Chapter Eleven: The Game in Hand

Wuguli looked despondently at his allies, who had completely lost all confidence. The once valiant warriors now resembled scared dogs, living in constant fear. Even Wuguli wondered how he could have associated with such people and still hoped to conquer the Karong, Kabo, and Sanya tribes at once.

He had always disdained the indecisiveness of Guluopu from the Kater tribe, but now it seemed that this man’s cunning and subtlety far surpassed his own boldness and decisiveness. At least when it came to making bets, he was far more skilled than Wuguli. Relying on those fools from the Siva tribe was his biggest mistake. If he could muster enough courage now, Wuguli believed he could abandon those allied tribes’ armies and launch a swift counterattack. The Kater tribe’s forces might not be able to withstand his assault, even with the help of those mortal dark mages.

But looking at the chaotic situation before him, Wuguli knew this was just wishful thinking. It was impossible to expect those demoralized fools to regroup at this point. All they cared about was preserving the strength of their own tribe. The idea of forcing them to fight another battle, especially a desperate one, was unrealistic—they had completely lost their fighting spirit.

Wuguli believed that Kemuer was sitting in the castle at that very moment, watching everything with a look of contempt and pity. The scattered nature of the mountain people was fully exposed now—internal strife compounded by the Kater tribe’s betrayal. Thinking of this, Wuguli felt ashamed. How had he been so foolish? How could he have assumed Kemuer wouldn’t bother with this conflict? A cunning and deceitful man like him would never miss such an opportunity.

It was too late to lament now. The most pressing issue was preventing tens of thousands of people from the Karo tribe from becoming slaves to the Karong and Kabo tribes. Wuguli understood this well. Compared to being enslaved by mortals, the hatred among the mountain people was the real source of nightmares. Seeing how the Karo tribe oppressed and bullied those smaller allied tribes, and imagining what would happen if the Karo tribe fell into that situation, made Wuguli shudder.

If that really happened, he would be a traitor to the Karo tribe. Even being nailed to a sacrificial pillar in their tribe wouldn’t be enough to atone for his sins. Wuguli could not tolerate such a scenario. Even if it meant selling his soul to demons, he would not let it happen.

But what can he do now to avoid such a tragic outcome?
“What did you say?” Ilot could hardly believe his ears.
“The envoy from the leader of the Karo tribe’s Wuguli clan is waiting in the secret chamber to meet with you.”
“Has it been verified? I mean his identity.”
Ilot calmed his racing heart. It was incredible—how could the Karo tribe’s envoy arrive here so quietly at this moment? Clearly, he wasn’t here to issue a challenge; his purpose was obvious. Ilot was simply shocked that the Karo tribe’s leader could make such a decision so quickly. It seemed too difficult for barbarians who valued face so much.
“It’s been verified. There should be no problem. He possesses the traditional symbols of a barbarian leader.”
“Hmm, I see. Then ask him to wait a while.” Ilot needed to consider whether he could gain more from this opportunity. Although Komer’s secret letter had outlined various possibilities, it was somewhat unexpected that the enemy would come knocking at this time.
The negotiations with the Karo tribe’s envoy went exceptionally smoothly. Even Ilot himself didn’t expect the Karo tribe, which he thought hadn’t suffered much in terms of strength, to suddenly become so “reasonable.” Under his relentless pressure, they appeared extremely weak, to the point where he even doubted their sincerity. If it weren’t for the fact that they had few tricks up their sleeves at this stage, Ilot would have wanted to delay things further to observe.
Supporting a mountain people alliance controlled by the Caucasians was what best aligned with Komer’s intentions—a truth Ilot had deeply understood.
A united mountain people alliance was unacceptable to Komer, so he first dismantled and firmly controlled the Sanjia tribe, turning it and its allied tribes into complete puppets of the Caucasians. He then supported the Kalonkabo tribe to ally with the Sanya tribe against the Karo and Sawa tribes, creating a complete rift between these two groups. Finally, he used the neutral Kat tribe to stir up trouble, thereby chaos among the entire barbarian population.

Only by ensuring that the pain caused by massive casualties remains forever unrelieved can the Caucasus continue to play a decisive role within the already fragile Mountain People Alliance. This is also the main reason why Komer repeatedly delayed the Caucasus forces from entering Flanders. Intensifying the battles among the barbarians and causing more casualties was not Komer’s intention to weaken their strength, but rather to create deeper hatred so that the major tribes could never reconcile—only then could the Caucasus influence the situation. It was only after reading Komer’s secret letters several times that Ilot truly understood his thoughts and intentions. Such a profound and complex strategy left Ilot in awe, especially the tactics of stoking tensions and using others to achieve one’s own goals, which he believed could only be devised by his close friend—and whose brilliant results were now clearly before his eyes. The Karon and Kabo tribes refused to give up, while the Karo and Siva tribes were seething with anger. But without their support, none dared to start a war on their own. The Kater tribe had halted its advances, yet the chaotic situation behind them made the Karo and Siva tribes hate them just as much. The Kater tribe’s actions also failed to win the friendship of the Karon and Kabo tribes, who believed that if the Kater tribe had declared its stance earlier, this war would not have resulted in such catastrophic consequences. It was all simply perfect. When Komer received reports from Flanders, he was so delighted he almost jumped for joy—every piece was moving according to his plan, and the sense of having everything under control was incredibly exhilarating.