Do You Have an Older Sister?

"Do you have an older sister, Suo Wade?"

After Suo Wade finished recounting the Lowland Tribe's painful history, Lynn suddenly asked.

"No, I don't. I'm my father's eldest child."

Suo Wade sat squatting on the ground with his hands bound behind his back. He had worn an expression of deep hatred, but this question left him somewhat bewildered, and he shook his head blankly.

Lynn asked again, "What about younger sisters?"

"I have two."

Suo Wade was very obedient now. After all, Second Brother stood beside Lynn, idly toying with a dagger and occasionally shooting him malicious looks.

Lynn asked again, "How old is the elder one?"

Suo Wade was confused. "She's only one year younger than me. Why are you asking?"

"Nothing, just asking." Lynn changed the subject again. "Have you ever thought about revenge? Revenge against the other Eight Great Tribes."

"Of course I have! I dream about revenge every night!" Suo Wade's voice instantly rose several notches.

"Then do you have the strength to take revenge?" Lynn asked, though he already knew the answer.

"N-not yet."

Suo Wade's voice dropped considerably, lacking conviction. But he quickly craned his neck and said, "But sooner or later, we'll return to the wilderness and kill every tribe that ever oppressed us!"

And how long would this 'sooner or later' take? Had you considered that? Twenty years? Thirty years? Or even a hundred?"

"I... I haven't thought about that."

Suo Wade was still young and had yet to inherit his father's position. He was filled with rage, but had never considered the cost or possibility of revenge.

"Then have you considered relying on outside help to achieve your revenge?" Lynn continued to guide him patiently.

"Outside help? What outside help?" Suo Wade's eyes widened in confusion.

"Me." Lynn pointed at himself with one finger.

He had already regarded the Lowland Tribe as his own possession, so naturally he was considering how to maximize its value.

Though the Lowland Tribe was the weakest among the Nine Great Tribes, weakness had its advantages.

At the very least, Lynn could swallow them up for now without choking on them or suffering a backlash.

Moreover, the Lowland Tribe was the best stepping stone for him to conquer the other Eight Great Tribes.

Such precious manpower could not be wasted in the remote, frigid wilderness.

"You?"

Suo Wade froze for a moment before roaring, "You're invaders from the south! How could you possibly help us take revenge?"

But Second Brother merely glanced at him, instantly extinguishing his bravado.

The young Wild People man could only mutter, "You must be lying. I don't believe you."

Lynn took no offense and instead smiled. "Why would I lie? Think about it. Your Lowland Tribe hates the Eight Great Tribes, right?"

"Yes. And?" Suo Wade nodded.

"You hate the Eight Great Tribes, and I hate them too. So shouldn't we be close allies and comrades-in-arms?"

"No, wait. I don't quite understand what you mean."

Suo Wade did have a little political sense, but not much. Lynn's bizarre words nearly burned out all his brain cells.

"What's there not to understand? We work together, and then you use my strength to take revenge. You've seen how brave my men are, and how excellent their equipment is."

As he spoke, Lynn turned, picked up the chainmail, and tossed it before Suo Wade. Then he bent down, pulled the beast-fang dagger from Suo Wade's waist, and stabbed fiercely at the armor as he explained, "This is the chainmail we use, forged entirely from iron. The weapons you use simply cannot pierce it. If I provide your tribe with armor and weapons like these, think about it—would the Eight Great Tribes still be your match?" Suo Wade stared fixedly at the chainmail on the ground, his eyes going wide.

The Lowland Tribe also had two sets of chainmail, but they had been seized thirty years ago. Without proper maintenance, they had long rusted into a pile of worthless scrap metal.

Even so, they were incredibly precious treasures of the tribe, carefully stored away on ordinary days. Who would dare jab at them recklessly like Lynn did?

"If every warrior in the tribe could have a set of this, then we could definitely defeat every tribe!"

Suo Wade breathed heavily, his gaze upon the chainmail filled with possessiveness and desire.

"Exactly. As long as we cooperate, every one of you can wear chainmail like this. Revenge will naturally be easy."

Lynn began making grand promises. At present, he only had a little over thirty sets of chainmail in total, and five of those had been seized from Baron Roman.

But it did not matter. As long as the Salt Mine began operating, he could earn enough money for as many sets of chainmail as he wanted.

"N-no, that's not right! You're invaders. How could we possibly cooperate?"

In the end, Suo Wade's intelligence gained the upper hand. Deep in his subconscious, Lynn, like all Southerners, was an enemy who had invaded the Wild People's homeland.

Lynn said nothing and simply turned to pick up the longsword from the ground.

Suo Wade snorted when he saw that. "Just as I thought. I knew you'd been lying all along. You only wanted to get our tribe's exact location out of me, and then—"

Before he could finish, Lynn suddenly drew the longsword and slashed downward.

Boundless terror filled Suo Wade's eyes, and he shut them in despair.

Yet after a long while, he felt no pain at all.

He cautiously opened his eyes, only to see Lynn's bright smile illuminated by the firelight.

Looking down, he discovered that the hemp rope binding him had already been cut apart.

"You're not killing me?"

Suo Wade kneaded his aching arms and rolled his stiff neck, thoroughly astonished.

"Just as I said before, you and I should be close allies. Not only will I not kill you, I'll even give you this set of chainmail." Lynn sheathed his sword.

"You're really giving it to me?"

Suo Wade threw himself to the ground and hugged the set of chainmail. Then he raised his head like a food-protecting puppy. "No taking it back!"

"Hahaha, I have as much chainmail as I want. Why would I go back on my word?" After laughing, Lynn even tossed the longsword before Suo Wade. "This is my personal sword. I'm giving it to you too."

"Big Brother?" Second Brother stood beside Lynn. Though he could not understand what the two had said, he could roughly make out what was happening.

Why had Big Brother cut the Wild People prisoner's ropes and even given him armor and a sword?

"It's fine. Let them go."

With a sweep of his hand, Lynn released both Wild People prisoners, even giving them an additional sword and set of chainmail.

"I... I don't understand."

Hugging the chainmail and sword, Suo Wade felt as if everything that had happened today was a dream.

He had been unfortunate enough to be captured by evil invaders and had thought he would surely die.

Yet not only had he survived, he had even received such precious gifts.

Suo Wade even slapped his cheeks hard to make sure he was not dreaming.

The somewhat older companion beside him was even more dumbfounded.

How had he been released the moment he woke up? And what was this set of chainmail in his arms? Wasn't this the most precious kind of armor in the tribe?