Chapter 632: Reinforcements

Liam already had the answer to the unvoiced question. The Invincible Oasis Tribe had attacked the Red Sandstorm Tribe. Daniel had made his move.

’Though was this wise?’ Liam couldn’t help but wonder, finding that strategy odd.

Sending magical beasts to attack the Dark Heaven Tribe had been a temporary solution to an unsolvable problem. Andrew was dead. The Invincible Oasis Tribe only had one branching expert left.

Delaying the Dark Heaven Tribe’s response to those shifting politics was meant to create breathing room, a window in which the Invincible Oasis could prepare for the inevitable, looming catastrophe, but attacking the Red Sandstorm Tribe sounded like a wrong move.

The timing was perfect. The Invincible Oasis had probably known about Caspar’s absence. With the Dark Heaven Tribe’s issue delayed, that was the best time to strike.

However, Laurel was alive, and Caspar was regaining his arm and meridians at that very moment. What Liam had seen while flying to the palace also suggested that the Red Sandstorm Tribe had salvaged a decent amount of manpower.

Considering the cultivators’ resourcefulness, Liam could even guess Laurel had salvaged at least part of her Tribe’s arsenal. The imminent explanation might prove him wrong, but his conclusions would still fit.

As things stood, the Invincible Oasis had basically forced the Red Sandstorm to side with the Dark Heaven Tribe, creating an alliance it couldn’t possibly hope to oppose on its own, especially after losing Andrew.

’Did they just raid the Red Sandstorm Tribe before moving out of the Aetacia region?’ Liam considered.

That idea could make sense. A quick plundering before relocating could work. It wasn’t much different from how Liam had lived until now, but he somehow didn’t believe it.

First, the Invincible Oasis Tribe’s location had a unique resource almost valuable enough to compensate for its lack of inscription masters against the Dark Heaven Tribe. The amphoras came from it, and Liam could confirm its pricelessness after using it.

Liam didn’t know if it was possible to uproot that unique resource entirely, but its sole existence would make Daniel unwilling to change location.

Then, there was Daniel himself.

Liam had interacted with that high-stage formation master only once, but his impression couldn’t have been more terrible. The way Daniel had cynically talked with his son’s killer just couldn’t go well with Liam’s character.

A cynical man would theoretically cut his losses in the face of overwhelming odds, but Rachel hadn’t mentioned anything of the sort after Andrew’s death.

Liam also didn’t believe Daniel would choose retreat. Part of that was instinctive, but the Aetacia region’s politics before his arrival even suggested that.

The Invincible Oasis Tribe had always had worse prospects than the Dark Heaven Tribe since the latter had both inscription and formation masters. It was why the Red Sandstorm Tribe had been allowed to exist, but that remained a losing game.

In short, if leaving had been an option from the start, Daniel would have chosen it far earlier.

Besides, there was another option, the only possible explanation as to why Daniel had attacked its sole potential ally instead of bringing it to his side, and the heavy mood in the hall seemed to confirm it.

"The Invincible Oasis Tribe arrived at the Red Sandstorm Tribe unnoticed," Amber added, summarizing. "With foreign reinforcements."

That was exactly what Daniel had implied the Dark Heaven Tribe was doing. He had enlisted help from forces outside the Aetacia region. Still, everything had been rather quick.

Four months had passed since Andrew’s death and six since the Red Sandstorm Tribe’s events. That wasn’t little, but it still sounded too short a time to contact outside forces, reach an agreement, receive reinforcements, and launch an attack.

Travel time alone could barely fit in that window, let alone the wasteful, wordy practices cultivators seemed to enjoy so much. Yet, the explanation was easy enough to find.

’Daniel has been in contact with outside forces even before I teleported here,’ Liam realized, asking a rather pressing question. "Which foreign reinforcements?"

More than the danger level, Liam was worried about its nature.

"Sects from nearby regions," Amber explained.

"Treacherous dogs," Uriah snorted.

Daniel had broken the unwritten rule of prioritizing keeping away outside influences over internal conflicts. The Sects weren’t the worst considering which forces could be eyeing the Aetacia region. Daniel hadn’t involved the Kingdom, but Uriah considered it a betrayal nonetheless.

The Sects were also Liam’s best-case scenario due to his lineage and enemies. Yet, they were no pushover, either. They likely had leafing experts after all.

There was even another matter, one Liam was surprised not to hear about.

"Is Daniel using me as an excuse?" Liam questioned.

"Master Dark Wanderer," Laurel spoke this time, lifting her pale face from her cup. "Your victory over Andrew stirred Daniel’s anger, but we can’t possibly fall for such blatant misdirection."

’So, yes,’ Liam understood.

Liam was an outsider who had significantly steered the political landscape in the Dark Heavens Tribe’s favor. Thanks to him, Daniel had the perfect excuse to summon foreign help without losing the battle of optics.

It was basically a way to save face and prepare the field for after the eventual victory. As for Laurel, she wasn’t blaming Liam because Uriah and Amber had probably just revealed that he had killed Andrew.

And if those attempts to keep up with such annoyingly contrived matters weren’t enough, more headache-inducing problems arrived.

"We were taken by surprise and forced to escape," Laurel continued. "I salvaged what I could, but our losses are significant. Only steady decline, slavery, and death await us at this pace."

The grim picture wasn’t completely true, but it wasn’t false, either. As a high-stage branching expert, Liam believed Laurel could do well pretty much everywhere in the Great Quiet Desert.

However, entire forces had different requirements. With the desert’s constant Qi-draining heat, they were even steeper.

Besides, even if Laurel wanted to occupy a new location and rebuild her Tribe, only the forbidden zones existed nearby, and they belonged to the overlords.

"What’s left of my Tribe humbly requests to become part of the Dark Heaven Tribe," Laurel exclaimed. "We shall forsake all our assets and their management. I hope you can spare us slavery after we prove our worth against our common enemy."

Laurel was looking at the married couple now, but Liam somehow ended up in the crossfire.

"My daughter’s virtue may not be intact," Laurel announced. "Nor can she match the beauty of the Dark Heaven Tribe’s jewel. However, it would be her and my honor for her to join the new couple that blessed our region as midwife and, with your approval, concubine."

The torrent of fancy words took a while to sort out, and Liam could only curse internally when he did. ’Can the Heavens stop throwing women at me?’

"About the reinforcements," Liam said, not even bothering to address the offer. "Did they include leafing experts?"