Section 108: Atonement

I woke up late today. I spent all of yesterday playing "Empire," even engaging in two grueling matches after dinner—a 3v5 and a 2v6 on "Hardest" difficulty. By the time I went to sleep, it was nearly 2:00 AM, so I had to rush this chapter out this morning.

To be honest, a 2v6 on Hardest is infuriating. The six computer opponents ganged up on me in a relentless war of attrition. It made my blood boil to watch my castle being demolished, my walls crumbling, and my villagers slaughtered—they even stole my sheep! In a fit of rage, I had no choice but to deploy the ultimate, invincible, and utterly shameless trump card: "howdoyouturnthison."

Compared to the surrounding counties, Danyang County is relatively weak in terms of economy, military strength, and territory. Following the chaotic development during the early stages of the game, the surviving tribes (towns) have become fairly stable. Most counties have around twenty to thirty such settlements, with some larger ones having even more. Danyang County, however, only maintains seventeen.

Ever since he set out with his troops, Li Zhan had been agonizing over how to punish the six tribal leaders (mayors), including Long Yinfeng. While killing them and razing their settlements would certainly vent some of his frustration, the consequence would be that Danyang County, already short on settlements, would be left with only eleven. If the tribes from neighboring counties were to launch a major offensive, those remaining eleven would struggle to hold their ground.

Unlike Long Yinfeng and the others, who were driven by self-interest, Li Zhan always considered the bigger picture. That was precisely why his thoughts and concerns often diverged from theirs.

Faced with Long Yinfeng, who was howling in tears, Li Zhan felt a mix of wry amusement and relief. Long Yinfeng was nothing more than a simple-minded rogue; while such people were headaches when they acted recklessly, they were also remarkably easy to subdue.

Conversely, if Long Yinfeng had remained calm and confronted him with a steady gaze, Li Zhan would not have shown an ounce of mercy. He would have executed him, razed his village, and either conscripted or slaughtered all his villagers, leaving him no chance to make a comeback. One mountain cannot house two tigers; Li Zhan could never allow such a dangerous rival to exist by his side.

After weighing the complex factors, Li Zhan finally made up his mind. He walked over to the weeping Long Yinfeng and the three other leaders. Ignoring the evasive looks from the trio, he smiled, pulled Long Yinfeng up from the ground, and brushed the dust off his back.

"When we first formed the alliance of seventeen tribes, I stated that the agreement would automatically dissolve one month after the first tribe advanced to the Feudal Age. Fortunately, my Yanhuang tribe was the first to reach that era, and it hasn't even been half a month yet. Why is Mayor Long in such a hurry?"

Long Yinfeng was filled with trepidation. Having Li Zhan brush the dust off his back felt worse than being slapped across the face. He had secretly schemed against Li Zhan, unilaterally broken the alliance, and launched a surprise attack on the allied tribes. He had expected that Li Zhan, holding the advantage, would kill him without a word, raze his village, and erase all his hard work. Yet, instead of doing that, Li Zhan treated him with such courtesy and even spoke as if he were trying to save face for him.

Even with his stubborn nature, Long Yinfeng felt overwhelmed with shame and self-reproach under such treatment. His tears, which had stopped, began to flow again as he hugged Li Zhan.

"Mayor Li, Brother Li, I, Long Yinfeng, am no man. I have failed you... sob..."

The three other leaders nearby finally snapped out of their shock. They crept toward Li Zhan, heads bowed like children who had done something wrong. Li Zhan patted Long Yinfeng on the back and urged him to stand up.

"We are all young, and we all have moments where we act on impulse. Let the past be the past; I only hope that none of us repeat the same mistakes in the future."

Long Yinfeng and the three leaders nodded repeatedly. Long Yinfeng wiped the tears from his face and said firmly, "Brother Li, rest assured. I, Long Yinfeng, swear to the game today: if I ever harbor a disloyal thought again, may my gaming helmet short-circuit and electrocute me!"

This oath was far more realistic and theoretically possible than any "death by lightning strike," clearly demonstrating Long Yinfeng's resolve.

Just then, Lei Long, Feng Xing, Waiwai Luobotiao, and Huapen arrived with their militia. Seeing Li Zhan comforting the tear-streaked Long Yinfeng, they stood frozen in shock with their mouths agape.

Waiwai Luobotiao, quick-tongued as ever, finally asked, "Brother Li, what... what is going on here?"

Li Zhan patted Long Yinfeng’s shoulder and walked past him to the others. "Long Yinfeng and the five other leaders acted on impulse and made a mistake, but they have now acknowledged their error."

Huapen asked in surprise, "Acknowledged their error? This wasn't just a minor mistake. They nearly razed the Leiming tribe. How can we let them off so easily?"

Long Yinfeng and the three leaders stepped forward from behind Li Zhan and bowed to the group. "Fellow leaders, this conflict was entirely instigated by us, and it is only right that we be punished for our defeat. We are deeply grateful for Alliance Leader Li’s magnanimity. However, if you believe our crimes are unforgivable and our settlements must be razed, we have no complaints."

Long Yinfeng then turned to Lei Long. "Alliance Leader Lei, I have wronged you. This war has caused the Leiming tribe great losses. I am willing to offer two thousand wood, one thousand food, and five hundred gold as an apology. Furthermore, I will sacrifice my character once to make amends for the death of your brother. This is my voluntary compensation before you decide on any further sanctions."

With that, he snatched an iron sword from the hands of a wounded militiaman, pressed it against his own throat, and pulled hard. With a "Critical Hit: -129 HP" notification flashing, the already wounded Long Yinfeng collapsed into a ray of white light.

Two thousand wood, one thousand food, and five hundred gold—this was nearly the entire wealth of the Kuangyin settlement. Everyone understood that Long Yinfeng was compensating Lei Long without reservation. For a lord player, each death meant a loss in civilization level, which was far more brutal than the experience loss suffered by rogue players. After a moment of silence, the group generally accepted the sincerity of Long Yinfeng's apology. They turned to see how Lei Long, the biggest victim of this war, would react.