# Chapter 8: Seven Days
"That thing is lost."
Su Xiao tossed the small ball back to the Sand Emperor. The ball was still flying through the air when a crimson energy attached itself to it, only dissipating after it landed in the Sand Emperor's hand.
"Lost?"
The Sand Emperor's voice dropped slightly.
"When my clansmen were executed, I don't know where it fell."
"Let's not talk about that. Losing it is fine too. That kind of knife can be bought anywhere. I'll buy you a hundred more."
The Sand Emperor gripped the small ball tightly and asked, "Did you come back this time representing yourself, or the Brave Skull Clan?"
As he said this, a hint of expectation flickered in the Sand Emperor's eyes.
"The Brave Skull Clan."
Su Xiao answered without hesitation. Upon hearing this, that hint of expectation in the Sand Emperor's eyes disappeared.
"Is that so."
The Sand Emperor's voice turned somewhat colder. He rested his head on the Queen's lap and casually tossed the small ball onto the bedside table.
"I've come to take back the Brave Skull Clan's military authority."
"Ha... ha... ha... Go ahead and take it. It's with Uno."
The Sand Emperor turned over, resting his head on the Queen's lap, lying with his back to Su Xiao. His body curled up slightly. Seeing this, the Queen wanted to speak but held back, ultimately only gently stroking the Sand Emperor's head. The tenderness in her eyes seemed almost ready to condense into water droplets.
"Power. Everyone thinks about power. Even you. I thought you came to see me."
After the Sand Emperor snorted coldly, the bedchamber fell silent.
"Leave Sand Capital. Take 500,000 gold shields. Go anywhere you want. Leave now."
"..."
"Why aren't you leaving? Red Sand, drive him out."
"Your Majesty."
The Queen spoke softly. She blinked at Su Xiao and pointed at her own mouth, meaning for Su Xiao to say something quickly.
"Lord Kukulin, please leave."
Red Sand emerged from the shadows in the corner of the wall.
"Red Sand!"
The Sand Emperor suddenly roared. The momentary sense of authority made Red Sand quickly retreat and kneel on one knee.
"You actually came specifically to see me, and just happened to take back the military authority, right?"
After driving Red Sand away, the Sand Emperor lay on the bed with his back to Su Xiao as he spoke.
"No."
"You, you..."
The Sand Emperor was so angry he sat up, pointing at Su Xiao, then his arm dropped.
"Kukulin, you really haven't changed. Can't you just flatter me a little? I am the Sand Emperor. The only fourteen-year-old Sand Emperor in history."
The Sand Emperor stood up, hands on his hips, his head slightly raised.
"Pfft~"
The Queen let out a light laugh.
"If you want to take back military authority, the problem isn't with me. Uno and Carros have a tight grip on that side."
As the Sand Emperor spoke, he looked down at the Queen. The Queen turned her head away, not daring to meet the Sand Emperor's gaze. Carros was her sister.
"I am the Sand Emperor, that's true. But some things, you can only rely on yourself. The 300,000 troops at the border fortress were originally all warriors of the Brave Skull Clan. Now they obey High Priest Uno. I hold the rope tied to Uno, but who he bites is hard for me to control. He dares to bite anyone except me. Carros controls the finances. She's the rope. Uno is the fierce dog. The soldiers are the teeth in Uno's mouth."
The Sand Emperor sat cross-legged very casually. Somehow, the small ball had returned to his hand.
"This fierce dog I'm holding. Can you help me give him a good kick? Lately... he's been a bit disobedient."
"Wait a moment."
Su Xiao stood up and walked toward the bedchamber door. The Sand Emperor and the Queen looked at each other, both confused.
Five minutes later, Su Xiao returned to the bedchamber, sat down on a chair, and looked calm.
"What did you go do?"
"Went to beat up Uno."
"?"
The Sand Emperor looked at Su Xiao in confusion, seemingly a bit dazed, not immediately understanding what "beat up Uno" meant.
Bang!
The two large doors of the bedchamber were pushed open. A slightly chubby old man with a bruised and swollen face rushed into the bedchamber.
"Your Majesty, I was attacked! The attacker is right—"
High Priest Uno stopped mid-sentence. He stiffly turned his head to look at Su Xiao.
"It's him!"
High Priest Uno's voice cracked.
"Uno, there must be some misunderstanding."
"Your Majesty, you must seek justice for me! I was cooling off downstairs when this barbarian suddenly charged over, grabbed my hair, beat me, hung me up, and kicked me! Look at my face! Isn't there a footprint?!"
High Priest Uno knelt on the ground, snot and tears streaming down his face.
"Uno, are you sure? Did this really happen?!"
The Sand Emperor's expression showed slight anger.
"Yes! Your Majesty! It was him!"
"Arrest him!"
