Diplomacy.
It is not found in intimidation, but in one’s own strength.
If Aililan truly believed a single Memory Crystal could make the Jackal Tribe act as her dogs, she would be far too naive.
She had expected Hucli to resist.
But she did not expect him to yield so quickly.
As the moon and stars hung in the west and the sky was about to brighten with the first hints of dawn, several more members of the Jackal Tribe finally arrived at the scene.
They were the heirs of the clan.
There were four wolf-heirs in total.
As soon as they arrived, they saw their own father kneeling before the humans.
“Despicable humans…” one of them could not help but curse.
In the next moment, Hucli delivered a sharp slap across his face. “You bastard, what are you shouting for? Are you trying to make your father die faster?”
Aililan threw the Memory Crystal and a set of Church robes onto the ground and said, “Hucli, you know how to handle this.”
Hucli was covered in blood, with only one eye remaining. He curled one side of his mouth into a mocking smile and said, “Understood. I understand. I am very familiar with how this works.”
Several of his sons followed Hucli’s lead.
Then, they swore their oaths before the Memory Crystal and joined the Church.
This thing certainly wasn’t lethal, but if it were used for public opinion strikes in the future, it would still be quite effective. After all, not everyone was like Hucli, willing to throw away their dignity entirely.
Before long.
The group stood before Aililan.
One could see that the faces of Hucli’s sons were clearly filled with humiliation and resentment.
Aililan took a deep breath and finally got to the point. “Fine, enough nonsense. My time is very precious.”
“With human support, the War Pigs have already risen.”
“If your Jackal Tribe continues like this, you will eventually be wiped out by the War Pigs or become their vassals.”
“In short — whoever the humans support now is the one who has the possibility of competing for hegemony on these southern plains.”
Hucli hurriedly smiled and said, “You are right, Goddess Lady. I came precisely for this matter. Those previous events were all a misunderstanding. Haha, just a misunderstanding.”
Aililan snapped, “Shut up.”
Hucli immediately fell silent, not daring to speak.
Aililan continued, “A Mutual Market is impossible now. That would undermine the relationship we’ve worked so hard to establish with the War Pigs.”
“However — “
“I will give you a secret trade route.”
“You should know what this means, right? It means you will rise just like the War Pigs and become a hegemon of the Orcs on the Southern Plains.”
As soon as Aililan said this.
The breathing of the wolfmen suddenly became rapid.
The previous dissatisfaction and anger toward Aililan vanished in an instant.
There are no eternal friends in this world, only eternal interests.
The rise of the War Pigs was obvious to everyone, and the root of it was their control of the trade channels with the humans. Under the supply of massive resources, they had begun their journey toward hegemony.
“Of course — “
Aililan paused and then continued, “If you are unwilling or do not wish to participate in the struggle for hegemony, I will not force you. After all, even if you don’t want it, there are plenty of other Gnoll-kin who are eager to fight. I think the Centaurs or the Snake-folk near your borders aren’t bad. At least their upper bodies look somewhat human. What do you think?”
Hucli’s sons finally realized the weight of the situation.
This could be said to be an incredibly lucky break. If they had the help of human resources, the Jackal Tribe could also rise rapidly and become a powerful tribe on the plains.
Conversely, without human assistance, they couldn’t even solve their own tribe’s food problems now.
They either had to become hegemons or be destroyed by them.
When they heard Aililan say she could choose other Gnoll-kin if they refused, they realized just how far-sighted their father had been.
They all expressed their agreement.
“No, we of the Jackal Tribe are willing!”
“Humans… no, Goddess Lady, you are the guiding light of our Jackal Tribe. You are the sun in the Jackal Tribe’s sky! Please, you must choose our Jackal Tribe!”
“Our father was just confused for a moment. Please do not take offense, Goddess Lady.”
“…”
“…”
A somewhat discordant voice rang out, asking, “Human Saintess, I want to ask you — what exactly do you want to gain by supporting our Jackal Tribe?”
It was Hucli’s fourth son.
The directness of his words immediately drew sharp gazes from the others.
Hucli narrowed his eyes and raised his hand to strike him, while his brothers glared at him.
Aililan raised her hand to stop them. “Good question. You should know how much we humans love peace and how kind we are. For so many years, there have only been instances of you Orcs invading the south; there are no records of us humans heading north.”
“We are simply tired of the flames of war.”
“Our merchants want to make money.”
“The goods produced by our people simply need a place to be sold.”
“I cannot bear to see the war affect our innocent human citizens again.”
“You Orcs come south for nothing more than money and food. Now, I am giving them to you.”
Hucli’s fourth son interrupted, “Human Saintess, the Orcs heading south isn’t just about money and food. Don’t forget that your Church’s Fifth Wing Region was once the homeland of us Gnoll-kin. If you support our Jackal Tribe, what is the price? Please answer me.”
Silence.
A dead silence.
Aililan chuckled softly and said in a low voice, “The Fifth Wing Region has been Church land since ancient times.”
“Furthermore, I see that your Jackal Tribe lacks the sincerity for cooperation. Let us end this here.”
“I will visit the Centaurs or the Snake-folk another day.”
Aililan gave a cold snort.
She turned around, intending to lead her people away.
Hucli panicked instantly and hurried forward to block Aililan’s path.
*Clang — *
Renata directly drew her sword.
Aililan mounted her warhorse and said coldly, “Hucli, I gave you a chance, but you are useless… and your fourth son makes me very unhappy. Hmph.”
Having said that, she led her people away.
Hucli’s fourth son might have been a man of vision and perhaps would have made a good chief in the future, but unfortunately, he was too sharp.
What is too rigid is easily broken, and being too smart is not necessarily a good thing.
Not long after Aililan and her group left, Hucli’s fourth son explained, “Father, brothers, we cannot easily trust the words of humans.”
“If humans were truly kind, how could we Orcs be left with only this bit of land on the plains?”
“She wants to control us.”
“And she is clearly using us as shields.”
“To make us Orcs fight one another.”
*Puchi — *
Before Hucli’s fourth son could finish his sentence, a sharp blade suddenly emerged from his chest.
“Brother, you…?”
“Little brother, you understand nothing at all. What’s wrong with being the Goddess Lady’s dog? The human Goddess Lady is even letting us become the hegemons of the Gnoll-kin. That’s better than being crushed by the War Pigs or wiped out by the Centaurs and Snake-folk supported by the humans.”
Hucli’s remaining eye was somewhat bloodshot. He did not dare to meet his fourth son’s gaze and eventually only muttered in a low voice, “Your elder brother is right. This is just how it is… how many tribes want to be the Goddess Lady’s dog but have no way to do so?”
Finally, he murmured something else.
The Jackal Tribe cannot lose the Goddess Lady’s support, just as the Sages cannot lose the Holy Lake.