Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 186 The Cat Tribe's Dilemma: First Round of Negotiations
From the very beginning, Lord Chen Mo had devised a three-pronged strategy. Regardless of the success or failure of the first plan, the second plan was already being implemented intensively.

In fact, the progress of the second plan is much faster than that of the first plan.

As Lord Chen Mo said, strategy must rely on the overall situation.

Around the Otter-Headed Beastmen, apart from the "Black Mouth" tribe which shares the same roots, there are three other tribes: the "Stubborn Stone" tribe, the "Horned Horn" tribe, and the "Shadow Claw" tribe.
They were all medium-sized tribes with thousands of warriors.

With the exception of a few elderly and children, the orcs are almost entirely mobilized, which is similar to the extreme mobilization state of the human race in a total war situation.

Unlike human nations, where the distribution of professionals is not drastically different, the size of the population can be roughly equated with the size of the war potential. However, the gap between orc tribes is enormous; after all, the difference between a half-meter-tall ratman and a three-meter-tall minotaur is greater than the difference in professional level.

Returning to the vicinity of the "Rotten Swamp" tribe, among the four forces, the relatively weakest is undoubtedly the "Shadowclaw" tribe of the cat-like orcs.

The cat-like orcs have always been known for their agility and combat prowess. While they might suffer some losses against other tough and powerful races, this gap wasn't too significant in the era when the orcs still belonged to the wasteland. Their strategy of targeting vital points allowed them to still put up a fight.

However, during the Plains Era, as the orcs' weapons and armor gradually became more like those of the humans, and the Goblin Merchant Guild continuously supplied the north with refined iron and standardized equipment, the cat race's disadvantages became increasingly apparent.

Their relatively frail physique prevents cat-orcs from wearing heavy armor. A cat-warrior has to pay a heavy price to inflict limited damage on a heavily armored orc, while the opponent can often incapacitate the cat-warrior with a single blow.

If you can't break my defense with a single slash, I'll give you a hammer blow that tears your skin open; then you're truly unbeatable.

The most powerful orc races, such as the lions, tigers, and bears, are all representatives of strength, because their strength becomes even more pronounced when enhanced by weapons and armor.

Why are relatively mild-mannered races like the Minotaur and Hippocrat races ranked alongside a group of violent orc bosses? It's because they are strong enough to wear full-body heavy armor.

"The Shadowclaw tribe had long been at a relative disadvantage in the competitive landscape, and the failure of the orc army's spring hunt this time only made matters worse, almost pushing the Shadowclaw tribe to the point of no return."

The person in charge of explaining the second plan was none other than Ma Qianzu, who called himself "Little Zhuge Liang of the Human and Horse School".

Clearly, Dongxia has consciously begun to teach a portion of carefully selected Xia Kingdom history to the direct troops of Hanhai Territory. However, precisely because it is selected, the soldiers only know that "Zhuge" is a very good description, but they do not know that "Little Zhuge" is really not that good.

At this moment, the laser pointer in Ma Qianzu's hand was locked onto the simple cat paw print on the map.

"The Shadowclaw Tribe and the Rot Swamp Tribe have a long-standing feud. For a long time, the two sides have never stopped fighting. The Otter Boar Orcs are stronger, but the leader behind the Cat Orcs is the 'Thunder Roar' Tiger Clan."

"Although 'Rotten Swamp' completely suppressed 'Shadow Claw', the 'Fangs' behind 'Rotten Swamp' and the 'Thunder Roar' behind 'Shadow Claw' are not on the same level at all. Therefore, the two sides still maintain a certain degree of balance."

At this point, Ma Qianzu suddenly became somewhat emotional, stroked the mane behind his ear, and pointed to the west on the map.

"However, our battle with the orc army south of Qishan directly changed the fate of the Shadowclaw tribe."

"Because the tiger-like orcs of 'Thunder Roar' are strong and intelligent, the orc commander Sargeris was worried that these guys would discover our secret deal with him, so he sent all the recruited warriors of 'Thunder Roar' south of Flag Mountain and didn't bring a single one back to the camp."

"Losses of this scale are enough to cripple the Tiger Clan."

"Currently, the Tiger Clan is facing a second round of conscription and is already too busy to take care of its own vassal tribes like 'Shadowclaw'."

