Perdium had been extremely peaceful lately.
The mission of guarding the North remained the same, but it was because the barbarians weren't rampaging.
Rather, it had now become something akin to a trade intermediary between the barbarians and the kingdom.
Hiiiing!
Hundreds of horses entered the northern fortress.
They were the horses Waroka was offering as tribute.
"Hmm, hmm, the wolf of the North, it's been a while."
"It has been a while, Waroka."
The two men shook hands as soon as they met.
Having exchanged what they needed from each other several times, they no longer drew weapons the moment they met like they used to.
Of course, they still harbored hostility deep inside.
'Should I have dealt with him back during the expedition?'
'These guys can't be trusted. Who knows when they'll stab us in the back.'
Nevertheless, both men kept smiling outwardly. After all, maintaining the current agreement was beneficial for now.
Zwalter showed Waroka the prepared supplies.
"Here, the promised provisions. This much should be sufficient for the year, right?"
Waroka swallowed his saliva as he looked at the stacked provisions.
No matter how many times he saw it, it always amazed him. These people had too much food. It was almost a mystery how they managed to produce so much.
'If only we could produce food like this ourselves...'
Then there'd be no need to live with a leash around their necks. They could truly build a northern kingdom.
"Could you... perhaps teach us how to produce food like this?"
In this barren North, they had suddenly succeeded in mass production. There must be a method. If he could learn it, he could pursue prosperity for his people.
But Zwalter shook his head.
"I don't know."
"...?"
"I really don't. It's something my son figured out, and none of us know how it works."
'Damn it! If you don't want to teach me, just say you don't want to!'
Waroka wore a frustrated expression, but Zwalter was telling the truth. The magic farmlands had been created directly by key figures from Fenris.
And ever since the Forest of Demonic Beasts was developed, Perdium no longer relied on the magic farmlands. They could produce food in that region instead.
Although the yield per unit area was less than the magic farmlands of Fenris, the area cultivated was vast, and the land was fertile, so there was no problem.
Zwalter, debating whether to mention the Forest of Demonic Beasts, suddenly remembered something and said,
"You wouldn't know how to farm anyway, right?"
"..."
The Forest of Demonic Beasts extended into the territory of the barbarians as well. But they had no intention of farming.
For them, farming was a humiliating act for the weak. Warriors were only meant to hunt and plunder.
So even if they were to suggest farming, most of them wouldn't do it.
Waroka, in fact, had planned to use kingdom citizens as slaves to produce food if he ever invaded the kingdom.
After clearing his throat a few times, he subtly probed again.
"Well, could you at least give us a bit more food? My tribesmen are increasing, and it's starting to get tight."
By using food, Waroka had brought many tribes under his control, creating a forced peace.
Other tribes were disgruntled but didn't dare rebel. Only Waroka could procure food through dealings with Perdium.
Waroka was one of the more cunning among the barbarians. His suspicions were so strong that he never delegated food transactions to his subordinates, always managing them personally.
Zwalter firmly shook his head.
"That wasn't part of our agreement. If you want more, bring something else to the table."
Even Zwalter, who once had a soft heart, had grown tougher. He'd been through a lot, after all.
"Tsk... You're so stingy."
Waroka muttered in annoyance.
In any case, it was thanks to the food that the tribes were unified under forced peace.
Even if they wanted to fight, they couldn't, as long as the food was controlled by the other side.
'If we went back to raiding, the food supply would stop... and the tribes would scatter.'
He didn't want that. He wanted to maintain his authority and keep the tribes unified, as they were now.
'I need another source of power…'
He'd already been severely defeated by Ghislain once. He had no confidence he could win if he fought again.
Waroka was slowly realizing that he could never surpass Perdium at this rate.
For someone as ambitious as him, it was an unacceptable situation.
'That guy is the problem. If only I could get rid of him...'
Hiding his dark intentions, Waroka subtly asked Zwalter,
"The Bloody Demon... no, how is Baron Fenris doing these days?"
