Chapter 1043, Seizing the Initiative

Translator: Silavin

 

“Esteemed Shaman of the Flame Dragon Tribe, it is we who have wasted your time.” After a long pause, that was all Ye Tu could manage to say. The other party was a Shaman, while he was nothing more than a Totem Warrior.

 

To stubbornly press on here would be tantamount to throwing his life away.

 

Simply being admitted into a Tribe this wonderful and granted an audience with the Shaman was already a remarkable achievement in itself.

 

He would have plenty to boast about once he returned to the Wild Fox Tribe. To push his luck further would be inviting severe punishment.

 

Every Tribe’s Shaman was a figure of immense prestige, and all the more so in a Tribe of formidable strength, which only served to inspire greater deference from outsiders.

 

“Although your iron ore is not desired here, there are other things your Tribe can offer us.” Su Bai said.

 

“Other things? In most cases, we fall far short of the Flame Dragon Tribe. We truly have nothing better to offer.” Ye Tu was entirely candid, without the slightest attempt at concealing things.

 

It was simply the truth. He naturally wished to speak well on behalf of his Tribe, but the Flame Dragon Tribe’s amazing goods were all right there before his eyes.

 

Anyone with even a passing knowledge of the Wild Fox Tribe knew they did not measure up to the Flame Dragon Tribe in this respect, so there was little point in lying. Being exposed would be far more humiliating. The iron ore, the Wild Fox Tribe’s key advantage, had failed to capture the Flame Dragon Tribe’s interest at all. Ye Tu was truly at a complete loss.

 

“Yours is a Large Tribe, no? Which means the one thing you have in abundance is people. I need manpower to assist with construction.” Su Bai said plainly.

 

He used the same approach he had employed with the Green Vine and Earth Tiger Tribes.

 

Su Bai had just taken the opportunity to ask Ye Jiu, and had learnt that it took roughly ten days for members of the Wild Fox Tribe to travel to the Flame Dragon Tribe.

 

A return journey would take up nearly a month in total. This span of time was simply too much.

 

Honestly, Su Bai had wanted to trade for their iron ore, but he had no wish for the other party to sense that the Flame Dragon Tribe was in need. After all, industrialization would take more than one mine, even if they had enough iron ore for now, it might not be enough for the future.

 

Still, once that impression took hold, they would find themselves in a very passive position, and putting forward any conditions at all would become rather difficult.

 

Better to wait until the two sides had established a stable working relationship before broaching the subject of iron ore trade.

 

Even though the Flame Dragon Tribe’s people had already located a source for iron ore, having other Tribes deliver it would still be a welcome arrangement, more was always better, after all.

 

But what Su Bai wanted most urgently at that moment was infrastructure. Transport routes had to be made before any of this.

 

In this Primitive Era of unbroken forest, transport was the single most pressing concern.

 

Of course, that applied only from Su Bai’s perspective. For most other Tribes, food remained the primary worry.

 

“That is so, but I get the sense that the Flame Dragon Tribe also has a huge number of people. I wonder, esteemed Shaman, what would you require the Wild Fox Tribe’s members to do?” Ye Tu asked.

 

Exchanges between Tribes along these lines were not unheard of. Rather than a straight barter of goods, one side would offer labour in return for material benefit.

 

Certain Tribes were simply blessed with natural advantages, perhaps having a great number of extraordinarily strong people among them.

 

In such cases, they could form agreements with weaker Tribes, trading the most straightforward form of labour for things they desired. This was not without precedent.

 

“We need your people to build roads, that is, to cut paths through the forest in order to connect one Tribe to another.” Su Bai said directly.

 

What he wanted was decidedly not a situation where the Tribe took roughly ten days to reach the Flame Dragon Tribe. If the time could be reduced, it should be reduced.

 

Although this would benefit other Tribes, the gains for the Flame Dragon Tribe’s development would be enormous.

 

If a Tribe was to grow into something resembling a city, being isolated was not an option. What was needed were trade connections with every Tribe, and trade connections were what would accelerate that transformation most swiftly.

 

There was only one means of forging those connections: making transport convenient.

 

That was the primary reason he intended to build roads, and the reason he wanted to do so in partnership with other Tribes, he wanted them to contribute manpower, with no intention of letting them simply reap the benefits without lifting a hand.

 

In any case, the goods those Tribes had on offer hardly mattered to the Flame Dragon Tribe, so this was an ideal opportunity to put their manpower to use instead.

 

Under ordinary circumstances, asking other Tribes to help build roads would draw willing volunteers. However, it would also give those Tribes room to negotiate.

 

Su Bai intended to firmly retain the initiative. He had no intention of giving the other party any opportunity to bargain.

 

The only way to prevent them from putting forward conditions was to have them use their manpower as the stake in the exchange.

 

“Esteemed Shaman, I am afraid that may be beyond our ability. Although our Tribe has a large number of members, we have absolutely no knowledge of constructing this ‘road’ you speak of.”

 

A flicker of hope had just begun to stir in Ye Tu before it was immediately snuffed out upon hearing this condition.

 

There was no other reason for it. The paths within the Wild Fox Tribe were a muddy, churned-up mess. If they could not even sort out their own paths, road-building through a forest thick with tangled roots and overhanging branches was a different matter entirely.

 

“You need not worry. You need to only provide the manpower. The know-how and materials will be our responsibility.” Su Bai replied with confident authority.

 

That, too, was the Flame Dragon Tribe’s most powerful advantage in holding the initiative. Since other Tribes understood nothing of the process, the Flame Dragon Tribe could position itself at the very top and keep all parties in check.

 

“Esteemed Shaman, we truly only need to provide manpower?” Ye Tu asked, incredulous.

 

He had heard of instances where labour was exchanged for goods, but such a thing seemed impossible for a Tribe this prosperous. The Flame Dragon Tribe had everything it could want at this point. That manpower alone being enough for a partnership seemed almost inconceivable.

 

“As a Shaman, do you think I would speak nonsense with you?” Su Bai replied with measured gravity.

 

Ye Tu immediately lowered his head, beads of sweat breaking free from his brow in an unbroken stream.

 

He shook his head at once and hastened to explain, “Not at all, Shaman. I simply feel you are being too generous towards us, and I can hardly believe it.”

 

“Do not celebrate too soon. This is not an easy task.” Su Bai said plainly.

 

Cutting roads through a dense primitive forest to connect two Tribes was far from simple. The degree of difficulty required no elaboration.

 

Every tree and stone within the forest would need to be cleared, and all the while, Ferocious Beast incursions would have to be defended against. Not a single aspect of it could be called straightforward.

 

“If all we need to provide is manpower, then this is the finest partnership we could hope for.” Ye Tu was beaming so broadly he could not close his mouth.

 

“Go back first and discuss it with your Tribe’s Shaman and Chieftain. If you find it agreeable, return and we will settle the terms of the partnership.” Su Bai said.

 

“Might I ask what benefits we stand to gain once we have entered into a partnership with the esteemed Flame Dragon Tribe?” Ye Tu asked carefully.

 

“Going forward, the price you pay for goods will certainly be lower than what others pay. That is the only benefit on offer.” Su Bai said with complete confidence.

 

“I understand.” Ye Tu had not lifted his head once throughout the entire exchange.

 

Even so, he was more than satisfied with that answer. Besides, it was precisely what he had hoped for.