Chapter 82: 82 Origin of the Name

Chapter 82: 82. The Origin of the Names

Knight Willie’s quarters had already been requisitioned by Ronin, who sat upon a wooden bench, continuing to question Wharton and Dandy to extract more intelligence from their lips.

"I am quite curious—how did the names of you wildling tribes come to be?"

Ronin inquired, "The Green Bamboo Tribe is situated amidst a bamboo forest, so using green bamboo as a name is something I can comprehend. But what of Purple Fruit, Grey Earth, and Black Collar? What do they each represent?"

"My Lord, to the best of my knowledge, the Purple Fruit Tribe bears its name because deep within their territory, around June of each year, the land yields a harvest of dark purple and reddish-purple fruits."

Wharton replied, "I had the fortune of tasting one once. The flavor of the purple fruit is unlike that of grapes or plums; it is sweet, tart, and exceedingly juicy, perfect for quenching one's thirst. It is a pity that it is now September, so you may not be able to enjoy them upon your arrival, my Lord."

A dark purple fruit?

Ronin searched his memory for information regarding such a fruit but found nothing. It seemed it was likely a unique local specialty of the mountainous region.

He had already resolved in his heart that once he seized the Purple Fruit Tribe, he would thoroughly question them regarding the finer details of this fruit.

"And what of Grey Earth and Black Collar?"

"I know the answer to that one."

Dandy scrambled to answer first, eager to please. "The Grey Earth Tribe is so named because within their lands lies a sort of greyish-white soil. Since it can be seen everywhere, they gave it that name."

"The Black Collar Tribe is very much the same. Their soil is rather black, so they call it 'Black Collar'."

Ronin nodded slowly. So, the origins of both these tribes' names were tied to the soil.

"Do you know if these two types of soil serve any particular purpose?" Ronin asked.

To this question, however, Dandy shook his head. "It seems they have no special use; they are merely a bit peculiar, enough to catch people's attention."

Is that so?

Ronin tried hard to reminisce.

He had no deep impression of greyish-white soil, but he was well aware of black soil.

"Could it be the famous black earth?"

He had always felt that the soil quality here in Mountainwood Town was rather decent; otherwise, it would never have yielded such a harvest under such slipshod farming techniques.

If this black soil truly turned out to be the fertile black earth, then once he conquered the Black Collar Tribe, the matter of his territory's future grain supply would no longer be an issue.

"Very well, I have asked nearly all that needs to be asked. Since you have surrendered to me and are willing to offer your loyalty, I shall grant the two of you an opportunity."

Ronin looked at the two knights before him. "Today is the twenty-first. Until the end of this month, you shall both be under my period of observation. If you pass this trial, I shall accept your allegiance and pay each of you a wage of twenty copper coins per day, according to the standards of a probationary period."

"If within the next three months you harbor no treacherous thoughts, and perform well in the tasks assigned by myself, the Commander, or the Guard Captain, I shall allow you to become full retainers. At that time, you shall receive a daily wage of thirty copper coins."

A wage?

Thirty copper coins a day?

Wharton and Dandy’s eyes went completely wide!

Though they had lived in the Green Bamboo Tribe all these years, they would still sneak out every once in a while to purchase domestic supplies like table salt.

Money was something they were not unfamiliar with.

It was just that coin had always been kept strictly in the hands of Knight Willie; they never even had a chance to touch it.

Yet now, Ronin was actually offering to pay them a wage, and twenty copper coins at that—which was enough for them to buy a pound of Gaza salt!

More importantly, those twenty coppers were merely a daily wage. How much would that be in a single month?

They subconsciously began to count on their fingers, only to find they could not calculate the sum.

Just then, Ronin’s voice interrupted their chaotic thoughts.

"You need not suspect that I am deceiving you."

He pointed to Tom, who stood to the side. "His name is Tom. When I defeated the master he once served, he chose to surrender of his own accord. At the beginning, his daily wage was also twenty copper coins, but in light of his excellent performance, I permitted him to become a full retainer ahead of schedule. Today, his daily wage has already reached thirty copper coins."

Having a concrete example made it far more persuasive.

Of course, Ronin would not allow Wharton and Dandy to become full retainers ahead of schedule; they were not as exceptional as Tom.

However, it sounded entirely different to the two men. They could not help but look toward Tom, as if seeking confirmation.

Tom puffed out his chest. "Indeed. The Lord not only forgave my crimes but also bestowed upon me everything I have today. If you can serve the Lord with absolute sincerity, I believe you will become just like me."

With Tom’s confirmation, Wharton and Dandy finally put their hearts completely at ease.

"We thank the Lord for his benevolence! From this day forth, I, Dandy (Wharton), shall be your loyal follower!"

They had already made up their minds to work with all their might, striving to become full retainers as early as possible.

Ronin smiled and gestured for the two men to stand up.

At that moment, Elrond, who had been busy for a long while, walked in from outside.

