"What are they doing? Are they attacking us?""Look! Some soldiers are also coming from the camp!"
As the barbarians started to discuss among themselves, one of the representatives could not take it anymore. "Quiet! All of you, just wait. It will take them at least 5 minutes to get there. Our horses are much faster than theirs!"
When they heard the representative speak, the barbarians started to calm down and quietly observed the movements of the townsmen.
"Tsssk, coward!"
"Coward? You are the coward, you already started walking toward your horse when those knights appeared!"
Although the barbarians were ordered to remain silent, they still felt the need to fight among themselves. They needed to distract themselves from the possible threat of the knights. They were just 250 barbarians on a scout mission. Considering that at least 2000 soldiers were stationed at the Tolden Encampment, they would naturally rather avoid fighting them at the moment.
Baltra swiftly regrouped with the other members of the Black Iron Tribe. As the representative of the tribe, it was his job to rea.s.sure them. "Calm down, remember that the Wandering Ram Tribe is here with us! Their leader is here together with 30 other normal members. If he is not scared, that means that those soldiers are not a threat to him!"
Although Baltra spoke only for the Black Iron Tribe, many of the surrounding tribes also heard him and quickly, murmurs spread out through the barbarians.
"It"s true, why are we so anxious when the Wandering Ram Tribe is here. Let"s just observe for now!"
...
At the gate of the Tolden Encampment, the leading knight raised a flag and kicked his horse to walk forward. At this distance, Five was unable to correctly see the flag but it was similar to those hanging on the walls.
To the barbarians" surprise, the armored knights did not immediately charge toward them with their warhorse. Instead, the group of knights slowly made its way toward them in an orderly fashion. About 50 knights came out of the fortress before the large gates were firmly closed behind them. Although all the knights looked the same when wearing their heavy armor, it was clear from their current formation that they were protecting someone important at the center.
50 knights did not represent much of a threat to the barbarians but at the same time, another group was walking out of the camp outside the town. Based on their appearance, those soldiers clearly belonged to a different organization; they were completely dressed in white and were holding a different flag from that of the knights. A large variety of cla.s.ses could be found among this group and more importantly, a few players also formed part of that group.
Slowly, the two groups merged into a single large formation and steadily made their way toward the barbarians.
"Whatever their intentions are, they are not here to attack us. Or else, they would have sent a lot more people than that," said the Wandering Ram Tribe leader. "Anyway, I will speak to them when they get to us. For now, just prepare yourself."
...
After what felt like an eternity, the group of soldiers eventually arrived within 50m of the group of barbarians. The atmosphere was tensed but none of the barbarians dared to move without the consent of their representatives.
The knights appeared calm and did not bother to hide their approach. Instead, it seemed like they were purposely making themselves obvious to show that they did not mean any harm.
As they reached the 50m mark, the knight formation suddenly stopped moving forward and instead, the knights slowly moved to the side, allowing a short figure to walk in front of them.
The barbarians" eyes shone as they recognized that person. After nodding to each other, the barbarian representatives grouped up behind the Wandering Ram Tribe leader and as a group, they walked toward the knights.
"You see that man? He"s one of the n.o.bles of the Sylvester Empire. Apparently, he"s easy going and does not really care about the law of the empire. The Wild Bull Tribe sometimes trade with the townsmen thanks to that man. I wonder why he is appearing here now," murmured Karv.
Five and the other barbarians of the Black Iron Tribe were all standing at a respectable distance from where the two parties would meet. From their position, they had a clear view of the knights and would even be able to hear the discussions.
Five nodded to Karv, thanking him for the information. He looked around him and soon noticed that the Black Iron Tribe was not the only one to have made a few steps toward the meeting point. All the barbarians were curious and wanted to know what was going on. At the same time, they did not fully trust the townsmen and wanted to stay at a reasonable distance where they would be able to intervene in case the situation turned sour.
...
"Baron Ma.r.s.eille! I have long heard of your reputation. May I know what bring you here?" asked the Wild Bull Tribe representative.
"We come in peace! If you did not come here today, we would have sent some amba.s.sadors to contact your tribes but since you are already there, we can discuss things directly," politely said the baron.
If he did not remove his helmet, the barbarians would have never guessed that this man was the ruler of this region. He completely blended in with his knights; rumors say that he often trained and ate with them.
