The Amber Sword

Chapter 29 – Expansion (10)

The Subterrane Dwellers were not unintelligent creatures and stopped their aggressive actions because they detected a change in their leader’s attitude. Even though Tagiv had not ordered them to cease talking, they understood their rash actions might cause them to lose their chieftain. The two angels were also a factor, of course.

The more time Tagiv took to think, the more satisfied Brendel was.

He wanted to shock the Witch Doctor to make sure it was not conceited. The cities Toland and Dragontongue were common areas that led to the surface near Trentheim. Thus he guessed the Subterrane Dwellers came from this two places. While this knowledge came naturally to him, the people in this world would probably view it as a secret.

After breaking down Tagiv’s pride, he continued to threaten it with a harsh tone: “The humans do not welcome you Underworld creatures!”

“I did not wish….. to intervene, in your world.” Tagiv had to temper his tone.

It was not exactly a lie. Even though it once had the ambitious plan to take advantage of the weak humans, it canceled it because of their numbers. Aouine had a population of millions, and this information was beyond its imagination.

The fact that the weak leader named Graudin actually governed hundred of thousands of citizens and still considered as a small lord made Tagiv greatly surprised. In its homeworld, only a mighty leader like a Slavelord which had a powerful military might would be able to hold that many citizens. The Toland and Dragontongue cities were also examples.

“Is that true?” Brendel refused to acknowledge his words: “But it seems like you, great chieftain, are acting differently from your words. The woods that you occupy are lands that the humans have occupied since the Age of Divinity—”

He said it as though it was fact but quickly realized there were issues with his statements. He corrected himself:

“No, I’ll change my wording. These four lumber mills are part of my wealth, and I don’t intend to even lend it to you for one minute, let alone accepting your occupying of them.”

“Your wealth?” Tagiv repeated the words blankly. It had met Graudin a few times, and it did not believe that the youth was the actual owner of Trentheim, Count Randner.

“Yes, they are mine…… for now,” Brendel nodded.

“Then, what exactly, is it you want?” Tagiv’s head moved towards the angel’s sword and Scarlett’s halberd, seeing them through echolocation.

“I’ll give you two choices. One, go back where you come from.”

Tagiv shook its head, the feathers all over his body shaking. A branch tribe which lost a battle would mean certain death for the chieftain…… Unless it was willing to surrender to its sworn rival. It rejected this possibility a long time ago.

“The second choice?” It asked.

“It seems like you and your tribe members have lost a battle in the Underworld if you’re unwilling to go back….. Even if you go back and become successful in the future, you would be working for others. If that is the case, why not switch over to a new point of view? How about this; why not become my citizens? I know your rules, and you pledge loyalty to me, I can promise to let your tribe continue to go about without my interference.”

Tagiv had guessed what the youth was thinking but refused to believe that it would happen. He actually wanted it to become subordinates and sell out its entire tribe to him. Even though the youth truly understood how the Underworld function, getting the Subterrane Dwellers to surrender was remarkably hilarious.

What exactly did he have in him to demand its whole tribe to swear loyalty to him?

Both options were just as bad as each other. Tagiv looked down on humans, but surrendering to a rival tribe was beyond frustrating.

[But it’s possible that this human doesn’t really intend to let us go back. If I say no, these blades might end up cutting me to pieces.]

The Witch Doctor hesitated for a long time, and Brendel continued to wait. Scarlett was silent and her expression was even gloomier compared to the two people in front of her. She was worried. If this damned creature said no, then what would her lord do?

He had no other way to stop the battle at the lumber mill, and the Subterrane Dwellers would continue attacking Amandina and the others. Even if they killed every single one of them, it would be too late to save the others. She exhaled lightly and had sweat on her palms when she realized this fact.

Brendel’s hand had never left his sword’s hilt. Tagiv’s guess was not wrong. If it said no, then it would go through an unthinkable fate.

He was not as worried as Scarlett, because he intended to force or trick Tagiv into accepting a new proposal if it refused. The hundred Wealth in his mind was already set and ready to be used. Tagiv would become a card if it rejected him.

Even though it was a different way of solving things, the tribe would still submit under him. He needed this force as a secretive backup. Regardless of Lord Macsen or Lord Palas, they would not be of any threat to him if he had the Subterrane Dwellers.

(TL: Both are Count Randner’s men in Trentheim possessing an army each.)

The strength of three thousand Iron-ranked fighters would leave Trentheim with a voice in the political arena, and Count Randner would never be able to predict this outcome.

His heart started beating faster. The thorny road extended in front of him had become crystal clear for the first time. It was the first time he felt such a strong ability to change the future ever since he arrived in this world.

After a few more minutes, the chieftain finally lifted its head up shakily. The feathers around its body trembled as though they had made a huge decision and it opened its mouth.

A chilly wind blew across the entire forest, causing the pine trees to rustle loudly, overpowering the words that would change Trentheim and Aouine’s history.

The youth’s expression became softer, and he nodded.

“It’s good that you decided—”

And his second sentence was: “Because you would find that you have gained much more than what you have lost.”

The mercenaries who participated in the lumber mill’s battles did not understand how they won the night.

Days soon passed, and Firburh gradually went back to a certain hushed and stable state like before. A week-long battle was finished in a dramatic single day.

The Subterrane Dwellers had the complete advantage in terms of numbers and geography, yet not only did they retreat, they even gave up their occupied lumber mills and surrendered their territory.

At such a near-miraculous result, the mercenaries had completely changed their view on Brendel. In their hearts, he had become a mysterious figure who could achieve anything. Even though the mercenaries’ commanders had their questions, they ultimately chose to submit to him without any conditions.

Brendel did not immediately rearrange their armies. The first thing he did was to have the Viridien village stay in the lumber mills, and produce timber for Firburh, and hasten the date to repair the walls.

The next thing he did was to enforce the tax exemption and create new ways to revitalize Firburh’s destitute farms. The citizens could not believe what they were seeing. Instead of acquiring taxes, the lord was actually spending money on the lands.

He smirked when he thought that the citizens were probably betting on how long he would stay as the city’s lord. The table he was sitting in was filled with papers containing reports on Graudin’s wealth. Perhaps only the gods would know how much time the former lord spent on Trentheim’s affairs.

He continued to work on the paperwork before him with a smile.

TL stuff to talk about: Chapter end.

First about patreon.

I’m finally f*@#ing done with the environmental drawing (probably could do more things on it but urgh).

I’m having serious trouble keeping up with my translations/drawing thanks to my gastric issues the past two months, and I think I need to postpone another month. My doctor appt is coming up in a day, and I’ll ask what kind of tests can be done.

Unfortunately this time I’ll only TL the basic 6 TAS chapters for October because I haven’t finished my planned stuff for Sep.

Secondly, more enjoyable for me and maybe you guys.

I’ll be playing Danganronpa at 6 pm +0 GMT Sep 26, approximately 25 hours from now. I’ll try to play every day for 2-3 hours around this time, feel free to join me (I definitely need help because I suck at puzzles.).