Frostbound [LitRPG Apocalypse]-Chapter 204 - We’re Leaving

After returning to Fort Hope, Ashton, Carson, and the rest of their City's leadership broke off to resettle the crowd and the people they brought back.

Our talks weren't set to begin right away and they needed time to reorganize their City after what happened.

I was in no rush, mostly because I was not looking forward to round two of diplomacy, and also because I had other things to do anyway.

Other than looking for a Glassblower, I had other tasks to complete in the City now that the threat was dealt with. Most of the supplies sent with us needed to be sold or traded.

Abigail packed away anything our City could spare as exports so we could have some buying power in case we saw anything this City had that we didn't.

I also had most of our treasury on me for that exact purpose.

Trade and market research were my goals and I wasn't the only one out scouting the trading hub. Most of our 200-man group were doing the same. Those that could walk anyway. Most for their own purposes of buying whatever caught their fancy, but most just wanted to explore the new city as we didn't have a chance when we arrived.

There were things I noted down to buy but nothing huge stuck out as I strolled through the stalls. From my first visit it seemed the City's Leadership kept a tighter leash on things being bought and sold, which filtered the good stuff out.

Still, I did pick up on things worth buying. The wooded area around their camp was of a higher grade than ours, leading to better logs and planks after it was processed. With the Lake nearby, they had another food source that we didn't.

Most of the fish for sale looked like what the world had before, but I wouldn't be sure until I tried it.

It had been a while since I had a good fish fry.

Other than pulling fish out of the lake, there was other aquatic vegetation for sale but I didn't know what it was for. It didn't look like kale or seaweed, and I certainly wouldn't be putting it in my mouth, but it was marketed all the same.

A reagent of some kind maybe?

It was outside my area of expertise and others were in charge of exploring the market for that kind of thing. I kept a lookout for anything useful for blacksmithing or enchanting while others were in charge of the other professions. Connor would be upset if we left something useful behind.

I had already passed by Mitchell who was studying the wood for sale. As our resident Carpenter after Scott, he was in charge of all things wood-related.

Without Vinny, Metals and Crystals fell to me.

I would send Jonathan and the other Merchants later, but this was just to survey what was available while also noting down what the nearby Dungeon provided. That way we knew what the City's likely export would be.

Which was clearly Wood.

Depending on how often they delved the Dungeon, they would have a surplus of Wood to sell off.

I didn't have the time to run the Dungeon myself and get a complete picture of what it gave, but seeing people leaving with logs of the stuff was easy enough to note down.

Honestly, Vinny and I got lucky having one of our nearby Dungeons give Metal or we would have had to prospect for it which did not sound fun. Neither of the two pylons we could reach through our market had metal for sale.

I suspected the two pylons we had access to were here, Fort Hope, and the one South of here they tried to contact as they were the closest we knew of.

Other than 'Market Research', my trip through the town was to get a better look at it. I had been led through quite quickly the first time and while I got a good look at most things, it was nice to leisurely stroll around.

They were even nice enough to not have someone watch me.

A measure of trust I appreciated but wouldn't impact how our talks would go.

It didn't take long until someone found me and said that Ashton was ready for me. I had gotten all the things I needed to get done finished anyway.

My walk toward their Town Hall was similar to the first time I was here except there wasn't the budding tension in the air or people frantically building what defenses they could.

Even with the threat vanquished there was still a lot of activity coming in and out of the Town Hall. What the various runners or messengers were doing was beyond me but I figured it was run-of-the-mill stuff.

We had people like that in our own City, even if Abigail tried to do it all herself.

Most of the parchment had changed inside the first room, instead of battle lines and planned fortifications, it transitioned into future City plans. I wasn't able to get a good look at them but I did notice multiple defensive structures were present in the plans.

It seems they took that lesson to heart.

I was led down the same hallway as before and even to the same room. It was probably Ashton's office or dedicated meeting room.

The same four people were inside as the last time. Except there were changes.

Ashton's armor had dents, holes, and lines carved into it along with a shield that was nearly mangled. Nathan?... Nick?... Noah... whatever the other man's name was sat in a similar state.

He had clear wounds on his body, though, which was more than I could say for Ashton. The last two were in the best shape and it wasn't hard to guess why. They weren't melee warriors, which left them with fewer injuries than the other two.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Read 𝓁at𝙚st chapters at ƒrēenovelkiss.com Only.

Both Carson and Victoria were in much better shape but it was clear they at least saw some battle. The Ranger stood out as she felt significantly more powerful than before along with Ashton's growth.

They didn't speak as I walked in and continued to be silent as I sat down. They knew my position even before I walked in here as I made no moves to hide it.

Instead of starting off discussing ownership, I went for something else. Something that had stoked my anger for the days following the battle but had died down to simmering coals now that I had calmed down.

"Where were you." Like a knife, I cut to the heart of the matter with my first words.

Ashton at least had the decency to act apologetic.

"I did what I thought was best. We didn't have the strength or the numbers to continue with the plan we had decided on." He said.

"We knew that going in." I said. "We were supposed to go in, take out the leader, and then kill as many as possible." The plan was more complicated than that and had more nuance, but that was the gist of what Ashton and I were supposed to do. We hoped that killing the leader would destabilize the army making it easier to kill them.

"We didn't know killing the leader would take out most of the army. How was I supposed to know that? If I had, I wouldn't have done what I did." Ashton shook his head sadly. "... I... couldn't leave them. They would've died without me there."

The anger I thought was dying down flared briefly before I calmed it down.

"And my side wouldn't have!" I said, anger leaking in.

