Chapter 84 - 80: Willingly Ceding Territory, Paying Reparations, and Opening for Trade

Chapter 84: Chapter 80: Willingly Ceding Territory, Paying Reparations, and Opening for Trade

The northern Bone Forest.

Inside the Southern Legion’s Commander’s Tent.

A dozen or so delicate, pitiable goblin girls looked at Lian, their eyes filled with hope.

Having lived among the human Guards for some time, they had witnessed the power of the Human Legion firsthand. They had even seen it annihilate every last one of the fearsome Northern Tree Monsters.

If the Human Legion was willing to help their people, they were certain they could protect their home and drive back the Corpse Monsters—vicious beasts that would devour a goblin, bones and all.

Lian didn’t respond to the girls’ request directly. His brow was furrowed and his expression was grave, giving him the distinct air of a Superior.

This gave the purple-haired goblin girl second thoughts.

"I’m sorry, my Lord. I was too greedy. You’ve already saved us; you have no obligation to save our people. This is our own affair."

The purple-haired goblin girl said, lowering her head.

"That’s right. You’re putting Lord Lian in a difficult position," Kob said, his face cold. "There’s a long history of hatred between our peoples. We have no obligation to save goblins."

The light of hope in the goblin girls’ eyes gradually faded, and one by one, they lowered their heads.

Without the help of the powerful Human Legion, they didn’t know if their home could be saved.

Just as the girls were turning to leave, Lian slowly spoke.

"Can you speak for the goblin race?"

The goblin girls spun back around, looking at Lian with delighted surprise.

The purple-haired girl in the lead said, "I... I can try to persuade the clan elders."

In fact, Lian had noticed her hair color long ago. It was the shade worn by the goblin nobility.

Sending Robson on that rescue mission turned out to be a huge windfall; he’d managed to save a noble goblin girl.

"This does put me in a very difficult position," Lian said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

「Half an hour later.」

The goblin girls emerged from the tent and boarded a carriage bound for the South.

Robson led the team responsible for their escort.

The purple-haired goblin girl clutched a parchment scroll, her determined gaze tinged with joy.

"Aisha, what does it say?"

The other goblin girls asked curiously. They crowded around to get a look, but they couldn’t read human writing.

The girl named Aisha explained, "It’s a peace treaty. As long as we promise to live in peace with the humans for fifty years, we’ll receive their help."

"Fifty years of peace?"

The girls asked in confusion.

Aisha nodded. "Yes. As long as we strictly abide by these terms for fifty years, we’ll not only earn the humans’ friendship, but they will also open trade routes to us."

"The Human Legion is so generous!"

"And Lord Lian is so wonderful! He’s even kinder than Robson."

The girls chattered excitedly.

Lian let out two sneezes and had a feeling someone was praising him.

Sitting in his tent, he took two sips of tea from the Green Shade Territory. He noticed Kob still hadn’t left and said,

"If you have a question, just ask."

"My Lord, when did you prepare this fifty-year peace treaty?"

The peace treaty had been drawn up in duplicate. The noble goblin girl had taken one copy, and Lian had kept the other.

The copy Kob was holding right now was Lian’s.

It clearly listed four main articles of the treaty.

First: During the period of peace, goblins are forbidden from plundering, coercing, or infringing upon the people of Green Shade Territory in any form. They must interact with the territory’s people in a friendly manner, standardize their behavior, and be subject to the supervision and sanction of Green Shade Territory for any crimes committed.

Second: To protect the goblins from the harassment of forest monsters, Northern Zones 1 through 3 shall be ceded as garrisons for the army of Green Shade Territory. In turn, the goblins must pay an annual fee for this military aid to Green Shade Territory, settled in Gold Coins or Refined Iron Ore.

Third: Merchant caravans from Green Shade Territory will bring a wealth of goods to trade in goblin villages and towns, enriching the goblins’ quality of life.

