Lord Li, a Man of Noble Character

"I'll start from the beginning," Annie said, dipping her finger in some water and drawing a simplified map on the table. "Following the Raging Waves River downstream, it flows into a saltwater lake we call Bayleaf Lake." A winding line connected to a circle, looking like a tadpole.

"This lake is full of undrinkable brine; you can float in it without effort. A long time ago, someone tried to make salt from the lake water, but it turned out to be toxic, so people stopped paying much attention to it."

Annie tried to use her nail to draw a skull with the water, but it looked more like a pig's head than a skull. She quickly wiped it away, pretending it was nothing.

Lord Li saw it and covered his chin with his hand to hide a smirk.

"But six years ago, by a sheer coincidence, our Voya Merchant Guild discovered that the bottom of Bayleaf Lake contained a large amount of iron ore. So, we contacted a Dwarf tribe we knew and quietly began mining the ore to smelt iron."

Richard suddenly understood. "No wonder you were transporting so much coal into the wilderness. It was for iron smelting."

He had found it a bit strange earlier; the Voya Merchant Guild's caravans on the previous two trips had carried a lot of coal. This kind of cargo should have been unpopular, as there was no shortage of fuel in the wilderness.

But if that was the case, it made sense. Ordinary fuel wouldn't burn hot enough to melt ore, so coal had to be transported from Pompeii.

"Exactly. We smelt iron in the wilderness, sell it to the natives, collect furs and herbs as payment, and then transport them back to Pompeii to sell. This trade route has made us a lot of money in recent years."

The barren wilderness produces almost no iron. Exporting ironware from Pompeii incurs exorbitant taxes, almost like robbery, so ironware is very valuable among the native tribes. Meanwhile, furs and herbs, which are not worth much in the wilderness, have a huge market back in Pompeii.

Earning money twice on one batch of goods, coupled with very low costs, meant the profits were incredibly substantial—anyone could figure that out.

"That's a good business." A feeling of jealousy mercilessly gnawed at Richard's heart; the sourness in his tone could corrode steel into slag.

"Otherwise, how do you think our Voya Merchant Guild has grown so fast in recent years? The lumber business is a joke; how much gold can you really make from that?"

Annie's smugness lasted only a moment before her face fell into a grimace again. "But not long ago, a Bearfolk tribe called Waning Moon discovered this secret. Richard, you might find it hard to imagine how tempting an iron mine is to the people of the wilderness. It's something worth risking everything for, something to go crazy over."

"They squeezed every last bit of war potential from their entire tribe—abandoning all non-combatant elders, warriors blinding one eye to show their resolve, slaughtering young beasts and female livestock to stock up on military provisions, and mobilizing all their warriors to attack the Dwarf tribe."

"That doesn't sound right," Richard said, tapping the pine tabletop, interrupting Annie's impassioned speech. He hadn't missed an opportunity to nitpick while listening to the story; all he needed was some melon seeds.

"The Dwarves mine and forge themselves. Knowing them, their warriors' equipment must be top-notch, and their own strength isn't bad. Wouldn't they beat those beggar-like Bearfolk to a pulp?"

He had recently experienced firsthand how much the quality of equipment could impact combat effectiveness; it couldn't be overstated. Especially since Dwarves and Bearfolk are both very strong warrior races, the greater the skill of the combatants, the more insurmountable the gap created by equipment differences.

"Can you stop interrupting? I'm not finished yet—the Waning Moon tribe is a member of a tribal alliance called Waning Moon Alliance. Their unusual actions attracted the attention of other members."

"The situation quickly deteriorated. Now, in addition to the Dwarves and Waning Moon, five other tribes from the Waning Moon Alliance have been drawn in. Conservatively, seven or eight thousand warriors are involved in this war. Sigh..." Even Half-Elves are very particular about their appearance. This was the first time Richard had seen Annie slump in her chair and roll her eyes.

"Ten tribes haven't managed to deal with the Dwarves yet? Your allies are a bit too formidable," Lord Li continued to pick at her.

If Annie had even half or a quarter of her usual shrewdness, she would have realized Richard was deliberately leading her on. But her mind was so overwhelmed with problems, her desire to confide had long since overridden her reason.

"Richard, you overestimate the natives," Annie said, leaning back in her chair, smiling helplessly. "Facing such a deadly temptation, how could the loose alliances of the wilderness people possibly hold together?"

"Now it's a massive free-for-all among more than ten tribes. The alliance no longer exists. Everyone is indiscriminately attacking other tribes, and some tribes have even split into several factions internally!"

"Good heavens!" Richard quickly took a large gulp of tea to calm himself. "Isn't this just a test of who can endure the bleeding until the end? I estimate that at least a third of these tribes will be wiped out by the time it's over."

His own military command experience was still very limited; he had never even commanded a hundred people, so it was hard to imagine what a chaotic battle involving ten thousand people from more than ten factions would look like.

Just the fleeing soldiers alone could easily form bandit groups of several hundred, causing havoc in the region. No wonder other Pioneering Nobles had honestly retreated to Corin; even the Northeastern Province's most elite Three Lions Legion might not want to get involved in such a mess.

Of course, this didn't mean that regular legions couldn't handle a few thousand tribal warriors, but rather that there was no need to bother trying to stop a dog-eat-dog fight.

"Yes, we had originally planned to reinforce our Dwarf allies, but we had no choice but to withdraw. This situation is no longer something a single merchant guild can control," Annie said, holding her tea and looking at the table with infinite melancholy. "Fate strikes like a torrential downpour; how can a traveler in the wilderness avoid it?"

"What about the Dwarves? Why didn't they come with you?" Richard wanted to see if he could pick up a few Dwarf blacksmiths. Although High Mountain Keep's military industry now had a few Centaur Busmi supporting it, the production speed was still insufficient.

"They're stubbornly holding onto the iron mine, unwilling to leave," Annie sighed, her expression perfectly illustrating utter despair. "I advised them to leave quickly, but you know Dwarves are more stubborn than rocks. They said they'd rather die defending the minerals gifted to them by the gods."

"Typical Dwarves, truly unyielding!" Richard feigned admiration, giving a thumbs up, though it was unclear if it was praise or mockery.

"All those years of hard work, completely ruined," Annie said, slumping weakly onto the table, her index finger tracing circles on the surface. "We'll rest for one night and set off for Corin first thing tomorrow morning. If you find it inconvenient, we'll try to keep as far away from High Mountain Keep as possible."

"That's no inconvenience at all; whatever works."

"Richard, now you know how tense the situation is," Annie said, looking up. "So, do you plan to retreat to Corin with us?"

She had her own selfish reasons for trying to persuade Richard. High Mountain Keep's lord's guard was undoubtedly strong, and if they could travel together for the last few days of the journey, their safety would undoubtedly increase significantly.

"We'll see," Richard said with a meaningful smile.