Miyuki’s ALL 3 form has been posted in Chapter 00 Characters *
———–
After Nozomi’s explanation, Renji nodded, having a rough understanding of the Southern Region’s situation.
In essence, within the Tribal Forest, although there were numerous clans, they were scattered and weak. On the other hand, the Ancient Wolf Clan dominated the Beastman Plains due to their alliance with the “Imperial Army,” allowing them to annually harvest the Tribal Forest, continually meeting the demand for demi-human slaves in the northern human cities.
‘It seemed that overcoming the Ancient Wolf Clan would be a formidable obstacle to unifying the Southern Region’
After hearing all this troubling news, what followed might be considered a piece of good news in the midst of bad.
“However, in the past decade or so, the entire Southern Region has been getting worse. Aside from the influence of the northern humans, the real root cause is the accelerating expansion of the Savage Wasteland Miasma, which is steadily shrinking our living space.”
“Savage Wasteland Miasma expanding?”
This time, it wasn’t Nozomi who answered Renji. Jiu standing nearby, took the initiative to speak.
Clearly, this Tiger-girl sister had a more open personality than the Fox-girl. She directly grabbed Renji and walked to the edge of the large map of the Southern Region on the table.
The entire map was divided into three distinct sections. The Beastman Plains and the Tribal Forest were in the northern part of the Southern Region, occupying roughly one-third of the land.
Below them, in the southern part of the Southern Region, taking up the remaining two-thirds, was a vast area indicated as a danger zone, without any clan markings on the map, displayed in a brown color.
“The Savage Wasteland Miasma is a relic from five hundred years ago, from the Wasteland Era. It’s filled with many ancient and terrifying creatures we call demons. Although many historical records are lost, because my Tiger Claw Clan once served as guardians and resisted the Tainted Corpse from the Savage Wasteland, I can be certain that the Miasma’s size wasn’t this large and it was just a simple Miasma until a certain point in time.”
“The Miasma there has turned into a foul mire, continuously devouring the Southern Region’s land and expanding outward. The demons inside have grown stronger, leading to the downfall of many Guardian clans. Coupled with the empress amending the constitution, the demi-human races already deprived of relic powers were labeled as slaves. The largest Ancient Wolf Clan sided with the northern humans, joining in the persecution of the Southern Region. All these factors combined resulted in the absence of new generations of Guardians to stop the demons. Eventually, it evolved into the current situation, with more than half of the Southern Region already fallen.”
Jiu coldly snorted at this point, expressing a mix of schadenfreude or something else.
“The current Ancient Wolf Clan has also tasted the bitter fruit. As the largest clan, they occupy the most fertile land, making them suffer the most from the Miasma’s expansion and Tainted Corpse. Looking at the past decade, they’re busy dealing with demons, and their control over the Tribal Forest has significantly weakened…So….”
Jiu’s eyes lit up, and her gaze fervently met Renji’s. She raised her chest, eager to speak:
“Lord Renji, I think you’re right. Now is the best time for us to consolidate our strength! As long as we seize the opportunity while the Ancient Wolf Clan is occupied and unite all the clans in the Tribal Forest… Once our strength truly gathers, even if the Ancient Wolf Clan or the Dragon’s Gate Army comes, we won’t be troubled!”
Jiu’s excited words weren’t finished yet when the last person in the group, Shan, who had been silent, couldn’t help but speak up.
“Jiu, you’re thinking too simplistically. Even if the Ancient Wolf Clan is distracted by Tainted Corpse and can’t spare attention to the Tribal Forest, I believe most clans won’t accept us, let alone unite.”
“Small clans are struggling for survival, and big clans are only thinking about how to barely eke out a living. That’s the current situation in the Tribal Forest. Rushing into an alliance will only harm us. I believe the right approach is to first strengthen ourselves, gradually absorb and assimilate other clans, instead of impulsively trying to unite.”
“Shan, at this rate, we’ll have to wait forever! By then, the shepherd’s purse will have gone cold! Why are you with such a big head so timid!” 𝘪𝑎.
“It’s not about being timid. Building an alliance that looks good on the outside but is still internally divided and harboring hidden agendas is useless. It’s just bluffing. When it comes to a real fight, it’s likely to shatter, maybe even self-destruct.”
“You…”
Jiu was about to continue arguing with Shan when Nozomi, who had been silent, coughed and used a frowning gaze to silence both of them. She made it clear that they should be quiet in front of Renji.
The last three people then turned their gaze to Renji. After all, Renji was now their leader. What the revolutionary army should do next was up to Renji.
“Nozomi, in the Tribal Forest, you should still have some contacts with familiar clans, right?”
“Yes, the nearest one is the ‘Dread Lizard’ clan, about a dozen kilometers away. I have a good relationship with the tribal chief there, and their clan had helped our revolutionary army a lot in the past.”
“Okay, later you mark their location on the map, and I’ll personally go over and negotiate with them.”
Hearing this, Jiu immediately cast a triumphant glance at Shan, as if to say, -“See! The leader is going to take the fast track to unite”-
But soon…
“In addition, what Shan said is correct. Rapidly uniting is just a clever trick and self-deception. Moreover, the major clans have been oppressed by the Ancient Wolf Clan for so many years. Just by our words, we can’t overcome their fear of the Ancient Wolf Clan. We need to show them something substantial. So, I’ll handle the external negotiations. As for the rest of you…”
Renji pointed at the table. The most significant issue now was cohesion. The current revolutionary army had a few hundred people, which was manageable, but what if it grew to thousands or tens of thousands? If Renji wanted to speed up the unification of the Southern Region, he had to simplify and address the issue. This was the time to bring up a classic phrase with a valuable meaning: “Orcs never become slaves… unless it includes free meals and accommodations!”
Just as he was about to reallocate the training policies for the internal structure of the revolutionary army, a commotion suddenly came from outside the wooden shed.
“Hey! Who are you? I haven’t seen you before!”
“Stop! This is a place only for the leaders. You’re not allowed to get any closer!” 𝘪𝘳.𝘤𝑜
“Quick, stop her!”
Hearing the guards’ shouts, Renji quickly set aside the meeting and walked out. Outside the wooden shed, three revolutionary army guards surrounded a barefooted, linen-clad demi-human who seemed to have just woken up, with sesame paste still in the corners of their eyes. They were vigilant and intercepting, preventing the demi-human from advancing further.
Fortunately, this demi-human looked quite pitiful and didn’t pose much of a threat, or else they might have taken direct action.
Renji took a closer look and recognized none other than Nova.
As for Nova, she was straightforward.
Seeing Renji coming out, “Master Renji.”
Nova: “I’m hungry.”
At that moment, a rich aroma of porridge wafted from nearby, attracting everyone’s attention. They turned to see Ashe, who had prepared breakfast for everyone. The cat-girl was carrying a pot of porridge and heading toward them. Another girl, who had also woken up, was following her, drooling a bit.
After taking a sip of the porridge, Eileen, recognizing the familiar aroma, looked surprised.
“Ashe, is this the same porridge as the one Renji made for us back then?”
“Yes, considering that everyone in the revolutionary army is probably like how I was back then, I tried to imitate the recuperative porridge Mr. Renji made for me. I’m not sure about the taste, though.”
“Don’t worry, just by smelling it, I can tell it’s definitely delicious! You are Awesome Ashe!”
Eileen gave the cat-girl a thumbs-up in admiration.
𝘪𝘳.𝒸𝑜𝑚