Chapter 627 Negotiations 2
Chapter 627 Negotiation 2
Big Chief Abal, Calum and Arroyo, frowned in unison.
How did the humans know?
Abal quickly stretched his brows, he didn’t want to show a hint of his own demeanor of being subdued by the human boy in front of him.
“Interesting, Your Highness Antonio, how did you know about the matter between us and the dwarves?”
“Haha.” Antonio laughed in a cloudy manner, “We have plowed far more than you can imagine in Nerodan, and of course the nearby hills.”
Of course he wouldn’t tell the truth – the Dwarf prince who longed to reclaim his inheritance hadn’t just sought out the orcs, or rather, the orcs were one of the weights he was bargaining with the other powers.
“Since you already know about this, I’m sure you can tell that we can access the Nerodan Corridor through the valleys in the Rocky Mountains as soon as our cooperation with the dwarves is finalized, so why should we be in need of your help?”
Abar didn’t want to admit that he needed the humans’ help.
“Honorable Great Chief.”
Antonio said with a smile, “Perhaps you’re used to riding your steed across the vast, endless grasslands, but you don’t think that passing through a huge mountain range is as easy as running across the grasslands, do you?”
“Yes, if the dwarves are willing to cooperate with you, you can indeed drop your army through their territory. I know that you do already have experience with this – when the human settlements of Ordo begin to approach the dwarven territory, the dwarves will release a small force of orcs to go through and pillage the human villages, in order to in turn force the humans out of their newly-opened settlements. Now, you may be able to reach a deeper level of cooperation with one of the Dwarf clans and get them to allow you to drop in a larger force, but I’m certain that even then, the army that can go over will still not be enough for a war.”
“The Nerodan corridor is densely populated with clusters of fortresses that Aldo has operated for hundreds of years, and your army will have to chew through them one by one when they get past, and any supplies needed will have to be transported over them through the Dwarves’ curving, undulating valleys, which are not mountainous, it is true, but they are not as easy to navigate as you might think.”
Abar narrowed his eyes, what the human boy had said did need to be looked into.
“At this point, if you have two directions of attack to choose from ……”
Antonio extended his left and right fingers to point at each other.
“Things would be much better.”
“By the other direction, do you mean the eastern exit of the Nerodan corridor?” Abal cracked a smile.
“It is the eastern exit – the Watcher’s Fortress.”
Antonio nodded, “I wonder if you approve of this deal?”
Abar just looked at him, a ghostly glint in one eye, but did not answer.
Antonio didn’t continue either, in negotiations if you said too much, the other party would instead think you were anxiously pleading with him.
“Tell you what, let’s each go back and think about it for a while.”
It was Abar who opened his mouth first, making his own suggestion.
“Oh, of course, you can certainly consider my proposal carefully.”
Antonio agreed to his request.
—
“Father, never agree to the Gabellas.” When Abar returned to his tent and told a group of his men what had happened in the meeting, his son Aguirre came forward impatiently to object.
“That Antonio is not yet secure in his position, and the lords everywhere are highly skeptical about the legitimacy of his succession to the empire, so as long as we capitalize on that properly, we can tear a big chunk of fat meat off of Gabella. If we just let him go back and consolidate the power of the entire empire, it will be a big trouble for us.”
“But as you can see, the armies under Antonio’s command are no slouches, and of course, we your warriors are undoubtedly the most valiant, but if our gains can’t match the sacrifices, it’s time for some serious deliberation.”
Abar looked to Colum, “What is your opinion, my fledgling?”
Colum shrugged his shoulders, “According to the information I’ve compiled, Aldo’s northwestern overseas is now the land of gold everywhere. And the Inner Rhodan Corridor, is the after all place for the merchants and travelers from the grasslands to travel to the Northwest Overseas, so I desperately wish to take control of this key road.”
The land of gold in Colum’s mouth caused the eyes of the people in the tent to light up.
“Great Chief!” Colum suggested, “If that human boy can really help us take over the Nerodan Corridor, it might be a good idea to let him off the hook this time. If he’s lying to us, then he won’t be able to stabilize the entire Gabella Empire overnight while our cavalry can immediately march on his borders again.”
“Actually, I think ……” said Abar after listening to Colum’s words, “if we can deliver enough troops and supplies just by using the dwarven territories alone, then we’ll head south to the Inner Rodan Corridor on our own. That way when we attack Gabella next time, we won’t have to worry about what agreement we’ll reach this time.”
Colum reminded him, “Great Chief, our warriors are precious. It would be best if the war could be fought with even less sacrifice.”
Grand Chief Abar thought left and right and finally decided, “This time, we will withdraw our troops first in exchange for Antonio’s support for our entry into Aldo, if he dares to lie to us, humph……”
A regal light flashed in Abar’s eyes.
He secretly thought in his heart, “Antonio, you’d better stabilize your country quickly, if we wait for me to take Nerodan and the situation in Gabella is still unstable, we’ll meet for the second time leading our armies.
—
Imar the Dwarf, carrying a shield and an axe at his waist, came to the entrance of the Blackstone Pass.
Behind him were ten followers, all of whom had followed him out when he himself was expelled from his clan.
Imar looked at the familiar terrain of the neighborhood and was overcome with emotion.
He looked to his followers, “It’s still the same here, it seems that even every little blade of grass is the same ones that were there when I left.”
One of his pursuers bowed to him, “Lord Imar, because you are the rightful ruler here, every thing here awaits your return!”
“Yes! You are right!”
The follower’s words set fire to Imar’s heart!
“I am the rightful ruler here! The vile usurper used dirty tricks to hoodwink my father – that old fool – and banish his rightful heir!”
“My God, has anyone ever heard anything more ridiculous than this?”
He suddenly shouted toward the pass, his voice ringing like a great bell, “I know you’re quietly watching; come out, all of you, and welcome your true patriarch!”
No sooner had his words left his mouth than a dwarven figure emerged from the pass.
(End of chapter)