89 The tomb of Tarlakh (2/2)
They had to wait for a minute before the human skeleton brought back the mana stone. The eyes of the trolls were all shining since they never saw one so beautiful and big. Murmuring among themselves, the chieftain returned to his tent and brought the most precious one his tribe managed to gather. Comparing the two, it was easy to see which one was better. Just from the blue light manifesting the presence of mana, the stone of the trolls lost decisively.
Even if both had a dim light, one was just barely covering the stone while the other was creating a complete additional layer of light. The size was also another indicator; one was smaller than a single inch while the other was slightly bigger than a finger. Whether it was in quantity or quality, it was certain that the tomb of Târlakh would provide a huge amount of satisfying mana stones. Even if the chieftain was not very smart, he was capable of adding two and two.
Looking at the stone hold by the skeleton, he casted his sight at the tomb, visibly seeing the profits he could make. Those greedy thoughts were of course seen by both Ymir and Leilade, unfortunately, it was not useful. If she could, she would have let those trolls here and order them to dig all the resources inside the tomb. However, it was certain that doing this will only cause the entire tribe to die, and she wasn't even sure that they could dig a single mana stone before getting slaughtered.
Because they were dumb and easily convinced, they were the perfect example of proving that Ymir wasn't a bloodthirsty demon. Well, he was, but it didn't really matter. After a week or so at the hands of Meridiana, she was certain that all those morons could join the population of Archet. It will provoke a few tensions, but they were still an incredibly strong workforce. And better to start to make humans and trolls live in harmony before immediately putting two races that were in a perpetual war.
For example, the goblins and the humans. She had heard that the North of Avenio was plagued by that green pest, causing a lot of problems. Because it was at the border with the forest of the elves, and the latter was also under the assault of the green tide, the situation was nearly like a war between the three races. If she asked goblins to live happily next to humans or elves, she was certain that the situation will turn into a civil war instantly.
But on the other hand, the trolls weren't necessarily hated, they were just despised by the humans. So, to promote all races, they needed to start slowly. To be truthful, after living so long inside the Demonic Empire, the very concept of races was rendered useless. As long as one was worthy, one will earn the respect of others. Even if two races that should have been sworn enemy met, they could still become friends. Vampires that were drinking human blood could converse with a human eating a normal meal, and nothing seemed wrong for anyone.
It was not out of kindness or anything like that, just because there was nothing like a perfect being. Well, except the Saksa, but that was the ultimate creation of the Ancients, so it was understandable. As for the rest, there was always something, a domain, whether it was magic, intelligence, strength, durability where they were weaker than another race. Only by using the strongest point of someone to cover the weakest point of another could society progress. The same could be seen inside the human nation, only at a smaller scale, segregating humans and non-humans.
By now, some of the smartest minds of the troll tribe were currently pondering about the reason why they were still alive. Even if some weren't capable of utilizing their brains correctly, the rest at least understood that they were in a bad situation. And not even the friendly and kind interactions they had with Ymir could cover everything. Of course, that the extent of their intelligence, since they weren't capable of understanding that they should try to please Leilade. They were still thinking that it was the strongest, Ymir, that was in charge.
”Bring them all to the base Ymir. I will let you control them, but Malakov will watch you. None of them are to ever leave it or see Agnil. Don't disappoint me.”
The Akûl smiled at those words since it was a relatively easy task. But the last sentence was clearly because Leilade was mad at something, and recalling that the group of skeletons was still inside the tomb, he figured it out. Hesitating a second, he still asked about the undead.
”Of course, Empress. About the cavern, should I personally enter it?”
”No, it's fine. They are all dead. You don't have to worry; this wasn't caused by the Ancients or the Saksa.” A bit doubtful, the giant became to explain the events that will happen in the future to their new subjects. All the trolls were afraid of leaving the tomb unguarded and also about the long travel filled with dangers. But under the orders of Ymir, the liches sealed the entrance and summoned once again a small troop of skeletons. Their two worries answered the families began to organize what to take and what to leave.
As for Leilade, she was replaying the last scene that was captured by one of the undead inside the tomb. Because of the lack of light and the bad vision of the skeletons, she could only vaguely distinguish the form that destroyed them. A nearly transparent silhouette, without any distinct traits or features.
It could be anything, from a specter to an elemental or a soul. But it instantly destroyed all the undead without even moving, meaning that it was still a dangerous threat. Sealing it for the moment was the best thing to do. But as Leilade thought of this, she imagined the amount of mana that was probably stored in this thing. After the attack on Archet, this will be their priority. She couldn't let a living battery of mana alive so close to her.