"I'll be honest with you, brother Binala." Tssrah Noikatol said after a couple of hours of nonstop conversation, "The Noikatol Kingdom has recently aligned itself with the Varahan Empire. We'll begin migrating once their envoys arrive here."
"How did you make contact with them in the first place?" Inala asked, intending to get a better understanding of the Varahan Empire's means.
"A team of Free Humans with Silver Grade strength entered the Petrichor Savannah and found us." Saying so, he took out a safe kept chest from his belongings and opened it, revealing the tip of an Empyrean Boar tusk inside, one inscribed by a stamp that displayed it as a belonging of the Varahan Empire. "This is proof of their authenticity."
His hands trembled as he touched the horn, "The Gold Grade presence emanating from this horn says everything I need, especially since it's that of the Empyrean Boar."
"Have you confirmed whether or not the Varahan Empire is real?" Inala frowned and displayed concern for Tssrah Noikatol, "Anyone can easily spread misinformation these days. I've experienced it plenty of times myself."
"Had it been anyone else, I would have doubted their claims too. After all, their offer was too good to be true, especially since they cannot get anything of value from my Kingdom." Tssrah Noikatol sighed as he shook his head. His expression then became one of confidence as he stared at Inala, "But I can trust the Varahan Empire."
He pointed at the Empyrean Boar horn, "Even though we've been almost cut off from the outside world, everyone knows of the birth of the Empyrean Boar King."
He stated solemnly, "All our calendars begin counting from the day of his birth, marking this as the era of the Empyrean Boar King. And even here, it's common sense that the Empyrean Boar King is the last member of his race."
His expression became zealous as he eyed Inala, "If the horn of an Empyrean Boar has been sent here, it means that the Empyrean Boar King now has children. And considering his nature, no thief could steal a horn of his child and survive to tell the tale."
'I banged even his wife.' Virala thought at the side while keeping a poker face, 'And Resha brutally slaughtered two of his daughters. Both of us are still alive.'
"That is the reason we trusted those envoys." Tssrah Noikatol stated, unaware of Virala's thoughts, "Since I had nothing to lose, I accepted the proposal. In a couple of years, something called a railway will be laid to this region and connect us to the Varahan Empire."
"They said we could keep living as we did but with a greater purpose, strength, and comfort. That was our promise." He clapped his palms together in respect, "The envoys assured us that we could travel between our home and the Varahan Empire as we wish. It might seem absurd, but the Varahan Empire is ruled by a Mystic Grade Pranic Beast, so anything's possible."
"I also heard his wife is a Mystic Grade Free Human. So, as Free Humans, we can live and thrive in the Varahan Empire."
"You make a convincing point, brother Tssrah." Inala nodded and looked around, "But did the envoys leave?"
"Yes," Tssrah Noikatol said with a somewhat sullen tone, "I wanted them to remain as guests of honour, but they said they had to make arrangements to absorb us into their Empire."
"That is unfortunate," Inala chuckled wryly, "I would have loved to gift them my latest creation. Oh, speaking of it…"
Inala motioned at the bodyguards to bring one of the crates forward that he opened and showed to Tssrah Noikatol, "It's against my merchant creed to give away any product for free, but I'll make this an exception, brother Tssrah. Please pick a suit that catches your fancy."
"I assure you that this will be unlike anything you've felt."
"You're honouring me a lot, brother Binala." Tssrah Noikatol laughed freely and looked through the crate before picking a slab of wool whose shade he preferred.
"Pour a unit of Prana into it," Inala said and gave the other party some more instructions, following which everyone at the place heard Tssrah Noikatol's exclaims.
"Is it possible for a cloth to feel this good? The defensive strength alone is terrifying. My Kingdom also has clothes made from Balghat wool, but none of them come even remotely close to this in terms of quality." Tssrah Noikatol forgot that he was a King and praised the suit nonstop, asking Inala in the end, "Can I name it?"
"Yes, it'll be an honour." Inala nodded with a smile. And once Tssrah Noikatol finished admiring the suit, Inala asked gleefully, "Say, brother Tssrah. What do you plan to do once you enter the Varahan Empire?"
"What do I do there?" Tssrah Noikatol tilted his head in confusion, "I don't think I get your point."
