deception and cold treatment.”
Sometimes, the easiest way to endure one devastating blow…
Was to suffer an even greater one.
Sometimes one hatred was only erased because an even greater hatred replaced it.
Such was simply part of human nature.
Compared with Ling Ao, Du Yan was clearly the better man.
Ling Ao had remained completely trapped by jealousy.
Even when Zhi Li fell, he still feared Zhi Li deeply while refusing to acknowledge Lan Ling, remaining full of resentment and contempt.
Duo Long said,
“Chieftain, we should station over a thousand men here and seize this mine permanently. Then we’ll have an endless supply of iron.”
Lan Ling looked towards Gang Duo.
“What do you think?”
Gang Duo answered,
“I don’t think we should remain here. We should move like the wind, taking only what we need, never occupying territory. Our strength must stay concentrated, not scattered.”
Lan Ling nodded.
Gang Duo’s thinking was much clearer.
At this moment, the mine was like a woman who had been stripped naked.
Completely exposed.
Completely defenceless.
Anyone could simply reach out and claim it.
Very few people could resist such temptation.
But there would be many similar temptations later.
Grasslands.
Gathering grounds.
Flax fields.
Would they station troops to occupy every one of them?
If they did…
How many soldiers would the Flame Demon Tribe have left?
Take only resources.
Never occupy land.
Gang Duo had immediately grasped the core strategy.
Lan Ling turned back to Du Yan.
“How many soldiers remain in the Chimera Tribe? How many horses? How many cavalry? How much grain?”
Du Yan replied,
“Only five thousand soldiers remain. Constantine took one thousand cavalry with him to the Silver Alliance meeting. The tribe currently has one thousand cavalry, three thousand infantry, and approximately one thousand seven hundred warhorses.”
Lan Ling said,
“You will return to the Chimera Tribe and report that one thousand soldiers from the Flame Demon Tribe attacked the mine. Tell them that after a fierce battle, only five hundred remain, and they are continuously transporting iron and steel back to the Flame Demon Tribe.”
Du Yan shivered.
“Y… You intend to attack the Chimera Tribe?”
Clearly, Lan Ling intended to lure the tiger away from its mountain.
The plan had two objectives.
First, destroy every remaining soldier of the Chimera Tribe.
Second, plunder the tribe itself.
If Constantine were present, he would never fall for such a trick.
But Constantine II certainly would.
During this raid, Lan Ling’s highest priority was iron and steel.
Next came warhorses, cloth, and grain.
He wanted them all.
The more, the better.
How much cloth did the Chimera Tribe possess?
How much grain?
Most importantly…
How many warhorses?
One successful raid on the Chimera Tribe would make the Flame Demon Tribe enormously wealthy.
It would also reveal whether Du Yan was truly loyal.
Du Yan said,
“Chieftain, Constantine II is indeed impulsive and hot tempered. However, he does not trust me at all. If I deliver this report, it will only have the opposite effect.”
Lan Ling asked,
“Then whom does he trust most within the mine guards?”
“Gou E. His cousin. He is actually the true commander of the mine guards.”
Another of Gou Li’s nephews.
Such a useless man had become deputy commander of the mine guards.
Apparently tribal politics also revolved around family connections.
Lan Ling asked,
“Is he dead?”
“No. He’s a coward. During the battle he never dared show himself. The moment we lost, he was among the first to kneel and surrender.”
The mine guards had fought bravely.
Out of more than three hundred men, almost all had died.
Only a little over twenty surrendered.
Those prisoners now knelt in a row.
Lan Ling immediately recognised Gou E.
He resembled Gou Li slightly.
Among all the prisoners, only he wore armour.
He also had the appearance of a pampered pretty boy.
The moment Lan Ling looked at him, he desperately kowtowed.
“I’ll do it! I’ll do anything! Please don’t kill me!”
Lan Ling smiled.
