Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 31

“Don’t bury the bodies, burn them. It’s a waste of dirt.”

“If we stick a wick in their navels, they’ll burn for a week.”

Griff quipped, looking at Sandro’s corpse.

He was a greasy fellow whose jokes sounded plausible.

“He was born wrong.”

“Pardon?”

“He should have been born a pig, not a person.”

“Oh… I didn’t know you could joke.”

I watched Calliope silence Griff with a fierce glare and asked,

“How many of you can handle Orcs?”

“About twenty.”

“Horseback riding?”

“Of course.”

“Arm them all and summon Gerhard and Hilde too.”

“Is it war?”

Griff erased his playfulness and narrowed his eyes.

“Pinto’s son coming here is as good as a final notice. At least it’s proof that they had no intention of taking my territory by force until now.”

War could not be postponed any longer.

Ugdash would have confirmed Baguku’s death.

Pinto’s son coming to me also means Pinto himself went to Ugdash, and the only reason Pinto would meet with Ugdash is for slave trading.

‘The moment he pushes Baguku to pay up to cover the trade costs, that’s when Baguku’s death will be revealed.’

The time was now.

Griff launched a familiar [a magical creature bound to a witch or wizard] into the sky.

“What should we do next?”

“We need to cross the mountains.”

Griff gaped.

“The Grey Mountains? Isn’t that under the influence of the Grand Council [a powerful governing body]? ”

“It’s also where Ugdash’s base is located.”

I recalled the memories from my previous playthroughs.

Back when Ugdash occupied the Great Plains and invaded inland.

I remembered clearly how Ugdash’s offensive progressed.

“Ugdash is an Orc. There’s only one way to deal with Orcs.”

To take the head of their leader.

“Orcs show tremendous unity when they have a leader, but when the leader dies, their organization is worse than sand. Because they have an instinct to fight each other to become the leader.”

“So you’re saying you’ll kill Ugdash to break them apart?”

I dropped the finished cigarette on the floor and stomped it out.

“No. I’m going to absorb them.”

“Pardon?”

Griff blinked.

“I will kill Ugdash, subdue the group Ugdash gathered, and destroy the northern lords through mutual destruction.”

“Subdue Orcs? And what about the northern lords?”

Griff rolled his eyes as if they would make a sound.

“Ugdash, Pinto. I’m sick and tired of dealing with them. I know exactly how those two will try to target me, and the answer is obvious.”

Ugdash, Steel Mist Tribe

###

The rumors about gold started recently.

The rumors originated in Turan, and at first, it wasn’t about gold.

The rumor started that a lord had died, and an Elf had killed him.

‘An Elf killed Count Dorin? Why would an Elf do that?’

Neighboring lords who heard the rumor were very surprised and shrank back.

Count Dorin and his vassals were all dead, and even though the territory was defenseless, they dared not touch it.

‘Are they trying to come south again…?’

Before the Great Plains were opened, the northerners suffered from different races.

The memories of that time remained vivid, so they worried that Count Dorin’s death might be a sign that those days were returning.

‘I want to take Count Dorin’s territory… but now I have to strengthen my defenses.’

They repaired the walls, filled the moats with water, and strengthened their defenses.

They remained on edge until they were sure it was safe.

And as time passed, they were relieved.

Elves, other races, were not coming down again.

Once they were sure, they had other thoughts.

‘Who will Pinto sponsor now?’

They couldn’t touch Dorin’s territory because they didn’t know about the relationship with the Elves.

Instead, they aimed for Pinto’s gold, which had become available because John Dorin had died.

John Dorin was able to be arrogant as the leader of the north, even though he had a poor territory in the north, because he had a huge amount of gold behind him.

Now Dorin is dead, and only gold remains.

Who will the gold side with?

‘He won’t continue the contract with the dead count’s brother. That merchant isn’t the type to work with a failure again.’

The northern lords knew Pinto’s personality very well.

They wanted Pinto’s attention more than anyone else.

Look at how John Dorin, a hick from the north, became the leader.

And they didn’t want anyone other than themselves to become the leader.

‘The merchant’s gold… if only I could get it.’

Pinto was not a lord, nor a noble, but just a merchant.

His personal strength was insignificant, so he definitely needed a henchman.

While they were watching, another rumor came.

– They are buying a lot of supplies from Turan in the frontier.

– Turan received gold in chunks as payment for the supplies.

– They are also looking for workers to build walls. The wages are four times the usual rate.

‘How can a frontier have so much money?’

The north’s attention shifted from Dorin and Pinto to the frontier.

In the first place, the reason they were clinging to Pinto was because of gold.

If the gold is in the frontier, Pinto doesn’t matter.

‘Was the rumor that the Elf is helping the lord who was appointed to the frontier true…!’

There was also a rumor that the reason the Elf killed Count Dorin was not to invade the Great Plains, but because he was attacked while attacking the lord appointed to the frontier.

The lords didn’t believe it.

Because Elves don’t consider humans as people.

They are not even people, not even pets, so how can they defend humans?

But things changed when they saw the gold flowing from the frontier.

‘Pinto. It’s the same development as when that merchant first appeared.’

The northern lords remembered when an unknown commoner crossed the plains and mountains and brought gold and silver treasures.

‘The Elf is helping the lord of the frontier.’

But why?

Why are Elves helping humans?

They were not a race that bought humans for breeding purposes like Orcs.

While the northern lords were worrying and watching the situation,

“No. It’s all rumors.”

Pinto asserted.

“Rumors?”

The northern lords who gathered at Pinto’s summons.

They blinked and tilted their heads.

“No one helps the lord of Olympus.”

“The fairy killed Count Dorin too?”

“Yes. It’s all rumors. It’s a lie.”

Pinto thumped the table with his fist.

“You have all been deceived by a grand lie. That brat who settled in the Great Plains killed Count Dorin and deceived us to monopolize the treasure.”

“······.”

“And the treasure is a mine.”

Pinto pointed to the map spread out on the table with his index finger.

There was a village marked Olympus under his index finger.

He raised his index finger and circled the mountains above it.

“This entire mountain is made of gold.”

“A gold mine spanning the entire mountain range?”

“I can’t believe it!”

A sigh of disbelief flowed through the conference room.

“It’s true. Have you forgotten who I serve?”

Distrust flashed for a moment but soon turned into belief.

Everyone knew that Pinto served the great chieftain of the Orcs.

“Why did you call us?”

“John Dorin is dead, isn’t he? Then someone has to take his place, right?”

“Hmm.”

“Originally, this mine belonged to Ugdash. But the brat of Olympus killed the mine manager and plundered the treasure. The gold he is spreading in Turan is that gold.”

Pinto clenched his fist.

“I want to kill him before his anger turns to all humans. No. Don’t kill him, bring him alive. Capture all the humans in his territory. I will make an exclusive deal with the one who achieves the greatest results.”

The eyes of the lords lit up at the end of his words.

They were silent, but their intentions were clear.

They had to gather troops, even if they had to spend everything they had.

Because the one who wins this competition will become the master of the north.