Amber Sword-Chapter 542: Episode 20 Expansion (1) (2 updates, explosive today, seeking subscription)

Capítulo 542: Episode 20 Expansion (1) (2 updates, explosive today, seeking subscription)

Although the Bear-man Forest is an extension of the Dark Forest into the civilized world, it is not very large. The mountain forest where the four sawmills are located can be traversed in just a day or half a day.

The sawmill at the westernmost part, which was conquered by Brand, is called the Maticao Sawmill. The news of its fall spread through the entire forest within hours, carried by the fleeing cave dwellers.

For a moment, the cave dwellers in the mountain forest began to grow restless—

At the same time, the news naturally reached the ears of the chief of this cave dweller tribe. Tajib hailed from one of the thirteen noble lineages of the cave dwellers, making him the innate choice for shaman. His skin was darker than the elite warriors of his kind, and he was covered in long feathers—those were Horror Vulture feathers, trophies from battles with the dark elves of the underground world.

But at this moment, as he sat on his bearskin throne, he had no heart to tend to these beautiful feathers. He stroked a skull on a stick adorned with feathers with his slender fingers, feeling a bit agitated.

Five years ago, he had become the leader of this tribe, separating from his paternal tribe. However, he ran into trouble while trying to claim his own territory, and had to lead his people in a migration to which they were habitually accustomed. This was not uncommon in the underground world, but surprisingly, they found one of the paths leading to the surface.

Though the surface world, as whispered of in tales, was far from a paradise to Tajib, he decided to take a risk. After he and his tribe briefly adapted to life on the surface, they began to find that the humans here were not as terrifying as they had imagined, and they soon took over the four sawmills in this forest.

But this action aroused the anger of the local lord, who was none other than Baron Gruding. Humans and cave dwellers fought twice in the forest, but the ragtag army and noble private soldiers of Tonyger were no match for the cave dwellers, who drove the humans away without gaining any advantage.

In the end, Gruding had to swallow his pride and personally come to negotiate with Tajib. The cave dwellers did not need the timber produced in the forest, but Gruding could not do without it, as Tonyger’s timber supply supported Ambeser. If anything went wrong, the first to come after him would be his powerful father—Count Rangdenier.

Thus, despite the losses, Gruding had to find a way to ensure Tonyger’s basic annual timber export. The output from the four sawmills near Fir City was among the best in all of Tonyger. He dared not give it up easily, nor could he rely on force to take it back—to make matters worse, he could not let Count Rangdenier know about this. The only remaining option was to resort to trade.

Although it seemed absurd for a lord to have to pay to buy the output of his own territory, fortunately, Gruding had a silver mine. Silver was an important currency in the underground world as well, and Tajib needed more money to grow his tribe. So, the two sides swiftly came to a secret agreement, and this private transaction continued.

Tajib appreciated this kind of trade. Although the cave dwellers had won multiple battles with the humans before, even forcing Gruding to lower his face, it did not change the fact that his tribe was small. Thousands of Black Iron-level warriors sounded formidable, but it was the entire population of his tribe—

And Tajib was smart. Through continuous contact, he gradually understood the true situation of the human world he was in. Though there might not be an army in Tonyger that could easily drive them out, they would still be in trouble if they recklessly appeared in human territories.

One had to know that even the Lengshan Barony had nearly seventy thousand scattered inhabitants, not to mention all of Tonyger. Besides, being an alien race, if they rashly attacked human settlements, it would likely lead to a broader range of attacks.

Tajib understood that this place belonged to a country, and the concept of a country in his mind equated to the underground kingdom of Jogen Digan, which made him somewhat fearful.

Therefore, despite knowing that there was a silver mine in Gruding’s hands, he dared not seize it easily. For the current situation satisfied him. By firmly controlling these three sawmills, he could gain a constant stream of silver from the human lord. With this silver, he could expand his tribe at will, until one day, it would be strong enough to return to the underground.