Building An Empire Starting From The Labor Camp In Exile-Chapter 288: Past

Everyone was silent as they thought of what could be done. Tiber was the first to add another suggestion. He took a step forward and cleared his throat, and when Atrox gave him the go-ahead, he continued.

"I think we should focus on the Akatsuki for now. They possess the greatest threat at the moment because what they wanted isn’t just the Rift but the land itself. They want to conquer and own everything, nothing like looking for a specific something.

"The Ito Clan could be dealt with in another way. Diplomatically. They are stronger, yes, but their main power is concentrated on naval military. They would be powerful in line of defense but not so much on offense when on land."

Commander Petel shook her head. "Not when they use Master Knights. They can bypass that."

"We have Master Knights as well. And when the Master Knights are locked in battle, what would their armies be doing? Trying to fight our own, and we’ll have the advantage there."

Tiber continued to speak calmly. "Of course, they are going to use flying ships, but so are we. But in the end, they won’t want to expand their defensive power when they don’t even know if the Soryu Clan would fall to the Akatsuki, in which case they would be drawn into another war."

Everyone tensed but didn’t interrupt because Tiber was trying to explain things from the perspective of the Ito Clan.

"As per my lord’s insistence, I have familiarized myself with the different Clans, and I’ve studied Ito’s rise to power in the Hinterlands.

"One of them was the discovery of a juicy Rift deep in the ocean, but the other was the pirates. They took a gamble and focused all their strength on them, able to sweep them right out of their waters. But instead of just destroying them, they made them into a vigilante part of their forces. So now they were able to control a big chunk of the ocean to push their trading right out of the Hinterlands to the other side."

Tiber nodded at Atrox. "My advice is that you should resume diplomatic services with them, but make a business deal with them. A permanent one if possible, to show we meant no harm.

"For this, I believe they won’t attack us and instead stay out and watch us battle the Akatsuki until they know which side of the sword they would use."

The room returned to silence, and Tiber returned to his place.

Atrox smiled. "That is Tiber, my very special advisor. I’ll find a fancy title for him later, but he will be one of the core people in my court."

"Thank you, my lord," Tiber said gently.

Commander Petel nodded slowly, and her eyes flashed towards Tiber. "We need people like him in the army."

Even Commander Garran nodded along with her.

Atrox flashed them a smile. "Oh, he will be going to your base now and then. Tiber has to learn how to make war and command the battlefield."

"What about me?" Slya muttered.

But of course, everyone heard her.

Atrox chuckled. "My knife."

"Anyway, I am more inclined towards what Tiber said about the Ito Clan. We will engage with them in a diplomatic way and try to hook them over with trade. Then now, let’s focus on the Akatsuki."

Takoda shifted on his seat. "The problem is that we cannot directly attack them either. That desert of theirs is known only to them. We don’t even know how big their army is or their Master Knight. It’ll be very difficult to handle them."

Atrox nodded slowly. "I agree. Then what are we going to do? Focus on defending ourselves?"

"If I may, my lord," Terrix said. "We might not only have to focus on defense. We can try to lurch our own offense. I say we create a small team of proficient fighters, very small, to go into the desert..."

"You might not know this, Chief Terrix, but we have done something like that before when the Clan Leader’s father wanted to seriously expand the Clan’s territory. The Akatsuki Clan was chosen as the pathway to get to the other Clans of the Hinterlands," Commander Garran said.

Chief Morwen nodded. "Indeed. I remember that Clan Leader Thorold wanted to conquer the Hinterlands before. He wanted to turn the Akatsuki Desert into the road that would lead out."

Helena grinned. "Those days, a lot of the Hinterlands Clans were so afraid of what your father might do that they began to make alliances together. Indeed, if the Ito Clan and the waters, and the Akatsuki Desert weren’t in the way, your father would have done great things."

"Why did he stop?" Atrox asked curiously. That was part of the story that he would never understand. It was as if his father suddenly stopped when he was at his peak.

Commander Garran spoke next. "I was the Commander at the eastern army then. The first thing your father did was try to get the overall map of the Akatsuki. He sent specialized Knights in, but they completely disappeared.

"Then he sent another team, led by two Master Knights, and we’ve never heard from them again. When we sent word that the Soryu Clan Leader wanted to visit Akatsuki’s capital, the reply was that we were willing to be blindfolded halfway?

"The second reason was that Clan Leader Thorold changed. If I remember correctly, the last time he visited the borders was the day you were born, my lord. He got the news that your mother was putting to bed. Since then, your father didn’t step out of the capital, and we know nothing about his ambition."

Atrox’s eyes darkened, and inside his stomach clenched. He felt a chill, and cold sweat dotted his head. First four times might even be a coincidence, but now? Everyone kept saying that my father changed when I was born... what actually happened...?

Did he get tired and wanted to start a family? But he didn’t even take care of his family like that... he neglected everyone... or else... it can’t be... no... I will investigate further first... I have to learn about my birth... the healers that were there... yes... but for now...