Chapter Thirteen: Ferocity in Appearance, Weakness Within
“Lord, we cannot agree to your request. Our Sanjia tribe has already suffered tremendous losses in this war. Our warriors have made great sacrifices for your cause—your demands are simply excessive.” Di Fanchi’s gaze was calm, with no discernible expression, yet his tone and attitude were extremely firm. “Our Sanjia tribe is not your subject. Please understand that clearly. It’s up to those smaller tribes to decide whether to join your Caucasus realm, but we Sanjia tribe are not among them.”
“Oh? Chief Di Fanchi, I truly cannot understand your thinking. Have my actions really harmed the interests of the Sanjia tribe? Indeed, our warriors have provided me with great help in this war, and their losses are evident. But I have made amends—each family of fallen warriors has received compensation five to ten times greater than what they received for those who died in the southern wars. The same goes for the wounded soldiers. Not only have I given them rewards sufficient for a comfortable life for the rest of their lives, but I have also provided them with living conditions in the Caucasus. Is such treatment really considered unfair to you mountain warriors?”
Komer remained calm as well. He had expected the joint visit by the leaders of the Sanjia tribe. It was precisely by holding back the army composed of warriors provided by the Sanjia tribe that he forced their leaders to return to Ugru. This negotiation would usher in a new era—one unprecedented for the Sanjia tribe and even for all the mountain people in the Cordillera Wasteland.
“Lord Komer, it seems you’ve forgotten our original agreement and the status of our Sanjia tribe. We belong to the Mountain People Alliance, a completely different race from you mortals. To put it mildly, we can be neighbors who live in harmony. To put it bluntly, you are nothing but a pack of wolves eyeing us covetously.”
A faint mocking smile finally appeared on Di Fanchi’s face, seemingly mocking Komer’s forgetfulness. Yet to Komer, it seemed quite amusing. This usually calm chief of the Jiarong tribe seemed somewhat agitated—perhaps the delicate situation and environment were provoking his emotions, making it difficult for him to maintain a peaceful state of mind. And that was exactly what Komer wanted to achieve.
“Hehe, Chief Difanqi, your words are a bit excessive. Is it my forgetfulness? When the Sanjia Tribe was in trouble and asked us in the Caucasus to tighten our belts and provide them with food, when the Sanjia Tribe lacked various necessities of life, when the Mountain People’s Alliance exerted pressure on them, you and your companions didn’t speak in such a tone or with such an attitude.” Komer retorted sharply, “Are we wolves? Would wolves provide food and necessities to lambs? Would they help lambs resist the oppression of the alpha? Such wolves would be utterly failures.”
Difanqi was momentarily speechless. His own words indeed had some flaws. Even if the Caucasus had certain ambitions toward the Sanjia Tribe, he shouldn’t have exposed them outright. Revealing this truth might leave no room for negotiation between the two sides. Difanqi didn’t even know why he had become so impulsive all of a sudden. By looking at the expressions of his two companions, he knew they both disagreed with tearing relations with the other side at this moment.
“Since Chief Difanqi has spoken openly, I too would like to discuss this issue with you three. Indeed, I still need the support of the Sanjia Tribe’s soldiers, and I even hope the Sanjia Tribe can provide me with more military support.” Waving his hand to stop the three chiefs who looked indignant and wanted to interject, Komer continued, “Perhaps you three think I am insatiable and that this request is utterly unacceptable. But I want to ask in return: How is the situation of the Sanjia Tribe now compared to five years ago? Has it improved or worsened? Is your population decreasing or increasing? Are your people satisfied with their current lives or not?”
A series of counterquestions made the three chiefs look uneasy. After exchanging glances with Beilemon, Difanqi said, “Lord Komer, these questions have nothing to do with the matters we are discussing today. We only want to retrieve our Sanjia Tribe soldiers as agreed. Your actions violate our agreement. As for what you mentioned earlier, I just want to tell you that we Mountain People will never submit to anyone just because of some small favors, especially outsiders!”
