Chapter 065: The Tyranny of Warlords

The Rise of the Empire in the Online Game had no pop-up windows, yet True Lover was in a state of extreme agitation.

Contrary to his name, in the eyes of others, True Lover had nothing in common with the word "love" except the character in his name. His actions and temperament were the antithesis of affection, even synonymous with cruelty and tyranny. At least, that was the perception shared by the four clan leaders surrounding him.

These four leaders had all been forced into submission by True Lover's martial prowess. The reason was simple: True Lover’s True Love Tribe was established beside an open-air gold mine, granting it rich golden resources from the very start of the game. The militia had reached the maximum limit of twenty, each equipped with a standard iron sword, leather bracers, and leather greaves. Their overall equipment level put them at the forefront of the entire China region, surpassed only in clothing by the Yanhuang Tribe.

The four tribes had signed a "protection" agreement with True Love Tribe, requiring tribute every five days—one-third of their production value each time, certified by the system. These tribes had no militia of their own and relied entirely on True Love Tribe for protection. They were, for all practical purposes, four colonies of the True Love Tribe, their tribute slightly less than that demanded by official clans, but their development was unrestricted except for military matters.

Two of these four tribes cultivated cotton, which, combined with True Love Tribe's own production, meant an abundant reserve. True Lover hadn’t given much thought to cotton until, by chance, he heard from a wandering player from Danyang County that the Yanhuang Tribe’s clothing, made from cotton, was in high demand and short supply. This news made True Lover both jealous and curious; he urgently wished to learn how Yanhuang Tribe produced their clothing. Coincidentally, that evening, he saw Li Zhan’s forum post seeking to buy cotton. Sensing this was a perfect opportunity to probe Yanhuang’s secrets, True Lover quickly settled the price with Li Zhan, hired a cargo ship from Jiujiang, loaded the cotton, and timed his arrival at Yanhuang Tribe for the night.

Because visibility was low after dark, Ruoyan and several female cotton farmers had to inspect the quality with extra care, leaving them somewhat distracted. True Lover circled Ruoyan, chatting idly and occasionally requesting to tour Yanhuang Tribe, hoping to divert her attention so the two clan leaders accompanying him could slip away under cover of darkness and explore Yanhuang. Unexpectedly, the two had barely left the dock before two shadows sprang out, dispatching them swiftly with several slashes.

...

"Useless! A bunch of useless fools!"

True Lover paced furiously in the tribal hall, pointing at the two clan leaders who had been inexplicably killed the previous night and cursing them roundly. He had sold seven hundred units of cotton to Yanhuang Tribe for nothing, gaining no useful information, and his rage threatened to burst his lungs.

The four clan leaders dared not utter a sound, fearful they might provoke True Lover’s wrath and suffer a beating. True Lover showed not the slightest care for his tribe’s villagers, ruling with military tyranny. To drive the villagers to work harder, he had bought twenty leather whips early on from the joint workshop in Jiujiang, assigning them to the twenty militiamen. Whenever they caught a villager slacking, they would beat them without hesitation. Of the two hundred villagers, almost none had escaped the whip; each lived in terror, both afraid and resentful of True Lover.

Despite the villagers’ pitiful loyalty and support, True Lover paid it no mind. To him, they were merely stepping stones on his path to conquest, meant only to lift him higher. What mattered was the immense resource advantage produced by their forced labor. Now, the True Love Tribe’s overall strength ranked eleventh in the China region, its stats far exceeding the requirements for upgrading, with gold reserves over a thousand. Only “society” lagged, less than half way to the upgrade threshold. True Lover knew this reflected the villagers’ dissatisfaction, so lately he had ordered the militia to curb their beatings, recording any transgressions to settle accounts after advancing to the feudal era.

Of the two killed clan leaders, one was named Wall Charger, whose tribe was nearest to True Love Tribe—less than two kilometers away—and the first to submit. Watching his resources swallowed by True Love Tribe, Wall Charger simmered with anger.

Since returning from Yanhuang Tribe, Wall Charger and his companion had endured endless scolding, standing for a full day. Seeing True Lover’s tirade continuing, Wall Charger muttered under his breath:

"This isn’t entirely our fault. Those two shadows were obviously not ordinary folk—a single sword strike took more than fifty points of my health. I don’t even know what skill they used. I only have two hundred points; four or five strikes is instant death. I suspect Yanhuang Tribe has people secretly protecting them. Best not to mess with them—who knows what could happen..."

"Shut up!"

True Lover cut him off with a vicious glare before he could finish. The other three clan leaders silently cursed Wall Charger: Are you out of your mind? Talking back now could get you killed on the spot.

True Lover strode up to Wall Charger, grabbed his collar, and snarled through clenched teeth:

"Are you thinking of rebelling? Huh?! I knew you were up to something. Last night you deliberately avoided probing Yanhuang Tribe, faked your own death, then made up excuses to fool me! You’ve been colluding with Li Zhan of Yanhuang Tribe all along, planning to oppose my True Love Tribe and seize my position as overlord of Jiujiang. Speak! Is that it?!"

Wall Charger was enraged in turn. Everyone has pride—even in an online game, who was he to let you trample him? If he died, so what? He’d lose some civilization points—he never expected to become king or emperor anyway. To put it bluntly, you’re nothing but a show-off, strutting around like an egg in grandpa’s underwear!