"You'll no longer be a King there. You'll have to take up a job to make a living, especially since the lifestyle at an Empire must cost a fortune." Inala said.
"Is that how things are?" Tssrah Noikatol stared at his aide.
"Using Parute Fruits as currency? Is something so absurd even possible?" Tssrah Noikatol sighed at his weakness. The Petrichor Savannah had its fair share of Parute Trees, but all of them were scattered, and alone.
"I'm not aware of the details myself, but the Brimgan Empire has a marketplace that is rumoured to sell everything that exists on Sumatra. The currency they have there is supposedly backed by Parute Fruits, though I have no idea what that means. But they even use Parute Fruits as currency. I fear it's similar in the Varahan Empire."
"Using Parute Fruits as currency? Is something so absurd even possible?" Tssrah Noikatol sighed at his weakness. The Petrichor Savannah had its fair share of Parute Trees, but all of them were scattered, and alone.
Every Parute Tree was guarded by at least a couple thousand predators, making it impossible for the Noikatol Kingdom to get anywhere close to it. Tssrah Noikatol could count using his fingers the number of times he held a Parute Fruit.
Therefore, he couldn't imagine a situation where Parute Fruits weren't consumed immediately upon procurement but were used as a currency. Letting out a deep sigh, he shook his head, "That's beyond my comprehension."
He then stared at Inala to ask, "Brother Binala, you seem more aware than me in this regard. May I know what you have in mind?"
"It's these," Inala said and pointed at the suits in his crates, "Even at an Empire, they should sell for a lot of money. I think we can form a business with this."
"But isn't that your trade?" Tssrah Noikatol frowned, remembering what Inala had told him, "You did say that you wouldn't leak your family's trade secrets to others."
"Yes, and I intend to keep it that way." Inala nodded and explained himself, "But that's only in regards to weaving these suits. There's plenty of tasks left to be done for it, which I hope your side could do."
From capturing to rearing Balghats for wool, keeping them well fed, and breeding the Balghats with the greatest quality, texture, and shade of wool; Inala hoped the Noikatol Kingdom would take care of it.
And once he receives the wool, Inala would form a yarn out of it before beginning his weaving process, making as many suits as he could. Following that, a group of people would work on dyeing the suits as necessary, increasing the variety of products they could sell at the Varahan Empire.
Moreover, once they head to the Varahan Empire, they need people to man the shops selling these goods, work on customer service, and even provide after-sales service.
"There's a lot of things to do," Inala concluded in the end, speaking upon seeing Tssrah Noikatol's pondering gaze, "I'll only be in charge of weaving the suits."
"I understand what you're getting at, brother Binala." Tssrah Noikatol nodded before he stared at Inala with a hardened gaze, "But, do you wish to join the Varahan Empire? I thought you intended to remain a nomad."
"I still do," Inala nodded before letting out a wry smile, "But I'm also growing in on age."
He then pointed at Virala, "The two of us are the only ones alive in our group. And I have no idea where the other survivors of the Bollutiya Kingdom have gone towards. So, when you talked about joining the Varahan Empire, I was honestly interested."
He chuckled, "After all, Empires are the safest, right?"
"You're right about that." Tssrah Noikatol chuckled before extending his hand for a shake, "I haven't become a part of the Varahan Empire yet. But as the King of the Noikatol Kingdom, I extend my greetings to you, brother Binala."
"Thank you for becoming one of us."
"The pleasure's all mine." Inala got up and shook hands with a content expression. He then stared at Virala, "What about you, Kvirala? Do you plan to remain a nomad or join us?"
"Do I have a choice?" Virala let out an exhausted sigh, instantly keeping up with the act, "The number of times I faced death today is the highest in my life. Guess it's time I draw a line and settle somewhere safer."
"The weak don't have a choice."
"Speaking of the weak," Tssrah Noikatol stared at Virala and then eyed the bodyguards, "I thought you would have at least one cultivator in the Body Stage."
His gaze lingered on Virala, "You seem battle-hardened and talented enough to be in the Body Stage."
"I used to be," Virala laughed helplessly, "Or rather, I was at the 2-Life Stage before I messed up."