"My Lord, I have compiled the exact population and casualty figures of the Green Bamboo Tribe."

Ronin adjusted his posture slightly. "Speak."

"There were originally three hundred and sixty-two wildlings here. In the battle just now, including Knight Willie, a total of eight people perished. Ultimately, the remaining three hundred and fifty-four people have all become your captives and are currently being held under close guard."

Still, eight had died?

Ronin had not expected so many to perish. He had thought that at most, only Willie and the sentry he had blasted down would die.

As expected, once a battle commenced, much of what occurred during the process was uncontrollable and unpredictable.

"What of our own casualties?" Ronin asked.

Elrond smiled. "Congratulations, my Lord. In this battle, we suffered no serious injuries, let alone any deaths. The only regret is that four militiamen sustained minor injuries, two of whom simply failed to watch their step and slipped down the slope."

He added, "This battle against the Green Bamboo Tribe can truly be called a resounding victory!"

Rydal, standing nearby, smiled as well, yet he bore an expression of lingering dissatisfaction. "It is a pity that from beginning to end, I hardly exerted any strength at all. I completely just wasted a bit of battle aura to shout a couple of times."

"At the very least, you exchanged a blow with that Willie. What about me?"

Macken shrugged helplessly. "I did not even have time to strike before the opposition surrendered. I feel as though accompanying the Lord on this campaign was purely to make up the numbers."

"Me too, hahaha! I did not even cast a single healing spell."

Hearing his subordinates complain to one another in such a manner, Ronin could not help but laugh along with them.

Looking at it this way, it was actually he who had struck the most times in this battle—one fireball spell and one wind blade spell, each claiming a life.

"There will be plenty of times for you to strike in the future."

Ronin cut off everyone’s complaints with a smile. "Just now, Wharton and Dandy have informed us of the detailed circumstances regarding the Purple Fruit Tribe and the Grey Earth Tribe. Since our battle losses this time are virtually non-existent, we shall press on with our momentum and take these two wildling tribes down as well!"

The Green Bamboo Tribe, the Purple Fruit Tribe, and the Grey Earth Tribe were a tripartite alliance formed to collectively oppose the Black Collar Tribe.

As two of the very few extraordinary beings within the tripartite alliance, Wharton and Dandy had naturally entered its core circle. The things they knew were bound to be far more extensive than what was known by the hunter Rydal had captured.

According to the account of the two men, the Purple Fruit Tribe possessed the fewest extraordinary beings—only two. They were a married couple, of whom the wife was an intermediate water-attribute mage, while the husband was an intermediate knight.

Such a tribe possessed not the slightest ability to resist in Ronin’s eyes. He could likely take the place at a minimal cost.

As long as he subdued these two individuals, the horde of wildlings living within the Purple Fruit Tribe would surely surrender.

"A mage... I did not expect a mage to be born within a wildling tribe."

Ronin harbored a sliver of anticipation.

Although this female mage named "Jenny Frank" is already thirty-six years old—a bit older—if one could recruit a mage into their own service, the benefits would be considerable. If she possessed a relatively high success rate in crafting spell scrolls like Elron, the spell scroll industry of Hillwood Town would ascend to a higher level. However, Roan held no great expectations regarding this matter. Jenny Frank, at thirty-six, remained only a intermediate-level mage; her skill likely matched Pedro's, and the possibility that she could craft spell scrolls was not very high.

Apart from the intricacies of the Purple Fruit Tribe, Roan also had a fairly clear grasp of the Grey Earth Tribe's situation. As the most formidable entity within the tripartite alliance, the Grey Earth Tribe, while resisting the Black Neck Tribe, also absorbed a number of extraordinary individuals and ordinary people who should have belonged to the Purple Fruit Tribe and the Green Bamboo Tribe. Yes, it absorbed its allies' populations. Otherwise, the Grey Earth Tribe could not have possessed six professional knights as it currently does—one high-level knight, two intermediate knights, and three primary knights.

The difficulty of subduing the Grey Earth Tribe would inevitably be much greater than that of subduing the Green Bamboo Tribe, but once accomplished, combined with the two extraordinary individuals from the Purple Fruit Tribe, the number of extraordinary individuals under Roan's command could likely exceed twelve! At that time, he could form his own knight squad like a normal baron. The only complication was that these conquered subordinates were not as loyal as David, Juwett, Siam, and others, nor could they compare to Tom, who surrendered voluntarily; it would require a long time to earn their genuine allegiance.

Yet Roan was not troubled by this. In this world, aside from McKen, Elron, and Ridar—the three followers summoned by him—who among the remaining followers did not harbor their own little ambitions? Tom wished to restore the glory of his ancestors, David and Juwett aspired to build achievements and even ascend in class, Chahar desired to become the great steward of nobility, and so on. Everyone had their little ambitions. Therefore, if Roan was sufficiently powerful, making this group realize that following him could fulfill their respective ambitions, they would willingly be driven by Roan.

(The end of this chapter)