Girl Samantha

Kingdom of Congo.

King Mbenel Nzinga stared at the urgent report in his hands, his brows knitted tightly. "Sigh, where did this Yanhuang Empire come from? How can it be so outrageous? It wiped out every country in all of South Africa in a single year. This is ridiculous.

"Next, Congo will probably have to face the Yanhuang Empire. After all, it's so close."

The Kingdom of Congo was near South Africa. If the Yanhuang Empire continued expanding, the Kingdom of Congo would be the first in its path. There was no way to avoid it.

Just then, Mbenel's son and heir, Pedro Nzinga, entered the palace. Seeing Mbenel's furrowed brow, he asked, "Father, are you worried about the threat posed by the Yanhuang Empire?"

Mbenel glanced up at Pedro, his favorite son, and didn't hide the truth from him. "The Yanhuang Empire's military is too powerful. In particular, those Iron Birds of theirs that can fly through the sky are practically invincible. There's no way to counter them.

"What worries me most is how we'll hold off their Iron Birds if they attack Congo."

Hearing this, Pedro nodded. He, too, had heard the refugees who'd fled South Africa talk about the Yanhuang Empire's Iron Birds. If things were really as they described, there was no good way to fight them from the ground.

After thinking it over, Pedro looked at his father and said, "Father, since they're a kind of bird, why not design an oversized bow and arrow to shoot them down?

"I'm sure that as long as the arrows are powerful enough to pierce iron plates, they'll be able to bring one down."

Hearing this "brilliant idea," Mbenel nodded thoughtfully, then ordered Pedro to find people to make it.

When Pedro saw that his father had actually accepted his suggestion, delight flickered across his face.

If I can pull this off, my position will surely become more secure.

Pedro hurried off to find skilled craftsmen and figure out how to make the kind of bow and arrow he had in mind.

After watching his son leave, Mbenel considered sending envoys to the other countries. After all, the Yanhuang Empire threatened more than just him.

The rulers of those countries surely understood the principle that when the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold.

South Africa.

The former capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe was now one of the Yanhuang Empire's forward bases in Africa. That day, a passenger plane arrived from the Yanhuang Empire.

As the plane touched down, Ye Chen stepped out. Taking in the buildings around him, so full of an exotic feel, he looked around curiously.

This was the first time in either of his lives that he had come to Africa. He'd always thought of the place as dirty and chaotic. Now he'd arrived several centuries early, and, well, it was still dirty and chaotic.

"This general pays his respects to Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty!"

Lin Xuan, the base's commander, and his officers saw Ye Chen step off the plane and immediately bowed in salute.

Lin Xuan then led Ye Chen toward the palace in the city.

On the way, Ye Chen noticed many women and children outside the imperial garrison, putting up makeshift huts or simply curling up on the ground beneath a few leaves.

Lin Xuan's heart lurched. He knew that Ye Chen hated these foreign peoples most of all.

"Your Majesty, these are the remaining women, children, and elderly from the Kingdom of Zimbabwe.

"At first, I drove them all away, but they kept sneaking back at night. Even killing a few to scare them off didn't work. They still kept returning.

"In the end, seeing that they were behaving and causing no trouble, I let them fend for themselves outside the garrison."

Ye Chen smiled when he heard this. Though they looked like nothing but women, children, and the elderly, there had to be someone among them calling the shots.

That person was clever. She knew that if they left this place and lost the familiar surroundings they had always known, they would never survive.

Staying near the Yanhuang Empire's garrison meant they could remain in familiar surroundings. Life would still be difficult, but at least they had a chance of surviving.

She had also realized that since the Yanhuang Empire had not killed them and had merely driven them out to fend for themselves, there was a good chance they would be allowed to live on the outskirts of the garrison.

So, taking a gamble gave them a good chance of survival. Not taking one meant certain death. It wasn't a hard choice.

Judging by the situation outside the city, that person had clearly made the right bet.

"Find the one in charge among them. I'm rather curious about her."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Seeing that Ye Chen hadn't blamed him, Lin Xuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Once they entered the city, Ye Chen rested for a while, then went to inspect the military garrison and present awards to some meritorious soldiers.

The ceremony itself was nothing special, and there was no stirring music, but the effect was tremendous.

After all, these were rewards presented by the Emperor in person. They were priceless, precious heirlooms that could be passed down from generation to generation.

After making the rounds, he returned. The next day, he would inspect the other garrisons and present more awards.

As soon as Ye Chen returned to the palace, Lin Xuan told him that they had found the person in charge he had asked for.

"Bring her in."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Soon, Ye Chen saw a girl wearing a pale-yellow animal-skin outfit, with animal bones hanging around her neck.

To be honest, he hadn't expected the person in charge of that group to be a little girl. Still, her clothes didn't look like those of an ordinary person.

He thought it over but couldn't make sense of it. He knew nothing about Africa.

"What's your name?"

Lin Xuan translated the question for her.

Soon, Ye Chen learned her name: Samantha Palance.

Samantha looked at the imposing Ye Chen, trembling with fear. She didn't know what fate awaited her, but she only wanted to survive.

"Samantha. That's a nice name. You're brave and clever, too. What made you think that coming back here would let you survive?"

Ye Chen studied the little girl with interest as he asked.

Samantha looked at Ye Chen, her eyes filled with a desperate longing to live. "Without the city and its soldiers protecting us, even if we didn't starve to death, the wild beasts would eventually eat us at night. If we left the city, we'd have no chance of surviving.

"The soldiers are here in the capital, so the beasts don't dare come near. That means at least we don't have to worry about falling asleep and never waking up the next morning. Coming back was our only hope of surviving.

"We didn't consider whether the grown-ups would kill us, because if we wanted to survive, we had no other choice.

"And if I had to choose, I'd rather die at the hands of the grown-ups than be eaten by wild beasts."

Looking at the little one, Ye Chen felt a note of admiration. She was articulate and quick-witted. Interesting.

If not for this war, she would have had a bright future—assuming she made it through childhood, of course.

"Do you want to live?"

"Thump!"

Samantha's eyes lit up. She immediately dropped to her knees and said, "Samantha is willing to do anything for you, sir. I only beg you to spare me a bite to eat."

"Hahaha, this is interesting."

Seeing Samantha's quickness in seizing the opportunity and making the most of it, Ye Chen couldn't help laughing.