"Peace? Alright, then speak. What is it that you want to ask us?" said the Wandering Ram Tribe leader. His tone contained no hostility but carried a feeling of impatience. The barbarians were naturally not very friendly toward the townsmen. Although the war had been over for several decades, they still bear grudges for losing several territories.
Baron Ma.r.s.eille awkwardly laughed, pretending to not be bothered by the uncooperative att.i.tude of the barbarians. Aside from the Wild Bull Tribe, the Tolden Encampment did not have any connections with the barbarians and they could not openly display their connection either.
Five struggled to hear the two parties" conversation. He tried to lip read but it was hard to keep track of so many people. However, the conversation seemed to be going well; n.o.body had blown up yet and judging from their facial expression, the barbarians seemed to have calmed down.
Soon, the knight"s formation opened up once again, allowing a group of soldiers dressed in white to approach the barbarians. Leading the group of soldiers was an old priest dressed in ceremonial clothes.
Five immediately raised an eyebrow. He was not a religious person but easily recognized the priest"s attire as it was very similar to that worn by Christian priests. The priest was rather old and relied on a long staff to walk. Despite his weak appearance, Five did not feel any sympathy for the priest; had he really been weak, Five doubted that his soldiers would just let him walk like that.
"I will keep things short. As a faithful member of the church, my mission is to exterminate evilness in all its forms. We have received a report that several devil seeds appeared all over the continent. It is our duty to deal with those possible threats before they grow up. As ordered by the Cardinal, I am leading the 29th legion to cleanse this region. I am well aware of the treaty between the empire and the barbarians but the church takes no side in this matter. The church has always been a neutral organization. Therefore, I kindly request to enter your territory to deal with the devil seeds. As soon as our job is done, we will unconditionally retreat. I swear in the name of the church."
The priest stopped in front of the barbarians and spoke without restraints. He did not even greet any of the barbarian representatives and simply started to loudly speak. His voice was strangely magnetic and despite the distance, it was clearly heard by all the barbarians.
Immediately, the barbarians started to murmur among themselves, "Devil seeds? What are those? Are they dangerous?"
"Is there really a threat hiding near us? How come our Shaman did not say anything?"
Five frowned as he listened to the comments. "Devil seeds? Let me guess what they are..."
The barbarian representatives were also shocked to hear about the devil seeds but before they could say anything, the Wandering Ram Tribe leader stepped forward. "Devil seeds? How come I have never heard of that? If you were able to detect them, there is no reason for us to not be able to detect them too. Are you just trying to use an excuse to invade us?"
"Blasphemy! I came here with good intentions and you try to frame me? Those devil seeds can be well hidden, had it not been for our special equipment, we would also have failed to find them. Despite that, I find it hard to believe that you have not found any yet. Maybe you are trying to hide something? Are you colluding with those demons?" The priest spoke with a calm voice but his eyes were fixed on the Wandering Ram Tribe leader, trying to read through his lies.
"I have not heard or seen any devil seeds," flatly answered the Wandering Ram Tribe Leader while staring at the priest.
"mmm, you don"t seem to be lying..." said the priest as he caressed his long white beard. "Were we wrong? Oh... I forgot to say something. Devil seeds are just how we, members of the church call them. I believe that you call them dungeon core. In other words, did some dungeons appear in the region? Mister?"
A wild smile appeared on the priest"s face as he especially stressed on his last words. It did not take long for him to notice the barbarians" expression. Some were full of surprise, some remained neutral as if this information had nothing to do with them but at the same time, a few barbarian representatives also betrayed their nervousness.
Five naturally did not miss this detail and judging by how the other barbarians were behaving, he quickly came to the conclusion: "I am not the only dungeon master that settled here. Some of those tribes are also farming dungeons."
The priest did not say anything and waited for the barbarians" answer. He had already confirmed that some of the tribes were involved with the dungeons but that was not important. As long as they could clear the dungeons and collect the dungeon core, his mission would be considered a success. Exterminating one or two tribes did not represent a huge obstacle for him but still, the best outcome was still to do things peacefully.
"Impossible, regardless of what reasons you have, we cannot allow you into our territories. Who knows what devious plans you have? How can we be sure it is not a trap?" exclaimed one of the barbarian representative.
"Yes, you say that you are here to get rid of the devil but why should we believe you? If you are looking to deal with dungeons, why don"t you take care of that one there?" said another barbarian while pointing at the dungeon tower in the distance.
