Al, accompanied by twenty bodyguards, received the envoys from the Northern Council by a river outside the tribe.
By the way, he was fishing.
The second most powerful fighter in the tribe, second only to the centaur girl—unmatched by both the Khorngor bodyguards and all of Al's scions—was the Blessed Gorebull Alestar, commander of the Bloodmother Minotaur legion.
Her massive figure, nearly three stories tall, was crouching somewhat aggrievedly behind the bodyguards, because Al disliked her terrifying aura scaring away his fish.
With her around, casually scooping the boy up, she could run back to the tribe in a few strides. Al didn't have to worry about encountering any blind, reckless fools—like the bunny girl Charlotte—trying to assassinate him.
The beautiful youth, having taken off his mask, held the fishing rod, turned sideways, adopting a listening posture. He silently listened to the envoys speak and convey the attitude of the Northern Council. His face was calm and breezy, but his heart was already blooming with joy.
Al absolutely never expected this.
In his very first contact with the official Estalian Kingdom—currently the only government, the Northern Council—the other party delivered a massive gift right to his doorstep.
The envoys expressed their respect for him and conveyed the Northern Council's intent:
Alliance, yes—help us fight the Greenskins!
Treaty, discuss later!
Discuss later! The most important thing right now is fighting the Greenskins. After we finish fighting the Greenskins, we can discuss anything.
This, of course, wasn't the main point. Al adopted an accommodating attitude, and outwardly, everyone was harmonious and joyful, acting like old friends who met too late.
Al himself didn't genuinely want a treaty that would allow him to sit securely over the two great regions of Piña and Inara, acting as a king within a kingdom. Besides, with no population and no resources to develop, what use would he have for it?
What truly made his heart bloom with joy—though he was still a bit away from being fully open-minded—was the second mission shouldered by this team emphasizing both diplomacy and military affairs:
Recruit troops, build an army, march south to strike the enemy.
When Al heard the representative of the envoy group casually mention to him:
"The Council hopes that we can recruit soldiers among the Estalians seeking shelter under you, form a legion, and then march south through the Piña Forest to attack the Greenskins, reclaim lost territory, and coordinate with the northern battlefront."
"We brought a large amount of ordnance and supplies, enough to arm an army. If your tribe is willing to help us fight together, that would be best."
Al was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly asked the envoy how many supplies they brought.
Confident that the current contact between the two sides was harmonious, and to stabilize their ally's confidence, the envoy exaggerated his side's strength, boasting to Al:
"Ordnance to arm at least six thousand men, and this is just for the recruits. For your tribe, we have an additional three thousand sets of ordnance as a gift of gratitude; four brand new 'Daughters of Righteous Fury' cannons that can easily blast open city walls, turning even the hardest Greenskin bones to dust under their shells."
"There are also massive logistical supplies. As soon as the alliance treaty is successfully signed and we begin reorganizing the army, even more armor, weapons, and firearms will immediately enter the forest to arm more Estalians!"
"We will crush the savage invaders, reclaim our lands, and defend our homeland! Our friendship, our alliance, will be tested and tempered in this Goddess's trial of blood and fire! I believe that the Kingdom and the tribe will forge an epic tale of unity akin to that of the Empire and the Realm of the Mountains!"
"Under the Goddess's gaze, we unite! We stand together! We shall defend our shared homeland!"
The envoy grew increasingly impassioned as he spoke. So as not to make him feel awkward, Al proactively put down his fishing rod and applauded.
The beautiful youth's charm increased further, and the members of the envoy group couldn't help but admire and marvel at the charm of this tribal "Beastlord."
He truly looked like a beautiful human youth.
The Empire and the Dwarfs... The kind of friendship where during the End Times, the Dwarfs moved their entire family to the Empire, saying "I will exhaust myself in your service until I die"?
Al complained internally. There is only one true friendship, and that is all of you converting to the Four Mothers, achieving harmony among all races in a joyous, big-family style friendship.
Then he asked the most crucial question.
"How much food did you bring?"
The envoy was stunned for a moment.
"We have ample supplies, enough for our people to use, though perhaps we might still need to rely on your assistance in the future."
"No, I am asking you: how much food did you bring with you right now?"
Al raised an eyebrow. The hearts of certain members of the delegation with more broad-minded affections couldn't help but skip a beat. "Didn't the previous envoys tell you that we are currently very short on food?"
The envoy didn't speak.
No they didn't!
