Chapter Ninety-Eight: Cooperation

“Have you perhaps misunderstood something?”

As soon as Old Jack said this, the atmosphere immediately turned a little delicate.

Fortunately, that subtle tension did not last long. Old Jack’s next words shattered it at once.

“Have you not always been one of our Forest Wardens? We were always on the same side. How could I possibly not support you?”

Karen narrowed his eyes at that, clearly surprised by the old man’s reaction.

Seeing Karen’s astonishment, Old Jack could not help but burst into hearty laughter. “You do not truly understand what the Forest Wardens are. This entire system was founded by the previous Grand Marshal.

“The purpose, as you know, was to scout and hold the kingdom’s borders.

“But perhaps you do not know what authority the Forest Wardens actually have. We are, in fact, empowered to support border forces. The former Ghost Spirit was one such force, and now that could be you.

“As long as you are acknowledged in name as a neutral force supported by the Forest Wardens, then in your previous conflict with Lyon, and in all the plans you take on afterward, we can give you the greatest possible assistance.”

At this, Karen’s eyes narrowed slightly. He was pleasantly surprised by Old Jack’s words. He had expected Jack to cooperate with him, but he had never imagined the old man would offer such immense support.

“Actually, there is no need for you to be puzzled. At your current strength, this response and attitude from the Forest Wardens is entirely normal.

“Although Moonworship City still has elite legions that could fight you, now that you control Goblin Forest, the kingdom would not agree to send troops against you unless absolutely necessary.

“Though I dislike admitting it, the kingdom has always been extremely cautious when dealing with the Hand of Silver.

“In such circumstances, winning you over becomes the only option. If I can bring you over and make you a neutral force supported by the Forest Wardens, that would be a considerable merit for me as well.”

Even so, Karen still felt somewhat taken aback. After a moment’s thought, he asked, “I have a few questions.”

“Go ahead,” Old Jack said at once.

“First, if I become a neutral force supported by the Forest Wardens, what would you need me to do?”

“Nothing beyond not meddling in the kingdom’s affairs. We do not require anything else from you, nor do we expect anything else from you.

“Of course, if you can return greater benefit to the Forest Wardens when the border trade plan begins, that would naturally be ideal.”

Karen narrowed his eyes, then asked, “Second, trade with the Hand of Silver can bring enormous economic gains to the kingdom. Everyone knows that, and by all signs the Hand of Silver is also very interested. So why does the kingdom not handle this matter itself?”

This question seemed to stir something in Old Jack’s mind. His expression changed, turning so dark it was almost frightening. Yet after a long silence, he still answered.

“In truth, everyone knows trade is beneficial to the kingdom. In fact, the kingdom once did conduct foreign trade.

“That project was driven by the previous Grand Marshal. On the kingdom’s northern border, in a city adjoining the Hand of Silver, trade between the two nations was opened.

“At the beginning, the kingdom did indeed gain tremendous benefits.

“National power grew rapidly. But then something happened. A great war broke out around that town, and from that point on the kingdom suspended trade with the Hand of Silver.

“As a result of that suspension, the two sides went on to fight several more wars. Though in the end the kingdom barely managed to drive back the Hand of Silver’s invasion, it also drove relations between the two countries to an absolute freezing point, and the official trade channels between them were shut down.

“Now the kingdom openly forbids all trade with the Hand of Silver. Naturally, if you are the one who handles this matter, the kingdom will not interfere.”

There was a great deal of information packed into Old Jack’s words.

Karen understood very clearly that there must be far more hidden behind it all.

Otherwise, he could not make sense of why the kingdom, so wary of the Hand of Silver, would rather give up wealth and even fight a war than keep its official trade channel with them open.

More importantly, the secrecy of this matter seemed to be extraordinarily high. Even Cliff, the deputy garrison officer of a single city, did not know of it. That alone showed that the old man before him was absolutely no simple figure.

After gathering his thoughts, Karen continued asking Old Jack questions, one after another, on all sorts of matters, though most of them still centered on the border trade he was about to undertake.

And to Karen’s questions, Old Jack could truly be said to answer without reservation. He gave Karen nearly every reply he could.

Whether he was revealing everything, however, was another matter.

Even so, Karen still obtained from Old Jack a wealth of intelligence that even Cliff had not掌握ed.

After talking for quite some time, the two finally reached the final stage.

Old Jack did not hide his intentions either. He stated them plainly: he hoped Karen would hand Ghost Spirit over to him.

A tier-three extraordinary being—now that Old Jack had revealed Ghost Spirit’s identity, Karen was not so attached to it that he would be unwilling to part with it. Besides, Old Jack had shown considerable reasonableness by saying he could hand over the Ghost Spirit channels Karen needed.

He could even send Karen a batch of the supplies he required. Whether it was the Whisper of the Dead or corpses, either would do, and the goods could be delivered first while the person was handed over later.

Since Old Jack had put it that way, Karen naturally had no choice but to agree.

Once the two sides had reached consensus on every front, this meeting came to an end once more.

Watching Old Jack depart, Karen could not help narrowing his eyes.

How should he put it? Although he had obtained everything he had wanted from Old Jack, he could not shake the feeling that the old man was being almost too kind to him.

“Could it be because of Mifle?”

Karen tilted his head and thought for a moment, then dismissed the idea. “No, that should not be it. There must be some other reason. It seems necessary to have Cliff investigate Old Jack a little.”

But that could wait. The Bourbon Kingdom matter was nearly settled now, and next it was time to turn to the Hand of Silver.

If he could smoothly resolve the Hand of Silver issue, then he would truly be able to establish himself in Goblin Forest.

As for the Hand of Silver, Karen was still quite confident. After all, everything he needed to prepare had already been prepared: undead miners, the border trade plan, all of it was exactly what the Hand of Silver wanted most. If nothing unexpected happened, Karen should be able to settle matters there without difficulty.