Chapter 900: Discussions Under the Cheers (Part 1) — Human

Setting aside the Dwarf side and how the old Dwarf managed to convince his Dwarf Warrior subordinates to lay down their weapons, as for Jier, the moment he returned, the young and able-bodied Villagers standing in the front row of the group couldn't wait to ask about the negotiations.

"Knight, what did you all talk about?"

"Quick, tell us about it?"

"You jumped so high just now! Was it because the negotiations were a success, so you jumped to celebrate?"

Jier was between laughter and tears, but immediately someone else retorted: "How could that be? We aren't children anymore; who would just jump around because they're happy? If you ask me, that was a show of force! Knight Jier jumped that high—is that something an ordinary person can do? The Dwarves definitely can't do it. We are stronger than them in this regard, so we can hold the upper hand during the negotiations."

Although this person spoke as if it were plausible, it was, after all, merely personal speculation—an inevitable result stemming from the lack of experience and knowledge among the people in a small village.

An elder of the village, one of the first-generation migrants from the Empire, stepped forward and asked the correct question: "Lord Knight, what did you see from that high vantage point that caused you to hastily end the negotiations with that Dwarf leader? Also, if I may be so bold, how did the negotiations turn out?"

Jier nodded confidently: "Let's put aside what I saw for a moment; let me talk about the negotiations first."

He used Life Energy to amplify his voice: "The negotiations were a success! The Dwarves are willing to hand over the ruling and administrative rights of Torito Cunzi, and even the entire Valley region."

No sooner had Jier finished speaking than a roar of cheers, like a crashing sea, erupted.

"We won!!!"

"We have achieved victory!!!"

"The village is ours... that's great!!!"

Young people, and even middle-aged ones, were so happy they were nearly driven mad. People cheered, stomped their feet, waved their arms, and even bumped into their companions because of it, but no one cared. Everyone was incredibly excited, constantly slapping their arms and thighs, and even hugging one another. Not only were the young people in the front row cheering and leaping for joy, but even those standing in the back who had joined shortly before—those who had only joined temporarily after seeing the massive momentum on Jier's side once dawn broke—were now cheering and celebrating, as if they had contributed something to this victory.

On the contrary, several village elders who had finally squeezed through the cheering crowd, though they also wore uncontrollable smiles on their faces, still braved the surrounding waves of sound and loudly asked Jier: "Lord Knight, did the Dwarves not set any conditions?"

Jier deliberately lowered his voice, no longer using Life Energy to amplify it, and leaned in to answer the few village elders: "They are giving these up, firstly because of my appearance, which they cannot handle, and secondly because the power gathered by your villagers this time, combined with me, means they are no longer a match. They are few in number and cannot afford the attrition in battle."

The elders nodded repeatedly, and at this moment, the smiles on their faces were much more composed.

Jier continued: "Third, and most importantly, the Dwarves are leaving this place."

"Ah? Leaving? Hmm, that's right, that makes sense; it is time for them to leave."

"After all, things have become such a big scene these past two days; if they want to wrap this up, they have to leave."

"Then what about the mine they have underground outside the village?"

"Based on my understanding of Dwarves, they shouldn't be willing to let us Humans have it cheaply, right?" an elder added, speculating.

Jier nodded: "That's right, I discussed this matter with that old gentleman Aobosi."

"What did he say?" all the elders asked in unison. They had to raise their voices because the surroundings were simply too noisy; the surrounding Villagers were cheering, shouting, and some were even happily singing songs. Some of the young villagers who had followed the Dwarves to deal with Jier yesterday, only to be beaten by the Dwarves later, were now, amidst the cheers and celebrations, hurling insults at the Dwarf side, mocking these losers to relieve the humiliation and resentment in their hearts.

"Old gentleman Aobosi's attitude was very firm. He said that although he manages that mine, the ownership is not his personally, nor is it the collective property of those Miners, but rather the property of the Dwarf Kingdom—whatever it's called—that withdrew from here long ago," Jier said with a shrug and a smile on his face.

Some village elders nodded to show they could accept this explanation, while others could not: "This hasn't been their Kingdom's land for a long time. Although it was still ruled by Dwarves, this is Human land, the land of the Human Kingdom. His explanation is a bit too far-fetched."

