Section 060: Discord

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Within the game "Empire Rising," Zhao Ming ignited the torches inside the workshop, their flames flickering and casting lively shadows. The group first surveyed the carpenter’s workshop, then began searching for anything of value. Four chiefs from the subordinate tribes, accompanied by their militiamen, headed straight for the processing room where finished products were stored. There, completed and partially finished wooden plows were piled together, drawing immediate attention.

Resources were scarce among these four tribes, and they had not conducted any research; wooden plows remained rare objects for them. Unlike Li Zhan’s Yanhuang Tribe, where plows were already widely distributed, these chiefs rushed forward, eager to see if they could find a few completed plows—making the trip worthwhile.

While the four chiefs and their militiamen rummaged through the finished plows, Li Zhan, Zhao Ming, and their companions ventured into the design room. This space was separated from the processing room by a wooden wall and furnished with tables and chairs for artisans to draft their designs. Further inside was a small chamber serving as the craftsman’s quarters.

After searching the design room for a while without finding anything of value, Zhao Ming emerged from the craftsman’s quarters holding a piece of paper and said to Li Zhan, “Chief, look at this.”

Li Zhan took the paper and examined it closely. It was a “blurred blueprint,” typically rewarded for completing quests and requiring identification at a county-level official’s office to reveal its contents. Li Zhan did not know what quest Black Fiend had completed to obtain this blueprint, but he was certain that it now belonged to him.

After pocketing the blueprint, Li Zhan’s soldiers thoroughly searched the room again but found nothing else and left the design chamber. In the processing room, the four chiefs each found a finished wooden plow, which their militiamen carried away with great excitement. At that moment, Crooked Carrot finally found his way to the carpenter’s workshop, reunited with his militiamen, and after turning the processing room upside down, unexpectedly discovered three wooden shields.

As they exited the workshop, dawn was breaking, and they saw the chiefs leading their militiamen to excavate stone in the ruins of the tribe’s main hall. According to the game’s rules, when a building is destroyed, about one-third of its resources can be salvaged, though their quality is downgraded. Constructing a tribal hall required 150 units of stone, and now about 50 units of inferior stone could be recovered.

Located in the south, Danyang County was short on stone resources, so these 50 units of inferior stone were valued more highly than gold by the chiefs, who hurried their militiamen to work faster, wishing they could dig through the ruins themselves.

Li Zhan could not help but shake his head and smile wryly. His Yanhuang Tribe, in terms of stone resources alone, far outstripped the dozen or so tribes before him. He already possessed nearly a thousand units of high-quality stone, and over two thousand units when ordinary and inferior stone were counted.

Shaking his head, Li Zhan saw the four chiefs—Thunder Dragon, Swift Wind, Wind Chime and his sister, and Wooden Fish—standing with their militiamen off to the side. He led his group towards them.

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Upon seeing Li Zhan, Thunder Dragon laughed and said, “Thanks to this battle, I believe your plan has been fully realized. Not only will Black Fiend’s allied tribes think twice, but no tribe in Fuling County will dare covet our Danyang tribes again.”

The ambush cost the allied tribes only two seriously wounded and ten lightly injured militiamen, while the Black Clan’s three heroes perished along with twenty-seven militiamen, and the rest suffered heavy casualties. The Black Fiend Tribe was utterly destroyed, its resources lost. Thunder Dragon’s respect for Li Zhan grew from the depths of his heart, and for the first time he admitted the undeniable gap between them. This realization sparked a subtle desire within him: if his Thunder Roar Tribe could unite with Li Zhan’s Yanhuang Tribe, they might dominate Danyang and rule the land.

Yet Thunder Dragon knew well that Li Zhan was not a chief content with mediocrity; his ambition was as unfathomable as his intellect. Perhaps, in Li Zhan’s eyes, Thunder Roar was merely a morsel within reach, and true alliance was impossible.

Thinking this, Thunder Dragon felt a tinge of disappointment, and his smile became somewhat forced.

Li Zhan replied with a smile, “It was really your skillful command, and the cooperation of all the chiefs, that made this battle so smooth.”

Swift Wind, Wind Chime, and the other chiefs laughed and agreed, saying it was their duty. Now that they were allied, they could not remain fragmented.

They chatted for a while, and the sky grew brighter. Somehow, news had reached the wandering players of Fuling County, who began to trickle in through gaps in the broken wooden fences of the Black Fiend Tribe. Some arrived alone, others brought villagers, and they wreaked havoc—tearing down houses, demolishing walls, harvesting fields, and gathering any usable resources, which they then sold at low prices to nearby tribes before returning for more.

As daylight increased, more and more wandering players gathered. By the time the sun rose above the horizon, the tribe was crowded with about four or five hundred of them, turning it into a noisy, chaotic marketplace.

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Seeing this, Li Zhan and Thunder Dragon quickly ordered the chiefs and their militiamen to withdraw from the tribe to avoid any conflict with the wandering players over resources, which could easily spiral out of control. Most chiefs obeyed and led their militiamen, carrying their spoils, out of the tribe. However, a few chiefs, dissatisfied with their share compared to others, ignored the retreat order from Thunder Dragon and Li Zhan.

Infuriated, Thunder Dragon took his eight militiamen to confront them, and the exchange grew tense—almost erupting into a fight, drawing a crowd of Fuling County players eager to witness a Danyang tribal feud.

If left unchecked, the situation would dissolve the alliance and provide entertainment for outsiders. Li Zhan stepped forward and stopped Thunder Dragon, saying, “Let it go. I believe these chiefs have their own reasons. Let’s head back with the others.”

Thunder Dragon wanted to teach these undisciplined chiefs a lesson but, wary of his limited forces, accepted Li Zhan’s intervention and reluctantly backed down. He snorted at the chiefs, then led his militiamen away with Li Zhan.

As Li Zhan and Thunder Dragon departed with most of the chiefs and militiamen, the wandering players watching the scene could not resist stirring up trouble, chattering among themselves:

“Hey, that Thunder Dragon—is he your leader? Sounds pretty commanding.”

“I don’t see what makes him any better than you guys. Why follow him?”

“That’s right, you’re all chiefs. Sooner or later, you’ll go to war. Judging by his attitude, he won’t let this go. I bet he’ll send troops to attack you before long. If I were you, I’d strike first.”

These wandering players did not realize that the Danyang tribes had formed a true alliance; they assumed it was only a temporary military cooperation. So their words were unrestrained, saying whatever they pleased. Yet, as the saying goes, careless words may have unexpected consequences. The chiefs, hearing the provocations and recalling Thunder Dragon’s fierce demeanor, secretly resolved to take action.