117 Humiliation.

Zhi Rui saw one fat man entering while laughing, by the tone of voice he was fire-heart the alpha chief of the amber tribe.

Fat and laughing like a clown, but Zhi Rui reserved from underestimating him.

The man behind him came in wearing a beautiful untouched white robe common on the empire.

He had scorn all over his eyes. It seemed like nothing would ever please him.

They entered the place.

The fat Fire-heart looked at Zhi Rui crosslegged and sipping on liquor quietly.

"Oh no, look at that, silver! " He pointed at the quiet Zhi Rui

Silver came closer and his scorn visibly thickened as he looked.

"We're eating on the ground like savages! HAHA! like our ancestors did!"

Zhi Rui looked at them and chuckled.

"Sorry about that I expected some competent old coots, I didn't know theirlife long leeches would come instead."

She smiled at them. The room went silent, both of them looked at her in silence. Zhi Rui's maid started to visibly tremble behind her.

They stared at each other for a good long ten seconds.

"AHAHAHAHAH! I like that lass, see silver? she has more balls than you'll ever have!" Fire-heart slapped his belly and laughed out loud.

"Ugh, damn vulgar." Silver answered and proceeded to sit on a cushion across Zhi Rui.

Fire-heart slapped his own belly and sat on the remaining cushion, immediately he took a sausage and munched on it, the oils streamed down his beard.

"Hmmm! This is so good lass, you have good taste!"

"Thank you. I heard you talking about some imperial girls, I've had some of them myself. though they were on the older side."

"Ohh, that?" Fire-heart put the sausage on a plate and proceeded to motion with his hand how good and tame the ones form the empire were, how they were so different from the wild barbarian women, he talked about how the general Feng Yuan started taking in the widowed wives and daughter of his fallen soldiers and is trading them for food and materials.

Han Lee just ate silently.

But Zhi Rui widened her eyes, she couldn't believe how much someone can spill without being forced to speak.

Fire-heart kept on talking about the times where Cheng Feng Yuan called a meeting to talk about a cease-fire period.Where they would pitch a huge tent between both armies, and they would party the whole night with women and alcohol.

These things were only used for indulgence, he said for the real business they used a hope rock.

Silver scoffed to the side repeatedly.

"HA! you only disdain it, because we don't bother to find a man for your tastes!"

Zhi Rui heard everything about their relationship with her father.

She looked at Silver "He said you like man, I'm entertaining the idea to pluck young boy myself."

Silver didn't comment on the issue it was frowned upon for a man liking another man in the barbarism.

Ignoring his silence Zhi Rui kept on. "He has bright blonde hair,pink lips, more feminine than mine'He isn't too thick nor too thin, he's the perfect slim. I'm still mesmerized by his beautiful golden eyes."

Silver stopped his scorn expression and turned serious. fire-heart, on the other hand, put a bone with a piece of meat still on it back in the plate he licked his finger

"Now lass, about that boy, we don't really mind if you plucked him or the girl, but we kind of need them. Your messenger said something about conditions, so what are they?"

I'll list them soon enough, but now that you're listening, I have a proposal for you both.

Silver frowned, Fire-heart chuckled, "well let's hear it."

"How would you feel about owning a piece of the empire itself?"

Silver sighed, andFire-heart chuckled, "Speak more, we're listening."

Zhi Rui observed them, their indifference to her proposal was obvious, and it matched perfectly what they were really feeling. in fact, they hadn't hidden their expression since the beginning. either they don't need to do it, or they are too bad in covering their intentions.

Zhi Rui gulped down her cup of liquor and felt the bitter burning thing going down her throat.

She delivered her cup for Han Lee to pour for her.

She took it and continued.

"I have all the information on Cheng Feng Yuan's side.What they are eating how much of it they have, where it's located, where the troop's rest, which troops are the best, which ones are bad,they routine resources future plans and customs, I have everything.

If you don't believe my words then I can swear an oath."

Fire-heart looked at Zhi Rui with wide eyes, "Truly an astonishing lass! isn't that right silver?"

Silver nodded sipping his own cup. "Truly so."

The fat man sighed, "but unfortunately, you don't host cool parties where we can enjoy life."

"Party had never been a problem for me,I can host as many as you want " Zhi Rui retorted.

"I'm sure you mean that." Silver said. " But Feng Yuan is our friends for some time already, it's kind of bad to just exchange him like this."

Zhi Rui looked them, she didn't open her mouth, but she was already cursing their dumb asses on her core. the first thing they did when coming in is brag about the deals with the enemy and cuss a common tradition of their own culture as a thing a savage would do.

Her eyes clouded over. "If we work together,you can invade with a sizable force and take control of the empire's black marked and you can freely sack some lesser nobles home and warehouses. you then could stay on the land for at the maximumfifteen days, on that time you can take everything you want from there, it'll be a windfall"

"But then we wouldn' have those small deals anymore, and they would gather all the other stationary army to seek revenge."

