Chapter 229: Waga

Gervas smiled lightly and stood up. "Chief Bomi, my demand is indeed excessive—but remember, I am not negotiating with you now; I am ordering you!"

"Of course, if you refuse today, I, Gervas, keep my word—I guarantee you safe passage out of here today!"

"But consider this: anyone who refuses and leaves becomes an enemy of the Buwa tribe—and an enemy of me, your Grand Elder!"

"Then my human warriors will immediately go destroy your tribe. Will you still think my demand excessive then?"

Gervas's gaze swept across the faces of the fish-people chiefs, finally settling again on Bomi.

Bomi shuddered, feeling the chill of Gervas's stare; his body stiffened. "N-no… not excessive!"

"Good!" Gervas nodded in satisfaction and turned his gaze away.

Huh!

Bomi instantly felt as if his strength had been drained; he slumped back against his chair.

"What about you all?" Gervas looked to the others.

How could the other fish-people dare resist? Even Bomi had been broken.

"N-no… not excessive…"

"Excellent. Since none of you object, sign this pact of submission now—and swear before the Sea God in public!"

What followed was simple.

Under the gentle "watch" of the guards, the chiefs signed the pact.

This pact, of course, was modeled after the template used by the human overlord state and its vassal states.

Of course, a carrot after the stick.

After signing, benefits must be given.

Otherwise, these fools might turn around and seek other powerful patrons—making things worse.

So there must be an unbreakable bond of mutual interest.

"Now that you've signed this pact, you are one of the Buwa tribe."

"And as Grand Elder of the Buwa tribe, I never withhold from my own. From this day forward, I permit you to trade with the Buwa tribe as we do."

"Trade?" Several fish-people chiefs clearly lacked the depth of understanding that Toca had; they had no idea how the Buwa had grown wealthy.

"It seems you still don't understand. Let Chief Toca explain it to you himself!"

Chief Toca had been eager to speak; hearing Gervas mention him, he straightened instantly, lifting his head proudly to face the chiefs.

"Do you know how the Buwa became wealthy? Through trade with Grand Elder Gervas's territory!"

"We exchanged our cheapest goods—sea fish, shells—for precious items like beer, wheat, hoes, machetes, hammers, and more!"

"So trading with Grand Elder Gervas's territory is pure fortune for any fish-people tribe!"

"So that's how you became rich… then… then we can become rich like you too?"

The chiefs' eyes widened in shock; they stared at Gervas, trembling with excitement.

At this moment, Gervas was no longer the fearsome human monster—he was a radiant angel bringing wealth.

"Exactly. By following Grand Elder Gervas, your days of prosperity have begun!"

…

The chiefs returned home, satisfied.

Though forced into vassalage to the Buwa, they had gained a bright path toward wealth and a better life.

This made them forget the humiliation of submission—especially after Toca, following Gervas's orders, gave each chief a barrel of beer and a set of tools including hammers and machetes.

Their eyes sparkled.

Though fish-people didn't rely on farming, they still needed tools.

For building homes, hunting sea fish, prying open shells, cutting seaweed—all required good tools to work efficiently.

In the past, such iron tools were rare in fish-people tribes.

Their iron came only from the powerful northern sea-kingdoms or sunken human ships.

Neither source was easily accessible to them!

After the chiefs left, Gervas also bid farewell to the Buwa.

Of course, before leaving, Gervas personally set the Buwa's top priority for the coming period.

That was to strengthen their military power!

He ordered Toca to select a group of strong, loyal fish-people as full-time soldiers.

Previously, fish-people tribes had no full-time soldiers—too poor to afford such a luxury.

But now that they could trade with Gervas, and later collect taxes from other tribes, they would no longer be so destitute.

Thus, with dedicated full-time soldiers—and weapons and armor Gervas would forge specially for the Buwa—they would become the strongest fish-people tribe in these waters.

Therefore, with specialized non-farming soldiers, plus the fact that Gervas will soon forge a batch of weapons and armor specifically for the Buwa tribe, the Buwa tribe will become the strongest merfolk in this region.

"Waga! That's enough! You can go back!"

Waga watched Gervas's warship grow smaller and smaller on the horizon, yet refused to leave.

After a moment's thought, Waga seemed to make a decision.

He did not return to his tribe but headed deeper, into the more dangerous open sea.

After swimming for over two hours, Waga reached a deep trench.

The trench was dark and profound, as if a monstrous sea beast might burst forth at any moment to devour him.

Waga felt no fear; he carefully pressed himself against the rock wall and descended.

After twenty minutes of cautious swimming, avoiding caves hiding terrifying giant eels and vicious lanternfish, he finally reached the seabed.

He pushed aside a familiar rock; beneath it lay a narrow fissure, just wide enough for a fish-person's small frame.

He moved through the fissure for a few seconds—then the space opened suddenly into a vast underground cavern.

Within the cavern glowed a strange, deep blue light; upon closer look, it came from a beautiful blue coral.

Hanging from the coral tree was a small, seven-colored fruit.

But the fruit's glow was still faint.

And this was the secret behind Waga's ability to communicate with any race.

Of course, the other seven-colored coral fruit had already been eaten by Waga; this one was the smaller one left behind.

Waga had never told anyone this secret.

First, he knew the fruit was extremely valuable.

Second, it was not yet ripe; even if he told others now, it would do them no good.

Originally, he planned to wait until the fruit ripened and give it to his father.

But after witnessing Gervas's help, he felt he could never repay him—so he decided to give this fruit to Gervas.

After all, now that Gervas was Grand Elder of the Buwa, eating this fruit would let him speak directly with them!

The fruit should still take a few days to ripen, so he would return then to harvest it himself and deliver it to Gervas!

Of course, the fruit is still a few days from ripening, so he will come back later to personally pick it and deliver it to Gervas!

……