Chapter 242: Submit to Me (2)
“You bastard!”
Woroka immediately grabbed his axe and swung it at Ghislaine.
He was a warrior from the North, after all. No matter how much he valued political judgment over other barbarians, he couldn’t tolerate such an insult.
CLANG!
Ghislaine quickly drew his sword to block Woroka’s axe, laughing.
“Shall I make the first move here?”
“You… are you saying you’re not going to negotiate?”
“I couldn’t care less about that. If you want to kill, then kill me. If you can kill, then go ahead and do it.”
“This…!”
The atmosphere turned tense in an instant. As the two of them faced off, ready to engage, the others weren’t just sitting idly by.
Clang! Clang!
Everyone around them drew their weapons, glaring at each other. The troops waiting in the back also readied themselves for combat.
Claude whispered to Wendy beside him,
“Quick, carry me. Let’s get out of here.”
Wendy looked at Claude with a contemptuous glare.
Amidst the imminent clash, Zvalter shouted with a feigned angry expression.
“Stop! Stop! Aren’t we here to negotiate?”
At his words, Ghislaine snickered at Woroka and sheathed his sword. Woroka reluctantly calmed down and put his axe away.
But both of them didn’t stop glaring at each other.
Woroka was boiling with anger. Just when he thought negotiations might go smoothly, a young punk jumped in and started making threats.
“Five thousand horses? Are you saying you want to take away almost all our warriors’ horses?”
“Right, you all need to eat too, so I’ll accept just that much for now. See, I’m being considerate.”
“You arrogant….”
Woroka gritted his teeth.
Without horses, the warriors’ mobility would undoubtedly weaken. Given that most tribes relied on plunder for their food supply, losing their horses would make it difficult to secure sustenance.
With a growl, Woroka continued,
“Do you think we will accept such a ridiculous proposal? A warrior without horses cannot survive here.”
“Then your choices are to die here before that. Killing you and taking everything would be much easier for me.”
“You bastard till the end….”
Woroka gripped his axe again. It seemed that killing the man in front of him was the only way to smooth the negotiations.
Negotiations among barbarians were always like this. You had to kill a few to show your strength to get favorable conditions.
Woroka couldn’t break free from the barbarian way of thinking.
Just as he was about to swing his axe again, a thought suddenly flashed in Woroka’s mind.
“Wait… Did you just block my axe that easily?”
He had been the one to attack first. Considering the time it took to draw the sword, it shouldn’t have been so easy for him to block his attack.
He tried to shake off the chill racing down his spine and inquired about his opponent’s identity.
“You… Are you the Blood Demon?”
“You guys seem to call me that. I’m not a demon, though. I’m a pacifist.”
It’s just that people didn’t believe him; Ghislaine preferred to handle things peacefully. But somehow, the situation kept turning to fists.
It was only going back.
Woroka glared and repeatedly twitched his hands. He wanted to swing his axe at the arrogant brat right away.
‘This young punk… is this kid really the blood-red demon?’
But the opponent was the one who had killed Kushtu. He was the one who had ground 5,000 warriors to dust. The warrior’s pride surged alongside the fear that he might not win.
Creak.
Woroka’s feelings were extremely complicated. The warrior’s pride collided with his own ambition multiple times in his heart.
Claude, seeing the two’s fierce expressions, lowered his head and sighed.
“Ah, of course. With that temper, there’s no way this will end nicely.”
If they had only asked for 2,000 horses, it might have passed. But asking for 5,000? Who would agree to that kind of demand?
Claude had a certain understanding of the barbarians. Since he had already swung a weapon once, it was likely he would storm off to prepare for battle right away.
“I just hope Wendy gives a ride soon.”
Claude, getting ready to flee, discreetly glanced around with a worried heart.
But then…
“Eeeek…”
Woroka stood still. All he did was glare at Ghislaine while muttering to himself. It was behavior that was not at all barbaric.
‘He just swung a weapon, right? Why the sudden change? Did our crazy lord do something again?’
Claude vacantly looked back and forth between Woroka and Ghislaine.
Seeing Woroka trembling with his fists clenched, Ghislaine spoke nonchalantly.
“What are you doing? If we’re going to fight, let’s fight. If you’re going to get the horse, get it right now. Or should we just do a clean one-on-one duel?”
In fact, Ghislaine taking the lead like this was rude. The representative for negotiations was Zvalter.
‘Forget manners, if I leave it to my father, it’s clear he’ll just get taken for a fool. He’s a surprisingly soft-hearted person.’
Zvalter also understood the situation of the barbarians well enough to give them some leniency. He probably had the desire to stabilize things while also wanting to build up his strength.
