As a scholar, Abner was well aware that the nature of the two was completely different.
If the barbarians took the initiative to invade, then this raid would be no different from previous years. Once they had enough food, they would naturally return to the forest.
However, if they were forced to do so, then Tuis Valley, which was closest to the border forest, would face a new threat. They would even have to guard against other human forces taking advantage of the situation.
After all, this was the outermost area of Linton City's influence. Five days to the west was Wester Town, which belonged to Duke Wynn's territory. Two and a half days to the east was Count Karl's territory. They were very traditional nobles who focused on running their own territories. They had no affiliation with Linton City, and occasionally had some friction.
In fact, ever since the ancient human kingdom of Toya, which unified the entire south, was destroyed by the ancient red dragon 'Crimson Flame' Golden, this land had been divided up by countless nobles. There were thousands of large and small noble territories, among which were dukes that were larger than small kingdoms, and knights that ruled over a few villages.
Their geographical location and interests had formed countless alliances, and they were constantly at war all year round.
Only the more enlightened nobles in the coastal areas found that the wealth brought by trade was far more than managing land, so they decisively gave up on expanding inland. Instead, they used large caravans and large amounts of gold coins to choke the nobles in the inland, using salt, cloth, and fine weapons and armour in exchange for food, captives, minerals, and slaves.
It had to be said that this method was very groundbreaking. It was equivalent to sticking a tube in the neck of the inland nobles, constantly sucking their blood to strengthen themselves and weaken their potential enemies.
However, everything had its pros and cons. The inland nobles were no fools. After more than ten years of trade deficits, they were horrified to find that they were getting poorer and poorer, while the city-states of the Green Sea Alliance were getting richer and richer. Slowly, hatred was born.
No one was willing to see their wealth being stolen by their neighbors bit by bit, even if it was in the name of trade. Especially when carts of grain and minerals were purchased by coastal merchants at extremely low prices and then transported back to be processed into weapons, armors, tools, soft and delicious snacks before being sold back at an outrageous price, as long as one was not blind, one would have a strong hatred for the rich.
As the saying goes, 'Anger rises from the heart, and evil grows from the guts' …
Although the inland nobles were no longer able to break free from the Green Sea Alliance's control over trade, they had invented a new method to make up for their losses. That was to have their private army pretend to be bandits and plunder. Most of the time, they would only rob a few caravans, but once their numbers reached a certain point, they would attack some relatively wealthy towns and manors.
Of course, this wasn't the scariest part. The scariest part was that some of the inland nobles would join forces with the monsters in the border forest to attack the coastal areas.
This wasn't the first time they had done this. More than a hundred years ago, the great-great-grandfather of the current Duke Wyne had joined forces with the Orcs and ambushed countless villages and manors on the outskirts of Lincoln City, taking away large amounts of food and wealth.
Afterwards, the Lincoln City Council sent out troops in a fit of rage. Not only did they chase the Orcs back into the depths of the forest, they even captured Duke Wyne and hanged him in the middle of the city square. This hatred was deeply engraved in the hearts of his descendants. It was said that Duke Wyne was still in contact with some of the tribes in the forest.
Ever since Abner had come to Tureth Valley, he had crammed up on the surrounding history and family genealogy, and knew how dangerous his current position was. Perhaps the barbarian incident was Duke Wyne's doing.
It would be strange if he was in a good mood at the thought that his prosperous territory was about to be baptized by the flames of war.
"Relax, my butler. This matter isn't as bad as you think it is. It might even turn out to be a good thing."
The corners of André's mouth curled up slightly as he sat down on a chair, raising his hand to signal the maid to prepare dinner.
"My apologies, my lord. I can't think of anything good with a group of barbarians circling around our territory.
Moreover, there might be a large group of Orcs, Goblins, and Kobolds behind them. Perhaps our good neighbor, Duke Wyne, has joined in as well. "
Abner smiled bitterly as he rubbed his eyes. Ever since the barbarians had appeared in large numbers, he hadn't slept for two whole days. He looked very tired, with obvious bags and dark circles under his eyes.
Seeing that his subordinate didn't understand what he meant, André couldn't help but shake his head with a smile. "Don't you think that these barbarian women and children are good labor?
If I remember correctly, you said a few days ago that we bought too many cows, sheep, and pigs, and we don't have enough manpower, right? "
"Oh God of Knowledge!
You … You want to take in those women and children? "Abner cried out in shock.
"Why not?" André asked in return, stroking his chin.
"You see, we need labor now, and those barbarians need food and shelter. We can work together."
Abner didn't agree with this suggestion. He took a deep breath and explained, "My lord, you might not know this, but the barbarians have a sense of pride and superiority that emanates from their bones. Even if they starve to death, they won't work for weak 'southerners' like us. This has been proven by countless scholars."
"No, don't be so absolute. Send a messenger to contact them and set a time and place for a discussion. At the same time, ask them about what happened in the forest.
Oh, right, the barbarians don't have a habit of killing messengers, right? "
"No, the barbarian warriors value bravery and honor very much. Unless provoked, they won't kill an opponent who is much weaker than them, let alone a messenger." Abner saw that André had made up his mind, so he could only answer truthfully.
Even though he felt that this was purely a waste of time, he didn't continue to object out of respect for the nobles and mages.
"That's settled, then. Send one of the bolder servants to the barbarians' camp with a few bales of flour, two barrels of ale, and some jerky, as a gift, and say that I wish to speak with their chief, and that this will be the reward for the brave."
As he spoke, André took out a ruby that he had obtained during his adventure from his waist pouch and gently placed it on the table.
It was not an easy job to contact the barbarians, especially those who didn't understand the barbarian's etiquette and rules. The slightest carelessness could result in one's head being chopped off because of the anger of the barbarians.