Chapter 394: Chapter 394 – Negotiations
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Early morning, the sun shone upon the land, illuminating the entire area.
This was the northern region of the Qika Kingdom. It was initially a city, but it had long since been abandoned. There were only scattered vagrants around, and they would come to this place to roam.
However, this place has inexplicably become lively today.
Many soldiers had rushed into this place in the outside world, surrounding this area until it was impenetrable.
If one looked carefully, one could see that these soldiers were different from ordinary soldiers. They wore armor and held exquisite weapons, but they were not humans but Kobolds.
The mercenaries who were wandering around were very surprised at this point.
In the World of Gods, wearing armor and using iron weapons had always been the symbol of a civilized race.
In the past, only a few races, including humans, could do this on a large scale. This was not a small matter.
Wearing armor and using iron weapons meant that one’s combat strength had significantly increased.
No matter how strong a person was with his bare hands, as long as he was not a professional, he would not be able to fight against an elite armored soldier.
Using the same sword and knife to slash at a body of flesh and slash at the armor was a completely different experience. The former was enough to cut through flesh and blood, leading to severe injury. But, the latter might not inflict as much damage.
Hence, wearing armor symbolized status and eliteness no matter where one was.
Even in the Human Kingdom, the human Lords’ armor was limited. Even the simplest leather armor was valuable and could be considered a precious resource.
Generally speaking, if a regular Viscount had 100 armored warriors under him, his strength would already be overpowering.
But how many Kobolds were in sight right now? By counting the Kobolds in armor, there were already thousands of them, not to mention the Kobolds in the desert and Qika Kingdom. With such a large number, it was a terrifying force.
Moreover, as these Kobolds moved forward, they seemed to be in a neat formation. Their physiques were also larger than that of ordinary Kobolds. With one look, one could tell that they were elites that had been trained. Their strength was not much inferior to that of regular human warriors.
The power contained within was terrifying.
Looking at the power displayed by these Kobolds, the eyes of everyone present flickered. At this moment, all sorts of thoughts flashed through their minds.
“Kobolds, are they that rich?”
Standing outside the town, a few middle-aged men looked at the Kobold warriors in front of them. At this moment, many thoughts flashed through their minds.
In this world, Kobolds had always been synonymous with savagery and ignorance. However, the Kobold Kingdom in the desert had brought surprises to people repeatedly.
This was the case with the Kobolds’ previous products, such as paper and sugar. Now, these elite Kobold warriors were also a huge surprise.
“But, with such a huge force…”
Some people had some thoughts while standing on the spot, looking at the neat lineup of elite Kobold warriors. “If we can make them our allies…”
The Kobold warriors in front of them were indeed mighty.
There were three to four thousand armored warriors. This number could be huge even for the Qika Kingdom. With the current chaos in the Qika Kingdom, this was a force that could affect the situation.
Especially now, in the Qika Kingdom, a few princes were fighting against each other, and each of them needed the support of external forces.
How nice would it be if they could obtain the support of these Kobolds…
At this moment, many people had these thoughts flashing through their minds.
In reality, this was also the result that Kalunu wanted to see.
He had spent so much effort to gather a large force under his command, partly to act as a deterrent and partly to show the power that he possessed.
With the current strength of the Kobold Kingdom, it was already sufficient to intervene in the chaos of the Qika Kingdom.
He believed that as long as they displayed this, there would be people who would take the initiative to make contact with him.
Of course, if they didn’t, it wouldn’t matter. At most, Kalunu would take the initiative to seek them out.
Standing at their original positions, the invited noble families stared ahead, with their eyes flashing. They then walked in one by one.
The Kobold warriors in the distance were only guarding the camp in front. As for the specific negotiation location, it wasn’t there but in the city center.
This was also in consideration of the thoughts of the human Lords. After all, if it were in a place controlled by the Kobolds, their lives would be in the hands of the Kobolds.
No matter who it was, they would probably hesitate when they thought of the consequences.
This wasn’t a huge problem, so Kalunu ensured that the people had peace of mind. So, he picked this place to negotiate.
At this moment, some people had already arrived and were waiting for Kalunu to arrive.
“There are quite many people here.”
In a spacious room, there was a huge round table. At this moment, there were already some people sitting at the round table.
As the meeting was held, the guards present were jointly responsible by the people who had come to participate in the meeting.