“I haven’t even asked you to do anything yet. What exactly are you agreeing to?”
Gou E immediately flattered him.
“Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it.”
Lan Ling turned to one of the hooded warriors.
“Remove your mask.”
The warrior obeyed.
The prisoners gasped.
It was…
Madam Gou Li.
“Aunt!”
Gou E cried out.
Gou Li was his biological aunt.
How…
How was this possible?
The Chieftain’s wife had actually surrendered.
More astonishingly, she looked so much younger.
And so much more beautiful.
Lan Ling reached out and boldly squeezed Gou Li’s full chest.
Its astonishing softness and resilience gave him unparalleled satisfaction.
Gou Li’s emotions were extremely complicated.
Lan Ling had first plundered the Chimera mine before her very eyes.
Now he was openly planning to plunder the Chimera Tribe itself in front of her.
Lan Ling took a black pill from his robe.
He casually grabbed one prisoner and forced it into his mouth.
Within moments…
The prisoner’s face twisted.
He screamed miserably while writhing across the ground.
Soon, bloody holes began appearing all over his body.
Pus and blood poured from every opening.
“Boom!”
Less than half a minute later…
His body exploded into a mangled heap of flesh.
Everyone present was horrified.
Lan Ling then took another pill and walked towards Gou E.
“Swallow it.”
Gou E trembled violently.
He repeatedly kowtowed while crying.
“Please don’t kill me! Please don’t kill me! I’ll do anything! Aunt, save me! Please save me!”
Hearing Gou E scream like a pig being slaughtered, Gou Li remained expressionless.
She did not move.
At a critical moment, she could even abandon her own children.
How much less would she care about a nephew?
Duo Long stepped forward and dislocated Gou E’s jaw.
Lan Ling threw the poison directly into his throat.
It slid into his stomach.
“I’m going to die! I’m going to die!”
Gou E shook uncontrollably.
Lan Ling then produced a white pill.
He placed it into Gou E’s mouth before resetting his jaw.
“This is the antidote. You won’t die.”
Gou E trembled.
“R… Really?”
“Of course. Does your stomach hurt?”
Gou E shook his head.
“No.”
“Then you won’t die.”
Lan Ling held up a blue pill.
“This was only a temporary antidote. It will keep you alive for three days. The real antidote is still with me.”
The blue pill released an oddly captivating fragrance.
“If you do not receive the real antidote within three days, you will die even more horribly than that man just now.”
“So tell me.”
“Do you know what you should do?”
Gou E repeatedly knocked his forehead against the ground.
“I know! I know! I’ll cooperate with Lord Du Yan and lure Constantine II into bringing the army out to rescue the mine.”
Lan Ling patted him on the head.
“Very clever.”
Gou E nodded frantically like an obedient dog.
Lan Ling then took an arrow and stabbed it into Gou E’s buttock.
“Ah!”
Gou E screamed.
Lan Ling said,
“That makes it look more convincing.”
He then turned towards Du Yan.
Using his sword, he cut several shallow wounds across Du Yan’s body, making it appear as though he had fought fiercely.
In reality, Du Yan had barely participated in the battle and had not been injured.
But that still was not convincing enough.
Lan Ling said to Duo Long,
“Strike him hard with your greatsword. Give him internal injuries. Make him cough blood. His voice should become hoarse. Damage his lungs and internal organs enough to look authentic.”
“Yes!”
Duo Long immediately drew his greatsword and swung at Du Yan.
Du Yan raised his sword to block.
“Clang! Clang! Clang!”
Duo Long was far too honest to hold back.
After several deafening impacts, Du Yan staggered backwards.
His internal organs felt displaced.
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
He now genuinely looked seriously wounded.
“That’s enough.”
Lan Ling said,
“Du Yan, Gou E, mount your horses and return to the Chimera Tribe.”
“Yes.”
Du Yan bowed respectfully.
Gou E, meanwhile, repeatedly slammed his forehead against the ground.
