Chapter 1022 - Will Of The Desert People [Part 2]
"Actually, the age-old way of making your neighbors your allies, is through marriage alliances," Zeph answered. "If the use of force is left out in the equation, this is the most ideal method to use. So, how about it, Lord Raymond?"
William shook his head firmly. "No. Marriage is not an option. I don't take relationships lightly. Do you have any other suggestions, Lord Zeph?"
Zeph pondered for a bit before voicing his thoughts.
"It is best to gather all the Patriarchs, and their heirs, in a conference," Zeph suggested. "It would be better if Lord Raymond were to visit all of them, while riding on the Fortaare Death Worm. Once all the Patriarchs and their heirs have gathered, you are going to declare yourself the Head of the Alliance that would set corresponding rules that the people of the desert would follow.
"Although you are in a position of power, you do not resort to seizing their lands, or stripping their families of power. If you do this, they will be more than willing to listen to your conditions, as long as they retain their positions. This is the most ideal approach that I can think of."
William smiled because he didn't expect that Zeph would give him this kind of suggestion. "It's that simple?"
Zeph nodded his head. "Majority of the Desert Clans don't want conflicts with each other. Most of the time, there is an internal struggle for the seat of the next Patriarch, but that's it. We have an unwritten rule here.
"The Major Clans can only deal with their vassals. If they wish to attack the Clans outside their domain, the other Clans will gang up on them and bury the offenders' dead bodies in the desert sands. Lord Raymond, this is 'The Will of the Desert'."
"Now, what you need to do is revise that 'Will', and make it so that no outside interference is allowed. Of course, if you are proficient in making binding contracts, this issue will be wrapped up in a very straightforward manner."
"Understood," William nodded his head. "I guess I'll be leaving your residence for a bit, Lord Zeph. Let's continue our talk after I've visited the Major Clans. Will it be fine to hold the conference here in your city?"
"Of course," Zeph answered. "It would be our honor to host this historical moment. Please, allow the Sand Clan to handle everything. We will not disappoint you."
Zeph then turned at Kira who was happily chatting with his father and called out to him.
"Kira, accompany Lord Raymond to visit the Major Clans," Zeph ordered. "Make sure that all three of them are notified. If you don't do this properly, I swear that I will make you marry a Desert Iguana upon your return."
William had to stop himself from chuckling after seeing Kira's face, which resembled someone who had just eaten a fly.
Cassey watched this from the side and stood up from her chair. She was quite curious about the geopolitical state of the desert, so she planned to accompany William on his visit to the three Major Clans that ruled over the barren sands.
—--
"Brother, what are we going to do?" Orryn asked. "If we return to the residence, father will have us flogged to death for losing our family's protector beast."
"Regardless, we must return as soon as possible," Walric said through gritted teeth. "I'd rather received the family's punishment, than let our family be caught by surprise by that bastard!"
After washing themselves clean of filth, they immediately left the Sand Clan's City in order to return to the Stronghold of the Rhanes Clan. They needed to tell their father what had happened, so they would be able to create some contingency measures for how to handle the black-haired teenager whom they offended.
They were currently riding two Desert Wyverns to hasten their return back to their Domain. Both of them had taken the exclusive teleport gate that was reserved for their family, within the City of Altan, to shorten their journey.
However, it would still take them another hour to reach their family's residence.
Suddenly, they heard a powerful roar coming from behind them. Both brothers turned their heads to look behind them, and immediately froze when they saw where the roar had come from.
"Dammit! He's already here!" Orryn shouted in anger and frustration. "What do we do, Brother?!"
Walric was at a loss for words. Although he had anticipated that the black-haired teenager would visit their Clan's residence, he thought that he would do so the next day.
He could only watch helplessly as the Great Death Worm closed the gap between them in the span of a few seconds.
Contrary to its gigantic size, the Fortaare Death Worm moved very fast, especially in the desert. It was like a sailfish in the open seas, as it glided on the sand, headed towards the residence of the Rhanes Clan.
Half a minute later, it had already passed the two brothers who were desperately urging their Wyverns to fly faster. However, neither of their mounts dared to get near the monstrous beast because it was one of their natural predators in the desert.
"Bye bye," William said as he casually waved at the two brothers with a smug expression on his face.
Walric and Orryn glared at him hatefully. This was the only thing they could do as the Giant Death Worm widened the gap between them. They had no choice but to eat the dust that was being sprayed at them from behind the monstrous beast.
"Brother, what should we do?" Orryn asked worriedly. "We can't catch up to them no matter what we do."
Walric's expression remained the same as he stared at their protector beast, whose image was slowly getting smaller. Looking at it from behind, he felt like his hope to become the next Patriarch was also getting farther and farther away.
He regretted the fact that he had used such a high-handed method to show the power of their family through forceful means.
Even so, he still decided to return to their Clan's residence. He believed that as long as the delegations of the Gremory Clan, who were currently resting in their residence, said the word, then this nightmare that he had woken up to would disappear completely.