Chapter 411 - Hard Beginnings
The unfrequented fortress turned lively instantly with the arrival of everyone. Although the fortress wasn’t overcrowded yet, it was still better than the sad emptiness. Meanwhile, the most troublesome part finally came.
Many matters were the hardest to deal with at the stage of establishment. In future, not only did Rhode need to handle various matters in the fortress, he had to spend time meeting the members of the Church, Trade Association, and others to discuss future developments. Although their contracts had been drawn in black and white, some conditions might change along with shifts in the environment. It would only be considered the start of a collaboration after both sides reached an agreement.
Firstly, the most problematic issue was regarding the Church. Although Mini Bubble Gum had agreed to teach the Clerics battle skills, she had no intentions of unveiling her tips and experiences in the ‘treating foes as friends’ tactic. Shortly after, frictions were developed between both parties. From the start, Mini Bubble Gum was still willing to teach some conventional battle techniques which didn’t involve the core technical levels. However, Lilia was hoping to receive teachings regarding the ‘treating foes as friends’ tactic. In the end, Mini Bubble Gum threw tantrums and even suspected that these Church Emissaries harbored malicious intentions to acquire her ‘cheat code’. If not, why would these people keep targeting her special skill? What intentions did they have?
Rhode stepped up to handle this controversy. Firstly, he appeased Mini Bubble Gum and personally found Lilia for a chat. Although Mini Bubble Gum was too harsh in her words, her suspicions weren’t unreasonable. The ‘treating foes as friends’ tactic was a PK method, but, it wasn’t just a PK method. Apart from this tactic, the ‘Turbulence’ and ‘Blood Enrichment’ tactics were also considered common battle techniques for Clerics. So, wouldn’t these two tactics be enough for battles?
Lilia gave her honest reply to Rhode that Mini Bubble Gum was insecure about Lilia. However, as a matter of fact, Lilia was worried about herself too. After all, there wasn’t any systematic knowledge regarding the battle styles for Clerics throughout these years of the Church. The only time they witnessed the battle style was during the Midsummer Festival when Lize displayed the ‘treating foes as friends’ tactic. Therefore, this tactic became the most practical and effective in the minds of the Church, and at the same time, it had proved positive results for them. However, Mini Bubble Gum had intended to teach them an entirely different tactic which wasn’t similar to what Lilia had understood from the Church. As a Church emissary, Lilia didn’t know how to react to Mini Bubble Gum’s disapproval. Furthermore, Lilia couldn’t understand a single thing regarding battle techniques of Clerics and didn’t know that the ‘treating foes as friends’ tactic involved core technical levels invented by Mini Bubble Gum. This was why she didn’t expect that Mini Bubble Gum would rebel over this.
In the end, Mini Bubble Gum agreed to teach the Church Emissaries superficial knowledge regarding ‘treating foes as friends’ and the ‘Turbulent’ battle style after Rhode’s guidance. After all, ‘treating foes as friends’ seemed simple, but it had high requirements for techniques and micro-controls. Before the arrival of the Church Clerics, only Lize amongst the Clerics in Starlight was able to learn the ‘treating foes as friends’ tactic. This showed how demanding this technique needed micro-control to be.
Without a doubt, Rhode didn’t inform Lilia that the ‘treating foes as friends’ tactic was considered a core skill for Clerics. Instead, he arranged for Mini Bubble Gum to instruct Lilia for a while, before revealing that this battle technique required high standards of individual battle attainments. As for most of the Clerics, it was tough for them to reach this standard in a short period of time. Not only would this waste their time, they wouldn’t see the desired results too. On the other hand, ‘Turbulent’ would be much easier to pick up, and moreover, this tactic had significant effects and could be considered a decent replacement.
After Lilia personally experienced the difficulties of the technique, she finally gave up her thoughts and agreed to report this matter to the Church for their decision. As long as the technique could help in battles and Mini Bubble Gum was willing to teach it, Lilia would learn anything. After all, she was the student and Mini Bubble Gum was the teacher. After the Church lowered their stance on this matter, the negotiations of both parties finally proceeded smoothly. The Clerics would begin a series of basic training to enhance their battle techniques before Mini Bubble Gum would decide the continuation for the next step of technique teaching.
After resolving the conflict between the Church and Mini Bubble Gum, Rhode attended to the dispute between Matt’s Trade Association and the Keller Family. As a citizen of Paphield, Matt knew the Land of Atonement was filled with an abundance of minerals and he hoped to capture a piece of the pie. However, the Keller Family had to stay responsible for their family business strictly. Previously, Keller and Rhode had agreed to a 7/3 split which was a major concession to them. In exchange, they sought for exclusive mining rights in the Land of Atonement. Even though Keller Family wasn’t mindful of Matt’s request because they understood that the Silver Libra Trade Association engaged in numerous transactions in goods and weren’t solely dealing with ores, they were worried that their business specializing in ore transactions would sustain losses if they couldn’t obtain their exclusive mining rights.
“These are the distorted points of the Land of Atonement. I guess, you as a Mage should know that the Land of Atonement is near the edge of the area with the natural force of order. Due to the weak force of order, these distorted points are formed. In these places, there are dangers. However, the dangers shouldn’t be too threatening. After I leave, I hope you can arrange the mercenaries for a trip to these distorted points for practical training. Not only can we remove these distorted points, we can also stabilize the natural force of order within the Land of Atonement. On the other hand, the strength and camaraderie of the mercenaries would improve through these practical training. Don’t worry about the losses, because I have spoken to Canary and Mini Bubble Gum to provide assistance when required.”
“No problem.”
Marlene nodded and kept the map into the fold of her clothes. And at this moment, the young lady suddenly blushed.
“Erm… Rhode, when do you intend to leave?”
“I will immediately leave after the matters regarding the fortress have stabilized. Probably in two to three days’ time.”
“So… Erm…”
Marlene lowered her head in silence as she rubbed her fingers against her clothes. Rhode seemed to figure out Marlene’s thoughts through her expression. He stood up and leaned in towards her ear.
“I think, you must’ve locked the doors, right?”