“Heh, ‘small favors’—what a nice way to put it, Leader Di Fanchi. Would you dare say such things to your own people? Small favors, huh? Countless provisions and necessities are nothing but ‘small favors’ in your eyes, Leader Di Fanchi. Are my, Ko Mo’s, small favors really that valuable? Can you just ignore the survival of thousands of people just for some so-called worthless pride? Is this what you call maintaining your so-called dignity? I don’t see what this proves at all!” Ko Mo snorted coldly. “I’d like to remind you three not to ignore your people’s demands. Don’t think your will alone can decide everything—it will only harm yourselves in the end.”
“Lord Ko Mo, we mountain people will decide our own affairs. We don’t need outsiders to dictate to us,” Di Fanchi snapped, his expression darkening. This guy was too arrogant—did he really think he could dominate everything?
“Leader Di Fanchi, honest advice may be unpleasant to hear but is beneficial for action, just as bitter medicine cures illness. I have no ill intent in what I said. I hope you won’t misunderstand. With your wisdom, I believe you can figure out whether my words are right or wrong if you calm down and analyze them. Why make things so unpleasant?” Ko Mo softened his tone slightly. Such direct conflict wasn’t what he wanted.
“Lord Ko Mo, we have no ulterior motives this time. Our Sanjia tribe also wishes to continue maintaining close cooperation with the Caucasus. But now that the war with Homer has ended and the original conditions have been met, what reason do you still have to hold our Sanjia tribe’s soldiers hostage? Could it be that Lord Ko Mo really intends to conquer our Sanjia tribe, as the rumors say?” Beilemon gave Di Fanchi a glance before stepping forward. “We mountain people have never been conquered by outsiders, nor will we ever yield to external pressure. History has proven that. I hope Lord Ko Mo will think things through carefully.”
Komer smiled softly. These feisty yet weak-willed guys had even lost confidence in their control over these soldiers—otherwise, they wouldn’t insist so much on going through such a superficial handover procedure. The barbarian soldiers weren’t fools either. People strive for better conditions, just as water flows downhill. The treatment here was ten times better than back in the Cordillera Wasteland. Why would they want to go back? As long as he still needed them, they would stay here, unless he ordered them to return. It was laughable that these so-called leaders couldn’t even see such basic logic and still argued with him. Even if they returned to the Cordillera Wasteland, would they really stay there peacefully? It was even possible they might secretly flee to the Caucasus with their families.
“Three leaders, it seems no race can be easily conquered by an external race. Yet the downfall of a race often stems from within—ignoring the trends of historical development and the survival needs of its people. Such a race will either perish or, as you put it, be conquered by an external race, or its ruling class will be overthrown through revolution. There are only these two possibilities! It’s no longer possible for the mountain people to retreat to their once isolated world. The worsening internal conditions and the increasingly open external world have left you with no way out. If you continue to cling to your rigid ways of thinking, I believe you’ll eventually find that you’ll be discarded by the tide of history and buried in its ashes.”
Komer’s deliberately profound speech deeply shocked the three leaders.
Given the goal at hand, Komer had no problem using some mental magic. This minor spell, called “Heart Erosion,” could greatly enhance the effectiveness of his speech. It was useless on the battlefield, but in such a relatively peaceful environment, it often produced unexpected results—especially when his speech was already highly persuasive.
“Three leaders, ask yourselves honestly—can your people really leave our Caucasus now? The ties between us have far surpassed those between your Tiga tribe and other mountain tribes. If you still maintain considerable connections with those other mountain tribes, it’s only because your Tiga tribe serves as a kind of intermediary between the Caucasus and those tribes. You can’t deny this reality.” Komer sighed softly. “I always thought that our previous cooperation should have set an example for how mortals and other races can interact with the mountain people, possibly fostering communication and cooperation between the mountain people across the Cordillera Wasteland and the outside world. But I never expected the three leaders to hold such narrow prejudices and views. It’s very disappointing. Do the mountain people really have to revert to their previous situation in order to preserve what they call their dignity and independence? I certainly don’t think so.”