"He's a Count now."
"Right, he got promoted. I heard you became a Marquis too, didn't you? Anyway, how's Count Fenris doing?"
News reached the barbarians later than most. Zwalter, without much suspicion, explained in detail.
"Oh, don't you know? My son recently fought Marquis Rodrick after his promotion to Count..."
And so began Zwalter's bragging about his son. The more he talked, the paler Waroka's face became.
'Marquis Rodrick? That famous great lord? Didn't they say he crushed 100,000 troops with minimal losses? How is that even possible?'
As Waroka broke out in a cold sweat, Zwalter's bragging continued endlessly.
"So then, I showed up right on time! Huh? To chase down the remnants of Marquis Rodrick's forces!"
Zwalter enthusiastically recounted how he had recently gone to support Fenris.
At first, he had been extremely worried. Fighting Marquis Rodrick was akin to facing the entirety of the Western forces.
But since his son would eventually have to fight even the Duchy, defeating Marquis Rodrick would significantly reduce the risks.
So, as soon as his son requested reinforcements, Zwalter had gone to support him.
'That weird Claude fellow suddenly changed the plan, though...'
Originally, they were supposed to wait in an agreed location and ambush the enemy in coordination with Ghislain's signal.
But the head butler of Fenris abruptly altered the strategy, sending Perdium's forces to some strange castle.
'In the end, the war was over before we did anything.'
As soon as the enemy saw their presence, they fled. They chased briefly but stopped as the distance widened.
And that was it. After a short wait, news arrived that Marquis Rodrick was dead and the war was over. They had awkwardly accepted thanks and returned.
It still felt like a surreal dream.
'Man, my son and his subordinates are truly amazing. To think they could defeat Marquis Rodrick. Is Fenris the strongest in the kingdom?'
"Oh, right. My son's a Master now, a Master."
"Master...?!"
"Don't you know what a Master is?"
"C-Could it be? The immortal warrior?"
"Do you barbarians call it that? Anyway, he's a Master."
The "immortal warrior" was a term from northern tribal legends. While it denoted a slightly higher level than the term "superhuman" commonly used on the continent, it had no exact equivalent.
The more Zwalter bragged about his son, the worse Waroka's expression grew.
'Damn it, he was already a monster, but now he's beyond that!'
Even accounting for some exaggeration, it was clear that Ghislain could easily annihilate several tribes on his own.
On top of that, his territory possessed enough forces to defeat an army of 100,000.
The northern region of Lutania, once an easy target for raids, had now become an insurmountable wall.
'We should have taken Perdium earlier...'
Even if Fenris was untouchable, Perdium was also a problem. Every time he visited, it seemed there were more knights.
"By the way... aren't there more knights here than before?"
"Oh, don't you know? It's thanks to my son. He developed a mass-producible mana cultivation technique and distributed it. So, we've been increasing the number of knights."
"Mana cultivation technique? Isn't that something you shouldn't give out carelessly?"
"We're different now. We'll spare no effort to become stronger."
The knight-class was a means of maintaining power, especially among the nobility. This was why mana cultivation techniques were closely guarded secrets.
The more powerful the people, the more people will challenge the vested rights.
But Perdium didn't follow that path. Ghislain modified the family's cultivation technique so anyone could learn it easily.
Its destructive power was slightly reduced, but with a bit of talent and effort, anyone could wield mana.
Of course, it still retained its characteristic explosiveness. As a result, newly recruited knights had to train like mad if they didn't want to die.
"Well, that doesn't mean we accept just anyone. At the very least, we assess their character."
Hearing that, Waroka bit his lip.
'Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!'
Their knights were increasing, their food supplies were overflowing, and the gap was only widening with time.
Even the advantage of their cavalry, a hallmark of the northern tribes, was now diminished. As much as they had supplied horses, their opponent had built up a sizable cavalry force of their own.