"The conscription order issued by the Qishan Camp has intensified the plundering between small and medium-sized tribes. In the past half month, 'Shadow Claw' has been robbed of its food three times and has abducted thousands of beastmen and human members."

"With weak troops, lack of food, and no outside support, the Shadowclaw tribe is now almost at its wit's end. So, after we made contact, they quickly responded."

In fact, it's impossible not to be fast.

The Shadowclaw tribe is now facing not only the loss of troops or people, but also the question of whether it can survive.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The infighting between orcs is no less brutal than the infighting among humans.

Inside the Shadowclaw tribe's stronghold, a somber atmosphere prevailed. Tribe members packed up their meager food and belongings, comforted their crying children, and prepared for yet another migration.

This should be the third time.

The first migration happened several decades ago. At that time, as the number of human slaves kept by each tribe increased, the size of the tribes grew larger and larger, and the borders continued to expand until they finally came to border each other.

As one by one, the small tribes caught in the cracks perished, the Shadowclaw tribe and the Rotswamp tribe engaged in a fierce, close-quarters war.

Neither side had a good temper, and soon a small skirmish escalated into a large-scale conflict. The Shadowclaws were ultimately defeated and forced to retreat, losing their most fertile riverbank plain, as well as a large number of laborers and slaves.

Considering that the terrain had become a disadvantage for them, the Shadowclaw tribe gritted their teeth and retreated their stronghold to the mountains to the south.

Through continuous harassment, they finally managed to curb the opponent's aggressive momentum. After all, in terms of agility and mobility, the cat-like orcs were still far superior.

But no matter how fast they are or how well they fight, they can't change the fact that the Plains Orcs have a base.

On the wasteland, you can roam indefinitely with just a tent, but on the plains, even if you can abandon your strongholds and buildings, how can you take away the huge number of slaves and the vast fields during the farming season?

If we lose all of these, what's the point of fighting?

Therefore, in the plains orc tribes, if the enemy is determined to attack your base, you will be unable to fight back.

After the new chieftain of "Rotten Swamp" took office, in order to show off his martial prowess and boast about his achievements, he paid a price under the guidance of the tribe's old shaman and actually joined forces with the sworn enemy "Stubborn Stone" tribe to launch a sweeping attack on the stronghold of the cat orcs.

On that occasion, in order to cover the retreat of the tribe's women and children, the Shadowclaw tribe suffered heavy losses, with nearly a third of its adult warriors falling on the way to block the retreat.

If it weren't for the Tiger Clan's intervention, the "Shadow Claw" tribe might not exist anymore.

The severely weakened "Shadow Claw" had no choice but to retreat to the rocky mountain area.

The jagged rocks formed a natural barrier, and the caves and huts built against the mountainside served as simple dwellings. The area was barren and desolate, devoid of any resources. Because resources were scarce, and with the mediation of the dominant "Thunder Roar" tiger-like beastmen, the otter-boar beastmen halted their large-scale offensive.

However, small-scale local skirmishes never ceased. Otter-boar orc patrols frequently crossed the border to provoke, stealing food that the cat tribe had painstakingly cultivated and abducting lone members. Once the cat tribe retaliated, they faced even larger-scale conflicts and bloodshed.

The cat-like orcs' control over the plains further declined, thus entering a vicious cycle.

The fewer resources a country has, the slower its recovery; the slower its recovery, the weaker its fighting strength; the weaker its fighting strength, the smaller its territory; the smaller its territory, the fewer resources it has…

According to the tribal leader "Whitebeard," the Shadowclaw cat tribe has only one last chance to migrate: when the tribe's population dwindles to a certain level, the entire tribe will flee. This desperate prediction is rapidly becoming a reality.

During the orcish spring hunt, the tiger orcs, who had been providing limited protection to "Shadowclaw," suffered heavy losses and were also punished by General Sargeris of the Flag Mountain Camp. Now they are preoccupied with their own problems.

In the past few weeks, in an effort to make up for the deficit caused by this round of conscription, the Otter-boar orcs have repeatedly come to plunder people.

The Shadow Claw tribe not only had to bear the burden of levying grain and conscripting soldiers for the Qishan camp, but also had to "help" the enemy take on a share, and it looked like it was about to collapse.

On the rocky mountain, the atmosphere in the entire tribe was as oppressive as dark clouds looming over the city before a storm.

