Mission Accomplished

Even a rabbit would bite when cornered. When a person was driven to the end of the road, what was left to fear? Luo Bu burst into laughter, gritting his teeth as he stared at me with a ferocious expression. "Young Master Nalan, you've gone too far! I admit that your Nalan Family is powerful, but this isn't Gama City."

He cackled wildly, pointing at the unchanging desert stretching in every direction as heat and sand-laden wind rushed against us. He screamed hysterically, "This is the Northwest Territory of the Empire! This is the Tagor Desert! Your Nalan Family's name—means nothing here!"

"You—hehe—a brat who hasn't even grown all his hair yet, and you dare try to scare me? Do you think I was scared into growing up?"

Luo Bu glared at me with a crazed expression. Dou Qi surged around him, and the Great Dou Shi's signature Dou Qi Armor emerged over his body!

Was he going to make a desperate final stand?

Cries of alarm rose from behind me among the Desert Iron Mercenary Group. Streams of Dou Qi rapidly surged, and a charming female voice called out, "Nalan Ye, he's about to attack! Get back here!"

I turned back and smiled faintly at the girl in red fitted clothes, whose innocence and charm coexisted, then looked toward Xiao Yan and signaled for them to remain calm.

Xiao Yan paused for a moment, falling silent. Perhaps he was speaking with the Old Grandpa inside his ring. Soon after, he nodded at me and reached out to stop Xiao Ding and the others. "First Brother, Second Brother, let's see what he does first. If he truly attacks, it won't be too late for us to step in."

Xiao Ding hesitated, then nodded. Xiao Li merely curled his lip and stared coldly at my back. "Better if he dies."

I paid no further attention to the Xiao Family members behind me. Turning back to face the murderous Luo Bu, I felt neither fear nor anger. Instead, I clapped my hands and laughed. "Good! What an unyielding Captain Luo!"

After laughing, I abruptly wiped the smile from my face. My expression darkened as quickly as turning a page, and my eyes filled with chilliness.

I raised my hand and pointed southeast. Beyond several sand dunes in that direction lay Stone Desert City. Looking at Luo Bu, I sneered, "Captain Luo is unyielding and fears no Nalan Family. But I wonder—does the Mo Family fear the Nalan Family?"

At those words, the Dou Qi circulating around Luo Bu seemed to stall. Even his Dou Qi Armor paused, while the savage expression on his face froze in place, making him look especially ridiculous.

"The... Mo Family..."

He glanced at Stone Desert City, more than ten miles away, and his burly body finally began to tremble.

Recently, the Mo Family had been making major moves in Stone Desert City. Groups of men had been arriving one after another, and even Dou Ling experts had appeared!

He might not fear the Nalan Family, since the Emperor was far away. But the Mo Family was a major local clan in the Northwest Territory of the Gamma Empire. Anyone living on this land had to fear the Mo Family. If they could not fear them, then only destruction awaited them.

Likewise, if the Mo Family wished to survive in the Gamma Empire and preserve its power and interests, it also had to fear the Nalan Family.

Because my Nalan Family... could destroy the Mo Family with a mere wave of our hand.

Luo Bu turned to look at me, his teeth beginning to chatter. Yet he still forced himself to endure it and said through gritted teeth, "The Mo Family... the Mo Family is so powerful, and they even have Dou Ling experts. Would they listen to you? Can a little brat like you command the Mo Family?"

"You... stop trying to scare me!"

I smiled lightly and looked at Luo Bu with amusement. "Luo Bu, you don't believe I can command the Mo Family?"

With a flick of my hand, I took out a gold coin from my Ring of Holding and casually tossed it upward. The coin spun rapidly through the air, glittering brilliantly as it echoed the golden desert.

I reached out and caught the coin precisely between my right thumb and index finger. "Luo Bu, I'll make a bet with you. I can command the Mo Family."

"I'll send a letter into Stone Desert City. If the Mo Family doesn't come, you can kill me. If they do come, you owe me one gold coin."

I smiled as calmly as the breeze, speaking and watching, while Luo Bu's entire body shook.

He had spent so many years in Stone Desert City. As a Great Dou Shi and a mercenary captain, he stood high enough to see more—and see it more clearly.

The Mo Family would not, would not want to, and did not dare offend the Nalan Family. As long as my letter entered Stone Desert City, the Mo Family would definitely come... but he could not stop my letter from reaching the city.

He breathed heavily, struggling to calm the fear in his heart. After a while, he regained much of his composure. Color returned to his face, though it was still slightly pale, like a patient recovering from a serious illness.

He stared at me intensely. Then, suddenly, he dropped heavily to his knees before me. Golden sand sprayed in every direction, and several grains even splattered onto my silk robe.

He looked back at the nearly hundred Sand Mercenaries behind him. Even he had been frightened into this state—how could those ordinary mercenaries possibly retain any fighting spirit?

"Young Master Nalan did not use a single weapon. With mere words, you forced more than a hundred of my mercenaries into defeat without fighting. Luo Bu is truly impressed."

He let out a long sigh, as if it had drained all his strength. With a dejected expression, he said, "Luo Bu is willing to lead the Sand Mercenary Group's 259 members to pledge allegiance to Young Master Nalan. From now on, we will devote ourselves wholly to you and serve until death."

I brushed the sand from the hem of my clothes and looked down at Luo Bu with displeasure, letting out a cold snort. Even now, he was still playing petty tricks, hoping to attach himself to a master with an even greater background?

But why would a dignified young master of the Nalan Family care for a tiny mercenary group like his? What I wanted was for the Sand Mercenary Group to merge into the Desert Iron Mercenary Group. What I wanted was a favor from Xiao Yan!

"Luo Bu, what do you think you are? You... think you deserve to become this young master's follower? You're not even worthy of carrying this young master's shoes!"

I glared at Luo Bu, my breathing growing somewhat rapid as I shouted sharply, "Luo Bu, you have only two paths now: die, or merge into the Desert Iron Mercenary Group!"

Luo Bu raised his head and looked at me pleadingly. "Young Master Nalan, I am a Four Star Great Dou Shi. My Sand Mercenary Group also has some reputation. We have two Dou Shi and 257 Dou Zhe."

"Young Master Nalan, please take me in. I will definitely be useful to you..."

I said nothing, merely looking down at him coldly. The chill in my eyes grew stronger and stronger, and killing intent gradually surfaced.

Gradually, Luo Bu stopped muttering to himself. After a long time, he let out a bitter cry and murmured, "Young Master Nalan, I'll merge into the Desert Iron Mercenary Group. I'll merge into the Desert Iron Mercenary Group..."

At last, a faint smile appeared on my face. I looked at Luo Bu and nodded in satisfaction, saying meaningfully, "Luo Bu, as long as you remain loyal to the Xiao brothers, you'll discover in the future that merging into the Desert Iron Mercenary Group... was the wisest decision of your life."

Luo Bu did not understand what I meant. In his view, how could pledging allegiance to an in-law of the Nalan Family compare to directly serving the Nalan Family itself?

He gave a casual acknowledgment, then rose and began speaking with the nearly hundred Sand Mercenaries behind him.

I shook my head and could not be bothered with him any longer. Stepping back to the front of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group, I gave Xiao Ding a formal salute with an easy flourish. Smiling like a weasel that had stolen a chicken, I said, "Brother Xiao Ding, I have fulfilled my mission. Under my persuasion, Luo Bu has agreed to merge the Sand Mercenary Group into the Desert Iron Mercenary Group."