POV: General Ko Lian — War Room of the Fallen States
Ko Lian stood before a large tactical map of the known world, its borders now nothing more than memory. Blackwood's insignia painted the globe red. Red meant dominance. Red meant fear.
He turned to the remaining council leaders, his eyes sharper than blades.
> "You asked how to play Blackwood?
You don't play it safe.
You play it like your life ended yesterday, and your soul came back for vengeance."
They listened. Not because they agreed—but because he sounded like Chris when he spoke now. Ruthless. Deliberate.
Ko Lian continued:
1. "Blackwood doesn't negotiate. He imposes."
"So, stop thinking we'll sit at a round table and talk peace. We don't send envoys. We send ghosts. Operatives without pasts or names. Like Elira. But better. Next time, one of ours doesn't get caught. They become Blackwood. Infiltrate. Assimilate. Corrupt from within."
2. "Blackwood doesn't warn. He acts."
"We launch coordinated attacks without declarations. Hit supply routes. Disrupt transmissions. Leak false information. Make it look like chaos. Make it feel like his empire is crumbling from inside. We don't fight his army. We haunt it."
3. "Blackwood uses loyalty like a leash."
"We use it as bait. We plant seeds among his newly made nobles—especially the ones gifted titles, lands, homes. Jealousy is a weapon. We whisper doubts. Create factions. The empire is too big to be perfectly loyal. That's its weakness."
4. "Blackwood makes gods. We make martyrs."
"Turn every death into a symbol. Every captured rebel becomes a legend. Let the people know their names. Etch them into songs. Because Blackwood erases names. We resurrect them."
Ko Lian's voice dropped to a growl.
> "He wants to play God?
Then we'll play the devil he didn't expect.
No rules. No limits. Only mission."
The room went cold. Everyone felt it.
He wasn't talking strategy.
He was talking revolution.
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