099 The Silver Hand

While Karen was contemplating how to deal with the Silver Hand, the Silver Hand itself had its eyes fixed on the Goblin Forest. More precisely, it was a merchant guild in Sagyin, the southernmost city of the Silver Hand, that was concerned about this matter.

The Silver Hand’s political structure differed greatly from that of the Bourbon Kingdom. As a nation built on commerce, their system resembled that of ancient Rome in Karen’s previous world: it was not a king who held power, but a parliament. The parliament was composed of the various merchant guilds of the Silver Hand, jointly governing this mercantile nation. There was a central parliament, as well as local parliaments for each region.

At first glance, this political system seemed advanced and modern, but at its core, it was an oligarchic system. True power still rested in the hands of a select few. Nevertheless, under such a system, the Silver Hand was considered a moderate nation. Whether dealing internally or externally, negotiations were always based on the exchange of interests. Deception was common, but war was rare, unless special circumstances arose.

For example, when they encountered someone weaker, they would not hesitate to suppress them by force. When the cost of war was low and the gains were high, they did not shy away from conflict. Everything was guided by profit.

Thus, when Karen seized the Goblin Forest, the parliamentarian of Sagyin, Silver Wenger, immediately began to gather information about the situation. He collected intelligence from all directions and submitted it to his advisory group for analysis. They evaluated his losses, assessed Karen’s strength, and calculated the price of resolving the matter by force.

For three days, the Silver Hand had shown no response because Silver Wenger was busy with these assessments. On the third day after Karen’s victory in the Goblin Forest, Wenger, the goblin, received the evaluation report from his advisors.

To the esteemed Mr. Wenger:

Based on comprehensive intelligence, the undead force occupying the Goblin Forest deployed over ten thousand undead in the battle, including two to three hundred second-tier undead and about twenty third-tier undead. Moreover, the enemy seems to possess an ability to rapidly transform the dead into undead.

A conservative estimate suggests that to successfully retake the Goblin Forest, over a hundred third-tier warriors, a thousand second-tier warriors, and twenty thousand first-tier warriors would be required. The cost of such a war would be enormous, and extracting the Goblin Forest’s mineral resources afterward would also demand considerable investment. Furthermore, the location of the Goblin Forest is awkward, so it is not recommended that you use force.

…

The rest of the report included a lengthy analysis, listing the expected costs in manpower and resources for a violent solution, the potential gains after the conflict, and various recommendations.

In summary, the conclusion was that Wenger should not resort to force; conciliatory methods would be preferable.

Wenger pondered over the report. Given the current circumstances, it was impossible for him to retake the Goblin Forest by force—the price was simply too high. He had little interest in contacting Karen, the new master of the Goblin Forest. For Wenger, only two things held his attention: the ore and the trade market with the Bourbon Kingdom that he had planned to establish with the Ghosts.

But now, a necromancer had appeared, the Ghosts had been driven away, and their plans had collapsed. Necromancers were notoriously difficult to approach. Under these circumstances, Wenger had no desire to initiate contact with Karen.

Instead, he decided to recover his losses by another method: selling off all mineral rights in the Goblin Forest before Sagyin had any reliable information about the situation.

As for the buyer, Wenger had already made his choice. Sagyin had three major goblin guilds controlling the city’s economy: Wenger’s own, the official guild under parliamentary control, and his old rival’s guild. Wenger would never sell the Goblin Forest to the official guild—he lacked the audacity to attempt fraud against the authorities. His intended target was his rival’s guild.

Not long ago, Wenger’s old rival had died suddenly, and the guild was now managed by his sixteen-year-old son. To Wenger, this was an opportunity. If he managed to trick the young newcomer into acquiring the Goblin Forest, Wenger could not only transfer his losses but also take a significant bite out of his rival’s legacy.

As for his chances of success, Wenger was absolutely confident.

Indeed, it took Wenger only half a day to sell the Goblin Forest. His method was simple: after his rival’s sudden death, the young successor immediately faced immense internal pressure from the guild. The late chairman had not paved the way for his son, who was thrust into leadership unprepared, surrounded by scheming subordinates, with assets being quietly siphoned away. The young successor could feel his wealth slipping from his grasp, yet was powerless to stop it, which left him in despair.

At this moment, Wenger approached him, proposing an exchange: the mineral rights in the Goblin Forest for some of the young man’s troubled assets—those he could not control and that caused him endless headaches.

The young successor was thrilled. He knew Wenger’s motives were driven by profit, but without Wenger’s intervention, his assets would soon be lost. The Goblin Forest’s mines were renowned for their stability; Wenger had profited handsomely from them every year. Trading his troubled assets for the reliable income of the Goblin Forest seemed like a wise deal, and he accepted eagerly.

Ignoring the advice of his subordinates, the young successor sold two-thirds of his holdings in Sagyin to Wenger in exchange for the Goblin Forest, afraid that if he delayed, the deal would fall through.

Thus, almost simultaneously with signing the agreement under the witness of the parliament, transferring two-thirds of his assets to Wenger, the young successor finally received the news: the Goblin Forest had recently been seized by a necromancer and was no longer under Wenger’s control.

On hearing this, the sixteen-year-old goblin cried out, tears streaming down his face…