Chapter 58
Chapter 58
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: Bark Makre's First Trade Opening at Age 84 (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Emperor's edict spread faster than any army's march.
The decision to recognize the Rak Talri tribe of the southern jungles as the Empire's official trading partner and to impart cold chain logistics shook the entire southern region of the Empire.
And before the ink on that edict had even dried, the southern jungles began to boil with new fervor.
"Push forward!"
"Roll the boulders! Clear the path!"
Leading the charge in opening the trade route dubbed the Saint's Path was not the Empire's engineering corps.
It was hundreds of rock troll warriors led by Rak Jin, the tribe's heir.
Once the Empire's engineering mages set the route with surveying spells and reinforced the ground with earth magic, the Rak Talri warriors responded with their overwhelming physical prowess.
"Wh-what do we do about that ancient ironwood...? Even with magic, it'd take at least half a day!"
An Imperial engineer stared in distress at the massive tree blocking their path.
Before he could finish speaking, Rak Jin stepped forward, black obsidian axe slung at his waist.
"Stand aside. We'll clear the way."
"Grrrrr!"
Dozens of troll warriors swarmed the enormous ironwood. Their shoulder muscles bulged like boulders.
"Hup!"
-Crunch, craaaack!
With a thunderous roar that shook the jungle, the centuries-old ironwood was uprooted, kicking up massive clouds of dirt.
What would have taken the Empire's engineers days, they accomplished in mere minutes.
Where Imperial technology met the jungle's raw power, the path to the south's heart carved open at an astonishing pace.
And at last, once the venomous insects and snakes were cleared away, a well-paved trade route lay open.
A grand procession of massive carriages bearing the Imperial flag ventured for the first time into the humid heart of the jungle.
Those carriages were laden with the very things the jungle had so desperately craved.
"Ooh...! That's the white miracle!"
The first items unloaded were a type of fresh bag, designed by Iris and powered by northern frost crystals.
Inside the fresh bags slumbered perfectly pristine aioli, tartar, and Thousand Island sauces.
As the fresh bags were opened, cheers from the tribesfolk shook the jungle.
"Sauce! Unspoiled white sauce!"
"The miracle... the miracle has reached the jungle's heart!"
The cheers were just the beginning.
This first official trade with the Empire was the opening shot of a massive upheaval that would shake the Rak Talri tribe's civilization to its roots.
The trade was not one-sided.
While the Rak Talri warriors raved over the Saint's miracle, the merchants who had led the caravan were equally stunned by what came in return.
"Wh-what in the world... is all this?!"
The caravan leader, guided by Rak Jin, gaped at the gifts from the jungle's heart.
They had expected mere scales from jungle beasts or dried herbs at best.
But what the Rak Talri trolls carefully loaded into the fresh bags were items the Empire regarded as mere legend.
"Isn't this Sun's Tear?! The幻 fruit that only bears momentarily when the jungle mists clear, rotting away in half a day after picking!"
"O-oh! And Starfruits! Fresh fruits infused with star essence in the shape of stars!"
Thousands of rare herbs, fruits, and fresh meats—unknown to the Empire until now or impossible to distribute—began exchanging for Imperial silver for the first time.
Not only that, but massive red swamp catfish still wriggling as if alive, rare herbs preserved in moss and chill, and aromatic mushrooms that grew only in the jungle's depths emerged one after another.
The caravan leader swallowed hard.
These were ingredients on a level that would make the Empire's capital alchemists or Imperial chefs foam at the mouth just hearing their names—world-power-tier materials.
Until now, due to the jungle's heat, they were items whispered about as "seen once every two years if you're lucky."
Not just the merchants, but the caravan staff themselves shuddered at the realization that these wondrous ingredients were in their hands thanks to the new miracle of cold chain preservation.
The dawn of a new era that would upend the Empire's food culture, alchemy, and magical engineering.
The merchants carefully transferred the jungle's treasures—far surpassing the value of their sauces and goods—into the fresh bags.
While the Empire thrilled at tasting the jungle's mysteries, life in the Rak Talri tribe began to transform literally overnight.