Jier nodded: "I said the same thing, but his attitude was very firm. Everything else could be negotiated, but on this, he was adamant. Even if they withdraw from this place later, they still will not give up ownership of the mine."

The few village elders looked at each other. Jier guessed their thoughts and added: "I know what you mean—how could the Dwarves look after an empty mine after they leave, right? But they have their own points too. They said they will not only seal the entrance to the mine, but also dismantle the safety and protection facilities inside, as well as deactivate some of the defensive measures for the mine. Looking at him, he is very confident about this, enough to ensure that anyone who goes in to take the risk of obtaining Dwarf wealth will be able to get in, but not get out."

Hearing Jier's words, a village elder sneered: "That's not necessarily true."

Jier was indifferent: "We'll talk about that when the time comes. In any case, the Dwarves have conceded the Valley and the village to you, and they will leave with me."

"Leave with you? No, you beat them into that state just yesterday? This..." The village elders looked at each other in dismay, not knowing what the Dwarves were thinking.

Jier laughed: "You don't understand this, do you? It is precisely because we fought that they know my 'sincerity.' It is precisely because they know this 'sincerity' of mine that they trust me and are willing to follow me, leave this place, and seek the possibility of returning home."

Although they were very concerned about what would happen after the Dwarves left with Knight Jier, in the end, this matter didn't have much to do with them, the Villagers staying in the village. Therefore, these village elders did not ask for further details in this regard.

"What else did you discuss with him?"

"We also discussed two other important things. One is that they are withdrawing, but there are many things they cannot take with them, right? So, for those things they cannot take, the Dwarves hope to exchange them before they leave for some travel tools and supplies they will need on the road."

Speaking of this, the village elders were divided; some agreed with this, while others opposed it.

The side that agreed felt that they had already gained too much—gains they hadn't even dared to imagine before. At this time, they should know when to stop and make one last deal with the Dwarves who were about to leave.

The opposing side also had something to say. Ever since Torito Cunzi established the production model where Dwarves produced metal tools and Humans produced food, every transaction between the two sides had actually been a form of implicit exploitation of the village's Human Villagers by the Dwarves, relying on their technology and ruling power. After all, forging a metal tool didn't take much time or material, while farming and raising livestock were both exhausting and time-consuming.

This exploitation had been going on for many years. It was one thing when they weren't a match for the Dwarves before and had to accept their fate, but now that those Dwarves couldn't beat the Knight and the Villagers and were about to be unable to stay and get lost, the fact that they still wanted to harvest their supplies one last time before leaving was truly intolerable.

The village elders started arguing because of this. Amidst the cheers and celebrations of the surrounding crowd, seeing them arguing, Jier found it quite interesting.

They were all acquaintances of many years; who could really convince whom in a short time? So they soon realized that the power to decide this matter did not lie in their hands, but with the young Knight who was standing to the side watching them with a smile.

"My Lord, please excuse us, we are truly sorry. We don't know how you decided on this point?" they asked in unison.

Jier nodded: "I agreed to the Dwarves' request. They will be traveling with me for a period of time afterward, and I don't want to make the relationship with them too stiff, so I agreed to their request. There's no problem with this, right? After all, the things the Dwarves leave behind are basically things they created and produced themselves. And this is also a good thing. There will likely be quite a lot of things left behind by the Dwarves, and if the village distributes them uniformly, there will always be various disagreements and long-lasting neighborhood conflicts. It would be better for each family to use their own supplies to trade with the Dwarves; whoever has more can trade for more things with the Dwarves—it's clear and straightforward."

"That is truly a good method!" An elder immediately agreed and supported it.

After the others discussed it for a while, they all agreed and quickly discussed how to arrange this matter.

"Besides this, I also discussed a matter with old gentleman Aobosi that needs to be handled right now, and it is something that both sides must execute." Jier became serious; the sudden change in his expression and tone made the few village elders realize that this matter was very important.

"Please speak."

"Since the negotiations are complete and the destination of the Dwarf side has been decided, the current confrontation and conflict must stop immediately."

"What do you mean?"

Jier waved his hand, pointing to the large pit that had newly appeared in the village clearing not far away: "Everyone saw me throw my own Sword into the large pit just now, right?"