Fourth: Adhering to the principle of "Friendship Above All," Green Shade Territory and the goblins will stand as allies at all times. Green Shade Territory will willingly extend aid to the goblins in their time of need, and the goblins must, in turn, extend aid to Green Shade Territory in its time of need.

In reality, it was just a thinly veiled excuse to make the goblins cede territory, pay reparations, and open up trade, all while making them willingly offer up their "friendship" to become allies.

The naive goblin girls obviously hadn’t seen the traps hidden in the wording. Most of them couldn’t read human script at all, and while Aisha could recognize the words, she didn’t grasp their true implications.

Only when the contract was in the hands of the goblins’ true leaders would its articles be properly interpreted.

As for whether they would fly into a rage out of humiliation, Lian didn’t care in the slightest.

"I had already written this treaty by the time I sent Robson to rescue them."

"My Lord, will the goblins agree to this? These terms are so harsh... it’s no different from them swearing fealty to Green Shade Territory," Kob asked.

"That depends on how long they can hold out against the Corpse Monsters’ assault. Have the army send some more Venom bombs to the Corpse Monsters. Help them take the Zone 3 canyon faster. Once the canyon falls, the goblins will have no other choice."

The corners of Lian’s mouth curved upward. Everything was under his control.

’As expected, hiding in the shadows and pulling the strings suits me far better than fighting on the front lines,’ he thought.

Events unfolded just as Lian had predicted.

With the tacit support of the Human Legion, the Corpse Monsters advanced from one victory to the next, reaching Canyon 3 completely unimpeded.

The canyon terrain should have been easy to defend and difficult to attack, but the Corpse Monsters still advanced with unstoppable momentum, forcing the goblins to retreat from Zone 3 to Zone 4.

The goblins had no choice but to bring the parchment scroll to the Human Legion and plead for help.

However, the goblins made a counter-offer. At most, they would agree to cede Northern Zones 1 and 2 for the human army to garrison, but they absolutely refused to compromise on Zones 3, 4, and 5.

Trade had to be reciprocal, allowing goblins to conduct business in human cities as well.

The military fee was to be cut in half, and Green Shade Territory was obligated to provide aid if the goblin settlements faced famine.

Finally, the goblin chief stated their willingness to always stand with Green Shade Territory, promising never to infringe upon or mistreat its people, and to face all challenges together.

This outcome was largely what Lian had anticipated; his initial terms had been deliberately harsh to leave room for negotiation.

Besides, Goblins and goblins were essentially of the same stock. They possessed advanced mining and forging techniques, and the influx of this knowledge would be a great boon to Green Shade Territory.

The two sides convened at White Mountain, in the heart of the Bone Forest, to formally sign the fifty-year peace accord. Under the witness of the God of Tiger, the Contract Book was imbued with Divinity.

This meant that neither signatory could ever violate its terms.

Any who did would suffer punishment from the Rules.

Afterward, the Southern Army, led by Lian, marched from the west and struck directly at the Corpse Monsters’ main nest. Employing the classic strategy of relieving a siege by attacking the besieger’s vulnerable home base, they lifted the threat of annihilation from the goblins.

The Human Legion and the Goblin Legion caught the Corpse Monsters in a pincer attack, annihilating their forces completely.

This time, Lian didn’t even bother to salvage the Corpse Monsters’ venom for bombs. The stench was simply too foul.

Besides, aside from corroding plants, the Venom wasn’t particularly effective. It also rendered large tracts of land infertile and unusable. It was completely detrimental, with no real upside.

Furthermore, if the goblins discovered the Human Legion was using Corpse Monster carcasses to create Venom bombs, their fledgling friendship would likely shatter.

That would not be conducive to unity.

With that, three-quarters of the Bone Forest’s territory was completely reclaimed.

Lian had also gained a Goblin Legion in the process.

The only thing that made Lian uneasy was how smoothly everything had gone—so smoothly that he began to suspect he was being blessed by the God of Fortune.

But there was no God of Fortune in this world, only the Eye of Misfortune.

...