Translator: ryangohsff Editor: Nora
Chapter 914 – Using the People as Bait
During the early morning period, ships slowly moved from the Indian Ocean toward the Somalia coast. Light towers on the coast were extinguished one by one, and the vast ocean surface slowly woke up from the night.
On the ocean surface, there was a sunrise scene that one could only see on the ocean.
On the shore, the tall masjids, rows of ancient Arab castles, and a city that was predominantly white slowly revealed itself in the morning.
The ancient masjids were like told castles, forming the foundations of this city. Some of the masjids had already existed for thousands of years and still stood despite the test of time.
This was Mogadishu, a historical city.
The blue Indian Ocean covered this white city, making it appear really clean and beautiful.
Looking over the white beach, close to the port, there was a really prosperous trading center. This was the biggest trading center in Mogadishu, and it mainly traded in mastic, myrrh, ivory, and leather.
Somalia was termed the Myrrh, and mastic capital produced a lot of these products. The capital had a long history.
Over 1000 BC, an Egyptian noble was sent by the pharaoh to buy resources in Mogadishu. Following which, Greek, Persian, and Chinese sailors came over.
The current admiral of the Great Xia navy, Zheng He, had made two trips in history to Mogadishu.
During the war, the neighboring ocean region was locked down by Great Xia. The originally noisy and busy trading center appeared really cold. All the shops and business were closed.
Passing the trading center, there was a central path that went through the entire city. It was broad and straight, and the sides had many tropical trees and plants.
Although it was 200 miles away from the equator, Mogadishu’s weather was really cooling, and the trees were a copper green. This was the scenic place of Somalia, where many tropical plants could grow well.
However, war had encapsulated this city, and the people on the streets were anxious and worried. When acquaintances met on the streets, they only talked about war and the rising food prices.
Apart from people, one could occasionally see camels walking across the streets. Somalia had many camels, and Mogadishu was the only city in the world where there were more camels than people.
It seemed like only the camels did not feel threatened by the war. However, the war still affected them. The hungry people would turn to the camels.
At the end of the central path was a square, and at the two sides were a huge city hall and a masjid. The rice yellow colored masjid’s pyramidal tip pierced the skies, and the City Hall was like a lion standing out on the high hill.
On the square, two bronze statues stood over the 10 meter high Dali storm flooring. One of the statutes was in armor. He waved his sword while mounted on a horse; he was the people’s hero – Muhammed Abdullah Hassan.
He was a poet and also a warrior.
Further in front was the Somalia palace, the power center of Somalia.
The darks clouds of war hung over the palace, making the beautiful place seem really suppressed.
Palace, main hall.
The king of Somalia sat on his throne; his face was filled with angst. His eyes were stained red, and it was like he had instantly grown a lot older. There was a rotting smell inside the hall, making one feel really uncomfortable.
All the civil servants and generals stood solemnly to listen to the king’s instructions.
Apart from that, there were two odd one outs. One represented the adventure gamemode players; he was known as Abadi, while the other represented the Lords, he was called Aidid.
“So what should we do?” The king’s voice was hoarse; he sounded really exhausted.
The moment the Great Xia Navy captured Farrah, the king foresaw something. He could not sleep day and night; he was really anxious, and his temper flared day after day.
In just these two days, there were five servants that were killed for no reason.
This arrival of war was not due to bad luck.
One mistake by the king had dragged the entire Somalia Kingdom into the dirt, and they might be destroyed at any moment. This filled the king with regret; he should not have disturbed that lion.
Africa had a saying, ‘If you cannot tame the lion, do not disturb it, or it will kill you.’
The Great Xia Dynasty was not only a lion, but it was a majestic king of lions.
If one touched it, one would definitely die.
As the king of Somalia, he had forgotten that saying, which resulted in today’s state. Although he felt regret, he was also furious; he was furious at the people who persuaded him.
That mysterious person who suddenly visited the palace swore that, “As long as you take down Friendship City, the port and trade route will bring Somalia unlimited riches.”