The few village elders all nodded: "We were quite puzzled just now; you actually took the initiative to throw away that precious Sword, which made us worry for quite a while."

Jier waved his hand: "That was a gesture of goodwill, and also the first step to make the Dwarves feel at ease and lay down their weapons."

"Lay down their weapons?" the few exclaimed in unison.

"Yes, in order to ease the conflict and contradictions between the two sides, we must have them and us safely store away the weapons in our hands. That new large pit is quite good; it's easy to throw things in, but hard to take them out. As long as both sides send a few people to guard it afterward, we can let everyone accept the situation of losing their weapons with peace of mind," Jier said, shaking his fingers triumphantly and confidently stating his plan.

He continued: "Therefore, I have agreed with old gentleman Aobosi that he will go and convince the Dwarves to lay down their weapons and throw them into the large pit. And I will have our Villagers throw the things in their hands that can cause harm into it as well."

"My Lord, this..." The elders were a bit troubled. It wasn't that the Villagers were reluctant to part with their various farming tools, but they were worried that if they really had nothing in their hands, some unforeseen event might occur. Especially since their most relied-upon pillar—Jier—had been the first to throw his Sword into the large pit.

Therefore, the few village elders were hesitant and wore troubled expressions.

Seeing them hesitate, Jier asked a couple of questions and then understood the elders' concerns. Jier smiled confidently: "Don't worry, I still have a backup plan. Besides, who says I don't have other weapons? Didn't we just capture a few Long Spears from the Dwarf Soldiers yesterday?"

Jier added: "Furthermore, the Dwarves actually have a clear advantage in weapons. If they and us Humans lose our handy weapons at the same time, they are clearly at a greater disadvantage. That is why I showed goodwill in advance by throwing my own weapon into the large pit; this is also forcing them to carry out the plan according to the method I chose. We have more people; if there are any further incidents later, relying on the advantage of having more people alone will be enough to suppress the Dwarves. Even if they are still wearing armor, it's the same."

The few village elders breathed a sigh of relief and immediately indicated that they would start convincing everyone to throw the tools in their hands into the large pit right away.

Seeing several village elders turn to find people to arrange this matter, Jier hurriedly called them to a stop and said: "There is one more very important matter. You are curious why I suddenly jumped up just now, right? Actually, it was because Xiao Tusi, whom I had arranged on the roof on the west side of the clearing, sent me a warning. He saw a troop pass through Huitou Forest and they are heading toward the village."

This news truly gave the several elders a great shock, but before they could panic, Jier immediately added: "Rest assured, rest assured, please all rest assured. I jumped up just now to take a look, and only then did I recognize that the troop that suddenly appeared is actually my own troop."

"Your troop?" they asked simultaneously.

Jier nodded: "It is my troop. Originally, I had arranged for them to be stationed in a village some distance outside Huitou Forest, but I don't know why, after I entered this side of Huitou Forest, they followed my route and broke in as well."

An elder asked curiously: "May I take the liberty of asking, what is the scale of your troop? Are they your soldiers?"

Jier waved his hand: "About eight or nine hundred people, I haven't counted them in detail; Bata'er Jiaoshi, who manages the troop with me, should know a bit more clearly." Hearing this, the several village elders were shocked again; after all, the entire Torito Cunzi did not even have that many Human villagers, and the number of people under Knight Jier already far exceeded this amount.

The situation seemed somewhat out of control, or rather, for these few elders, the events of these past two days had not been like being on the mine cart tracks at all. But fortunately, Jier immediately followed up by saying: "But they are not all soldiers. To tell you the truth, the outside world is actually not as good as I said or as you imagine. The Kingdom is at war—no, I should say a part of the Kingdom, the Southern Province, is currently at war with a Human neighboring country further south. Therefore, the security situation in various places is not very good, and many people in remote areas have left their homes to temporarily migrate to other more stable places, hoping to avoid the war period."

"You understand, the soaring taxes during wartime, forced conscription, and the various Bandits causing trouble after the Noble Lords pull away the Security Soldiers to fight—none of these are easy to deal with. Therefore, many people are hiding for a while; ha, using their families' past migration experiences. After all, isn't that how our Saint Hors Kingdom came to be?"

