Building An Empire Starting From The Labor Camp In Exile-Chapter 250: Secrets?

But it turned out things didn’t go that way.

His face was impassive, as if things had gone exactly as he wanted. "Alright. I believe it’s time to tell me what I want to hear."

Eamon hesitated, but finally, he nodded. "The chasms. When the enchantment was built around it, the security details were given to my Clan by the older generation of the Soryu. It’s our responsibility to watch over it and repair it if needed.

"And there’s an annual payment that your Clan usually pays to my Clan for that. You might not know this, but all the enchanters who know about the enchanted tools of the chasms belong to my Clan. Meaning it’s now a secret of our Clan."

"...Ah... shit... no wonder... this bastard does have something to leverage over Father... but seriously, shouldn’t that kind of security risk be looked over properly by the Soryu?"

Eamon continued, and there was a hint of pride in his voice. "Now and then, we lower the enchantment to raid the other side of the chasms. Although the other side is controlled by the High Clans, the lands immediately after the chasms are filled with warlords and bandits. It’s a crime den."

Atrox’s face twitched with the effort of keeping his words sealed. "...So, in short, you’ve been benefiting from those crimes... If I investigate you, I’ll find more illegal shit than you should have..."

"But a few years ago, your father suddenly demanded that I send over the enchanters and the secret of the chasms! How rude! Has he forgotten the years of service to the Soryu Clan that we gave him? Naturally, I disagreed, and that made him withhold the annual payment for keeping the chasms safe and secure.

"This was the beginning of the reason I fell out with him, and I gathered my fellow chiefs to stand against him, but they were seduced away by your brother.

"Yet again, when I learned of his death, I was saddened. He was a strong warrior in his prime, and he made us stronger in the Hinterlands. I wrote to the new Clan lead... to Thrain Soryu, but he still stood by what his father said. Send the enchanters over!"

Eamon took a deep breath, his face filled with anger. "I believe he really didn’t care. Thrain Soryu just wanted war, a battle, something to stamp his rule on the Soryu Clan Leader’s seat. But what I’m most curious about is why he’s not turning his attention to the Clans that are encroaching on our lands."

Atrox shook his head with a frown. He had no idea either, but wouldn’t it have been stupid for him to fight other Clans when his forces weren’t even united?

And besides, Atrox didn’t fault them for wanting the enchanters back. They could have done it in a subtle way, though—send some important person’s child to learn from the enchanters while blocking Eamon’s mouth with more resources.

But of course, he only sympathized. He didn’t forget to pick his words carefully with his law still in place. "What they did made no sense. They should not have tried collecting the enchanters and the secret from you like that. I will not do that."

It was the truth. If Atrox ever wanted to collect the secret, he would either go about it subtly or just brute-force his way through so fast they wouldn’t know what hit them.

Eamon nodded. He looked at the tower curiously. "Thank you, my lord."

Atrox didn’t know if Eamon believed him, if he was trusting the tower to keep him in check, or if the man was just going to go along with everything until it was time to turn on each other.

Basically, they were both pulling each other’s toes until only the two of them remained on the fighting ground. Atrox wasn’t against that.

He nodded and encouraged him. "Continue."

"You asked about my supporter. Well, it’s one—a warlord from behind the chasms. He has stabilized his part of the untamed lands, but he still needs a lot of resources. That place has been sucked dry unless he plays the stupid fool with the fox of the High Clans.

"Anyway, he was little more than a bandit years ago, but he has since changed his outlaw company into a professional mercenary company—one of the most successful, even."

Atrox resisted a growl. "Get on with it."

"I have employed him. He will be the one to fight together with me. My first plan was to wreck the army here and make the south completely mine, but now, with the three forces, we should smash right through to the capital. There is nothing that’s going to stop us!"

Atrox leaned back, and his face grew complicated. He didn’t mind that Eamon was taking such measures, but it was something he instantly grew suspicious of because it was something he had never thought of.

"...I saw them as enemies, but the people beyond the chasms might be more than that... Besides, it’s been decades since we clashed with them, and only Eamon has a good understanding of how things are going there... No wonder he dares to be arrogant..."

Eamon couldn’t fully suppress the smile on his face. "Of course, it took a great deal of resources to buy him—the warlord. And almost more to conceal their presence over here."

Atrox became still. "Here?"

Eamon noticed his change and shifted in his seat. "Of course. I’m not going to wait for Thrain Soryu to make his move before I do mine!"

Atrox merely smiled.

"...You bastard... You were going to turn on my family either way! All this just seems to fall in place... Working with you will be like putting a necklace of snakes around my neck, but that’s not bad either..."

"You mentioned moving them over. But, Chief Eamon, my Master Knight, Takoda, checked, and he found nothing unusual other than the enchanted tools not working."

Eamon’s eyes lit up. It was as if he had been waiting for someone to discover his genius work. "Think about it. My Clan—the Eamon Clan—has been guarding the chasms for years. We know everything about it. So it’s easy to manipulate it as well!"