Therefore, in this place, not only could one see the fully armored Kobold warriors, but they could also see the elite Human Knight guarding every corner of this place together.
It had to be said that this scene was unique, and it should be sporadic in the past.
The Kobold warriors, who had always been barbaric, stood side by side with the Human Knight and were responsible for guarding this place.
If this occurrence were to be spread out, perhaps not many people would believe it.
When everyone thought of this, they could not help but have an inexplicable feeling in their hearts.
Just two or three years ago, if someone told them about the scene in front of them, they would definitely think that the other party was joking.
If someone told them that the Kobolds not only had a civilization but also possessed great power, they would definitely feel that it was extremely absurd.
After all, in the inherent impression of the humans of this world, the Kobolds were barbaric.
Most of these life forms lived in the wild and were scattered almost everywhere in the world. They were like wild beasts, and their vitality was exceptionally tenacious.
Almost every person who walked in the wild would encounter a Kobold. Occasionally, they could even kill a few.
However, the civilization and qualities that the Kobolds possessed were something that no one had ever seen before. One could imagine how shocked these people were by the appearance of the Kalunu and the Kobold Kingdom.
Even so, no matter how ridiculous or shocking they felt, the truth was right there, and no one could question it.
The Kobold kingdom was indeed before them, and they had offered all kinds of products that made humans lose their minds. The Kobolds gave them benefits that the humans couldn’t refuse.
It was precisely because of this they were sitting here and negotiating with a group of Kobolds who were like beasts to them in the past.
“Is the time not up yet?”
A tall, middle-aged man looked around and said in the spacious room with some impatience.
Unlike the others around him, this middle-aged man was very tall and sturdy. He looked like a warrior who had come from the Land of Berserkers, and he looked exceptional.
He was wearing a complete set of armor on such an occasion. It seemed that he did not mind the weight.
The people around him turned around and looked at him for a moment before shifting their gazes.
Many of them were nobles in the Qika Kingdom, and most were Lords of the city. If that were not the case, they would not have the right to enter the sight of Kalanu and be invited over.
Besides, the territories of these people were often very close to each other. Therefore, these people naturally knew each other.
Of course, knowing each other was one thing, but there was no need to make connections at this time. After all, from what they had learned before, the people present were competitors, and they could all be potential enemies.
According to the information that Kalunu had specially released before, this meeting would decide the future product distributors of the Qika Kingdom.
Whether it was sugar, liquor, or paper, there would be several distributors responsible for the interests of the Kobold Kingdom in the Qika Kingdom.
The number of slots open for distributors was limited, and the number of people who could secure it was also bound to be limited.
When counting everyone present, they were all potential competitors, and all of them were well aware of this point.
Time passed bit by bit.
As the hourglass slowly flowed into its surroundings, the fine sand slowly fell to the other end.
Then, some figures began to appear and walk over from afar.
Tap tap tap…
A series of light footsteps could be heard coming from behind.
Hearing the footsteps, everyone looked behind them and saw a figure before them— it was a Kobold wearing a black robe.
The Kobold looked about two meters tall. However, its body was not burly. It was well-proportioned and seemed very fit.
Unlike the other Kobolds around him, this Kobold had a more delicate appearance. His overall outline looked more natural and was filled with a sense of harmony.
Although it did not conform to human aesthetic standards, it also had a unique charm.
He walked over from the outside with a smile on his face, giving people a very relaxed feeling. But even so, the people present did not dare to let their guard down.
Because when the Kobold in front of them walked into the hall, their bodies could not help but tremble.
A terrifying and majestic aura spread in all directions and swept into the heart of the people present.
It was a unique feeling, somewhat similar to the majestic aura felt in the church. But there was no doubt that this feeling gave the people a particularly terrible omen, like something terrible was about to happen.
In fact, this kind of majestic feeling was nothing else but the combination of bloodline majesty and divine majesty.
As the Master of the Kobold Kingdom, Kalunu’s Dragon veins have grown to a compelling level in addition to nurturing Dragon eggs. The bloodline in his body was not inferior to that of Urald, and it was even much stronger.
If he had not been suppressing the power of his bloodline and did not let the Dragon power in his body burst out completely, everyone present would have fainted.
As for divine power, it was a great power that was slowly contained after being baptized by divine power for a long time.
In other words, it was actually Kalanu suppressing his high-level bloodlines and high-level power against the low-level life forms present.
