"Xintle, you need to stay calm, don't get worked up! We're in this together, and of course we'll look for a chance to make our move! But before we act, we have to think it through! Acting on impulse will only turn us into blind wasps, launching a wild, random attack, only to be swatted to death in one slap!…"

"Izel, you tell me to stay calm, but in this situation, how am I supposed to be calm? The tax rights of our family City-State have been forcibly meddled with by the Royal Family and the Priesthood; the troops of the City State Army are either constantly being requisitioned by the Divine King, or being driven by overseers to be ground down at the front; the grain and population accumulated by the City-State are, one edict after another, being endlessly requisitioned by a single Royal Decree… This is driving us Great Nobility step by step toward a dead end!…"

The bonfire flared, casting light on the furious, twisted, fearsome face of the Honorable Nobility, Luwei Clan Chief Xintle. This veteran Nnobility general, once bold and flexible, had already been tormented body and soul by the Divine King's ceaselessly advancing centralizing reforms. With an irresistible trend, the Divine King kept pressing the Luwei Clan, stripping away, bit by bit, the tax rights and military authority of their City-State Fief!

In the past ten‑odd years, the Luwei Clan, once ruling a whole State and firmly self‑governing, had been like a spiny Golden pineapple: first its spines were plucked, then its skin pared off, then layer after layer of flesh scraped away, until only the last, dry and tough pineapple core remained! And now, even this last sliver of core might not be preserved!

"The Chief Divine, knowing what I've been through, would weep tears of blood for battle too! Izel, I'm at the front line, not only having to fight to the death against the Warriors of the Zapotec people, risking my life for the Divine King… I also have to be on guard against what's behind me, on guard against the Divine King's hidden arrows!"

"So long as I fall in battle one day, and the Divine King's so‑called gracious reward and enfeoffment comes down, letting my sons each inherit a piece of Fief… then the Luwei Family, which once held Reed Marsh City, controlled a fifty‑li radius, and ruled the whole Atotonilco State, will, just like the Tzompantli Family, completely split apart and cease to exist!…"

"If it comes to that, when I go to the Divine Kingdom in the sky, how am I to face the Ancestor who personally opened up the family Fief in the Luwei hills? How am I to face my dead grandfather and father?!…"

"…Xintle! I understand what you've been through, and I feel the same way! But you have to calm down! You must understand, we only have one chance to gamble with our lives! Even if we make our move and win, that's only the beginning, and we may not live to the end. But if we lose, then we are certain to fall into the Abyss, even to total extermination of the Clan!…"

"Your Ancestor, your grandfather and your father, are all watching you from the Divine Kingdom! They would rather see the Luwei Clan split apart than see the family bloodline cut off completely!…" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"!… Hiss! Hah!…"

"…Hah!…"

At the words "Ancestor, grandfather and father," the agitated Xintle clenched his fingers, bit hard on his lips, and panted in a muffled way for quite a while before slowly settling down. Then he looked at Izel, who was also so worked up he was breathing hard, and in a hoarse tone asked quietly.

"Izel, forgive me… I got a bit carried away just now… then tell me, what should we do now?…"

"Cough!… Although 'His Highness the Prophet' advocates centralization and is an enemy of us Great Nobility… the principles of his Divine Revelation are still worth our study… He once said… 'Before you act, shouldn't you first distinguish clearly between enemy and friend?'… I think that's very true! Just like now, we need to see clearly… who has entered the board, what kind of Force they hold, whether they are our enemies or friends. And once upheaval breaks out, what choices will they make?…"

"Cough! Wait a moment… I'll brew a pot of tea first! You sit down and think it over too…"

Izel coughed lightly twice, set a water‑filled clay pot on the bonfire, tossed in a handful of Hibiscus Flower, and then fetched two clay cups.

Xintle took the empty cup, his head a jumble, and absent‑mindedly took a sip, only to drink nothing at all. Traditional old Nnobility like him actually had no habit of drinking hot water or hot tea. Younger Nnobility like Izel, however, thanks to these years of religious reform and the new doctrine brought by Xiulote, had gradually grown used to drinking hot beverages.

"Shhh…"

When the pot of flower tea came to a boil, Izel was about to pour, but saw Xintle take the initiative to stretch out his hand, quickly pour a cup for each of them, and, as if apologizing, invite Izel to drink first. Seeing this wary little gesture, Izel's gaze flickered; he knew this "old friend" had already regained his reason.

"Izel… I've thought it over a bit… On this current game of 'Flower Battle Chess,' there are no more than six sides in play! The Divine King's 'general,' His Highness the Prophet's 'commander,' the Asar Lineage's 'tiger,' our line's 'tiger,' the Priesthood's 'sacrificer,' and the Alliance Army's 'soldiers'… Once we remove the 'generals and commanders,' what's left on the board will be a struggle of 'two tigers and one sacrificer,' and we'll see who can seize the most 'soldiers'!…"

"As for the contest over 'soldiers'… we have the advantage of being able to win over the City State Army of the City State Nobles, but when it comes to the main Royal Legion, we lack a banner to rally them under, and are outmatched by the Asar Lineage and the Priesthood… But what we seek is not the supreme power of the Alliance. No matter who wants to climb to the top, they will have to court us!…"

"…Xintle, there's some sense in your thinking. But in my view, we are not 'tigers'! Our strength, the few men we have, can only be counted as pawns! And there are more than just six sides on this board: there are also the 'pawns' of the Prophet Kingdom, the 'tiger' of the Little Prince in the Tlaxcala Basin, and the 'guards' of the Princess and the Divine Son!…"