There was no way they could win against Perdium now. They were doomed to live forever as horse suppliers.
'I can't live like this!'
Fenris was far away. At the very least, he needed to destroy Perdium and seize its territory within the kingdom.
With Perdium's increasing food production, even taking this single region could provide the northern kingdom with enough strength.
"Wolf of the North, Zwalter. I'll take my leave now. I'll enjoy the food."
"Leaving already? Why not stay for some tea, like before?"
"No, there's much to do."
When they first began trading food, Waroka had shown a cheerful demeanor. After all, he had managed to subjugate tribes without fighting.
But as time passed, he realized things were going exactly as Ghislain intended.
His warriors were growing complacent, and they couldn't even raise their voices against Perdium. The discord among tribes wasn't disappearing, and dissatisfaction simmered everywhere.
But there was nothing he could do. Fighting would mean their destruction.
'Until those people showed up.'
A mysterious group had visited him not long ago. They introduced themselves as the Salvation Church.
Under normal circumstances, he would have driven them away. The northern tribes had their own religion, after all.
But they had made an offer that was impossible to ignore.
'They said they'd give us three territories in the North, including Perdium... with the support of the Delphine Duchy…'
If the cost hadn't been so unsettling, he would have accepted immediately. However, what they demanded in return made even Waroka, called a barbarian, feel uneasy.
So, he had put their proposal on hold. They said they would wait for his decision and had set up camp near his tribe.
As Waroka returned, he couldn't stop thinking.
'There's no other way.'
'The Blood Demon can't be defeated by my strength.'
'Even Perdium is hard to face now. It's not the Perdium of the past.'
To achieve his ambition of establishing a northern kingdom, he needed the ability to produce food independently.
"Hah..."
Waroka's eyes began to gleam with murderous intent. Turning to the Great Warrior Monga at his side, he asked,
"Monga, how long did they say they would wait?"
Monga spread out both hands.
"This much time."
"..."
After a brief silence, Waroka spoke.
"I'll meet them now."
"Are you really going to accept their offer?"
"Yes. If we continue like this, we'll end up as nothing more than Perdium's slaves."
Monga wore a slightly fearful expression. Even for someone called a Great Warrior, the Salvation Church's proposal was horrifying.
But Waroka had already made up his mind.
Before returning to his tribe, he took his subordinates and headed to the camp where their visitors were staying.
There, only a few small tents were set up. When Waroka announced his visit, a pale young man wearing a black robe emerged from one of the tents.
The man smiled warmly at Waroka and said, "Have you given it some thought, Lord Waroka?"
"Your name was Dentaria, wasn't it?"
"That's correct. I humbly serve as an Arbiter for the Salvation Church."
"...Can this really succeed?"
To Waroka's question, Dentaria smiled softly.
"As long as you lend us your strength, nothing is impossible. Don't forget, we have the Delphine Duchy, the strongest in the kingdom, backing us."
"Three northern territories aren't enough. Make it five."
After a brief moment of thought, Dentaria nodded.
"That is within my authority. Five territories will be yours. Furthermore, once we seize the kingdom, you will be granted the title of Duke, Lord Waroka."
"All I have to do is stir up the northern region of Lutania?"
"Yes. Of course, I understand that it's difficult with just the strength of your tribes. That's why we're offering our support."
"Hoo..."
Waroka exhaled deeply and closed his eyes for a moment.
It was a monumental decision. Once made, there would be no turning back.
But he had already resolved himself internally. He was simply afraid to say the words aloud.
Taking a deep breath, Waroka hesitated several times before finally speaking.
"Very well, I accept your offer."
"Does that mean...?"
"I will use this 'Gate' you mentioned to strike at the northern territories of Lutania."
"You understand the price, correct?"
"Yes, I'll offer five tribes as sacrifices to you. It's too difficult to strike all five tribes at once, so help me with that first."
"Understood. That will be dealt with swiftly."
Dentaria bowed her head with a cruel smile.
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