Compared to these mortals in front of him, Kalunu’s current essence was a little too powerful, which was why these people had this feeling. The so-called Dragon aura of the Giant Dragon was something similar.
Walking over from afar silently, the faces of the people present became paler. They could feel the mighty and imposing aura emanating from Kalunu’s body, and they could feel it very clearly.
Under this mighty and imposing aura, they felt their entire bodies stiffen. The blood in their bodies was flowing in reverse, and they could feel all sorts of immense feelings.
In an instant, some people couldn’t bear it anymore. Their minds became blank, and they couldn’t even think. Fortunately, this feeling came by and disappeared quickly.
When Kalunu sat down in his seat in just a moment, the majestic aura from before disappeared as if it had never appeared before.
After the majestic aura disappeared, the faces of everyone present turned pale. Even the middle-aged man in armor from before had the same reaction. They had never felt that the Kalunu in front of them was so terrifying.
Before this, they didn’t have any impression of Kalunu. They only obtained information about Kalunu through bits and pieces of information.
This was a knowledgeable Kobold. Kalunu had forcefully led the Kobolds in the desert to build their city and even developed trade. He had reached this stage step by step, and this was a very remarkable thing.
It was more of a description of his strength than his wisdom.
The Kobold King had also made a move in the past year. Every time he made a move, it was astonishing. He had once displayed terrifying strength.
The people present had more or less heard of this. But even so, before today, they did not feel anything toward him.
They knew that Kalunu was very strong, but they didn’t know how strong he was.
Until now, they finally understood that he was mighty and far above them.
From their feeling, if the Kobold King wanted to, he could easily kill everyone present. While thinking of this, many of them broke out in cold sweat.
They had been careless.
At this moment, some people already felt a little regretful that they had come to this place rashly.
“At least the Second Ring…”
In the surroundings, a Knight looked at Kalunu in front of him. His face was pale as this thought flashed through his mind.
Due to their limited strength, they could not see what level Kalunu was. However, from the looks of the situation just now, he was definitely above the Second Ring.
When they thought of this, many people felt their scalps go numb.
The strength of the Qika Kingdom was much stronger than that of the Karo Kingdom.
However, a Second Ring warrior was still the top combating strength within the Qika Kingdom. Only the top clans possessed such fighting strength.
The Kobold King in front of them had actually reached such a level or perhaps even higher!
When they thought of this, their emotions could not help but become a little complicated. They were out of words.
“Sorry to have kept you all waiting.”
Seated in his own seat, Kalunu turned around and looked at the people in front of him with a smile on his face.
His attitude seemed to be very good. He didn’t have any attitude that belonged to a powerhouse, nor did he show anything bad.
Sensing Kalunu’s attitude, the people present felt slightly relieved. Then, they looked forward and stared at Kalunu.
Under their gazes, Kalunu slowly opened his mouth and went straight into the main point.
“There’s no need to beat around the bush.”
He smiled and said, “This time, the products we are prepared to offer are these.”
Behind him, some Kobolds walked forward and placed some things over.
“Is this…”
Looking at the actions of these Kobolds, the people present were somewhat puzzled. Under their gazes, some boxes were brought over.
While opening the boxes, there were two items in two different colors inside.
“Is this… sugar?”
Looking at the two items in the boxes, the eyes of the people present couldn’t help but light up.
“Not bad.”
Kalunu smiled, then said, “You’re right. White sugar and brown sugar…”
“These are the two things that are up for grabs this time. I will have two distributor slots for each item.”
“In other words, there are a total of four slots…”
Some people in the surroundings frowned when they heard what Kalunu said. Then, they looked around.
At this moment, more than ten people were sitting around just by counting.
Compared to the people sitting here, four slots were less than one-third. In other words, more than half of the people would be eliminated.
“Since it’s a campaign, there must be a condition.”
Someone opened his mouth and then looked at Kalunu and asked, “May I ask what the conditions are?”
This time, Kalunu didn’t say anything and just clapped his hands.
At the side, someone naturally walked over and handed some documents to the people in front of him.
The documents were written on the latest paper product, which was very different from the leather paper of this world. It made people’s eyes light up at a glance.
The people looking at the paper could almost immediately understand the huge profits at stake.
This was the paper. It had already appeared in small quantities in the Qika Kingdom. It had already attracted the attention of many people before it had been sold in large quantities.
But this was not the most important thing now…