The tribal chief Whitebeard's "big tent" was nothing more than a slightly larger cave, with a few worn-out animal hides hanging at the entrance, barely keeping out the chill of the night.

This elderly male cat leader had a lot of gray and white hair mixed in, and a deep scar ran from his left ear to the corner of his mouth, making him look both fierce and somewhat weathered.

Inside the cave, the firelight flickered, casting the ghastly scar on the white-bearded face in shifting light.

The tribal chief had just received yet another conscription order.

His slightly trembling fingers repeatedly caressed the animal hide scroll that had just been delivered from the Qishan camp; the mark of General Sagris made his heart race.

Although the plains orcs all know that this conscription can be delayed, reduced, or even waived if they can find some connections and say a few words to General Bloodhowl, where can the Shadowclaw tribe find such a person to speak to in their current situation?

If you pay truthfully.

The usually eloquent elders and leaders remained silent. Just then, he heard a report from his subordinates: "An envoy from the Minotaur tribe pays his respects to the chieftain."

When he saw the other party, Bai Xu was a little surprised.

They were said to be envoys of the Minotaur race, but not a single Minotaur came. The Dog Clan, Rat Clan, Weasel Clan, and Human Clan were all the lowest-ranking groups on the White Deer Plain.

The leader was actually a centaur?

Well, faced with the weakness of the cat tribe, the Han Hai Territory did not bother with any pretense. Instead, it directly assigned Bao Guo, an officer of the field army, to lead the team to carry out this round of negotiations.

The leader of the opposing team was young, but he stood very straight, with a calm and firm gaze, much like the look a cat would give its prey when hunting, which made Whitebeard feel a little creeped out.

"I come from Motianling, Leiting Cliff, and Hailuo Port. I have come on the orders of our leader Liu Zaiyue to pay my respects to the white-bearded leader."

The centaur performed a greeting from the plains orcs, his movements clumsy but standard, clearly something he had just learned.

The white-bearded man narrowed his eyes. Despite his discomfort, he maintained basic etiquette, returned the greeting briefly, and said, "This place is rugged and poor, I never expected to welcome such an honored guest from Motianling. Please have a seat!"

"May I ask what brings you distinguished guests from afar?"

Ma Baoguo sat down calmly, lowered his upper body, and kept his gaze level with the white-bearded man: "Chief, everyone is busy, so I won't beat around the bush."

“I know the Shadowclaw tribe is in a bad situation right now, a very bad one. For some time now, the Shadowclaws have been squeezed by those stinky guys in the swamp, and they must be having a very hard time.”

The muscles on the white-bearded man's face twitched slightly; he neither admitted nor denied it.

Bao Guo grinned, revealing a row of neat teeth: "Coincidentally, we in Hailuokou also really dislike those arrogant guys!"

"We plan to put some pressure on 'Rotten Swamp' in the near future and ask your tribe if they are willing to participate?"

Several thoughts raced through Bai Xu's mind in an instant.

But I didn't understand it.

Cats aren't a race that relies on intelligence, so Whitebeard simply asked directly, "What do you need us to do? What... can we get in return?"

Bao Guo clapped his hands lightly: "I love the chief's straightforwardness!"

"What we need you to do is, of course, bring your troops and participate in our operation against the Otter-boar Orcs!"

"As for your department's gains..."

"Food? Weapons? Captives of the Otter-boar Beastmen? Fields on the plains? As long as you can prove your worth, you can have whatever you want!"

The terms offered by the other party were too generous, so generous that they seemed unreal.

So much so that, based solely on these words, none of the cat clan leaders and elders present had any reason to believe them.

But Whitebeard's heart was still pounding.

The cat race is not physically robust and lacks intelligence, but it possesses a peculiar hunting instinct.

They have the ability to "smell" the hunter and the prey at certain times.

Judging from the other party's posture and words, they didn't seem like prey at all.

Whitebeard didn't question the other party's boast, but instead lowered his body slightly, staring intently at the centaur: "Could you... explain more clearly? What exactly do you need us to do? What do you want in return?"

Bao Guo reached into his backpack, a gesture that made the fur of the surrounding cats bristle.

Fortunately, all they took out was a map.

The centaur spread the map flat on the table.

First, a circle was drawn in the middle of the map.

"Let's make this clear first: there's one thing our leader has his eye on that no one can touch."

"This swamp north of the territory controlled by the Otter-boar Orcs!"

(End of this chapter)