"That was my fault," Inala let out a forlorn sigh, "Since we had extra lives, I became a bit careless and entered a Centinger's nest."
"Of all the Silver Grade Pranic Beasts you could have targeted…" Tssrah Noikatol muttered in a daze, "I've seen them a couple of times in my life. They're incredibly strong, and that strength is the reason they can afford to be docile in these dangerous wilds."
"You're right," Inala laughed while yawning a little, "We were confident in our youths. But once our Spirit Containers were destroyed by the Centinger's Primary Nature, we fell to the Spirit Stage and could no longer enter the Body Stage. After that, the two of us had been roaming Sumatra."
"You always behave as if it's not that important when the fault lies on your side." Virala snorted from the side, his voice barely audible.
"What did you say?" Veins popped up on his forehead as Inala glared at Virala.
"You heard me." Virala nodded with a triggered expression, "Or is old age failing your ears too?"
"Look at this old fart…" Inala chuckled with an expression of disbelief and complained to Tssrah Noikatol, "Did you see my fate, brother Tssrah? I had to journey with this ungrateful bastard."
"Ungrateful?" Virala got up with a start and charged towards Inala, "You're the ungrateful fuck! I lost my life's cultivation because of your stunted intelligence and a damn overinflated ego."
"What can you do other than knit some clothes? Huh?"
"My clothes were what fed us!" Inala raised his voice, "Didn't you happily stuff your face with the money I got from selling my clothes at the Alcarcse Kingdom? And what do you think about the woman to whom you whispered sweet nothings at the Duromak Kingdom? Who do you think funded that entire fiasco?"
"Are you deluded enough to think a beautiful woman would dare give a fart to a broke, average fuck such as you?"
"Don't you dare comment shit about my face! Women lined up to me back in the day!" Virala bellowed, "Oh, I get it. You're jealous. This is about Saynael, right? Was it my fault she liked me and not you?"
"Move on, Binala! That was three decades ago…!" Virala stopped speaking once a fist impacted him on the face. He twirled exaggeratedly and collapsed to the floor, glaring in anger as he was propped up by his bodyguards, "Binala, you fuck! You dare hit me?"
"Take her name one more time, and I'll shatter your teeth," Inala said with a cold tone, his expression icy. Blood dripped from his fist as he punched Virala in the teeth, getting wounded in response.
"What will you do? Punch me again?" Virala snorted and raged further, preparing for a fight.
"Enough!" Tssrah Noikatol bellowed and unleashed his presence as a deterrence, speaking once Inala and Virala had paused, "You're not young enough to fight each other. Maintain some decorum before the younger generation, will you?"
"I apologise, brother Tssrah." Inala expressed a bit of struggle before he slumped on his stone seat and calmed down.
"I went overboard too." Virala twisted his expression violently before exhaling a long breath, following which he turned silent and nodded to show that he wouldn't kindle the past events any longer.
"Good, good." Tssrah Noikatol nodded in relief and instructed his soldiers to make preparations to depart soon, "Our destination is twenty kilometres away. Let's reach there before nightfall and set up camp. Can the both of you keep up pace?"
"Even if we cannot, they'll carry us." Inala pointed at the ten bodyguards accompanying them, "They have been following us ever since we saved them decades ago."
"They are…loyal." Tssrah Noikatol nodded before beginning to command the Noikatol Kingdom. He thought he had stopped the fight between Inala and Virala. But never in his life would he expect that the fight was a mere act.
However, the angry exchange between Inala and Virala cemented their fabricated past as genuine. After all, it seemed too real to be a fabricated lie.
Whether it was Tssrah Noikatol or the rest of the people part of his Kingdom, they had never witnessed an elaborate lie before and hence didn't have the experience to see through one, especially since they had limited to no knowledge of the world beyond Petrichor Savannah.
Inala and Virala began to walk, not sparing a glance at each other. However, both knew that the first phase of their plan was a success.
'Now, I need to tweak their disposition before the Varahan Empire envoys arrive.' Inala thought as he walked beside Tssrah Noikatol and converted with the latter, for a moment eyeing the people of the Noikatol Kingdom, 'These people will become cancer that collapses the Varahan Empire's society.'