Though he couldn’t help but understand his father’s feelings, that was not Ghislaine’s way.
Right now, get everything you can.
And if there’s any interference, kill.
These two things were sufficient for dealing with the barbarians.
Woroka turned and vented his frustration at the poor Zvalter.
“Wolf of the North! Aren’t you the representative for negotiations? Is this proposal truly your intention?”
Zvalter facepalmed. Whenever his son was involved, nothing ever flowed smoothly.
In the past, Zvalter’s followers would have been the first to chastise Ghislaine for such rudeness.
But now, no one stepped up. They all knew that the recent improvements in Perdium’s situation were thanks to Ghislaine.
For some reason, Zvalter felt a sense of alienation.
‘Dear… why did you leave so quickly…’
With his eyes momentarily reddening, Zvalter shook his head and replied.
“I just delegated it.”
Even if they said it wasn’t their intention, it would only diminish their face. Zvalter looked away as he entrusted all negotiations to Ghislaine. The breeze felt cool.
“Oh, the weather is really nice.”
“E-excuse me!”
Ignoring Zvalter, Woroka seethed for a while before finally sitting down heavily.
“I… don’t have the confidence to persuade them.”
It would be fine if it were just the Sunstone Tribe, but the other tribes would definitely rebel. If he was to lose everything without gaining anything, he would rather fight and die.
But he couldn’t just suggest a fight either. Their opponent’s achievements accumulated over time and the shown skill were overwhelming. He had no confidence in winning, and even if he did, the damage would be immense.
Then his dream would be shattered. The destruction of his tribe would be just around the corner.
Woroka was caught between his own greed, the responsibility of leading his tribe, and the pride of a warrior, unable to move in either direction.
“Hmm.”
Ghislaine looked at the line of barbarians in the distance and said.
“Acting all cocky, and now you finally look ready to talk. I guess I should lend you a little strength.”
“Let’s make sure the gold is delivered.”
“What?”
“I mean I’ll help fill in what you’re lacking a little.”
Then, one of the warriors next to Woroka shouted loudly. He had just pulled out an axe alongside Woroka to threaten him.
“What are you talking about taking away the most important words while saying you’ll fill in something?”
“And who are you?”
“I am the Great Warrior of the Sunstone Tribe! Monga Bujokake! We lack nothing, so we have nothing to give you or to receive! If you want to fight, we will fight for our lives!”
“…Seems like you’re lacking a lot.”
At Ghislaine’s muttering, Woroka shut his mouth tight.
Monga showed the confidence and belligerence of a great warrior, but that wasn’t what Woroka wanted.
And just as the Blood Demon said, they were indeed lacking in many ways. They were struggling just to survive.
The opponent had just opened the door for negotiation, but Monga foolishly stepped in and ruined the mood, which could only frustrate Woroka.
“The conversation isn’t over yet. Who told you to interrupt?”
Under Woroka’s terrifying gaze, Monga kept his mouth shut and bowed his head.
As the atmosphere calmed down a bit, Woroka asked Ghislaine,
“What do you want to help us with?”
“Food.”
“…?”
“I’ll give you enough food for you to survive for a while.”
“Y-you mean you’re going to give us food?”
“Yes. And I’ll also hand over all the prisoners we’ve taken until now.”
“Uhmm….”
Woroka fell into deep thought. Food was the most needed resource, even for the barbarians. After all, wasn’t the plundering of Ruthania all about finding food?
Getting the prisoners would be good. Most would likely be old or weak, but among them there would be children. They would grow up to become excellent warriors for the tribe.
The problem was that until those children grew, they would have to feed both the current warriors and the prisoners. Receiving food would be fine for now, but soon they would be struggling with famine again, which was obvious.
As Woroka was deep in thought, Ghislaine smiled slyly.
“If you tribute 200 horses every year, I will gladly give you food as a gift. And… I will also grant you the authority to distribute that food. Do you understand what I mean?”
At those words, Woroka’s eyes lit up.
He would have to evenly distribute the horses taken from the other tribes to appease them for now, but what about afterward?
If he held onto the food tightly, he could become the strongest tribe. If that happens, unification would become much easier.
‘Others will keep trying to butt in… But then again, wasn’t that the plan from the beginning, to subdue everything by force?’
The warriors, because of their pride, wouldn’t bow to Woroka even if he held onto the food. They would probably all try to charge at him with fire in their eyes, eager to snatch the food.
But they wouldn’t be able to defeat well-fed warriors. Isn’t the Sunstone Tribe already competing for the strongest tribe among them?
Woroka’s eyes sparkled with greed. Losing the horses in exchange for crushing other tribes faster seemed doable.
