Chapter 306 - 267: Village Defense Battle (3)
Chapter 306: Chapter 267: Village Defense Battle (3)
After some discussion, the clan leaders finally agreed to pay 25,000 Gold Coins per clan.
But they all disagreed with the second condition.
After all, paying the tribute was already humiliating and demeaning enough.
Especially such a large sum.
If they also had to provide hostages, it would be the equivalent of letting them shit on their heads.
Zhao Shizhang asked, "Clan Leader Qi, you said you’ve heard of this Zhou Hua before? What’s his personality like? Is the second condition negotiable?"
Qi Hengying said with disdain, "Just empty pleasantries. What reputation? That Zhou Hua is nothing more than a bandit. With people like him, everything is negotiable. We’re paying to avoid disaster, but this price is a little too steep."
Liu Xuanqi said, "Did your clans get a look at their Combat Power? Out of those 1,000 men, 300 are Lords. And while only a few are top-tier, if we really fight, it wouldn’t be a flesh wound—we’d lose a limb."
Xiao Qiaoao said, "A flesh wound isn’t necessarily better than a lost limb."
Liu Xuanqi said, "Things are too chaotic right now. We need to preserve our strength as much as we can, for as long as we can."
The other clan leaders agreed with this sentiment.
They had all taken this into account when they agreed to pay.
In chaotic times, a sword is worth more than coin.
If they fought now, even if they could win and reap huge rewards, their own losses would take Time to recover.
And Time was exactly what they lacked.
If another enemy were to appear, they would be lambs to the slaughter, and no amount of money could save them.
Better to part with their money now and preserve their strength.
The next time someone came knocking, they would at least have the strength to negotiate, the Ability to resist.
The clans quickly concluded their discussion.
Xiao Qiaoao took a few steps forward.
He called out to Zhou Hua, "General Zhou, we’ve reached a decision. We can give you the 100,000 Gold Coins, but we don’t have that much cash. We’ll need to make up the difference with items and personnel."
Sitting in his chair, Zhou Hua grunted, "Fine. And the second condition?"
Xiao Qiaoao replied, "General Zhou, as you know, this is a time when every person counts. We truly can’t spare anyone. Even a single person would be a great loss to us. So, we propose to compensate you with additional precious items instead. What do you say?"
Zhou Hua said, displeased, "Fuck, are you messing with me?"
Qi Hengying stepped forward. "General Zhou, we have no intention of messing with you. With how chaotic things are, these items will absolutely allow your forces to grow stronger, faster. It’s to your benefit as well."
Zhou Hua frowned and nodded. "Hmm... Let me see what you’re offering first."
Xiao Qiaoao said, "Of course. General Zhou, please open the Trade menu. I’ll send them to you right now."
Zhao Chi didn’t know what was offered to Zhou Hua.
But whatever it was, Zhou Hua nodded in agreement.
"Alright, fine. We’ll do it that way. When will the rest of the money, personnel, or Supplies be ready?"
Xiao Qiaoao replied, "We can produce 60,000 in cash. For the remaining 40,000, you can choose from items or personnel. Just give us a territory coordinate, and we’ll send it over."
Zhou Hua said, "Fine. Just deliver it here. Send me the list. I want to pick and choose!"
Xiao Qiaoao nodded. "No problem. Let’s get started right away!"
Summoning Lords like Zhao Chi to the North Gate had been a show of force.
Even though the enemy had more men.
Seeing the assembled Lords, including Zhao Chi, would make the enemy think twice before attacking outright.
Now, the negotiation was considered a success.
For 100,000 Gold Coins and some Rare items, they could get those people to leave.
The four clans split the cost evenly—25,000 Gold Coins per clan.
Though there were many independents, the priority now was to get Zhou Hua and his men to leave as quickly as possible.
The extra money they were paying could be slowly squeezed from the independents later.
Zhao Chi received a system notification:
[Your contribution is 0.2% of the total. You are required to contribute 50 Gold Coins, or Supplies equivalent to 50 Gold Coins.]
That was no small amount.
And Zhao Chi’s share was already one of the smallest.
As a New Lord, his contribution percentage was the lowest.
Even with the lowest contribution rate, he still had to pay a full 50 Gold Coins. The others were definitely paying much more.
His Fourth Clan Brother Zhao Hong was also there, so Zhao Chi initiated a Trade with him directly.
Zhao Hong sighed. "This is the last time I ever wanted to collect money from you guys. Giving all this to those bandits... It’s fucking bullshit."
"Yeah, fucking bullshit," Zhao Huang grumbled in agreement.
His intense dissatisfaction was clear.
The others all felt the same way.
An hour later, all the Gold Coins and Supplies had been handed over to Zhou Hua.
Zhou Hua smiled in satisfaction. "Not bad. You four Clan Leaders are very forward-thinking. We’ll be on our way, then. I wish you all great fortune! HAHAHAHA! Let’s move out, brothers!"
Zhou Hua waved his hand, and the noisy crowd of over 1,000 people departed.
Zhao Chi and the others also left the North Gate.
「On the way back.」
Zhao Shizhang asked Zhao Qizu, "Second Brother, did you use your Skills to observe them? How strong are they? What were our chances of winning?"
Zhao Qizu nodded. "Our chances were very high—over 85%. But if we had fought, our strength would have been instantly reduced by about 20%. If we then encountered another resistance force of similar strength, our odds of victory would drop to around 55%."
Zhao Shizhang nodded. "Hmm... Forget it. In any case, at least we’ve preserved our strength. But what the hell is going on with those nobles? Why haven’t they fought their way back yet...?"
Zhao Qizong said with concern, "This just proves how powerful that Alien Race is. I don’t know how we’re supposed to deal with them later."
Zhao Shizhang sighed. "Let’s just take it one step at a time. We’re a minor clan; it’s pointless for us to worry about such grand matters. For now, let’s just focus on surviving this period."
With the matter resolved, the clans once again sent out patrols, expanding their range.
The other Lords returned to their territories.
After returning, Zhao Chi called for Qi Yue, and the two of them headed straight for the Tailor’s shop.
There was now a shortage of fashionable attire in the territory.