At the Sand Emperor's command, several guards rushed into the bedchamber and "escorted" Su Xiao to the adjacent room.
After a while, a guard invited Su Xiao back into the bedchamber. By then, Uno had already left.
"You actually really kicked Uno! I was using a metaphor! I didn't mean for you to actually kick him!"
"Oh."
Su Xiao still showed no change in expression. He had just arrived in Sand Capital and needed to establish his authority. This was a good opportunity. He wasn't afraid of Uno retaliating. Assassination attempts were beneath his notice. As for open retaliation, that wouldn't be hard to handle either. When positions are hostile, sometimes there's no need for hypocritical pleasantries.
"'Oh'?! Do you know how much he hates you now?"
"I can imagine."
"You, I... ah... forget it."
The Sand Emperor let out a long sigh. This sudden turn of events was completely unexpected, but it really was satisfying.
"Tomorrow morning, I'll have Uno and Carros come to Roselle Palace to mediate the conflict between you and Uno. Stay here tonight. I'm going to sleep."
Silk curtains surrounded the bed. Seeing this, Su Xiao walked out of the bedchamber. Things were progressing smoothly enough.
In the bedroom on the fifth floor of Roselle Palace, Su Xiao snapped his fingers. A slight bumping sensation came from his lower leg. Bubu Wang, who had been blending into the environment, appeared in Su Xiao's sight.
"Go watch Uno. If he makes any move, have Baha 'visit' him. Use V759 reagent. Don't kill him."
"Woof."
Bubu Wang passed through the wall. Only Su Xiao remained in the bedroom. The Brave Skull Clan's chieftain had originally controlled 300,000 troops, but now they had fallen into Uno's hands. Su Xiao's idea was to ostensibly demand those 300,000 troops, but in reality only want a small number of soldiers and a 300,000-man establishment. Uno would probably give him the establishment and use it to harm him.
From the Sand Emperor's fragmentary words, Su Xiao learned that his identity had a deep connection with the Sand Emperor. It seemed that when the Sand Emperor was still young, the old Sand King had taken him to the Brave Skull Clan's fiefdom. That was why they had met six years ago and formed some friendship. At that time, the young Sand King wasn't yet the Sand Emperor.
This was Su Xiao's greatest advantage. Under the premise that assassination wasn't possible, wanting to defeat Uno and Carros in a short time was a pipe dream. One controlled military power, the other controlled finances. Their influence in Sand Capital was deeply entrenched. Even the Sand Emperor couldn't move against them.
To complete the plan, he needed to act fast. First, establish an image of a reckless brute, then make bold claims to make Uno and Carros let down their guard. Su Xiao understood that the place where he could rise wasn't Sand Capital, but the border fortress—the war-torn border fortress.
...
Early the next morning, in the banquet hall on the third floor of Roselle Palace, a large round table stood in the center, covered with various delicacies.
Several servants attended behind the chairs. Uno was sitting at the dining table. The swelling on his face had mostly subsided, but when he moved his arm, he couldn't help but inhale sharply.
"This whelp of the Brave Skull Clan really has no brains. But that's fine too."
Uno rubbed his big belly. He was hungry, but since the Sand Emperor hadn't arrived yet, he didn't dare eat first.
The banquet hall door opened. A woman in a gauze dress with her brown hair coiled up walked in. She was in her early thirties and gave off an air of dignity. The Minister of Governance, or rather, the Finance Officer Carros had arrived.
"I heard you were attacked last night? Who was so bold as to attack you?"
Carros walked forward slowly. Suddenly, she paused. A maid had stepped on her gauze dress.
"Milady, I didn't mean to."
With a thud, the maid knelt on the ground, her forehead pressed against the floor.
"Be more careful next time."
"Thank you, Milady. I definitely—"
Before the maid could finish, Carros raised her hand and moved her fingers. A guard quickly stepped forward, grabbed the maid by the hair, covered her mouth, and dragged her out.
"Mm—Milady, spare—"
Crack!
The maid's neck was broken. Carros, not far away, continued walking slowly.
"Uno, who attacked you last night?"
"Right behind you."
Hearing Uno's words, Carros turned sideways to look. Seeing Su Xiao approaching, she slowly took half a step back. In her judgment, this was a complete madman. Beating the kingdom's High Priest in Roselle Palace—what else could he be but a madman?
Su Xiao walked past Carros, stepped over the gauze dress trailing on the floor, and sat down in the banquet hall. The dust-particle form of Banishment completed its attachment. If negotiations broke down, he would take Carros hostage and charge out of Roselle Palace. Apollo was already in position, and Baha was lying in ambush above Roselle Palace.
Before long, the Sand Emperor arrived. After taking the seat of honor, the morning banquet began.
