Ed soon met the chieftain of the nomadic tribe. The chieftain had dark skin, short, neat black and white hair, and a leather belt around his waist with a scimitar and a short axe attached to it, ready to be used at any time.
Although he was beginning to age, Ed could still see the muscle definition on the chieftain's body, a result of years of hunting. His body seemed somewhat uncoordinated, Ed didn't know whether this was Aberration caused by the Demonic Tide or the result of certain long-standing lifestyle habits.
The chieftain sat down in front of Ed. Although he appeared quite composed, Ed could still tell from subtle changes in his expression and movements that the middle-aged man in front of him was somewhat nervous.
"My lord, greetings."
"Okay, please give me a brief introduction to your tribe and yourself."
Ed tried his best to use a friendly tone, and the middle-aged man in front of him introduced himself in a calm and unhurried manner:
"My name is Haya, and I am the chieftain of the Desolate Throat Tribe..."
The chieftain, whose name sounded like an interjection, gave Ed a brief introduction to his tribe, whose name was somewhat reminiscent of food.
After speaking, he looked at Ed with a gaze that was a mixture of expectation and awe.
The lord looked intently at the clan chief before him and stated his request.
The Second Holy See of the Tree Worship Church will provide this nomadic tribe with a fixed grazing area, which will be sufficient as long as their population does not surge.
The price was the same as what Ed had told Willow before: the tribe called Desolate Throat needed to participate in the economic operations within its territory and was prohibited from operating as a state within a state.
Furthermore, they must contribute their skills, accept the management of the Second Holy See, and demonstrate their value in the great cause of fighting the Blood Corpse.
Ed didn't feel like he was using the arrival of the Blood Corpse to force others onto his chariot, since they had nowhere else to go.
As Ed had predicted, when he learned that he wouldn't have to plant trees on his body, the chieftain Haya agreed almost without hesitation, given the generous terms in this World of Disorder.
He didn't seem to have much of an attachment to the power of being the clan leader; the lives of his people were far more important to him.
"Since that's the case..."
Ed took out a piece of paper and began to write a contract that both parties would acknowledge. Once the contract was notarized by Seraphina, it would have mystical validity.
Haya quickly pressed her fingerprint on the contract, Ed put the paper away, and looked at the chieftain in front of him.
"Since you have agreed to join us on behalf of the tribe, I will soon send a professional Holy See Guard to your area to serve as the head of security. He will also educate your people on some important survival rules, which are prerequisites for your development in this region."
"When you return, you need to tell your people that to survive here, they must remember that every race, and even every human being Aberration in different ways by the Demonic Tide, is equal. If any incorrect ideas exist, you need to correct them promptly."
Haya nodded hurriedly, and finally asked:
"Then what you mean by needing our technology to contribute..."
"I will send someone to contact you, it should be within the next few days. You can get the camp set up first, this matter is not that urgent."
"I see."
Haya stood up to leave, but Ed called him back again:
I have a question for you.
"Please, speak freely."
Haya sat back down.
"You and your tribe don't join the Tree Worship Church because you don't want to plant trees on your bodies."
"Yes."
"So why don't you join the Graycast Corridor?"
"We... also do not want to accept human modification into machines."
Ed nodded to indicate that he understood, and then posed his real question:
"So I can understand why you refused to join these two factions, but what about the Eternal Domain? Why didn't you join the Eternal Domain?"
Haya sat in the wicker chair, lost in thought. After a while, he explained hesitantly:
" The Eternal Domain doesn't really like nomads. We did try to join them decades ago."
"But the earl who lives closest to us wants us to give up nomadic life and switch to farming, and because we are outsiders, we don't even have to pay taxes—he wants us to become his serfs directly, retaining only the basic necessities for survival."
"The chieftain of Desolate Throat at the time had a bad temper, and the two sides ultimately failed to reach an agreement, completely breaking off their relationship."
Haya spoke of the past, a complex expression flashing across her face.
Although they belonged to a nomadic tribe, they were actually just ordinary herders and farmers before the outbreak of the Demonic Tide. This precarious life was not something they actively wanted.
Although a large, narrow strip of land to the east of the Tree Worship Church is now known as the Chaos Wilds, this place was their homeland before the outbreak of the Demonic Tide.
For nearly a century, they have been trapped in this area by the Tree Worship Church, the Eternal Domain, and the Graycast Corridor. They wanted to move away, develop, and integrate, but for various reasons, they were unable to do so.
Judging from Haya's expression, Ed could roughly guess what she was thinking.
Although joining the Eternal Domain would turn them into serfs, if these people always valued being human and refusing to be transformed so highly, then the former chieftain must have faced a lot of doubt and ridicule over the past few decades.
Now they truly have a better option, and perhaps they should thank the clan chief for not rashly compromising back then.
But... a count? A serf?
Ed astutely grasped the two words Haya uttered—they implied that the Eternal Domain was still under aristocratic rule.
Moreover, it sounds like even the serf system hasn't been completely abolished. It sounds like there's been no progress since the Demonic Tide, and it's even a bit like things have regressed.
Even so, the Eternal Domain was still able to maintain its rule, and while constantly clashing with the Graycast Corridor, it kept the demons firmly within the Demon Realm and even expanded its territory...
To be honest, the Twin Kings are really something else.
Ed realized that he shouldn't try to apply certain ideas from his past life to this world. Given that superhuman powers capable of forming an army by themselves truly exist, and with something as bizarre as the Demonic Tide, it would be wrong to underestimate any long-standing force.
It's likely that Twin Kings possess their own unique and exceptional abilities, but...
Ed listened to Chief Haya's words and fell into deep thought:
Over the past period of time, Ed has learned a lot from Xilǐ'er, especially about things before the Demonic Tide. As his oldest subordinate, only Xilǐ'er could provide Ed with the information he wanted to know.
One piece of information that Ed was particularly interested in was the distribution of power before the Demonic Tide.