I knew from the numbers of those lost. Those who fought under Ashton had a survival rate nearly 20% higher than our side.

He traded the lives of his City for those from mine.

Ashton straightened, firming his resolve, "I will not apologize for what I did. I could not leave them to die. I did what I thought was best."

"And my people paid for it." I added.

Some of the dead had come from my hometown. They traveled thousands of miles with me only to fall because one man had to be the hero.

The coals threatened to ignite, to be released and raise the hammer at my side, but I pushed it down. If a fight was to occur, I wouldn't be the one to start it.

Instead of arguing over something I knew would make me angry, and most likely get nowhere, I transitioned. I used that falter on his side to slide into the crux of the matter.

"As recompense for your blunder, ownership of the Mine will be ours. We did not have to come and help, we did not have to fight with you, and you certainly didn't have to throw away our plans. We will award all those who fought in either Crystals or gold after they're sold for their participation in the battle" I eyed him firmly, "Even you will be rewarded." I didn't want to, but he did fight. "We will also give you 10% of all profits on the condition you supply workers and guards to man it."

We would still pay them, this was to keep Ashton from banning any of his citizens from working the mine. We didn't have the manpower to both run our City and have people work the Mine. If we were to start drawing resources out of the Mine in any reasonable time frame, help would be required.

They shifted, uncomfortable with giving up their claim, "10%?! We were the main force that unearthed the mine! We lost double the numbers you did against the Demons and you're giving us a tenth?!" Ashton exclaimed.

"I wanted to give you nothing." I snapped back. "On account of the fact we are still neighbors and will be for the foreseeable future, I controlled that impulse and have offered you ten."

In reality, I was fine with giving him up to twenty but had to start lower. We didn't have the manpower needed to work the mine and if giving away twenty percent opened up that possibility, I thought it was worth it.

It still burned inside to give away any to a man who lied to me but that was something I would eat.

Plus, giving away a percentage would get me more than only workers. The Mine was much closer to his city than ours. If we could sell it through his pylon instead, it would cut down on travel time tremendously. It would also give us a foot in the door here.

The people we stationed to run the mine would be able to keep an eye on them as well. While mainly it was to ensure more Demons weren't summoned, it was conveniently another way to keep track of their advancements.

"That's not good enough. Not nearly enough for the blood we paid to acquire it." He said.

My efforts to contain my aura after it had grown by so much faltered and billowed out into the room. With it, the air chilled and I could see them tense from the pressure.

"Do not speak of paying in blood after what you did." It was near a whisper but I knew they heard it loud and clear.

I managed to pull everything back in after my outburst but they were still unnerved. I had overpowered Ashton's aura once already, but this time it was pointed directly at him instead of over a crowd. The confined room we were in didn't help matters either.

The first to react was the Ranger, who had her hand on a knife long before the other three did anything.

I knew there was something different about her.

She hadn't attacked or made any intention of doing so, but she was ready to defend herself as soon as I let my aura out. She also handled it the best, as the other three's shoulders dropped from the pressure.

I waved that away. Now wasn't the time to be impressed.

"Even so, ten is not enough." Ashton said, regaining his confidence, "The lowest I can go is a 60-40 split."

I nearly laughed. That was out of the question but at least he was willing to give up majority ownership. "I will give you 15."

"70-30"

"18." I countered. "You have broken your word once and you will find no more help from us. Frostheim will be forever closed to any requests for aid."

He pushed back, "30 is already generous and I can say the same for your City."

"20 or I'm done here. That is the highest I will go and unlike you, I mean what I say. If you are still unhappy with that." I stood from my chair, "I will tell you the same thing I did before."

"Fight me for it."

All four of them looked at me incredulously, taken aback at my not-so-concealed threat. Ashton and the other warrior even looked at my icy arm as I said it. Wondering if I was serious while I was one arm down.

Their displeasure was clear even to a child. They turned to each other and spoke in hushed tones I didn't care to eavesdrop on.

"Fine. We will draw up the contract as soon as possible." The words were like poison coming out of his mouth and they were no doubt painful to say.

We shook.

Satisfied, I turned to leave.

Before I made it through the door, the Ranger spoke up for the first time.

"What was the explosion." She asked, "No matter how much I think about it, I can't think of the reason for an explosion that large. You don't have the mana for it."

The last part was a bit of a dig but I knew she didn't mean it as an insult. She was right, I didn't have the mana for it.

One foot out the door, I turned to answer, "They were making a portal."

With that, I left.

I didn't explain anything else as the rest was obvious. I wasn't as nice and listened in as best I could at their mummering. One claimed I was lying while another said it was impossible.

I had thought the same before I saw it.

It was supposed to be.

Leaving the Town Hall behind, I made my way to the area we had set up in. Without the threat and a recent population decline, there was enough room for us to fit inside the city.

With everything else settled, it was time to go home.

Not everyone was back yet, as they were either shopping or just looking around and a sly smile grew on my face.

Some of the anger was still there after the conversation, not fully let out as I didn't want to go too far and cause problems, but now was the perfect time to use it. It was rude of me to do so, but I didn't care.

For the first time since I gained so many levels, I let everything go. The weight I tried to keep contained opened the gates and I spread it throughout the entire city.

We weren't sure how auras were related to strength, and sadly, I didn't have enough to cover the whole city. It settled over a decent amount but I clicked my tongue at the lacking coverage.

With what little manipulation of it I could, I spread it out to fix that. The overall strength went down but the range it spread increased.

It thinned, but I wasn't using it as an attack. I used it to issue a command.

"We're leaving."