In the territory of the Grimhowl Tribe...

Jafar had traveled far to negotiate with the Grimhowl Tribe.

He didn’t dare to leave such a crucial matter in the hands of anyone, especially after the continuous setbacks his tribe had suffered from sending the wrong people.

Travis and Cain had disappointed him greatly. He still couldn’t understand how both heirs could be so incompetent when all they had to do was deal with an upstart tribe.

As these thoughts swirled inside his head, the great shaman of the Darkmane Tribe was invited to the guest room.

There, a few Elders of the Grimhowl Tribe had already gathered. However, after a quick glance, Jafar realized that none of the people present held enough power to make big decisions.

He had already expected Gundar to not make an appearance. But Hagen’ and his sons’ absence made Jafar feel disrespected. In his eyes, this was indirectly telling him that he was unimportant.

"Greetings, Jafar of the Darkmane Tribe," Elder Yun, whom Hagen had chosen to become the temporary regent of the Grimhowl Tribe, said in greeting. "I apologize for our Great Chieftain’s absence. He is currently busy dealing with important matters.

"Our great shaman has also entered closed-door meditation and will not accept any interference unless absolutely necessary.

"I may not be the one you are looking for, but I have been granted power by our chieftain to handle any matters concerning the Grimhowl Tribe. I already have an idea as to why you are here, but please speak your mind."

Jafar knew Elder Yun. There had been more than one occasion when the Elders of the high-ranking tribes would be present during important matters concerning the high-ranking tribes.

It could be said that aside from Hagen and his family, as well as Gundar, Elder Yun was the next highest official of the Grimhowl Tribe who held true authority.

"I have come here to tell the Grimhowl Tribe a very important matter," Jafar said calmly. "You might have already heard that the impertinent and audacious Chieftain of the Aslan Tribe has taken the eldest son of my chieftain as hostage.

"The Darkmane Tribe cannot accept such disrespect, and we intend to teach this arrogant person a lesson!"

"Let me guess. You wish for us to turn a blind eye toward the Darkmane Tribe’s declaration of war against the Aslan Tribe?" Elder Yun asked.

"Yes," Jafar answered. "That is exactly why I came here."

Elder Yun and the other Elders remained calm since Hagen already briefed them on what to do when the Darkmane Tribe came.

However, Elder Yun was a shrewd person.

Although he would obey his chieftain’s orders, he would not do it for free.

If the Darkmane Tribe wished to get what they wanted, then they must also be prepared to pay the price for it!

"I’m sure you already know the Aslan Tribe is our ally," Elder Yun said with a calm smile on his face. "If we allow people to bully our allies, then what would the other tribes think? They might even say that the Grimhowl Tribe is not a trustworthy ally."

The other Elders looked at Elder Yun, fully understanding what the sly bastard was thinking.

All of them smirked and gave him a thumbs up in their hearts.

They didn’t even feel a shred of pity for Jafar since they knew that he was a slimy eel.

"I understand the Grimhowl Tribe will suffer... great inconvenience by watching from the sidelines," Jafar stated. "However, the Darkmane Tribe is willing to offer proper compensation for this."

"Go ahead." Elder Yun made a gesture for Jafar to continue. "Tell us about this compensation. We wonder if it’s substantial enough to make us turn a blind eye toward an attack against our ally."

The Elder’s voice was filled with contempt, hinting at Jafar that if his offer was subpar, he could forget about their declaration of war!

"A hundred wagons filled to the brim with iron ore, as well as a fifty percent discount on all iron ore purchases the Grimhowl Tribe makes for the next ten years," Jafar stated, thinking this was enough to make the Grimhowl Tribe agree to their condition.

Yet, Elder Yun didn’t look pleased.

"That’s it?" Elder Yun sounded extremely disappointed. "Did you forget that the Aslan Tribe has discovered a high-grade iron ore deposit? As their ally, we can also get a discount from them that surpasses even fifty percent.

"As for the hundred wagons filled with iron ore, that is indeed a good offer. However, it’s not enough. We can impose the Aslan Tribe to give us two to three wagons of iron ores every month as a protection fee.

"It might take us a few years to get a hundred wagons of iron ores for free, but a steady supply of their high-grade iron ore is more preferable than momentary gain. Also, the other tribes are now aware of the conflict between the Darkmane Tribe and the Aslan Tribe.

"They also know that we are their ally. If all it takes is a hundred wagons of iron ore and a fifty percent discount for all purchases from the Darkmane Tribe for ten years, then it’s not really worth it to stain our reputation. It’s simply too much of a measly offer."

The other Elders all nodded in agreement, showing their full support toward Elder Yun’s extortion.

Jafar smiled wryly, knowing full well that his first offer might not work. However, this was the result he had expected.

He didn’t come here unprepared. In fact, he had even made ten backup plans just in case the first one failed.

Of course, the great shaman also understood that if he used his backup plans one by one, the person in front of him might continue to haggle. Since that was the case, then he would throw out an offer that would make it extremely hard for Elder Yun to refuse.

Although this concession would hurt the Darkmane Tribe, the resources they would gain from taking over Grimjaw Mountain would make up for their losses.

"Then how about this?" Jafar stated. "Two hundred wagons of iron ore, a sixty percent discount on all iron ore purchases for the next ten years, as well as our vote for the upcoming tribe gathering.

"Regardless of what agenda the Grimhowl Tribe wishes to achieve during the meeting, the Darkmane Tribe will vote in your favor."

Suddenly, the mood in the room shifted.

Elder Yun didn’t really care much about the wagons of iron ore, as well as the discount for future purchases. Instead, what mattered was the Darkmane Tribe’s vote.

During the tribe gathering, each tribe would make a proposal. During the past years, the proposal of the Grimhowl Tribe and the Warclaw Tribe was to unite all the barbarian tribes under one banner.

However, these two tribes had always been in conflict as to who would lead them. The other high-ranking tribes also had the same agenda.

Of course, there was no way in hell they would vote for their rival tribes to lead them.

Since more than half of the votes of the high-ranking tribes was required to settle on a decision, no one managed to gain the upper hand on each other over the past decades.

This time, a faint smile appeared on Jafar’s face.

The reaction of everyone in the room was enough to tell him that he managed to finally catch their attention!

However, Jafar didn’t know that after the initial shock, Elder Yun almost laughed out loud after hearing the great shaman’s offer.

Not only did Elder Yun manage to obtain some freebies during the negotiation, but he had also secured the vote of the Darkmane Tribe, which would be very useful in the upcoming gathering of the tribes.

Since their Great Shaman and Great Chieftain had already decided to let this war happen, Elder Yun "reluctantly" agreed to accept Jafar’s request by asking for fifty more wagons of iron ore to seal the deal.

Jafar almost coughed out loud then and there. Though, after thinking about the iron ore deposit that was discovered at Grimjaw Mountain, he finally agreed to Elder Yun’s last condition.

However, spoken words were not enough to finalize this agreement.

Troy himself must visit the Darkmane Tribe and sign a contract, agreeing to the conditions Jafar had stated.

With that, Elder Yun and Jafar finally shook hands, sealing the deal of their talks.

The shaman was happy because he had managed to succeed in his mission, albeit having to pay a high price for the Grimhowl Tribe not to offer any aid to the Aslan Tribe in the upcoming war.

Of course, the happiest of all was Elder Yun. Not only did the Grimhowl Tribe profit from this agreement, but he had also managed to secure a vote from the Darkmane Tribe.

He even thought that his Great Chieftain, Hagen, would praise him when he returned because he did an extremely good job in extorting the Darkmane Tribe, who thought that they had already won the war.