The atmosphere was tense and heavy at the central place of the Musclewood tribe. After being joined by the Forest Fox Tribe and the Scarlet Crow Tribe, the Black Iron Tribe expanded considerably. The three tribes used to be friends and already interacted with each other through trades. There were no conflicts among the tribesmen.

However, at the moment, the nine members of the ruling council of the Musclewood Tribe were facing the delegation from the other tribes. A total of ten tribes allied together to face the Musclewood Tribe, much more than they were expecting. Originally, only five tribes were showing hostility toward the Musclewood Tribe but since the destruction of the nearby dungeons, five other tribes declared their intent in getting part of the dungeon.

"It is fine if you don't want us to stay on your land. This is the land of your ancestors and we will naturally respect them. However, you will need to hand over a portion of your loot in the dungeon. The dungeon is a natural resource that belongs to all the barbarians, not just the Musclewood Tribe. It is unfair if you monopolize all its resources. Furthermore, there is also that huge fireball from a few nights ago. It should have landed somewhere in the forest," declared Vans.

Vans was a member of the Vicious Rhino Tribe. The Vicious Rhino Tribe was the second strongest tribe of the region, only falling behind the Swift Gazelle Tribe. However, the Swift Gazelle Tribe was located way too far from the Musclewood forest and here, the Vicious Rhino Tribe was the real tyrant.

"You want us to give you the fruits of our hard work for free? Dream on. Why should we do so?" exclaimed Ganya. He was the former chief of the Forest Fox Tribe and now sat on the ruling council.

Luka, the chief of the Black Vulture Tribe answered, "There is no over way around it since you don't want us to enter your territory. Of course, you can choose to refuse but who knows what kind of things can happen. The harvest of the Blue Eagle Tribe has not been very good this year, you might not receive anything."

He nodded to a nearby woman wearing a heavy mantle despite the weather conditions.

"Furthermore, your tribe might also get raided. How do the townsmen call it? Right, they call it a protection fee. If you just hand over part of your harvest, we will protect your tribe and also the merchants who usually trade with you."

Achi and the other members of the council frowned but they did not surrender to the blatant threat. The Shaman informed them of the deal with the dungeon. With an entity with such a massive Undead Army, they had nothing to fear even if it came from ten tribes.

An unusual silence fell onto the barbarians until Old Luke, the Shaman decided to speak. "You can drop the act. We all know what you came here for. You better go back before you say too much or else… We do not mind breaking the rules and getting rid of you right here."

"You think that because you grouped together you might be able to destroy our tribe? The Musclewood Tribe won't go down without a fight. Come at us if you dare!" The Shaman stared at each representative, showing his determination.

'What is happening? Why are they not intimidated by us? Do they have some sort of backing? I know there are two other tribes depending on the Musclewood forest but that is it. Could it be that we have some traitors among our ranks?' thought Vans. His mind was racing.

"You are trying to scare us? Then prepare yourself for battle. This is what you get for trying to be greedy. Not only do you not share your dungeon, but you also went to destroy our dungeon to make sure only your tribe can benefit from it!" exclaimed a young man called Rhaell; he was the chief of the Rat Snake Tribe.

"As we already explained it countless time, we did not make a move against your dungeon. It is the war between the dungeon masters that took place. It's not as if we can order him around," said Old Dale. He appeared calm on the surface, but his single eye angrily glared at Rhaell.

"We will have to ask you to leave. Continuing these negotiations will lead to nowhere. Men, please escort our friends outside," declared Ester. She raised her hand while nodding to the barbarians.

"What? But the sun is already setting. You are going to push away your guests like that?" exclaimed one of the representatives.

"You are not our guests. Leave at once. We will not entertain your tribes anymore."

The tribe representatives were forcefully escorted out of the Musclewood Tribe. Despite their shouts and complaints, the Musclewood Tribesmen ignored them and left them out of sight of the village.

