Luo He stepped closer, his voice softening in a way that only Jin Mulan ever heard. "I want you by my side during the battle honey." Jin Mulan's eyes flickered slightly, but she said nothing.
"You will be my first line of defence." He continued, almost casually. "If anyone tries to kill me you stop them. You don't want anyone toying with your prized position but yourself, do you."
There was a faint hint of playfulness in his tone, but his eyes held something deeper. Calculation wrapped in charm.
"The front lines are where a commander should be." He went on, tilting his head slightly. "But that doesn't make it any easier."
He leaned in just a little closer, lowering his voice. "My wife… it will be in your hands to make sure not even a scratch appears on my sweet little face." For a moment, silence lingered between them.
Jin Mulan frowned. To the world, Luo He was a ruthless strategist. A man who manipulated armies and shaped battles before they even began. But in front of her, he spoke like baby needing her care.
Her thoughts turned sharp, almost conflicted. "You command thousands without hesitation yet speaks like a child seeking protection from his mother." Her gaze narrowed slightly as she studied him.
Does he even understand what a battlefield truly is? Memories surfaced uninvited.
Training grounds. Dust rising beneath rapid footsteps. The sound of steel meeting steel with precision and intent. And then Luo He. Clumsy. Unrefined. For fifteen days, she had watched him practice sword play.
If it could even be called that. He swung his sword wildly, with no technique, no structure, just raw chaotic motion. No discipline in his stance, no control in his strikes. It was as if he were fighting shadows rather than learning to face real opponents.
No precision, no foundation. Her grip tightened slightly at her side. And this man is walking into the front lines. She exhaled slowly steadying herself. When she finally spoke, her voice was calm but firm.
"If you stay on the front line," she said meeting his eyes directly. "Then you will follow my movements." Luo He raised a brow, amused. "Oh?" He said. "I won't protect recklessness," she continued. "Only intent."
A faint smirk touched his lips. "Then I suppose," he said lightly. "My life is in very capable hands." Jin Mulan didn't return the expression. Her gaze remained steady yet serious.
If he miss steps even once. The thought lingered unfinished. Outside, the distant echoes of celebration had begun to fade, replaced by the quiet tension of an approaching storm.
Tomorrow, there would be no room for mistakes. And for the first time, Jin Mulan wasn't sure whether Luo He fully understood that.
The next morning, the letter reached the Guard General of the Island of Gold.
He read it once, then again. His brow slowly furrowed. "Three thousand pirates." he muttered.
The paper crumpled slightly in his grip before he turned sharply. "Send scouts. I want eyes on the sea now."
Messengers rushed out. Horns sounded across the island as soldiers began to stir, unease spreading through the ranks.
Luo He stood at the bow of the flag ship the wind tugging at his robes.
"They've received it," he said calmly.
Jin Mulan glanced at him. "Are you certain?" She asked. "They will send scouts," he replied. "So we give them something to see."
At his command two pirate ships had already sailed ahead. Small. Noticeable. Intentional. Back on the island, the scouts returned quickly.
"Ships spotted!" one reported. "Two vessels flying pirate flags no colours!" The Guard General's eyes sharpened. "Only two?" he asked. "Yes, General." He frowned.
"That's not an army..." But caution overruled doubt. "Prepare the defences!" he ordered. "Form ranks along the shoreline! Archers ready! No one breaks formation!"
Armour clattered. Shields locked. Lines formed. They waited. And waited. But no army came.
Out at sea, Luo He watched the horizon.
"They're ready," Jin Mulan said quietly.
"Good," Luo He replied. Behind them, the ships carrying gold had already turned away, sailing back toward the count's mansion.
Now, only war remained. Slowly yet deliberately, Luo He assembled his forces.
The pirates gathered first restless and eager still driven by greed and drink. He stepped before them, his voice carrying across the deck.
"I am a man of my word." He shouted. The noise quieted. "I know the gold I gave you was not enough." A few pirates laughed, others shouted in agreement. "So I will give you more."
He pointed toward the distant horizon.
"The Island of Gold." That was enough.
"They have rich mines," Luo He continued. "Ore that shines like gold itself.
