Chapter 28: War of Coin and Steel

The moon hung low over the horizon — silent, pale, like an omen.

From the southern badlands, thunder rolled — but it wasn't from the skies.

It was the march of war drums.Thousands of armored boots.Steel banners raised.And in the center of the formation, General Mo Gan led the charge — his war horse cloaked in black steel, his face carved with fury.

"Enough of shadows," he barked. "Enough of politics. Burn their homes. Salt their fields. We take the mountain before the month ends."

Behind him, siege towers rumbled.

Giant siege beasts, captured from the forest titans, were chained and drugged into obedience.Ten thousand men.

The full wrath of the Southern Dominion was no longer whispered.

It was coming.

Up on the mountain, Lee-oh watched the movement unfold from a glowing map projected by his system — blinking red dots multiplying like fireflies.

"D-Day," he muttered.

Daey-ib stood beside him, fully armored — not in sect robes, but custom-forged obsidian plates lined with kinetic rune amplifiers.

"We can't outnumber them," Daey-ib said grimly. "And they know our trade routes."

"I'm counting on it," Lee-oh replied.

He tapped the map.

[PHASE 3 INITIATED][Deploy: Mirage Convoys — Confirm?]→ Yes

Dozens of false trade caravans splintered off through the woods — illusions powered by spirit stones and cloaking talismans. They looked real, moved real, even smelled real.

The southern scouts would spend precious hours — even days — chasing ghosts.

Meanwhile, hidden behind a dead waterfall, an elite battalion of villagers — now fully trained and geared under Daey-ib's personal program — prepared to intercept the first southern flank.

At the same time, beneath the mountain, in the heart of the vaults, Lee-oh stood before a sealed iron door — one no one had touched since the founding of the Sect.

He placed his hand on the seal.

[WARNING: Vault 0 Contains Prototype Assets — Open at Own Risk]→ Override Code: L-01

The door shuddered, then slowly split open.

Inside, resting on velvet, were ten crates marked:

ARCHIVE: PROJECT TYCOON'S ENDGAME

Each contained a weapon, invention, or artifact created during Lee-oh's early system experiments — items too unstable or too dangerous for market use.

But now… nothing was off the table.

He opened the first crate.

His reflection gleamed back — not in a mirror, but in a coin.

Round, unassuming, and glowing faintly.

Daey-ib entered behind him. "That's the first one you ever minted, isn't it?"

Lee-oh nodded slowly. "Yeah. A coin that can bankrupt anyone who picks it up… if they don't know the price."

He pocketed it.

Then whispered, "Let's give them a taste of what a real tycoon can do."

Meanwhile —

In the Southern War Council tent, a messenger stumbled in, drenched in sweat and fear.

"General! Our forward platoons — they're missing! No signs! No bodies!"

Mo Gan glared. "Then search wider."

"We did! But... we found something else—"

He dropped a crate on the ground.

It burst open.

Inside was a mountain of gold coins.

All stamped with Lee-oh's insignia.

And on top… a scroll.

This is your payment in advance.For digging your own grave.

General Mo Gan's hand shook for the first time.

Not from fear.

But rage.

"Attack. NOW."

And in that final night before fire and steel, Lee-oh stood at the top of his tower, wind in his coat, Daey-ib beside him, and the villagers-turned-warriors ready at the gates.

The Sect of the Verdant Ember was no longer just a trading hub.

It was a fortress. A kingdom. A symbol.

And the war wasn't just about territory anymore.

It was about proving one truth:

The system didn't choose a warrior.It chose a merchant.

But the merchant… was ready to fight.