He was also bewildered. He knew absolutely nothing about this matter from beginning to end. The orders issued by the Military Tribune and the Northern Council were for them to enter the forest, form an alliance, recruit soldiers, and attack, all in one go. There were basically no instructions regarding other aspects. Aside from the ordnance intended to arm the soldiers, they had only prepared three months' worth of reserves based on the vanguard legion's consumption.
They planned that if everything went smoothly, they could forage locally later on.
After all, due to the loss of naval supremacy, Greenskins and pirates could land anywhere. Coupled with the current unfavorable battle situation, the Northern Council was already prepared to fight a protracted siege war just like Magritta, so food reserves were naturally the absolute top priority.
Currently, food prices on the market had skyrocketed, primarily because the council was officially hoarding for siege preparations.
The veteran general, the Military Tribune who proposed this order, was extremely firm regarding the issue of food. He argued: Since the refugees have already taken root in the Piña Forest, it proves there is no shortage of food there. Moreover, there's the support of the so-called tribal Beastmen... How could a dense, undeveloped forest possibly lack supplies!
Colonization has always been an important national policy for the Estalians. Those explorers who cut through thorns and brambles, ventured deep into barren lands, set foot in dense jungles, and traveled over mountains and rivers to develop and explore the New World—when had they ever lacked food!
You are surrounded by a lush forest, and you're actually worried about lacking food?
Al didn't say anything after hearing this. He remained silent for a short while, then quickly steered the topic toward signing the formal alliance treaty. Aside from internally cursing the Estalian general as a brute, his heart bloomed with joy.
He wished the vanguard legion would arrive right here, right now, immediately, and then, in front of the refugees eagerly thinking the kingdom had come to save them, whip out a conscription order to recruit men and train an army.
At a time when a group of refugees—who had just lost their homes, barely escaped the Greenskins' butcher blades, survived only by relying on Al's protection, and were currently hiding in the forest, going hungry meal after meal, enduring hardship—were most hoping for the Kingdom to come save and relieve them.
Taking those men who couldn't get enough to eat and still had to work hard—otherwise their whole family would be even hungrier—away from their families, making them train on empty stomachs, return to the battlefield, and fight battles with almost zero chance of winning.
The resulting public outrage was totally foreseeable.
If it didn't emerge, Al would fan the flames to make it emerge!
It wasn't that the refugees lacked hatred for the Greenskins, nor did they lack courage and a sense of honor. But the prerequisite is that you at least have to let them eat their fill, right? It's not a passive situation where the enemy is attacking and they die if they don't fight; you're making them drill on empty stomachs, then cross the forest, step onto the wilderness, and attack those Greenskins with sky-high morale.
If that's not sending them to their deaths, what is?
The Northern Council's consideration was very good: those two hundred thousand people are already stuck there. Rather than letting them hide in the forest and escape, making them attack the Greenskins—as long as it could buy a few more days for the frontal battlefield, consume and attract some enemies, and relieve pressure on the frontal battlefield—would be a profit.
But the only problem was, they didn't consider the issue from the perspective of these two hundred thousand refugees.
In the eyes of the refugees, the Kingdom not only failed to give them the food they currently needed most, but instead brought a massive amount of useless ordnance that couldn't be eaten. For the Kingdom to conscript them into the army was basically sending them to die.
One can imagine how disappointed, and even furious, the refugees would be in their hearts.
Perhaps the situation wouldn't be this extreme, but... Al would definitely work hard to make the situation develop in this direction.
He had constantly been pondering, hoping to win over the hearts of these two hundred thousand refugees for his own use. This way, his core base would instantly multiply several times over, and his subsequent plans to compete for land and swallow the kingdom would have robust capital. He had also always been wary of the appeal and rallying power the orthodox Estalian Kingdom held over the refugees. As long as this banner remained, it would be very difficult for these Estalians to pledge loyalty to the tribe on a large scale. But now, the Northern Council's actions handed Al the perfect method!
Make the refugees lose their trust and awe toward the Kingdom! Make them turn to disappointment and dissatisfaction!
And the tribe, under the protection of the Four Mothers, will bring true well-being to this land.
Al thought to himself, the previous scheme of "enfeoffment," delegating power, and corrupting the human elites to cause chaos could also be implemented ahead of schedule. It would be best to detonate it back-to-back with the Northern Council's conscription order.
Without a doubt, this will utterly destroy the refugees' faith in the old order and the old kingdom, turning them instead to seek a new salvation and sanctuary.