The desire for wealth had already seeped into the bones of the Somali people, including this king. Friendship City earning gold day after day had made him greedy, and he lost his rationality.
Thinking of which, that person had other intentions.
Unfortunately, it was too late to regret now. The Somalia King did not even know the name of that person.
Greed was truly a sin.
…
Facing the king’s words, the officials all exchanged glances. Currently, their eyes were shining.
When the Somalia King saw that, he was furious. Obviously, he knew what they were thinking. Before the war started, the Xia King had proclaimed that he would treat the Somali officials well after the war ended.
Especially the ministers, if they were moral and upright, they would be given positions.
That was not a lie.
First, the words of a ruler were worth their weight in gold. Secondly, Morocco was the evidence.
Hence, even if Somalia was destroyed, the officials could protect their homes and wealth. The only one who would be judged would be the king.
Thinking of which, how could the king not feel furious? He stared at them and hollered, “Are you mute? Or are you thinking about working for a new master?”
As he spoke those words, the Somalia King was planning to kill people.
War could easily make one afraid. Moreover, it could easily ignite one’s killing intent. A king that was close to being crushed was so angry that he wanted to kill someone.
“We are loyal; please trust us, your majesty!”
Hearing those words, the officials all knelt on the ground. They lowered their heads, one lower than the other. They were afraid that the king would notice and execute them.
“Loyal?” The king laughed, “Since you all are loyal, what should we do?”
“We can only fight to the death!”
An official stammered.
“Fight to the death? Will you die, or will I die?” The king’s face was really dark.
The official in question was so scared that his legs turned to jelly, “I deserve to die; I deserve to die!” As he spoke, he kowtowed.
‘Scoff!’
The Somalia King did not want to look at these useless people. Instead, he turned around to the players, “What thoughts do you all have?”
The players were like the king; they had no way out.
On this point, both sides were on the same camp.
One had to say that although the Somalia King was greedy, he was not stupid.
Abadi and Aidid exchanged glances. Abadi stepped out, “I have an idea, but…”
“Speak!” The Somalia King was really emotional.
When Abadi saw that, he could not help but sweep his eyes across the officials around.
The Somalia King understood what he meant. Staring at them with disgust, he waved his hand like how one would chase away a fly, “You guys leave!”
“Yes!”
The officials were in a hurry to leave, one running faster than the next.
The king was not stupid. He was also worried that these people would tip off the Great Xia King.
One would obviously want to make contributions to the new king. The officials did not dare to try their luck. Although asking for credit was important, living was even more so.
After they all left, the king asked, “What’s the plan?”
Abadi did not reply and asked, “Your majesty, what are our chances of winning?”
“Zero.”
The Somalia King was really direct.
Their few strike attempts proved that their armies were not even on the same level. They were now trapped in the city, so how could they have any chance of winning?
“So what is your majesty prepared to do?” Abadi asked.
The Somalia King was getting a little angry, as this player was too rude. Listening to his tone, he did not have the king in his eyes; he was just questioning the king.
Recently, the king had been in a bad mood, and he was about to blow up. However, thinking back to their current situation, he bore with it because they needed the help of the players.
No king was simple.
“Even if we cannot win, we need to bite off a big chunk of meat. At most, we will charge out to fight them.” A look of craziness appeared in his eyes.
The king was also thinking of such an idea. When a person was desperate, anything could happen.
Since the country would not be under his rule, it could follow him to hell.
When Abadi saw that, he said, “Since that’s the case, my plan will work.”
“Speak!” The king’s patience was running thin.
“Since you are going all out, why not go a step further? We can use the civilians as the vanguard and our army will follow behind. When the civilians break the enemy formation, we will take the chance to attack.”
Abadi heard that the Great Xia Dynasty army would not randomly kill civilians.
“This…” When the Somalia King heard that, he was astonished. His eyes widened, “Using the people as bait?”
“That’s right.”