Ghislaine, who had been quietly watching, chuckled.
‘I knew you’d accept.’
Woroka, who thought a lot for a barbarian, eventually unifies the tribes in his past life. Uneducated barbarians had no chance against someone with wits.
However, with many personnel under his command, Woroka would continue to suffer from food problems.
He had even received food support from Duke Delphine after the fall of Perdium. The condition was that he wouldn’t hinder the development of the Forest of Monsters.
But even that wasn’t enough. In his pondering, he seized the opportunity presented by the Mercenary King and the year-long war in Ruthania.
As the kingdom was engulfed in chaos, he took advantage of the opening to push through. Of course, he didn’t forget to curry favor with Ghislaine by offering numerous gifts.
— I’ll only take a few suitable lands. I assure you, there will be no damage to the royal troops.
— Do as you wish. Just know, if you interfere with my work, you will be the first to be swept away.
— Don’t worry. I will be of help.
Woroka created chaos by taking over the lands that Ghislaine had cleared. Ghislaine, who was also thinking of diminishing Ruthania’s military strength, decided to let him do whatever for the time being.
And so I made a fuss. Ghislaine also wanted to undermine the power of Ruthania, so for now, I let him do whatever he wanted.
His top priority was to behead Duke Delphine, after all.
Of course, he also intended to capture and wipe out all the barbarians after that. In the end, he died without achieving his goal.
That’s why he proposed to Woroka. The only person who didn’t care whether there were horses among the barbarians was him. His ambition and greed to unify the North were much more important.
After pondering for a while, Woroka seemed to reach a resolution and nodded significantly.
“Very well! I’ll give you horses. Go persuade the other tribes. But, the food must come to me without fail. I’ll handle the distribution and coordination myself.”
“Then let’s do that. Go persuade the other tribes.”
“Got it. If we offer them food, they’ll follow.”
Woroka confidently said this and walked away. Food was indeed what they needed the most at the moment.
‘Heh heh, if I get the food and unify the tribes, I won’t let you all off easily. If we raise the captured children well, our numbers will increase significantly.’
Woroka hid his inner thoughts and smiled. In his mind, a great kingdom in the North was taking shape.
Claude, who had witnessed the entire conversation, shook his head in disbelief.
“Not a demon, huh? Absolutely a demon, indeed.”
It was clear as day. The barbarians who lost their horses would lose mobility and combat power.
What was more severe was the competition among the tribes for food. It was obvious that they would endlessly fight over the supplies thrown by Ghislaine.
One side would try to dominate the tribes by safeguarding the food, while the other would desperately try to snatch it away.
If they managed to distribute fairly and unite the tribes’ strength, it would actually put Perdium in danger, but no matter how you looked at it, Woroka didn’t seem like the type to do that.
Even if the tribes were unified, that would be a problem too. As the number of tribe members increased, feeding them would become a task.
‘A five-year truce? Does he plan to unify the tribes in that time? Even if he unifies all the tribes, it’d still be the same food shortage. They’d probably just grovel for the food thrown at them. Tsk tsk. Seems like he has ambition, but his greed is so big that he can’t think that far.’
That guy was now abandoning the future of the tribe for his own greed.
Now the barbarians couldn’t invade the northern part of Ruthania. During the five-year truce, the lord would tame them with food.
‘Something feels off again. If he didn’t know about that guy, he wouldn’t think this scheme would work.’
It all lined up too perfectly according to the lord’s thinking. It was truly incomprehensible from Claude’s perspective.
‘I’m really dying of curiosity!’
This wasn’t knowledge that could be gained from books. Experience was needed. But the lord had no such experience. This made Claude feel stifled, almost maddeningly so.
Unbeknownst to Claude’s thoughts, Ghislaine wore a satisfied smile.
‘I’ve gathered a bulk of horses, and I’m well prepared to put on the leashes. Now, I shouldn’t have to worry about being stabbed in the back.’
Ghislaine also needed to conserve his forces as much as possible. Woroka simply didn’t know that.
Of course, if he had pushed to the very end, he would have swept everything away, even if it meant incurring losses. Securing the rear’s safety was one of his important goals too.
‘They won’t be able to act for a few years, so I can safely withdraw my troops from Perdium.’
I heard that Amelia and Baron Valua’s civil war had begun. It must have been more pressing for her to deal with Davin than with Ghislaine.
Even if Amelia wins quickly, it would be a while before she could reach out to the Penris Territory. She would need time to regroup and resupply.
‘Just wait a little longer, Harold Desmond.’
Ghislaine smiled cruelly.
One by one, step by step, I was getting ready to behead that bastard.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
