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Chapter 1139 - 1139 176 Money Shortage

1139: Chapter 176: Money Shortage 1139: Chapter 176: Money Shortage Under Hudson’s tacit approval, carts of military weapons were sent to the docks, loaded onto ships, and departed.

Since the Kingdom’s Magician Group began to clear the coastal reefs, smuggling trade gradually transitioned into the 2.0 era, evolving from solely land-based operations to combining both sea and land routes.

Compared to traditional land transportation, maritime transport provided not only lower costs but also substantially improved safety.

It was an unwritten rule not to target merchant convoys, but with so many Orc tribes, there were always a few that didn’t follow the rules.

As long as the operations were clean enough, the death of smugglers was in vain, and no one would stand up for a group of dead people.

The cost involved usually meant that routes with frequent accidents would no longer be used by merchant convoys, effectively ending their business prospects on those routes.

With no merchant convoys coming through, acquiring supplies became exceedingly difficult, necessitating trade with other Orc tribes, and often at a much higher price.

Typically, the tribes that engaged in such dealings were the smaller ones struggling to survive.

In order to stay alive, they exhausted all their resources without having the luxury to consider the future.

By contrast, the larger tribes with stronger risk resistance took a more comprehensive approach.

For the sake of long-term development, they generally prohibited robbing merchants.

The more astute Orc tribes even actively cooperated with merchant convoys, setting up mutual trading posts on their own territory to attract nearby smaller tribes for trade, from which they extracted commissions.

With the rise of smuggling trade for the sake of convenience in transport, many smugglers took the initiative to clear the coastal reefs.

Consequently, the coastal areas, which were previously overlooked by the Orcs, suddenly became fiercely contested territory among various species.

For their own safety, many smugglers no longer traveled deep inland with their convoys but chose instead to transport goods to coastal areas and trade directly with the local tribes.

Some cautious teams even requested transactions at sea.

They usually stopped their ships a few hundred meters offshore, completed the trades, and then used small boats to transport goods to shore.

Particularly for sensitive goods, transportation routes were completely shifted to the sea, resulting in a dramatic shrinkage in land-based trade volumes.

As neighbors to Snow Moon Territory, the Bimon Tribe naturally suffered the most.

Previously, they could make a fortune just by collecting tolls, but now they could only watch as sparse merchant convoys passed by.

As good neighbors, there should have been ease in trading.

Even if they purchased supplies themselves and resold them, they could have made a huge profit.

Unfortunately, being neighbors was exactly why the Bimon Tribe was in such a miserable situation.

Smugglers, ruthless and profit-driven, were no fools.

A small investigation would reveal Master Hudson’s policies toward the Orcs.

Due to his strategy of allying with the distant and attacking the near, the Bimon Tribe was never supported.

This was common knowledge among ordinary smugglers, and even clearer to the Kingdom Intelligence Organization.

Therefore, while other small factions dared to challenge the Four Royal Families by buying military weapons at high prices, the Bimon Tribe obtained nothing.

“What’s going on?

Didn’t I tell you to contact the Human Race merchant convoys?

Could it be that the Bimon are taking their cut again, forcing those smugglers to quit their business!”

Butzwieg sternly interrogated.

The decline in land trade was directly related to the policies previously implemented by the Bimon Tribe.

Stuck with outdated thinking, the Bimon assumed that controlling main thoroughfares would ensure wealth.

After migrating, the Bimon Tribe initially imposed a fifty percent physical tax on merchant convoys, but following protests from other Species of the Orc Empire, this was reluctantly reduced to twenty percent.

On top of this, those in charge, the Bimon, often demanded a bribe.

As smugglers, they were in a precarious trade; they didn’t even want to pay taxes to Master Hudson, let alone to the Bimon.

High taxes and unsafe routes directly stimulated the flourishing of maritime smuggling trade.

After the decrease in merchant convoys, the revenue of the Bimon Tribe also visibly plummeted rapidly.

With no other choice, Butzwieg had to regulate internally and forbid the Bimon from secretly extorting the merchant travelers.

“Clan Leader, it’s different this time.

We’ve contacted the heads of several Human Race merchant convoys, and none of them deal in weapons.

Apparently, the Kingdom of Elf has tightened control over weapons, inspecting each consignment as it leaves, making small-scale smuggling manageable, but impossible in larger quantities.

Even though we offered them lucrative deals, these guys still wouldn’t bite.

It’s as if we’re asking for their lives!”

Elias complained helplessly.

Selecting a few management talents from a nation armed to the teeth was extremely difficult.

Elias was like a tall figure among the short, responsible for managing the Bimon Tribe’s internal affairs and monitoring external commercial trade.

It sounded impressive, but in reality, he didn’t wield much power.

In the era of the tribes, each tribe governed autonomously, and Elias effectively managed only his own clan.

Among the various Orc Species, the Bimon Tribe, once a Royal Family, still ranked highly in terms of weaponry and equipment.

Unfortunately, no matter how strong the foundation, the fact that weapons were consumables meant significant depletion simply from routine training.

Losing their royal status, they were no longer entitled to weapons produced within the Orc Empire, leaving them to seek alternatives through the Human Race convoys.

In fact, even if they had a share, it would be of little use.

With inadequate smelting technology, they still had to smuggle iron ingots from the Human Race to manufacture weaponry and equipment.