Chapter Eleven: A Sudden Spark of Passion

“Difanqi, Sik, have you two ever considered that if we truly break away from the alliance, it’s highly likely to lead to a civil war among our mountain tribe?! A civil war would not only benefit the mortals but, more importantly, if our Sanjia tribe fails, we will be completely conquered by them! Our people will become inferiors, even slaves!”
Beilemon had indeed thought about breaking away from the alliance. In fact, he had started pondering this issue ten years ago when an unprecedented famine struck, and the alliance refused to provide the Jalong tribe with equal food rations. That famine reduced the population of the Jalong tribe by one and a half times, with many young adults losing their lives. But as an elder who had served as tribal leader for decades, he still had to consider the severe consequences of such a breakaway. The armed forces of the Sanjia tribe were no match for the other ten tribes in the alliance. If the alliance truly decided to attack the Sanjia tribe with full force, the tribe would have no chance at all—even just the Leihu and Leita tribes would be enough to destroy them.
“Leader Beilemon, of course I’ve thought about this. But with such a once-in-a-century opportunity before us, we’re forced to endure the exploitation and oppression by those larger tribes in the alliance. They can recklessly take what should belong to us just because of their strength. Are we supposed to sit idly by and let this continue? I refuse to endure this any longer. I believe Leader Sik feels the same way. Mortals may not always be our enemies. In fact, I think sometimes those larger tribes in our alliance are our greatest enemies. They don’t want our Sanjia tribe to grow stronger and always try to restrict our development, even deliberately or unintentionally using various opportunities to weaken us. What about that severe drought ten years ago and the locust plague three years ago? Have you forgotten, Leader Beilemon?”
Difanqi also knew it wouldn’t be easy to persuade Beilemon, but he truly wanted to change the current situation. He didn’t want to continue living in poverty on this land, struggling just to survive. He always believed that his tribe’s people deserved a better life, but past constraints had prevented him from achieving it. Now, it seemed there was an opportunity—so why not seize it?

“Aren’t mortals our greatest enemy?” Belemon raised his eyebrows in surprise, his gaze fixed intently on the other’s face. Yet the honest expression on the other’s face made Belemon’s heart tremble. “Difanqi, don’t let petty gains blind you. Perhaps mortals in the north can bring us some benefits now, but you must think of the main priorities of our tribe.”

“Hmph, main priorities? I think our main priorities should be how to feed our master, how to prevent our people from starving during disasters, and how to stop our population from continuing to decline! How many people were there in our Sanjia tribe twenty years ago? How many are there now? After all these years since the alliance was formed, how much help has it really brought to our Sanjia tribe? I think it’s high time we reevaluate this.” Difanqi said disdainfully, “Mortals don’t just fight against us—they also fight against other races. Even the wars within their own communities are larger and more intense. This can’t be a reason for us to view mortals as enemies. Look at the Caucasus in the north—aside from us mountain people, aren’t half-orcs, elves, half-elves, and dwarves all living there freely? I can’t see any reason to think that mortals in the Caucasus pose a threat to us. They even sell us weapons and armor. Can you say the same about our enemies?”

Difanqi’s forceful rebuttals made Belemon’s already weak arguments seem even more flimsy. Faced with such an open-minded Caucasus, anyone could see the tremendous changes it had brought to their people. In particular, many members of the Sanjia tribe had gone to the Caucasus to work and survive, with Bahomong and Ugru becoming the best places for mountain people to make a living.

Seeing that Belemon seemed at a loss for words, Difanqi pressed further, “Leader Belemon, Leader Sik, I’m afraid you’re also aware that the Catania River route has been opened up by Baron Komer. I don’t know how the Jellyfish people agreed to allow passage through their sacred land, but I know exactly what this means—food. Food will no longer be a problem in the lower regions of the Catania River. Abundant food from the upper and middle reaches of the river will flow continuously along this route. As long as we maintain good relations with the Caucasus, our Sanjia tribe will never again be threatened by disasters, and our population will steadily grow. If we can achieve this, what risks are there we can’t take?”

“Chief Difanqi is right. For the prosperity of our tribe, I, Sik, am also ready to go all out. If there are any problems, I, Sik, will bear them alone!” The chief of the Jiapon tribe was equally determined.

Seeing that Belemont seemed somewhat interested, Difanqi seized the opportunity to press on, “Of course, it’s not appropriate for our three Jia tribes to break ties with the alliance at this time, nor will we casually sever our relations with them. But we must protect the minimum rights and interests of our three Jia tribes. I think there’s no need for us to get involved too much with the alliance right now. What we need to do is ensure that the Caucasus guarantees our food supply—something the alliance must not know about. Additionally, we should increase imports of weapons, armor, and other equipment. For this, we can offer the Caucasus some unique things, such as young earth dragons, and we can also teach them how to train dragon warriors. And now, that lord has already made such a request. I think this is an opportunity.”

“You mean you plan to meet the Caucasus’s needs in this regard in exchange for their full support in terms of food?” Belemont countered. He also realized he had been too extreme on this issue. The bait was indeed tempting; even he couldn’t help but feel tempted.