The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 567: Volume Fourteen Accumulation - Eleven Heartbeat

Chapter 567: Volume Fourteen Accumulation Chapter Eleven Heartbeat

"Dvanch, Sike, have you two considered the possibility that if we truly break with the Alliance, it could very likely lead to a civil war among our Mountain Clan? Civil war would not only result in the Mortals profiting from us, but more importantly, if the Sanjia Tribe falls, we will be completely swallowed up by them! Our people will be reduced to inferiors, even becoming their slaves!"

Chief Bellamong had considered the issue of breaking with the Alliance. In fact, ten years ago, when faced with an unprecedented great famine and the Alliance refused to provide the Galong Tribe with an equal food supply, he had already pondered this problem. That disaster led to a 15% decrease in the population of the Galong Tribe, and numerous young and strong individuals lost their lives. However, as an elder who had served as chief for decades, he also needed to consider the severe consequences such a break might bring. The military strength of the Sanjia Tribe was utterly incapable of contending with the other ten tribes of the Alliance, and if the Alliance truly sought to eradicate the Sanjia Tribe with full force, there would be no chance of survival for them. Even just the Leihu and Lei A tribes alone would be enough to annihilate the Sanjia Tribe.

"Chief Bellamong, of course I have considered this problem, but facing such a once-in-a-hundred-years opportunity, we must endure the exploitation and oppression of the larger tribes in the Alliance. They, with their power, could brazenly snatch away what should be ours. Are we supposed to just watch this continue on indefinitely? I refuse to keep enduring this, and I believe the Sike Leader feels the same way. Mortals may not necessarily always be our enemies. In fact, at times, I even feel that those larger tribes in the Alliance are our biggest enemies. They don’t want to see the Sanjia Tribe grow stronger, always trying to limit and restrain our development, even intentionally or unintentionally seeking to weaken us at every opportunity. What about their behavior during the drought ten years ago or even the locust plague three years ago? Has Chief Bellamong forgotten?"

Dvanch was aware that convincing Bellamong wouldn’t be easy, but he genuinely wanted to change the current state of affairs. Unwilling to continue living a mediocre existence on this land, struggling just to feed their people, he had always believed that his tribe’s citizens were entirely qualified to live a better life. Various constraints had tied his hands in the past, but now it seemed that an opportunity was presenting itself. Why shouldn’t he grab it?

"Mortals are not our greatest enemies?" Bellamong raised his eyebrows in surprise, his gaze becoming somewhat fixed as he stared at the other’s face, but the other’s honest expression sent a tremor through Bellamong’s heart, "Dvanch, do not let the immediate petty gains blind you. Perhaps, for now, the Northern Mortals could indeed bring us some benefits, but remember, they are Mortals, we are mountain people. To the south, to the East, we mountain people have always been in conflict, even at war. This is the main theme throughout our Mountain Clan’s existence."

"Hmph, the main theme? I think our main theme should be how to fill the stomachs of our masters, how to prevent our people from starving during disasters, how to keep our population from continuously decreasing! How many were we in the Sanjia Tribe twenty years ago and how many are we now? The Alliance has been established for so many years, how much help has it provided to the Sanjia Tribe? I think it’s high time we reviewed this point," Dvanch said with disdain. "Mortals don’t just fight us; they fight other races too, even their own internal wars are larger and more intense. This cannot be the basis for our enmity towards Mortals. Look at the North, in the Caucasus. Besides us mountain people, there are Beastmen, the Elf Clan, Half-Elves, and Dwarves, all living freely. I can find no reason to believe that the Mortals of the Caucasus would threaten us; they even sell us weapons and armor. Can you truly say that our enemies would do this?"

Dvanch’s striking and powerful retort made Bellamong’s already feeble argument seem even weaker. Faced with an open Caucasus, anyone could feel the significant changes this neighbor had brought to his people, especially when many of the Sanjia tribespeople had gone to the Caucasus to work and seek livelihoods, with Bahomon and Ugru becoming the best places for the mountain people to earn a living.

Seeing that Bellamong seemed somewhat speechless, Dvanch pressed further, "Chief Bellamong, Chief Sike, you both probably know that Baron Komer has already cleared the Catania River shipping route. I don’t know how the Jellyfish People agreed to let them pass through their territory, but I am clear on what opening this route means—food. Food will no longer be a difficult problem plaguing the people in the downstream regions of the Catania River. The abundant food supply from the middle and upper reaches of the Catania River will continuously flow down this waterway. As long as we can remain on good terms with the Caucasus, our Sanjia Tribe will never again be threatened by famines, and the numbers of our tribe will steadily grow. If we can achieve this, what risks would we not dare to take?"

"Chief Dvanch is right; for the strength of the tribe, I, Sike, am prepared to risk everything. If there are to be any problems, let me, Sike, take the responsibility alone!" The Gapeng Tribe’s chief was also filled with a passionate determination.

Seeing that Bellamong appeared somewhat swayed, Dvanch seized the moment to strike while the iron was hot, "Of course, for now, the Sanjia Tribe should not openly sever ties with the Alliance. We will not carelessly end our relationship with them, but we must protect the minimum rights of the Sanjia Tribe. I believe we need not engage too much with the Alliance at the moment. What we need to do now is to ensure that the Caucasus can guarantee our food supply, and this must be kept from the Alliance. Additionally, we should expand our importation of weapons and armor and other equipment. For this, we can offer the Caucasus some of our unique assets, such as Young Earth Dragons, and we can also guide them in how to train Dragon Warriors. Now that the Lordship has already made requests in this area, I see this as an opportunity."

"Are you saying that you plan to satisfy the needs of the Caucasus in exchange for their full support of our food supplies?" Bellamong countered, realizing he might have been a little too radical on this issue. The bait was indeed tempting, even he could not help but be moved.

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