"The Hisham clan?"
"How many people do you have? And have you established territory in the swamp?"
The barbarian leader paused for a moment, seemingly not expecting Lear to ask this question. After a moment's hesitation, he spoke slowly.
"Humans, we have established a territory with thousands of barbarians, only three or four days' journey from the swamp."
Then he dropped another harsh threat.
"If you kill my people, the Hisham clan will surely retaliate!"
Lear showed no interest in his threats, but was more interested in the territory Lear mentioned.
A barbarian territory of thousands?
It was insignificant to a giant city like Loran, but to the scattered barbarians, it was quite a large size.
More importantly, this is a wilderness, a wilderness far removed from human civilization.
Just then, the intelligence system suddenly displayed a new message.
[The first wild tribe—the Hisham clan—has come to visit and seek to establish trade relations. An additional intelligence report is triggered: The Hisham clan's chieftain has gained extraordinary wisdom and plans to unite the barbarians to build their own barbarian capital in the wilderness. Therefore, they are seeking to expand trade. They occupy a unique mine rich in gold and various rare ores. Engaging in trade with them will not only earn you the barbarian's friendship but also provide you with a large quantity of rare ores.]
Lear, who was deep in thought, saw the intelligence and his eyes lit up.
These barbarians are serious!
My thoughts immediately changed.
As he remained silent, the barbarian suddenly noticed that the wetland lizardmen were closing in from all directions.
Surround them completely.
Hundreds of fully armed soldiers stared at them coldly, and the pressure instantly became overwhelming.
The barbarian leader gritted his teeth.
"Humans! What do you want?!"
Judging from the looks of it, things won't end well today.
Lear regained his composure, looked directly at the other person, and slowly spoke.
"I am very interested in your Shahim clan. My territory is newly established, and perhaps we can establish trade relations."
Befriend distant states while attacking nearby ones.
Trade is always the best way to make a territory prosperous.
Without any intelligence system alerts, the city of Wei Lu will inevitably have to engage in trade with the outside world.
The barbarian leader was clearly taken aback. Establish trade?
With a hint of hesitation and caution.
"Human, are you really willing to establish trade with us?"
The way they're acting right now doesn't really seem like they're in a position to discuss this kind of thing.
Lear nodded.
"Now that your lives are in my hands, what good would it do me to deceive you?"
this.
The barbarian leader was speechless.
Lear continued without waiting for the other party to speak.
"The premise for opening up trade is that each party gets what they need. My swamp is rich in resources and lacks nothing. I need to know what you can provide and what you need."
Although the intelligence provided a clue, the necessary inquiries could not be omitted.
These words made the barbarian leader take the matter more seriously.
"We need a lot of food and salt. We can trade them for gold, ore, or slaves."
Then he added another sentence.
"If you can provide weapons, armor, and iron tools, that would also be acceptable."
These supplies are mostly necessities that are scarce in the wilderness.
In this jungle where the strong prey on the weak, the human way of life is far too luxurious for the creatures living in the wilderness.
That requires a sufficiently stable environment, and stability is what's most lacking here.
For example, for food, hunting and gathering are the most common ways to obtain it, with hunting being the primary method. However, hunting is not stable and carries a very high risk of injury or death.
Maintaining a large power solely through hunting is extremely difficult.
In a barbarian territory like this, the daily food supply for thousands of people is a huge burden.
There are very real reasons why most races in the wilderness are unable to establish territories and develop city-states.
Lear's eyes flickered slightly.
Gold? Slaves? Minerals—he thought of the trade during the Age of Exploration in the Middle Ages.
Trading glass beads for gemstones—that's real exorbitant profits.
If this barbarian territory has this potential, it would be a huge boon for the city of Weilu.
He nodded slowly.
"Whether what you say is true or false still needs to be verified. Please come with me to the territory and stay for two months."
"Once I'm done with this busy period, I'll go with you to the Shahim clan to discuss opening up trade routes."
The other barbarians were getting restless, their eyes blazing with anger.
But the barbarian leader waved his hand and pressed down on the crowd.
"My lord, I promise you."
"But if your mind changes, I beg you to let my companions go."
We are at their mercy, like fish on a chopping board. If we fight to the death now, we will only be throwing our lives away.
Judging from the other party's attitude, he seemed genuinely interested in opening up trade routes, and he was willing to gamble even if there was only a one in ten chance!
The chief's will must be carried out.
That is the light of their savages!
His gaze hardened.
He turned to look at his companions behind him and shouted a few words in the barbarian language.
The agitation then subsided.
Seeing this, Lear nodded slowly.
"As long as you do not do anything to harm me, I will keep my promise."
Although the words were plain, all the barbarians could hear the unwavering determination within them.
The barbarian leader breathed a sigh of relief, put his hand to his chest, bowed his head, and greeted the others with a respectful gesture.
"My lord, Akhenza sends his greetings."
Lear nodded slightly.
"Lear, I send my greetings."
Sensing that the group had completely lost their hostility and threat, he signaled to the wetland lizardman warriors behind him.
"Akenza, we still need to go out hunting and clear the dangers around the territory. We cannot return to the territory for the time being."
"Please temporarily join my army and obey my command and dispatch."
Huh? This human lord, is he really that trusting of them?
Even the barbarian leader was somewhat taken aback.
He nodded with mixed feelings.
In the perilous wilderness, without unified command, encountering the enemy would be an absolute disaster.
Lear, who possesses divine power, is far beyond their imagination. He can respond immediately to the slightest hostility.
He appears tolerant, but everyone is under his control.
The barbarian was unaware of these things, but he believed that Lear was a man of his word and felt a little respect for him.
Lear didn't hesitate either, giving the barbarians a separate sequence.
At the same time, a Wet Touch restored the two captured lizardman warriors and the barbarian.
This made the barbarians' expressions change again.
In battle, having a mage with healing abilities would significantly increase your chances of survival.
Unfortunately, there are too few mages. Their clan of thousands of barbarians has only two mages, and neither of them knows healing spells.
Lear even made a point of asking about the identity of the unconscious barbarian.
There was some misunderstanding. The other person was Akentza's brother, who had been bitten by a venomous snake and had been in a coma since the venom was removed.
Now, things have turned out much better; they've actually revived him. This has significantly improved the barbarians' attitude towards Lear.
The army continued forward, with the three wetland lizardmen teams splitting into two groups to begin exploring a wider area.
After two days of fighting, the Wetland Lizardman's upgrade progress has reached 95%.
All it takes is one more battle to meet the upgrade requirements.
However, the battle I was looking for today has not materialized. I have been traveling for two hours without encountering any swamp monsters.
There were quite a few animals on the road, but they fled at a distance as soon as they sensed the approaching herd.
Relying on their hunting instincts, the wetland lizardmen managed to kill only a few swamp boars for an evening snack, but that didn't quench their thirst at all.
Lear was also quite helpless and had no choice but to expand the scope of the search.
After traveling for another half hour, the lizardmen ahead sent back a message—the destination has been found!
When Lear arrived ahead, he saw a small hill rising from the swamp, covering several hundred meters and over 30 meters high.
The hill was covered with dense vines.
These vines are common plants in swamps, and they look lush and vibrant.
Surprisingly, at the foot of the hill where the vines took root, the muddy water that should have been murky was now crystal clear.
You can see many dark blue fish swimming in the water.
There were even more than ten large fish that were over two meters long.
As the crowd approached, the large fish wagged their tails and darted into the natural hiding place formed by the roots of the vines.
A hundred meters away from the hill, the slowly flowing muddy water still smelled foul.
The two present a stark contrast.
Lear was delighted to see this.