"You just want to keep all the dungeons in your territory, isn"t it? You are trying to prevent us from developing our own strength!"
3 of the barbarian representatives loudly spoke but apart from them, no one else moved. The other barbarians silently listened to the arguments. Compared to the other three, they did not have any connections with a dungeon yet and would not experience any losses if the dungeons were captured.
"Haha, I have already sworn in the name of the church but if you want, I can also represent the church to swear one of your own oaths. I promise that as soon as we get rid of the dungeons, we will immediately retreat. The church does not get involved with the power struggle of the empire. To answer your question about this dungeon, we have long conquered it which is why we are allowing people to explore it. At the same time, we keep a close eye on its development."
"However, this will be impossible to do with the dungeons in your territory. We cannot afford to stay there for too long but fear not. My mission is simply to get rid of the devil, not to impede your growth. In exchange for allowing us to complete our mission, we are willing to pay each tribe the equivalent of 1000 gold in any shape or form. In addition, the tribes having a dungeon on their territory will receive additional resources equivalent to 9000 gold."
The Wandering Ram Tribe leader, who had stayed silent for a moment, loudly clicked his tongue. "Alright, I am done with this. We accept the deal as long as you swear the oath but only your church will be allowed here. Soldiers from the empire will not be allowed here."
"Elder, how is that possible? We cannot..." started one of the barbarian representatives but before he could complete his sentence, he was swiftly interrupted by the Wandering Ram Tribe leader.
"This has nothing to do with me. My own mission is to simply maintain the border between us and the townsmen. Since the border is not threatened, I have no say in this matter. Besides, 10000 gold is not a small sum. You should know very well that it could take at least an entire year to gather that many resources from the dungeon."
"Haha, it seems that some of you are very reasonable," said the priest with a smile. As long as the leader of the group approved, there was no need for him to worry.
Some murmurs of dissatisfaction rose among the barbarians. It was clear that they were not very happy about the outcome; even if they were receiving a considerable amount of resources, in the long run, they would be the losers of this deal. Furthermore, regardless of the deal, the fact that they were allowing townsmen in their territory was a clear sign of defeat. Many were unwilling to accept the results but since the Wandering Ram Tribe leader had spoken, they could only bite the bullet.
The Black Iron Tribe members and Five were not satisfied either. To his surprise, Five had been hoping that an argument would blow up and that the barbarians would deny them entry to the territory. He was now certain that the church"s executioners represented the second trial. "How good would it have been if they refused. Well, at least I now know what is going to happen next. If they had refused, the system would have probably found something else to attack the dungeon," said Five to himself.
The Wandering Ram Tribe leader walked pa.s.s the other barbarian representative with a serious face. "If you are not satisfied, you can deal with them by yourselves but I recommend that you start preparing the materials for an oath. My tribe will not interfere as long as the border is not in danger!"
The barbarian representatives lowered their head; they could only follow the Wandering Ram Tribe leader"s instructions. They would not necessarily lose if they were to fight the church"s executioners but their tribe"s foundation would without a doubt be severely damaged.
Five let out a sigh of relief; the meeting was soon going to be over and he would shortly be able to return to his dungeon. Although the trial was still going to happen, he at least had the opportunity to explore the outside world to some extent and obtained some information about the neighboring tribe. The trip was not a complete loss for him especially since Noon would be dealing with the trial for him.
He lightly tapped Ariel and smiled. The harpy had been frowning for a while now. Ever since the priest appeared, her instinct had been warning her about a potential threat lurking nearby. She just wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.
As Five was looking at the harpy, he did not notice a tall silhouette making his way toward the priest. Strangely, none of the knights of the church stopped him as he leaned next to the priest and whispered a few words at his ears.
If Five did not notice anything, Ariel did not miss the subtle movement and started to panic; her instincts screamed "Danger!".
Five did not see what was happening around him but when he saw Ariel"s expression he quickly looked up and followed her gaze. To his surprise, a lot of people was currently staring at him, including the priest of the church.
But more importantly, a tall man in knight armor, standing right next to the priest, was pointing in his direction. At first, Five did not take this matter to heart but soon he noticed that the man was actually a player and his expression did not appear to be very friendly.
Five deeply frowned. "Something is wrong with this atmosphere. Why are they all looking at me like that?"
He was confused but soon, he finally took notice of the player"s name and connected the pieces of the puzzle. The player"s name was Two.