The two men mounted their horses and galloped towards the Chimera Tribe seventy miles away.
Gou Li looked at Lan Ling coldly.
“Among all the men I’ve met, no one surpasses you in cunning.”
Duo Long immediately shouted,
“You woman, watch your mouth! One more word and I’ll beat you!”
Gang Duo hurried over and tugged at Duo Long.
The relationship between those two was obviously inappropriate.
Whatever the woman said was little more than flirting.
Why take it seriously?
Duo Long asked,
“Why are you pulling me?”
Gang Duo sighed.
“You fool.”
He then dragged Duo Long out of the cave.
Out of the corner of his eye, Duo Long noticed Gou Li wrapping herself around Lan Ling, her hands wandering boldly over him.
He froze in astonishment.
Gang Duo pulled him away with force before shutting the stone door behind them.
Only then did Duo Long realise.
“D… Did I say something wrong?”
Gang Duo simply smiled.
He did not correct him.
Because a straightforward man like Duo Long was actually the sort of subordinate a leader like Lan Ling appreciated most.
…
The Near Human refugee group travelling with Meng Tuoluo seemed to have extraordinary luck.
They were actually accepted by the Chimera Tribe.
Constantine II even treated them as honoured guests.
The reason was simple.
When Constantine II saw Meng Tuoluo from the city wall, even though she had disguised her appearance, he was utterly captivated.
He immediately decided he must possess her.
For that reason alone, he made the unprecedented decision to accept the entire group.
At this moment, he was entertaining Meng Tuoluo within the partially repaired castle.
Fine wine and delicious food filled the tables.
Tie Ji and the others could not help sighing with relief.
Fortunately, they had been wise enough not to remain in the Flame Demon Tribe.
Otherwise, they would now be working every day with nothing but dirt for company.
One refugee said,
“That Lan Ling is truly shameless. He thought a single meal and one set of clothes would make people stay and work for him.”
“Exactly. His tribe has hardly any proper houses. They have nothing at all. It’s desperately poor, yet he still begged us to stay. Ridiculous.”
“I really can’t understand why those people were so foolish. They actually stayed in the Flame Demon Tribe and let Lan Ling exploit and order them around.”
“I think Lan Ling must have used some disgraceful tricks. Just looking at him, I could tell he was a despicable man.”
Constantine II had lost one eye to an arrow and was now one eyed.
As he listened to everyone insulting Lan Ling, while admiring Meng Tuoluo’s beautiful face and seductive figure, desire filled his heart.
For the moment, however, he did not intend to use force.
This woman was highly skilled.
She had already demonstrated impressive martial ability after arriving.
She now had nowhere to go.
If he accepted her, he would gain both a powerful fighter and a beautiful concubine.
The person Constantine II hated most was Lan Ling.
The more these refugees cursed Lan Ling, the happier he became.
He repeatedly urged everyone to drink.
Just then…
The castle doors burst open.
Two figures rushed inside.
Even before they arrived, Gou E’s crying could be heard.
“Cousin! Cousin!”
He threw himself to the ground before Constantine II.
“Quick! Quickly send troops to save the mine! Lan Ling sent soldiers to attack it! All our brothers are dead! Du Yan and I fought desperately before finally escaping!”
Immediately afterwards, Du Yan entered.
He knelt on one knee.
After coughing violently, blood stained the corner of his mouth.
“Young Chieftain, Duo Long of the Flame Demon Tribe led one thousand soldiers to attack our mine. Our three hundred defenders have been completely wiped out.”
Constantine II immediately asked,
“Was Lan Ling there?”
Du Yan hesitated before shaking his head.
“No.”
Constantine II flew into a rage.
“Lan Ling, I’ll kill you! You actually dared rob my mine!”
He turned and roared,
“Men! Assemble the army! Follow me! We’ll take back the mine and slaughter every soldier from the Flame Demon Tribe!”