Tripartite Talks.
Woojin let out a light whistle. At the sound, wolves emerged from the forest, padding forward at a leisurely pace.
Roland muttered to himself.
"…These wolves… don't they look bigger than the last time I saw them? Or is it just my imagination?"
"They've actually grown."
The wolves no longer needed Woojin to personally procure inner cores for them. They hunted the demonic beasts of the forest on their own and returned after devouring them. Thanks to that, they had been steadily growing stronger with time.
He had even gone through the trouble of crafting dedicated armor for them. But now the armor had become too small to fit.
"I anticipated this and made the armor oversized… but what a waste."
At least the saddles were still usable. He had designed them with adjustable straps.
After fitting saddles onto Rex and Sean, Woojin mounted Rex. Roland followed suit and climbed onto Sean's back.
"Alright… move out."
Bang!
The moment Woojin gave the command, the wolves kicked off the ground and sprinted. Their speed was tremendous. The surrounding scenery warped and stretched as though pulled thin.
A fierce wind lashed against their faces. Roland groaned.
"Ugh, at this rate my eyeballs are going to burst!"
The wind kept stabbing at his eyes. Roland quickly drew upon his holy power to shield them. Golden light ignited within his pupils like flames.
Seeing that, Woojin inwardly admired the sight. A holy knight riding a wolf, eyes glowing gold.
"…That's kind of cool."
But inefficient. That meant expending holy power every time he rode.
"I should get something like goggles later."
He made a mental note.
The wolves were so swift that before long, the two arrived at the City of Gnoll.
"Good work."
Woojin fed each wolf a thick slab of jerky, then followed Roland toward the meeting place.
Soon, an unusual sight came into view.
A large wooden table had been set up in the city square. Seated around it were representatives of the Gnoll and a delegation from the Naga tribe. At a glance, the atmosphere did not look pleasant.
The Gnoll sat with arms crossed, glaring as though they might devour the delegates on the spot. The Naga, meanwhile, appeared utterly expressionless.
The air felt frozen. Sitting between them as the human representative, Cecilia looked visibly uncomfortable, as though perched on thorns.
Poor Cecilia fidgeted anxiously, scanning the tense atmosphere. Then she spotted Woojin and urgently gestured to him for help.
Woojin took the seat beside her without hesitation. All eyes turned toward him.
"…Now that everyone's here?"
A Naga with dark blue scales spoke. Its voice hissed like a serpent. Immediately, an attendant seated beside it translated the meaning through sign language.
Because the Naga and Gnoll were different races, their language systems differed greatly. The same was true for other tribes. Communication was difficult, so the natives of the Demonic Realm relied on sign language for diplomacy.
Since the human side, including Cecilia, had learned those signs, they were able to participate in the talks.
—We're all here on our side.
"That makes two of us."
Cecilia relayed the meaning. Krnartash nodded in agreement. It seemed they had all been waiting for Woojin to arrive.
The tripartite talks began.
"We are not in a position to exchange pleasantries… so it would be best to proceed directly to the main point."
When Krnartash spoke, the gatekeeper Rogar beside her conveyed the message through signs. The Naga delegate nodded in agreement.
"I concur. Efficiency is preferable. However, before we begin…"
The Naga turned its head this way. Its vertical reptilian pupils swept over Woojin and Cecilia once.
"…I would like an explanation regarding them. They are a tribe I have not seen before. Where do they come from?"
"The south. From a place where the shadows are thin."
"A minor power, then."
In the distant south, where shadows grew thin, tribes were believed to be weaker and less influential. That was the prevailing view among the natives of the Demonic Realm.
The Naga delegate continued.
"With only an alliance with such a minor power, it will be difficult to reclaim your territory. Join hands with us instead. If you do, we will provide reinforcements."
If the Gnoll offered appropriate compensation, the Naga would lend their army.
Krnartash snorted.
"To call it 'appropriate compensation'… your demands are excessive. Asking for thirty percent of our former territory is essentially asking us to become your vassals."
"That is an exaggeration."
The Naga dismissed the claim and went on.
"By our standards, it was a reasonable proposal. If there are differences of opinion, they can be resolved through dialogue."
If ceding territory was unacceptable, other tribute could substitute. The Naga delegation had come to negotiate such terms.
"Five hundred inner cores of demonic beasts. In exchange, we will lend one thousand warriors of our tribe. Such is the proposal of the King of the Scaled Ones."
If they provided five hundred inner cores, the Naga would dispatch a thousand soldiers. The offer was somewhat unexpected, and Krnartash blinked.
Woojin stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"The terms… are too good."
Five hundred inner cores.
Acquiring that many would not be easy, but the Gnoll were exceptional hunters. If every warrior of the tribe went out hunting, they could secure that number within a month.
The offer seemed considerate of their circumstances. Uncharacteristic for the Naga, which made Krnartash suspicious.
