My Kingdom Building Done Right!-Chapter 58: Looking For A Compromise

"What do we do with them?" Lynceus asked after Ulric and his men bound the warriors who surrendered.

He heard of what Ulric had done—how he used Barka as an example to instill fear in their enemies.

Truth be told, he also wanted to kill the bastards, but he wasn’t in the position to make such an important decision. Only Ulric had the final say, for he was the man in charge.

"Their reinforcements will arrive in a day or two," Ulric replied. "We can use them as hostages. I’m sure their chieftains wouldn’t want any more of their warriors to die."

Aside from those who surrendered, Ulric’s men had also gathered everyone Blitz had electrocuted.

The squirrel already knew Ulric could handle those who managed to escape from it, so it returned to watch over those that were passed out on the ground.

Whenever someone regained consciousness, Blitz would shock them again, making sure they all stayed put.

Daedalus asked him to not kill the fallen warriors because they still had their uses. As such, Blitz only paralyzed their bodies to prevent them from escaping.

All in all, they managed to capture more than forty people from the two tribes.

Ulric had bound them all by ropes and forced them to march alongside the wagons headed to the Grimjaw Mountain.

"Anyone who falls behind will become his food," Ulric pointed at his Dire Bear. "So if you don’t want to become bear food, you better keep up with us."

That was the threat Ulric had used on the hostage warriors, leaving them no choice but to follow his orders.

They didn’t want to die, so they did their best to follow behind the wagons all through the night.

News of what had happened during the night raid slowly made its way to the other tribes in the Borderlands. Due to the distance, it would take them a few days to receive the message from their scouts.

Meanwhile, the reinforcements of the Ashclaw and Stormhorn Tribe were riding to regroup with the rest of their warriors.

Ragan had met up with them and told them about the situation.

"So you fled, leaving our warriors to fight against Ulric and his men?!" the son of the current chief of the Stormhorn Tribe, Gromm, shouted in anger. "You coward!"

"Say what you want." Ragan shrugged. "Why don’t you take a good look at the number of men here with me right now. Our warriors have also fallen in the hands of our enemies. We only retreated because we understood that staying only meant death."

Of course, whether that was true or not, Ragan had no intention of explaining. He could have stayed with Barka. He could’ve fought alongside him.

But he trusted his instinct. It told him that if he didn’t escape, that would be the end of him.

And he was right.

If Ragan hadn’t escaped, Ulric wouldn’t have spared him. His fate would have been the same as Barka’s pitiful last moments.

"Did they kill them all?" Gromm asked, his face still red from anger.

"I don’t know," Ragan replied. "They might have spared those who have surrendered. If we all join forces, we can probably catch up to them and try to ransom our warriors back."

Gromm clicked his tongue in annoyance. He came here, thinking he would return home victorious and make his father proud.

However, the only thing waiting for him was a problem that he had to fix as soon as possible.

Warriors were precious resources for tribes. Losing them would definitely bite them back in the future.

"Fine, let’s go," Gromm said in annoyance. "Ulric is a decent man. We can probably reason with him to let our people go in exchange for something."

"I agree." Ragan nodded. "We can still catch up to them as long as we hurry."

Half a day later, they did catch up to Ulric and the Black Wolf Tribe. When they saw their people still alive and well, both Ragan and Gromm breathed a sigh of relief.

However, it didn’t take long for the two of them to realize that Barka wasn’t among those who were running behind the wagons of the Black Wolf Tribe.

Ulric watched Ragan and Gromm from a distance. He knew they wouldn’t dare attack them since he had hostages on their side.

Fury’s presence also served as a very powerful deterrent, making the reinforcements of the two tribes feel anxious just at the sight of it.

"Ragan, come with me," Gromm said. "The rest of you, stay here."

He wasn’t certain Ulric wouldn’t attack them if they brought their people to negotiate. It would be better if only the two of them stepped forward. It could at least ensure that the situation would not escalate in a direction they didn’t want to see.

A few minutes later, Gromm faced Ulric, admiring the Blood-Crest Raptor the chieftain was riding on.

If he had the same mount, he would definitely look more imposing, and the ladies of the other tribes would definitely look at him differently.

"Ulric, I have come to negotiate," Gromm said. "I know there are disputes between our tribes, and I sincerely want to put an end to it. I apologize for our past transgressions, and I hope you and the Alborin Tribe can forgive us."

"The same can be said for our Ashclaw Tribe," Ragan commented. "We no longer have any intention of fighting the Alborin Tribe. We merely decided to take care of the Black Wolf Tribe to prevent another Arlo from emerging among them."

"You really have a way with words, Ragan," Ulric replied. "As expected of the Ashclaw Tribe."

"Why make enemies when you can make friends?" Ragan smiled. "Also, I would like to repair our broken relationship. This time, I will guarantee that the Ashclaw Tribe will no longer harm the Alborin Tribe in whatever way possible."

"I also feel the same way," Gromm nodded. "The middle-ranked tribes are already a problem, so us lower-ranking tribes should all get along. Why don’t we sit down and talk and compromise to put all of this behind us and move on? How does that sound?"

Ulric didn’t reply right away.

If it was possible, he would have already killed the two of them on the spot. But that wasn’t the way of the barbarian tribes in the Borderlands.

He also understood that they still needed time.

As long as Leone had enough time to grow, the Grimjaw Mountain would become an impenetrable domain the other tribes couldn’t breach.

For now, he needed to calm his anger and look at the bigger picture.

"Very well," Ulric replied. "I will allow you to ransom your warriors back. But only after we arrive at the Grimjaw Mountain. I am not gullible enough to believe all of you came here with good intentions.

"In order to ’fix’ our relationship, go prepare the payment first and meet up with us in our domain."

"Do I have your word that you will not renege on this promise?" Gromm asked.

"Yes," Ulric replied. "I promise to keep the end of our agreement if you promise to keep yours."

"Good." Gromm nodded. "I agree to your conditions. We will prepare the compensation for this incident. But we won’t be able to give you much. The time to pay tribute to the middle-ranked tribes is coming."

Ulric frowned, but he understood what Gromm was talking about. The barbarian tribes followed a simple hierarchy.

It was also why smaller tribes like them could still exist in the first place.

If the middle-ranked tribes wished to take them by force, none of them could do anything about it.

"Will... the Alborin Tribe also pay their tribute this year?" Ragan asked in genuine curiosity.

He was probing. If Ulric would say no, that meant he planned to defy the will of the stronger tribes.

"One of these days, I’ll make sure you can’t talk anymore, Ragan," Ulric replied calmly, yet his words were tinged with killing intent. "Stop pushing your luck."

"Hey! I was just asking a question," Ragan raised his hands in surrender. "No need to be so aggressive. Still, you didn’t answer the question. Are you going to pay the tribute or no—arrgh!"

Before Ragan could finish whatever he was going to say, a lightning bolt struck his chest and made him collapse on the ground.

Daedalus had asked Blitz to zap the obnoxious bastard before Ulric personally killed him.

Seeing the fallen warrior, a smirk appeared on Ulric’s face. He was very tempted to pull Ragan’s tongue and cut it personally.

But since he came as an envoy, he must not be harmed any further.

"Take him away," Ulric said before urging his Raptor to follow the wagons from behind. "Before I change my mind and kill him like how I killed Barka."

Gromm’s face turned pale after Ulric confirmed his worst fears. In the end, he had no choice but to drag the unconscious Ragan with him.

He was already thinking of an excuse to tell his father about the demise of their Head Hunter, the second strongest warrior in their tribe.