"Has this native figured us out?"
On a warship floating outside the Ikonian world, a monitor officer looked at the large screen with a somewhat surprised expression, staring at the smiling blue face of Muria.
"That's obvious!" A middle-aged man in a military uniform walked up to the screen, gazing thoughtfully at Muria's face.
"Based on the translation of the Ikonian language, I want to know exactly what he just said," the fleet commander, seated in the captain's chair, issued a command.
"He said: 'Have you seen enough?'" The AI quickly translated Muria's words.
"So, he has noticed our surveillance. This native is no ordinary person," the officer near the screen commented, a hint of admiration in his voice.
As he made his remark, cracks suddenly appeared on Muria's face on the screen, and it quickly turned black.
"The probe has been destroyed!" the officer sighed with mild regret in front of the now dark screen.
"No big deal. We've already gathered valuable intelligence. It was just a mass-produced space debris probe anyway. Gathering this intel was worth it."
"Replay the footage," the warship's commander ordered. Not only was he the captain of this battleship, but he also commanded the ground forces stationed on the planet they had named Pandora.
As for why he was commanding remotely from such a high altitude, the answer was simple: he was afraid of dying. Pandora, while rich in resources, was filled with too many unknowns—creatures that could threaten his life were far too numerous.
At his command, the screen flickered back to life, replaying scenes of the Ikonian delegation they had bribed entering the Ayaré Forest and all they had encountered.
"Pause!" The commander halted the footage early, at the moment when a Meisha Knight descended from the sky to intercept the delegation.
"Do we have any records of this creature in our database?" the commander asked, pointing to the massive winged bird with an estimated wingspan of over 30 meters. He could sense the danger it posed, particularly its incredible speed.
"We do!" The fleet's onboard AI quickly responded, projecting a blurry, shadowy image onto the screen.
"Based on information collected from the locals, this winged creature is called a Meisha, and only those who become Baghdad have a chance to tame one."
"Baghdad… Those human tanks?" The fleet commander's face lit up with surprise. He gestured for the AI to speed up the footage, stopping it when the Ikonian delegation arrived at Muria's stone palace. The camera captured over 30 Meisha Knights standing by Muria's sides. Even though their Meisha mounts weren't present, the aura they exuded made it clear they were the elite, the privileged Baghdad class.
"So, how powerful is that guy?" The fleet commander focused on the lazily reclining Muria atop the enormous Meisha, guarded by all those Baghdad, while looking out at the entrance.
"Can we find any data on him?" The officer asked the AI, not expecting much. Though the AI was linked to a vast database, it wasn't omniscient.
"There is a video and a combat assessment related to him," the AI responded unexpectedly.
"Show it all!"
Soon, the video of Muria spearing a probe out of the sky from three years ago was played, along with a combat evaluation.
"Missile silo? That's an interesting codename!" The commander chuckled as he noted the title given to the native leader in the report.
"Although, this title seems to no longer fit his strength," the commander mused, staring at the enormous purple-black beast that Muria was using as a seat.
"Linda, do we have any data on this giant beast?"
"Sorry, no matches were found. However, we can speculate that it is a lord-level creature, with a 90% chance of being an evolved form of the Meisha."
"A lord-level creature!" The fleet commander's face darkened, recalling the devastating consequences when their ground base encountered such a beast. Conventional weapons were ineffective, and it took a strategic missile to finally drive it away. Yes, drive away, not kill. After injuring the lord-level creature, they couldn't even keep up with its retreat.
…
"King Uhl, what are you doing?"
As Muria crushed the small probe brought by the Ikonian delegation, their leader stepped forward to question him.
"How dare you!" Two Meisha Knights brandished their spears and stepped forward to block the silver-armored Baghdad who had spoken.
At Muria's raised hand, the knights stopped and stood still. Muria looked at the indignant Baghdad and pointed to the now twisted, misshapen pile of scrap metal. "Do you know what this thing is?"
"Of course! It's a device from the outsiders used to map the terrain. Just by keeping it nearby, it records everything, and the outsiders can use the data to create detailed maps!"
"If you know that, why are you carrying it with you?" Muria asked curiously.
"Why not? What's wrong with bringing it along?" Baghdad was confused, unable to understand Muria's concern.
Muria squinted, realizing a serious problem: only he perceived the malice from this interstellar civilization. The Ikonians of this world still believed the visitors from the stars were friendly, and thus, they had no defenses against them.
This lack of awareness was influenced by their environment. When Ikonians went hunting, as long as they didn't attack first, most creatures wouldn't harm them. This mindset extended to the Ikonians from outside the Ayaré Forest, who saw no threat from the sky visitors.
"How foolish," Muria sighed, his voice carrying openly. The entire delegation heard it.
"King Uhl, are you insulting us?" The silver-armored Baghdad looked incredulous.
"No, it's not an insult, but an honest evaluation," Muria shook his head, feeling helpless as he stared at these Ikonians, who were figuratively sold out and still counting money for their betrayers.
"We—"
"Tell me, where is this so-called Land of Divine Blessings?" Muria rudely interrupted the silver-armored Baghdad. "I have no interest in debating your stupidity. In my eyes, you're utterly foolish. Though, to be fair, it's not entirely your fault."
"Head west. After about seven days of sunrise, you'll reach the Land of Divine Blessings." Under Muria's calm gaze, the Baghdad felt immense pressure and involuntarily revealed the answer.
"Just out of curiosity, how many other groups like yours have been sent to invite Ikonian tribes to the Land of Divine Blessings to trade with the outsiders?"
The silver-armored Baghdad pressed his lips tightly together, unwilling to answer. But as the other Baghdad around him stared at him menacingly, he eventually gave in. "There are many groups like ours."
"Was this the outsiders' idea? Did they ask you to notify other tribes?"
"They suggested it, but we thought it would benefit our kin greatly, so we agreed."
"So, you're helping the outsiders scam your own kin?"
"King Uhl, I don't understand what you mean. Trading with the outsiders brings great benefits to us. We can trade random wild plants, leaves, ordinary prey, or even a stone for treasures from the outsiders.
We invited you to join such profitable transactions, yet you insult us by calling us fools. I don't understand."
"Hahaha!" Muria burst into laughter. So, in the eyes of the Ikonians, the star-dwelling visitors were nothing more than gullible, wealthy fools, here to be taken advantage of. It was too amusing.
"You're telling me you've actually traded stones or wild plants with the outsiders? I assume you've done this yourself."
"Of course. This sturdy armor I'm wearing was traded for a random stone I picked up in the tribe!" The silver-armored Baghdad responded proudly.
"This stone?" Muria pulled out a seemingly ordinary black stone, one that radiated colorful light at night—the radiant stone.
"Yes, that's the kind of stone you can find everywhere."
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