Secretly Married for 4 Years, He Regrets to Tears After the Divorce-Chapter 211: Unwilling to Concede, the Negotiation Fails
On the ritual platform, the air was thick with tension.
The knife in Maka’s hand was pressed tight against Adrian Lancaster’s carotid artery, the blade digging into his skin and drawing a thin line of blood.
"Back off! Or I’ll kill him right now and sacrifice his blood to the River God."
Maka roared at the search and rescue team, his voice like a splintered horn.
Veins bulged on his withered arms, yet he held the Bone Knife steady without the slightest tremor, showing a strength and resolve that belied his age.
Below the ritual platform, Theodore Lancaster’s heart all but stopped.
He was only a few steps away from Adrian Lancaster. Victory had been within his grasp.
Now, however, that jarring glimpse of crimson wiped out all their advantage.
Theodore Lancaster raised a hand, his voice sharp as he ordered the rescue team, "Everyone fall back! Hold your fire! No one makes a move!"
The team immediately lowered their weapons and retreated cautiously, clearing a dangerous no-man’s-land before the ritual platform.
Theodore Lancaster’s eyes were glued to the Bone Knife, cold sweat beading at his temples. He had weathered countless storms in his life, but never had he felt so utterly helpless.
Every beat of his heart hammered home the same fact: the slightest provocation would get Adrian Lancaster killed.
Everyone held their breath, and the air grew incredibly tense.
Nia clapped both hands over her mouth, tears welling in her eyes.
’She had never imagined that Tarn’s family would actually find Sarankal. They were definitely going to take him away.’
Time crawled by, second by agonizing second. The sun scorched the black rock of the ritual platform, sending shimmering heat waves into the air.
The two sides were locked in a suffocating stalemate.
Maka’s eyes were bloodshot as he roared again, "All outsiders who intrude on Sarankal must pay with their lives!"
Theodore Lancaster was frantic, but he didn’t dare make a move.
He tried to intimidate the man with a forceful tone. "Let my son go, and we can discuss any terms. But if my son dies, every last person in your tribe will be buried with him."
To Maka, this threat, born of modern civilization, sounded hollow—it was nothing short of blasphemy.
"So, you’re all in this together."
Maka sneered and pressed the blade a fraction deeper. Adrian Lancaster grunted in pain.
In an instant, the color drained from Theodore Lancaster’s face. All his bravado shattered, leaving only the raw fear and desperation of a father.
"Don’t hurt him!"
Maka eased the pressure on the blade, but his words were merciless. "The man you call your son is now a member of the Sarankal Tribe. He is also to be our next chief. He will not be going back with you."
"That’s ridiculous!" Theodore Lancaster snarled, his teeth clenched. "You must have forced him."
"It is the will of the River God. No one may defy it."
...’Hopelessly stubborn primitives.’
Maka said, "In the name of the River God, I command you to leave. For every minute you delay, I’ll add another cut to his neck."
"You dare!" Theodore Lancaster roared, so enraged he wanted to charge forward and put a bullet in Maka’s head.
In this moment of crisis, Sean Sterling took a deep breath and stepped forward.
He first gave Theodore Lancaster a firm look that said, ’I’ve got this.’
Then, he slowly raised his empty hands to show he was unarmed. With his head held high, he walked steadily toward the ritual platform, stopping about five meters from Maka.
Sean Sterling’s calm, gentle gaze swept over the watching members of the Sarankal Tribe.
"Honored Chief and people of the Sarankal Tribe, my name is Sean Sterling. I come from a city called Aston, on the other side of the world. The man tied to the ritual platform, his name is Adrian Lancaster, and he is my cousin."
"We burst in here unannounced, disrupting your lives. We even started a violent clash that left many of you injured.
But you have my word, we’ve brought the most advanced medicine in the world with us. We will hand it out shortly, and I guarantee it will help your wounded recover quickly."
Sean Sterling’s words somewhat eased the tense and dangerous atmosphere.
Though the people of the Sarankal Tribe didn’t trust him, his apology had an effect. Their attitude toward the rescue team was no longer as volatile and hostile as it had been moments before.
Sean continued, "You must be curious how my cousin, Adrian Lancaster, suddenly appeared in Sarankal. It’s because he was in a plane crash."
"What is a plane crash?" a voice called from the crowd.
Sean Sterling explained patiently.
The members of the Sarankal Tribe listened in bewilderment, some of them frowning.
In their experience, only birds flew through the sky. What was this "plane"? An iron bird?
"The plane met with disaster mid-flight. It fell from ten thousand meters up in the sky, and the fuselage broke apart. The fact that my cousin survived at all is a miracle."
"He crashed near the border of the Sarankal Tribe’s lands and was completely unconscious. That’s when your people found him and brought him here."
"I won’t deny it. The people of the Sarankal Tribe saved his life. You tended to his injuries and cared for him. He wouldn’t be alive today without you."
At this, Sean Sterling bent at the waist, giving a deep, sincere bow to the tribespeople gathered below the platform.
"On behalf of the Lancaster family, I thank the Sarankal Tribe. Thank you for saving my cousin."
"We came here today with no ill intent. We just want to bring our loved one home."
"My aunt—Adrian Lancaster’s mother—cries every day, praying for her son to come home. The grief has turned her hair white."
"His wife, Wren Sutton, and their child are also waiting anxiously for him to come home to them."
"His brothers and sisters, all his relatives, friends, and colleagues—they’re all waiting for him to come back."
Sean Sterling’s words echoed in the air.
Some in the crowd were moved. Their resolve began to waver as they sympathized with Adrian Lancaster’s plight, hoping he could return to his family.
However, the expressions of Barton, Maka, and several elders remained stone-cold and unmoved.
"I don’t care where he came from," Barton snorted disdainfully. "He is a gift from the heavens to Sarankal. No one can take him from us."
Maka added, "The River God has commanded Tarn to become the next chief of Sarankal. No one can defy this. Furthermore, he is to marry the chief’s daughter, Nia. He is destined to be one of us."
Nia flinched, her expression complex as she gazed at Adrian Lancaster, who was still pinned on the ritual platform.
’Her mind was a mess. She didn’t know if she should feel sorry for Tarn, or if she should want him to go home to his family.’
Theodore Lancaster’s patience finally ran out.
Sean had spoken at length on his behalf, laying out the entire situation clearly. Every word had been heartfelt, his attitude respectful.
But the people of Sarankal were completely unmoved. In fact, they doubled down, showing no intention of letting the man go.
’He would go insane if this dragged on any longer.’
"You unreasonable savages! This is utterly insane! My son, Adrian Lancaster, has a wife and a child in Aston! He has his own family, his own life! He can’t stay here and be your chief, much less marry your chief’s daughter."
His words struck like a thunderclap.
The Sarankal tribespeople were stunned. Nia in particular went deathly pale, so mortified she didn’t know what to do.
Barton’s brow furrowed deeply. He stared at Theodore Lancaster, his eyes filled with the towering rage of a man who has been gravely insulted.
The scene descended into a deadlock even more dangerous than the armed confrontation moments before, thick with an unspoken, explosive tension.
On one side were the concepts of marriage and family, built on the foundations of modern civilization and social contract.
On the other, the divine will of a god, rooted in ancient faith and the tribe’s need to survive.
Neither side would give in.
Theodore Lancaster’s powerful aura erupted, his eyes turning ice-cold.
’Time to make a bet.’
"I tried being civil. I’ve been more than patient. But since you insist on doing this the hard way, don’t blame me for what happens next."
"Sniper, take the shot. Kill the man with the knife on the ritual platform. Do not harm anyone else."