Zhi Rui shook her finger. "You're thinking too small. The empire is in crisis, if you do that now they might come in with everything but more than half of them would die as would your soldiers but, if I teach the method that I used to win until now, I'm sure you'd heard of it, you can push them back

And hold them in place, you can even win if you put in the effort. And after some months like that, you give them some easy wins, they'll have their bloodthirst quenched with some new hero, and eventually, the usual deals will be back on the table."

"You can only win." Zhi Rui said. For people like them, it was nothing short of a free windfall, usually, they would agree enthusiastically.

But Zh Rui could feel and see the excitement on their faces, they were already picturing it. But none of them moved.

"Ha... What a pity, It's not in our best interests to do that for now." Said fire-heart.

"Again, about that pair of siblings, we need them." Silver changed the subject without any noticeable difficulties.

Staring at their faces Zhi Rui couldn't understand them. They had been stupidly honest from beginning to end.They acted exactly like someone who lived their lives would. There was nothing outstanding about them.

Then how did they managed to kill their former chiefs and future competitors? Someone as simple as they, couldn't possibly have done it.

Zhi Rui suddenly felt frustrated, and she couldn't control her impulse. For a second she turned her eyes to Han Lee. She didn't know why she just did.

Even though she knew it was a silent request for help.

She needed the deal, without it, she could crush the armies of the empire, without it, she couldn't torture her father for killing her possession!

'I want to watch her suffer.' Though Han Lee

(You can't, that look she fleetingly gave, is the single one you'll ever gonna get from her. if you fail to help, you won't have any more value to her.)

'That's why I shouldn't do it, the first time she ever felt like asking for help only for it to be ruthlessly denied.'

(Don't let envy completely consume you boy, remember, there a day you gave in and the day you hold back, this is one of those days you can't afford to fail.)

Han Lee was in a daze for a few seconds. 'I can't avoid helping in her time of need,but I can take what she wants away from her.'

A pure malicious plan formed on his head. Han Lee suddenly looked at the chief alphas.

"About the siblings... Zhi Rui already enslaved them. and has plans to make them hers, I don't think she cares for their offspring. so for now, you can leave them here, the people went calm knowing they went away on a trip to these lands. There's no panic or urgency, the brats are still a year away from the best moment to give birth. You can leave both of them here, right? to avoid unnecessary fights."

"Well I sure want to keep my group of level fighters intact," said Fire-heart.

"I think we should take them." Silver disagreed.

Zhi Rui was already screaming inside because that wasn't the issue she wanted help on.

But then Silver opened his mouth and silence prevailed.

"Old silver, there's no hurry." Fire-heart reasoned.

"I don't trust her." Silver said.

Zhi Rui's eyes slowly turned red.

"Ha...Ugh damn silver how about this, she makes an oath, and we leave?"

Han Lee could barely hide a grin as he saw the turn of events.

"You're both level three but I can assure you, that one of you will leave without a head. should you try something."

Fire-heart scratched his head in annoyance, "You see silver!? you annoyed the girl! now, how can we ask anything after forcing her into the defensive!?"

Silver's eyes remained cold as he stared in her eyes. He put his cup on the ground and walked to stand a meter away fromZhi Rui.

"She was so eager to swear for her previous plan,why not now?"

Zhi Rui got up slowly, she was half a head lower than him but her silent eyes were filled with violence.

Silver grinned

"I and he are both level three as you said, but we have two more levels three outside, they are our guards, and there's also the level two's mounted and waiting for orders.

Now, little girl, please repeat the following: I'll never do anything that can bruise the royal sibling's image with the people nor will I harm them. And whenever needed one of themwill be allowed to leave for a maximum of two days."

His sneer was clear in his eyes. It was clear he chose two days thinking it was the bearable amount for Zhi Rui.

Her heart race raced, she clenched her fists, her nails dug deep on her own palms.

Her inner energy grew increasingly weaker by the second. She didn't achieve her goal and she has to submit herself to another person's plans.

She wanted to kill him, she knew she could.

For a good long minute, she flirted the idea.

Han Lee tried hard to hide his hard-on by remaining seated.

Zhi Rui's eye suddenly turned to her usual green, slowly. She repeated his words without a letter wrong, but when it came to the final Zhi Rui added with a glint in her eyes.

"Should the siblings be away for more than two days. I'll kill Silver of the silver tribe, and fire-heart of the amber tribe, if heavens judge I don't have the ability to do so I can die right now."

Lightning shoot through the sky scaring the whole tribe. The oath was made. Silver nodded with a smile "Now it's all good." They turned and walked away.

Even though she wasn't bound by oaths, the very fact that she was ordered to make one against her will is enough to prove her loss.

Her hands were bleeding.

She rose her palms and licked every wound made by her nails.

when she put her hand down against her mouth was a bloodied mess.

She stood there frozen, She didn't know what to do.