"And those people under my command are the young Refugees I temporarily gathered along the way. They are following me, looking for a safe and reliable place to avoid the war period. We originally wanted to go a bit further south, but to be honest, I didn't expect to discover a place like Torito Cunzi here."

While Jier was speaking and explaining, the several village elders who held great prestige and authority in the village did not speak, but their small movements and eye contact with each other never stopped for a moment.

When Jier finished the words above, although some things remained unsaid, the meaning behind them was already understood by these few. As soon as Jier's voice fell, one of them immediately said: "Lord Knight, since you need to find a place for them to settle temporarily and avoid the war."

"Then why not our Torito Cunzi?" another followed up.

The third elder also took over the conversation: "The village land is fertile, grain production has always been high, so every household has plenty of stored grain, and there are many poultry and livestock; you couldn't finish eating it all even in several years."

"And with so many Humans joining us, we Humans will never be afraid of the Dwarfs again! Although they will also be leaving with you soon." The last elder had a rather regretful expression on his face, seemingly imagining the scene of driving the Dwarfs away by relying solely on a population of over a thousand Humans without the Knight's intervention.

Jier smiled; although these few were very tactful, even if they were not tactful and did not accept the Refugees under Jier, this was not something these people could decide.

After all, there was no comparison in strength between the two sides. Even if Jier were not there, the eight or nine hundred young Humans alone, including the hundred or so armed Refugees among them, could already overwhelm the strength here in Torito Cunzi. Even the Dwarfs were the same, after all, the armed Refugees under Jier had also fought with some tough characters.

Of course, this could only be achieved if the Dwarf side did not mobilize professional soldier troops and use the God of Strength believers with Double-handed Heavy Weapons.

"Since that is the case, I will let them settle here temporarily. You don't need to worry about their accommodation; my people have their own Tents to live in temporarily, and for more sturdy and durable housing, they can spend some effort to build it themselves; the corresponding tools are all available. As for the village side, you need to provide them with some long-term help in terms of food."

"Of course, my people have a certain amount of stored grain, so in the initial period, that is, the early stage when the villagers and my people come into contact, they will first eat the stored grain brought from the road. After everyone gets familiar, we can carry out corresponding help and trade."

"Trade? No, no, Lord Knight, being able to help those young people who are also Humans is also very helpful to us. Actually, I have always wanted to reclaim more farmland outside the village, especially in the place near the mine pit to the north, but the Dwarfs wouldn't allow it before. But now with your people here, plus the Dwarfs are leaving, those farmlands will definitely be successfully reclaimed next year!" an elder said with a chuckle.

Another elder also added: "It's the same for me. I have actually always wanted to expand the village's workshops, especially wanting to upgrade the carpentry workshop into a large workshop capable of smelting metal and forging metal tools. To get rid of the Dwarfs' exploitative methods, we Humans should use metal utensils crafted by Humans ourselves."

"Ha, I also need more manpower here, but not for actual construction, but because the village needs fresh blood. In recent years, intermarriage within the village has actually caused me a headache. The newborn children are becoming weaker and weaker, more prone to illness, and prone to early death. This is all because our village is too closed off. It's good to have new young people; the young men in the village are lively and reliable, surely they can win the hearts of the girls from outside? And the girls in the village are diligent and generous, I reckon they are also very popular with the boys from outside?" an elder stroked his gray beard, which was not inferior to that of a Dwarf, and explained happily.

The last elder was more practical: "After they settle down, I actually think they don't have to leave in the future. If they have families, they can bring them all to live here. There is plenty of open space in the Valley, I reckon a town or several villages could be fully accommodated. In addition, after the Dwarfs leave with you in the future, the defense of the Valley will have to rely on ourselves, which will require more manpower capable of fighting."

Jier was quite satisfied and also followed up: "Trade is also necessary. After all, after the Dwarfs leave, this place will be completely free, and you can normally pass through Huitou Forest to communicate and trade with the outside world. Having marketable goods is one thing, but in addition, corresponding currency reserves must also be available. Otherwise, if you don't have currency that can be traded in your hands, you will be heavily extorted when trading with Merchants from the outside world. That would be too much of a loss."