Chapter 98 - Forbidden Knowledge

The role of Spirit Crystal Stone was shooting skyward, inflating the value of the Spirit Crystal Mine exponentially.Gaven already had plans to tap into the potential of the Spirit Crystal Mine, but due to the limited number of Gnoll Miners, he was temporarily unable to excavate the mine’s potential, and so he kept delaying the endeavor.

This matter firmly decided his resolve. Google seaʀᴄh NovᴇlFirᴇ(.)nᴇt

Such an important strategic resource was safest in his own hands, even if the production would decline for the time being.

Cutting off the food supply was naturally the first step.

All that was left was to wait for the Spirit Crystal Mine to run through their existing food reserves and then to watch internal chaos ensue.

Three days after dealing with Klay,

the leader of the merchant caravan, Bede Sechi, appeared in a flurry outside the Blackwell Tribe.

This time, he was not with the caravan, only bringing two guards with him.

Upon meeting, Bede went straight to the point, “Is Klay dead?”

“Yes.” Gaven had no intention of concealing this information.

Not only did the merchant caravan need to know about it, but the news had to spread.

Mere verbal warnings were not enough; there needed to be blunt displays of bloodshed.

“What about the four heavily armored guards he brought with him?

Did you kill them too?” Bede asked anxiously.

“No, I didn’t.

I know they were mercenaries, and I had no grudges against them; I just detained them.” Gaven feigned ignorance and asked, “Why?

Do they have some significant background?”

“More than just a background.” Hearing that they were still alive, Bede let out a long sigh of relief, “Ever heard of the Red Crow Mercenary Brigade?

Ever heard of Rayana Ross from the ‘Dance of the Blazing Flame’?”

“Never heard of them.” Gaven put on an uninformed facade, eager to be enlightened.

Although he knew of the Red Crow Mercenary Brigade, his intelligence on them was indeed very limited.

“The Red Crow Mercenary Brigade is the largest mercenary group in the area around the Rocklands.

Put it this way, every caravan that sets out from the Valley and passes through the Rocklands is sure to employ mercenaries from the brigade.

They consider the Rocklands as their backyard,” Bede patiently explained, “Their leader, Rayana, is only a step away from Legendary status, a powerful warrior we definitely cannot afford to provoke.”

“Uncle’s meaning is that Klay’s actions were not his own but connived with the Red Crow Mercenary Brigade?

They facilitated this?” A chill swept over Gaven’s heart.

If that were the case, the nature of the whole matter changed, and his conflict with the Red Crow Mercenary Brigade would be imminent.

Bede was taken aback, shaking his head, “Brother Gaven, you’re overthinking it.

The Red Crow Mercenary Brigade’s way of doing things is not so unprincipled.

Klay was purely blinded by greed this time and acted on his own, but he did contract mercenaries from the brigade, probably to leverage their name for his actions.

After the incident, he expected their reputation to save his life.

He hadn’t foreseen that you, brother, had never even heard of the Red Crow Mercenary Brigade.

That makes sense, seeing as you’ve only recently arrived at the Rocklands and have had too little contact with the outside world.”

“I see.” Gaven sighed with relief inwardly, his face showing a hint of difficulty, “Uncle Bede, what should we do next?”

“Now you ask for my opinion?

Why didn’t you consult me when you killed Klay?” Bede’s words betrayed a hint of dissatisfaction.

Clearly, Bede had some objections to Klay’s death, as they were partners in a cooperative group and there were feelings involved to some extent.

“It’s different.” Gaven said earnestly, “If I had really handed Klay over to Uncle Bede, you would have been in an even more difficult position.

What then, would you have killed him or not?

To kill him would mean your credibility within the caravan would be severely damaged.

If you didn’t, it would have directly undermined our fundamental baseline for cooperation.

Then everyone would meddle for their own benefit, leading us into endless infighting and putting an end to any talk of working together to mutual benefit.

As for the Red Crow Mercenary Brigade, they’re outsiders.

We naturally need to stand united against them.”

“Good or bad, you’ve said it all.

What’s left for me to say?” Bede sighed again, “Being decisive can be good at times, but not always.

Acting as you did, you’ve offended too many people, blocked your own path, and earned the resentment of many.

Klay wasn’t alone; he had a large family behind him.”

“That’s why you are merchants and I am just a miner.” Gaven appeared indifferent.

If he had to be as foresighted and overly prepared as Bede for everything, he wouldn’t need to do anything at all.

After some thought, Bede said seriously, “You’re right.

If you took care of everything, there would be nothing left for us.

Hand over those four mercenaries from the Red Crow Mercenary Brigade to me, and I’ll handle the rest.”

“Then I’ll thank you in advance, Uncle Bede.” Gaven relievedly passed off the hot potato and, although dealing with the Red Crow Mercenary Brigade was inevitable in the future, not now.

At least with his current strength, he had no wish to come face-to-face with such a behemoth—for there was no advantage to gain from it.

Gaven pondered for a moment, then said, “Uncle Bede, now that our business is up and running, it’s not ideal for you to be so disorganized.

I suggest you’d be better off forming a merchant guild.

Shareholding could be based on the amount of investment, with profits shared accordingly.

The business dealings with Blackwell could be managed by designated people, so you wouldn’t have to make the trips personally.

You could then free yourself to conduct business in other areas.”