The Sand Emperor absentmindedly ate berries. After a moment, he broke the silence.
"Uno, the Brave Skull Clan's regicide case has been proven to be a misunderstanding. Now that Kukulin has arrived in Sand Capital, the border fortress troops should be placed under the Brave Skull Clan's command."
The Sand Emperor looked at the delicacies on his plate, lightly tapping them with his wooden fork.
"Your Majesty, please think twice. I, Uno, don't care who holds the authority over those 300,000 troops. After all, aren't they all Your Majesty's soldiers? But this Kukulin only arrived in Sand Capital today. After suffering such injustice, the Brave Skull Clan might very well defect to King Peru. If that happens, I dare not imagine it. I truly dare not imagine such a thing."
Uno's face was full of pain and indignation. The word "loyalty" was practically written on his forehead.
"Your Majesty, I share Uno's view. At the very least, let him serve Your Majesty in Sand Capital for five years before considering entrusting him with those 300,000 troops."
Carros also spoke. These two were both difficult to deal with. They didn't directly refuse. One slandered Su Xiao as a spy from Peru, and the other said to let Su Xiao serve in Sand Capital for five years. After five years, they could add another ten years, dragging it out indefinitely. Not giving wasn't the issue; they called it a test of loyalty. Moreover, within five years, they had countless ways to slander him and drive a wedge between Su Xiao and the Sand Emperor.
"Give me 12,000 soldiers. I'll lead them to the front lines and capture Peru's border city, Segona, within six days."
Su Xiao leaned back in his chair and spoke, looking up at the chandelier above.
"Your Majesty, look! He's already talking nonsense."
"Your Majesty, the decision is yours."
Seeing such a good opportunity, Uno and Carros took turns adding fuel to the fire.
"Kukulin, you..."
The Sand Emperor was troubled. Of course, he knew that was impossible. Even with 100,000 soldiers, let alone 10,000, they couldn't take Segona City, let alone within seven days.
"Your Majesty, I can make promises too. I'll capture Segona in three days. Can I say that?"
Carros shook her head, seemingly mocking, but actually provoking.
"If I can't take Segona City within seven days, execute me at the border fortress."
Su Xiao was instantly "provoked." He had been waiting for this very line.
"Good!"
"Will you dare to admit that in seven days?"
Uno and Carros spoke in succession.
"No!"
Bang! The Sand Emperor slammed the table. Broken porcelain fragments flew everywhere. Blood flowed down his palm.
"Your Majesty, be careful!"
Uno quickly stepped forward with a white napkin. The Sand Emperor waved his hand and said, "Kukulin, what are you thinking?"
"Your Majesty, Kukulin might really have some way."
Uno wrapped the Sand Emperor's hand with the white napkin.
"Mm, I have a way."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, the Sand Emperor felt a blockage in his chest. "Fine, fine, fine. I'll give you 10,000, no, 20,000 soldiers. Go capture Segona."
The Sand Emperor walked toward the banquet hall door. Uno and Carros both looked at Su Xiao.
"Lord Military Commander Kukulin, you now have 20,000 soldiers ready to die for you."
Uno smiled. He grabbed a piece of fruit from the table and took a big bite.
"Not Military Commander. Grand Commander."
As Su Xiao spoke, he breathed a long sigh of relief inwardly. Playing the role of a brainless brute wasn't simple. Fortunately, his previous behavior had already established that pattern.
Su Xiao said this because a Military Commander could command at most 30,000 troops, while a Grand Commander had a 300,000-man establishment. Even without soldiers or military funds, the establishment still existed.
"You can only be a Military Commander."
"He's a Grand Commander now. A Grand Commander of 20,000 soldiers."
The Sand Emperor's voice came from the banquet hall entrance. He hadn't left. He had been leaning against the wall by the door.
"I dare not defy Your Majesty's appointment."
Uno bowed in salute. A reckless man hungry for power and status—in his eyes, this was hardly an opponent. Perhaps in half a month, this would be nothing more than dinner table conversation. What could 20,000 soldiers do? Just marching to the vicinity of the border city Segona would take five full days. In the remaining two days, breaking through Segona City was a pipe dream. He, Uno, had seen far too many such reckless men eager for fame. Their endings were all miserable. He truly didn't care.
Su Xiao picked up his wooden fork and savored the delicious food. Today's breakfast was especially tasty. Soldiers and establishment were secured. Now all that was missing was gold coins.
...
In the vast expanse of the ocean, Amu was swimming at full speed. Beini crouched on Amu's head, looking up at the sky. Nearby on the sea surface, there was also a dolphin. This was Amu and Beini's new friend.
"Meow!!"
Beini let out a loud cry, a powerless rage. Sometimes, the ocean was a very formidable opponent. Following Amu, Beini had also contracted "Ocean Phobia."