From now on, they were no longer friends. All the barbarians were already aware of the events taking place. They also knew that the dungeon promised to protect them. Having all witnessed the huge Undead Army that succeeded in destroying two dungeons in just two days, the barbarians were confident in their strength.

"What did we just see? These three tribes became arrogant just because they now control a dungeon? How dare they?" exclaimed Luka, trying to instigate the other tribes.

"Tssk. Let them do as they please. It is the best outcome for us anyway. Why would we need to share the dungeon among thirteen people? Our ten tribes are more than enough to conquer the dungeon. The fewer people we have, the more benefits our tribes would obtain."

Vans nodded. "Let's quickly go back to the Vicious Rhino Tribe. I believe they should have also contacted the Bramble Deer Tribe. A dungeon is powerful and the Musclewood Tribe is probably planning to use it to defend itself but what if we get the assistance of another dungeon?"

"Gather your men for now but we cannot attack yet. There were some merchants staying at their village. We'll need to wait for them to leave and then we'll take over their territory. As for how we will share it, I suggest we leave it to whoever contributes the most."

...

"This pointless meeting is finally over. You three should quickly go and meet the merchants. There is no need to talk about transactions. Invite them for dinner and make them comfortable," Ester commanded to the chiefs of the three former tribes.

Achi, Ganya and a third man called Wesh stood up and quickly went to the guest tents.

"Things are going to get complicated from now on but if we succeed, we might very well destroy all those hostile tribes in a single move," commented Old Dale while watching the departing figure of the three chiefs.

They swiftly arrived in front of a well-decorated tent and gently tapped the bell outside.

"Hello. This is Achi. Is Iron Shark available? We apologize for the delay. Unfortunately, we had to deal with some undesirable people."

The tent flap slid open as Iron Shark stepped out, looking visibly tired. "Brother Achi! I was just taking a short nap from the journey. Don't worry. I understand that your tribe is very busy, but I hope it won't affect our trade much. We also made some deals with the other tribes."

"Don't worry about it. Everything will be solved by next week. We won't stop you from trading with others. Let me present to you these two men. I believe you might have already met. This is Ganya and this is Wesh. We've merged our tribes together," said Achi while showing the two men accompanying him.

"Yes, I've met them before. I did not expect your tribes to merge together," answered Iron Shark, unsure whether it was good or bad news to him.

"Come with us, Iron Shark. We would like to invite you and your friends to our tribe's meal."

"Alright but I have to warn you. I brought with me the children of an elder of my guild. They are not very tactful and might offend you. I hope you won't take to heart what they say."

"It looks like you are not very fond of them but sure, we will give you some face," answered Ganya.

Iron Shark gratefully nodded. "Thank you, Chiefs. I have one more thing to ask you before I bring them here. A few days ago, I saw a huge meteor falling from the sky. When going to the nearby tribes, they informed us that it probably fell near your tribe. May I ask if that is the case?"

"Oh? You are talking about the meteor. It did indeed fall in our territory. We collected some of its shards, but we don't know its use yet." Achi explained as he recalled the words of the Shamans. They agreed to trade the shards with the townsmen for now until they discovered its use.

"Really? Then, I would like to ask to have a look at the meteor. The townsmen are very curious about it. They have asked us to gather some information about it."

"Hmmm. We are willing to trade with you Iron Shark but I believe you are not stupid. If the idea of invading our territory ever crosses the mind of the townsmen, you know very well that our trade will be affected. This ore is definitely precious..." said Achi.

Iron Shark trembled. As soon as Achi spoke, he saw the barbarian's opinion of him go down by a notch. Thanks to one of his items, Iron Shark was able to see his relationship level with the NPCs in term of percentage. His relationship with the three chiefs all just went down by 10% because of that one sentence!

"Say no more, chiefs. I value our relationship. I won't mention this matter again." The very reason he was able to raise his status was because of his trade with the barbarians. If he somehow angered them, for the sake of just one quest, he would destroy everything he had built.

"Looks like you are smart. Although we do not want the townsmen to know about these ores, we do not mind selling a few to you."