Chapter Fifteen: Departing from Jinzhou
“Huh? What did you say? Speak up, will you?” Sun Li immediately perked up, feigning deafness as he gazed at Su Yun.
“You… Forget it, I won’t say it. This time, it was our Wood Elves’ mistake. I’ll make it up to you,” Su Yun’s face flushed a deep red. In all her years, proud as she was, she’d barely uttered apologies, and now this Sun Li—
Admittedly, Sun Li’s stepping forward to save the sisters had entirely changed their view of him. Su Lulu, the adorable one, was besotted; now, when she looked at Sun Li, her eyes sparkled with stars. The adoration of the strong was universal among Wood Elves, sparing not even the most innocent. No matter how many heroic tales one might hear, none compared to witnessing a hero save a damsel with one’s own eyes. In Su Lulu’s heart, Sun Li had already upgraded from “not a bad person” to “Wow, Sun Li is so handsome! I feel so safe by his side!”
As for Su Yun, with her proud and queenly demeanor, although she’d seen Sun Li’s fierce side before, this time, from start to finish, his calm composure and willingness to risk everything for them profoundly shifted her perception. She found herself thinking that this man was, in fact, quite reliable. This wasn’t like a skirmish confined to the ship; the wounds on Sun Li’s body from his return to the inn made it clear that things hadn’t been as easy as they’d seemed. Twice he’d used his fighting aura for protection, and the exertion had so drained his strength that his reactions in battle had slowed, resulting in a few minor injuries. Su Lulu was nearly beside herself with worry, fussing over him the entire journey. Naturally, Su Yun’s pride forbade her from doing the same, but deep down, she was moved.
Seeing Su Yun, for once, reveal a softer side, Sun Li couldn’t help but feel elated. At long last, after all his persistence, he glimpsed a ray of hope. In his mind, the fantasy of a romantic tryst with the twin sisters didn’t seem so far-fetched anymore. He was already lost in his daydreams.
After Su Yun stammered her promise of compensation, she noticed Sun Li staring at her intently. She thought he’d misunderstood, that she was hinting at something else, and the flush that had just begun to fade crept all the way down her neck, making her look impossibly adorable. She wanted to scold him, but words failed her. Fuming, she stomped her foot, turned her back, and refused to meet his gaze—out of sight, out of mind!
Sun Li, seeing Su Yun’s annoyance, finally snapped out of his reverie. Taking a deep breath, he banished his unhealthy thoughts. It was too early for such fantasies; business came first.
Composing himself, Sun Li addressed Su Yun’s elegant figure: “We should hurry and link up with the other Wood Elves. Once your position is secure, you can begin consolidating the Wood Elf resistance in the Mexican territories. It’s a pity I can’t stay in Golden State much longer. With my Song Dynasty face and my status as a Grand Knight, the English will never allow such an unstable element to remain hidden here. At most, I have a month before I must leave Golden State. Though the English Empire and the Franconian Empire are rivals, when it comes to protecting their colonial interests, they stand united.”
“Do you really have to leave? You could stay with us Wood Elves. We have many hideouts unknown to the English. And if you go, what about Su Lulu? That little lass is completely taken with you now. If you’re not by her side, she’ll be in tears again. Stay with us, won’t you?” Su Yun wasn’t sure if she was more reluctant to lose Sun Li’s martial prowess or the man himself. Turning to face him, her tone was earnest as she implored him to stay.
“You have to understand, the threat posed by a Grand Knight is not the same as Wood Elf resistance. To put it bluntly, all these years the Wood Elves have resisted without being wiped out. Do you really think the English and Franconian Empires lack the power to destroy you? Quite the opposite. In their eyes, your resistance is negligible. They haven’t eradicated you because the cost would far outweigh the benefit. I’ve read your information: for the two empires to completely wipe out the Wood Elves, each would have to deploy over a hundred thousand regular troops from the mainland. To send such a force across the sea to fight a group of backward natives? And what would they gain? You’ve already been driven into barren lands the colonizers consider utterly worthless. To waste a fortune dispatching armies to crush impoverished natives who pose no threat to their rule? No emperor with any sense for profit would make such an unwise deal. Besides, the European continent is in a constant state of war—do they even have the energy for such an undertaking?”
“The second reason is even simpler: you Wood Elves are valuable. If you were suppressed en masse, it would lead to your extinction, and your numbers would plummet. That doesn’t suit the principle of long-term, steady profit, nor the interests of the empires.”
“But me—I’m a Grand Knight, a force who alone can take on a hundred foes. My presence is a significant threat. Those colonial officials would never sleep soundly at night. More importantly, if I were to join the Wood Elf army, it would truly shake the colonial order. If I led you to a major victory, it would be a devastating blow to the empires. The oppressed Wood Elves would be inspired to rise up, while the European settlers would begin to doubt their rulers’ strength. In every respect, the two empires would never permit such a thing.”
“If I stay in Golden State, both empires will hunt down every Wood Elf stronghold, determined to root out this threat even at great cost. But they won’t send their regular armies. Instead, they’ll send mercenary groups, lured by generous commissions. Even if those mercenaries are wiped out, the empires’ reputations won’t suffer. Of course, if the mercenaries are completely defeated, the European continent might consider dispatching a hundred thousand troops, for Golden State is their golden goose. Unless gravely wounded, they would never let it go.”
“At that point, could the Wood Elves possibly resist the colonial armies? Right now, the combined regular forces of both empires in Golden State don’t even total a hundred thousand, and your resistance has been suppressed for years. If it came to all-out war, the Wood Elves would face true extermination. So it’s best I leave. As long as the two empires aren’t pushed into a corner, no one will risk a full-scale war.”
After listening, Su Yun’s understanding of Golden State’s situation became clearer. She realized there was nothing more she could do. If Sun Li remained undiscovered, all would be well, but once exposed, there was only one path forward. The thought of Sun Li soon leaving filled her with discomfort. After glancing at him several times, and seeing the anticipation in his eyes, she slowly walked toward him.