As Prithvi released the pressure the beasts he had hidden before also released the pressure. The murmurs of complaints were instantly vanquished. Although the major clans could withstand little pressure from the Rijal clan, the other minor clans didn’t have enough prestige to be given face. If things escalate they would be the first to be made scapegoat. Seeing the silence around him, Prithvi snorted once again, removed his pressure, and said “The sun has yet to reach the zenith. You were the ones who came way too early.”
This time to settle things, a few people from the city lord mansion were invited to be the neutral party. Although they didn’t have much strength, as an official party, they had face. One of the senior officers from the city lord manor who had reached foundation building realm tried to break the ice. “Sixth elder, they were too excited for peace negotiation and came way early. Do forgive them for being impatient”, the senior officer said. “Alright then let’s get on with it. If things take too long Radha will probably prepare for war in the outpost”, Prithvi replied.
Hearing Radha’s name, the expressions of a few elders changed. Although Prithvi was just trying to pressure them using her name, she was a loose cannon and she would probably do it. Just by not coming here was giving them enough face, if they overstepped their bounds, the Rijal clan may not do anything but Radha would surely make them regret it. After calming down the negotiation for peace proceeded. The main issue was other major clans overstepping their bounds and acting as the clan members of the minor clans and injuring the Rijal clan’s members.
Although no one died this was a naked provocation. If this goes unanswered, the face of the Rijal clan will be dragged into the mud. As they were discussing this issue the two major clans tried to deny the accusation but the Rijal clan had enough proof of the coercion, reward, and threats. They hadn’t even begun to talk about the trashed shops. The talk was not going anywhere. The major clans were not backing down from their claim that their clan members did no such thing and the Rijal clan was adamant about them posing as other clan members and hurting the Rijal clan members in their jurisdiction area.
But as the neutral party was present, the officials made the talk about compensating the Rijal clan members for their injuries. After long talks and threats, the two major clans decided to give a few shops in the city to the Rijal clan. This was also the unannounced compensation for the trashed shops. All the clans swore to uphold the previous rules more strictly and under any circumstances was a member from one clan to encroach upon the territory of another clan. And with this, the meeting was adjourned, there were no scapegoats.
This time Punya had sent Prithvi not just for compensation and negotiations, few shops were nothing for the Rijal clan at present. The other mission was to ascertain the position of the city lord manor for the upcoming war and from the look of things, the city lord mansion would probably be the Rijal clan’s enemy. It seems the Rijal clan was heading towards a tough time.
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If the officials from other cities intervene, things will get more complex and uncertain. Prithvi and the Battle hall members returned to the clan along with the hidden beasts. Radha was outside her residence waiting for news. Prithvi went to her and explained what happened in the negotiations. Radha just nodded her head. This was what she had expected. After explaining everything to Radha, Prithvi wanted to report back to the clan and start doing his things.
He had so much work to do. Although the inheritance mainly catered to horses, the information itself was useful to incorporate into other beasts. He had made some improvements in a short period of time. After bidding Radha goodbye, Prithvi rode the wolf and went towards the forest, his other beasts following him. Radha went inside the training grounds and ordered the resting Battle hall members to train once more.
Training wasn’t a bad thing. Even if not in war, the Battle hall members were progressing rapidly and with all these resources at their disposal, it was a waste not to utilize them to the max. The Battle hall members gathered on the training grounds and without exception started battling the illusion beasts while Radha started pointing out their flaws and correcting them. Although Radha also wanted to train at first when she came to the outpost, she found that teaching them martial arts also improved her knowledge and sometimes could bring unexpected insights.
This was two birds with a single arrow. Meanwhile, Prithvi was going towards the city, the wolf running like the wind and a few beasts with equally terrifying stature following behind. The small beasts and birds were running for their life, chaos ensued in the outer region of the Bareback mountains. The silent afternoon turned into mayhem in a moment. Since there were no obstructions, Prithvi reached the city in a few minutes.
He sent the beasts to his residence and went directly to the clan hall. Punya was still scrolling through some reports when Prithvi entered. “Oh, the negotiations have finished this early. How was it?” Punya asked looking at the sixth elder. Prithvi bowed a little to greet Punya and replied “It went without a hitch. We got a few shops as compensation. Though there were no scapegoats this time.” And then he started to explain everything that happened there including his view towards the city lord manor.
Punya nodded after hearing the explanation and said “Thank you sixth elder for the trouble. This much will be enough to save the face of the Rijal clan. As for the future who knows.” Prithvi also nodded and walked outside of the door. He had done his job now it was for the clan leader and the elders to decide what to do from now. Punya stood in the clan hall for quite a while silently thinking.
If the explanation of the sixth elder was true, then it would be a hard battle for the Rijal clan. Even if they submitted to the large clans, they would have to be in their servitude forever. There was no easy way out. The only silver lining was it wasn’t confirmed that city lord manor had truly allied with the two clans. There may still be time. He had seen the possibility of this happening but he was powerless to change it without affecting the big picture, he still is.