Today we take it. WHO'S WITH ME?" The response was thunderous. Cheers, roars, weapons raised high. "LOOT! GOLD! WAR!" Luo He raised a hand, silencing them just enough.
"I have already sent scouts," he said. "They report the path is clear." A lie perfectly delivered. "Now, we attack." He stepped onto the captain's deck on the flagship of the former pirate king.
The vessel towered over the rest, massive and imposing. Nearly three times the size of the counts flag ship. Its hull thick with reinforced plating.
Rows of heavy ballistae lined its sides and massive catapults sat ready, loaded with flaming boulders and oil canisters. It was less a ship and more a floating fortress.
Jin Mulan looked up at it briefly. "This alone could break a fleet," she said.
Luo He smiled faintly. "That's the idea."
By midday they landed in the Island of Gold.
Just as planned. The battle began at the shore. Jin Mulan's father held the line. His thousand men bracing against the island's defenders.
Arrows darkened the sky as the first clash erupted, steel against steel. The cries of war echoing across the beach.
"Hold the line!" he shouted. "Do not break!" But the defenders were strong disciplined, prepared. Slowly his forces began to strain. From the hillside, Luo He watched. "Now," he said.
Nearly thousand pirates surged forward.
They crashed into the battlefield like a wave. Loud, reckless, chaotic. Their attack shattered the rhythm of the defenders, pulling attention away and breaking formations.
Confusion spread exactly as Luo He intended. "Forward!" Jin Quan roared. Archers drop your bows and advance.
Then came the charge. The battlefield descended into chaos. Pirates fell. Soldiers fell. Blood soaked the sand. Luo He turned.
"It's time." With the remaining forces, he and Jin Mulan moved. Before the final push, he addressed his troops. His voice cutting through the noise.
"These pirates" He pointed toward the battlefield. "They ate your food. Drank your wine." The soldiers' expressions hardened.
"And now they come for more." He stepped forward, his tone sharpening. "They are savages. They do not understand honour. Only hunger." A pause. "So tell me... will you let them take what is yours?"
"No!" the soldiers roared. "Then take it back," Luo He said coldly. "By force." He drew his blade and charged in himself. They descended like a closing trap.
As the final clash began, Jin Mulan moved like a storm. Her blade cut clean and precise one strike, one enemy. No wasted motion. No hesitation. Anyone who came near Luo He fell before they could even raise their weapon.
Behind her, he advanced steadily. Watching, waiting. The battle dragged on. And slowly they began to win. Then the Guard General appeared.
His presence cut through the chaos like a blade. "There!" he shouted, locking onto Luo He. "Take him down!" He charged forward, spear in hand. His movements were sharp and controlled.
Jin Mulan stepped in front of Luo He instantly. Their weapons clashed. The impact rang out. She gritted her teeth. He was stronger & Faster than the others.
More precise. His spear lashed forward again and again, forcing her back step by step. "You're skilled," the general said coldly. "But not enough." Jin Mulan's footing shifted.
The reach of his spear kept her at a distance. Every attempt to close in was pushed back. She was losing ground.
Behind her, Luo He watched silently.
Then a faint flicker, a tiny movement. Almost invisible. The general suddenly stiffened.
A thin needle had pierced his neck. His eyes widened. "You" His words cut off.
Within seconds, his strength left him. The spear slipped from his grasp as he collapsed to the ground clearly poisoned.
Jin Mulan blinked, surprised for just a moment before regaining focus. She glanced back briefly. Luo He stood there calmly. As if he had done nothing.
With their generals fall, the defenders' morale shattered. "Retreat!" "Fall back!" But there was nowhere no back. Luo He's forces closed in from all sides.
The encirclement was complete. What followed was not a battle. It was a slaughter. Every last soldier, Every last pirate, cut down.
As silence finally fell over the battlefield, the only sound left was the crashing of waves against blood stained shore. Jin Mulan stood still, her breath steadying.
She looked at Luo He. "You planned all of this ahead?" she asked quietly. He didn't deny it. His gaze moved across the field of the dead.
"From the beginning." Luo He said. And once again what seemed like chaos, had only ever been control.