"Is there not another condition? It is hard to believe you would provide troops so readily."
"There is none. We merely wish to drive those repulsive masses of flesh from this land."
If the Gnoll reclaimed their former territory, the abominations' power would weaken accordingly.
The King of the Naga desired the eradication of those loathsome horrors. If the Gnoll showed a token of sincerity, the Naga were willing to lend their forces.
The Naga delegate added further explanation.
"This alliance will last only until your tribe reclaims its former territory."
The Naga formed alliances as needed—and severed them just as quickly when they were no longer useful. This case would be no exception.
Once the Gnoll restored their ancestral lands, the Naga warriors would immediately withdraw from the battlefield and return to their own domain.
"Choose. Will you take the hand of the Scaled Ones—or reject it?"
The Naga delegate finished speaking.
After hearing the proposal, Krnartash fell into deep contemplation. The Queen of the Gnoll stood with her arms crossed, visibly conflicted. Watching her, Woojin offered advice in the Gnoll tongue.
"This isn't something to decide on the spot. Ask for time to think."
"…You're right."
Krnartash nodded.
When Rogar conveyed the message in sign language, the Naga delegate rose from his seat without hesitation, as though he had expected this response.
"Summon us once your decision is made."
With his escort, the Naga delegate departed toward the outskirts of the city. Once they were out of sight—
Krnartash spoke immediately.
"What are they plotting?"
"Hard to say…"
Woojin, too, sank into thought.
The Naga were cunning. They did not lie—but neither did they reveal the whole truth. There was surely something concealed beneath the surface.
Cecilia expressed her thoughts through signs.
—Perhaps they intend to dispatch troops to observe our situation and gather intelligence?
The Naga had waged many wars to expand their territory. But the recent emergence of mutated abominations had disrupted their plans.
If they supported the Gnoll and encouraged a northern campaign, there would be advantages.
They could significantly reduce the number of abominations, while simultaneously observing the Gnoll and the Church alliance's troop deployments, terrain, and strategies up close. Such knowledge would prove useful if they resumed their conquest later.
Certainly, that alone might justify sending reinforcements…
"…But I doubt that's all."
Something felt off.
When Woojin said so, Krnartash—who had been thinking intently—asked,
"Why do you think that?"
"This situation itself doesn't make sense. The Naga must have suffered heavy losses to the abominations as well. There's no reason they'd hand over a thousand troops so readily."
Not long ago, eight hundred Naga abominations had struck the northern defensive line.
The Gnoll had repelled them without difficulty—but the fact that so many Naga had been reborn as abominations meant the situation on their front was far from stable.
"The Naga territory is vast."
To defend such an expanse required manpower. When their own house was on fire, offering a thousand soldiers to another tribe defied logic.
There had to be another motive. Woojin folded his arms and pondered.
"Why lend troops at all?"
As he considered the matter of military aid…
A news story from his past life suddenly surfaced in his mind.
"…When war broke out in Europe, neighboring countries rushed to provide weapons."
At first, he hadn't understood. If war erupted next door, shouldn't one conserve weapons in preparation?
But he later realized his thinking had been shortsighted.
"It's better to fight a powerful enemy on someone else's land than on your own."
War devastates the region where it occurs. So by supplying arms and manpower, one ensures the conflict ends beyond one's own borders.
Projecting that reasoning onto the present…
"…Are the Naga afraid of war breaking out in their territory?"
Woojin muttered the thought aloud. Krnartash snorted.
"As if. The Scaled Ones do not fear war."
The Naga thrived on conquest.
The Gnoll had long suffered resisting their invasions. The collectivist Naga would charge forward without regard for their own lives, all for the prosperity of their tribe.
"She's right. The Naga don't fear war."
But there was something they did fear.
"…The Old Ones."
The monsters from beyond the rift.
When such a creature attacked, even the most elite warriors of a tribe had to unite against it. Even then, killing it was nearly impossible—they could only barely drive it away.
Hundreds of Naga abominations. And now a delegation seeking alliance. The implication was clear.
"A dragon abomination has struck the Naga."
The Naga were suffering severe losses to a dragon abomination. Lending troops to the Gnoll was a stratagem—to divert the dragon's attention.
If the Gnoll advanced north and attacked the abominations' stronghold, the dragon abomination that had been targeting the Naga would likely shift focus and attempt to eliminate the Gnoll first.
Woojin shared his deduction. The Gnoll Queen shook her head in disbelief.
"Those damned lizards… trying another underhanded trick. What should we do?"
"We should help."
"Help the ones who tried to use us?"
"We don't have another option."
They could not ignore the Naga. If the dragon abomination devoured them, its army would only grow larger.
But they would not help for free.
"Let's squeeze those shameless bastards a bit."
"…I like that."
Woojin and the Queen of the Gnoll exchanged knowing smiles.
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