"Look at this! Empire flour! Perfectly dried to prevent spoilage!"
"Check out this cloth! Not stuffy like leather, and it doesn't mold even in the humid jungle air—Imperial cotton fabric!"
"No more drinking rotten water! The Empire's purification magic device turns this swamp water into spring water!"
Until now, their lives had been a constant battle against rot.
They could produce everything themselves, but had to eat or use it before it spoiled. No longer.
They no longer wore damp leather hides; children tasted Empire salted dried meat and cheese that lasted instead of rotten fruit.
The silver earned through their heir's blood and sweat became the tribe's common currency. They traded their labor and jungle resources to the Empire, receiving wealth and technology in return.
Rak Talri life changed at a miraculous pace.
"Ooh, no moisture rising from the floor!"
"White and clean houses! Sturdy!"
They no longer slept in damp earthen huts.
Using solid marble imported from the Empire, they began laying village foundations and erecting walls.
The crumbling soft limestone walls helpless against jungle humidity became relics of the past, replaced by sturdy Imperial stone.
Impenetrable walls rose against swamp beasts and hostile tribes, built by Empire tech and troll strength, in the jungle's heart. Purification devices spread to every home.
But not every jungle dweller welcomed this miraculous change as a blessing.
While Rak Talri cheers filled the jungle, in the deep, humid swamps beyond their reach, fury boiled.
Those gathering wrath were the Raalak tribe and other belligerent groups.
Their plans had crumbled like rotten moss.
They had counted the days until the death of the "mild rock," Bark Makre.
The moment the old, wise mediator and warrior king of a bygone era vanished, Rak Talri's fertile lands and rich hunting grounds would be theirs.
And just as the time for plunder and expansion loomed, it all fell apart.
Bark Makre hadn't died—he had regained his former vigor and led the tribe.
Was that all?
Rak Talri, backed by the Empire's miracles, had built a force stronger than ever.
Its walls of solid marble—not jungle soft limestone—were beyond even trolls' power to topple.
"That soft rock, Bark Makre, has gone mad!"
The young chieftain of the Raalak tribe, Juk Sun, roared as he hurled a scrap of Empire cloth brought by scouts to the ground.
"This is an insult to the sacred jungle! Bark Makre, that old fool, dares let Empire dogs set foot in the holy jungle! Dares borrow foreign power to disrupt jungle order!"
Red rage blazed in his eyes.
"They traded the jungle's soul for Empire shiny stones and unrotting grass. That's betrayal! Betrayal of our jungle ancestors!"
He seized his massive club. Justification to crush Rak Talri was ample.
"If Bark Makre allies with the Empire, we call our brothers! Send word to all swamp allies!"
Juk Sun bellowed toward the entrance of his dwelling.
"Drive out the betrayer Rak Talri defiling the jungle and their arrogant Empire masters from this land! Summon all warriors! War!"
The war drums starting deep in the jungle spread to the Empire's capital faster than the humid southern air, via the Empire's intelligence network.
At the same time, in the grand conference hall of the Imperial Palace.
The air here brimmed with optimistic anticipation over the successful start of southern trade.
Emperor Siegmund smiled contentedly as the Finance Minister reported the first trade results.
"Your Majesty! The first trade goods from Rak Talri—Sun's Tears and Starfruits—have arrived in the capital! Alchemists and nobles are exploding with excitement! This new revenue source rivals northern magic stones..."
Before the Finance Minister's excited report could finish.
-Bang!
The heavy conference room doors burst open under rough force.
There stood a breathless intelligence agent, armor hastily donned, clutching a urgently wax-sealed emergency scroll in red wax.
"What insolence is this!"
Before a noble could shout, the messenger stumbled to the center of the room and knelt before the throne.
"Y-Your Majesty! Emergency intelligence! From the south...!"
Siegmund's red eyes turned ice-cold. His satisfied smile vanished.
"Read it."
"Yes! Raalak chieftain Juk Sun is mustering forces, including the swamp Aburut tribe and other belligerent groups!"
The messenger swallowed dryly and shouted the final report desperately.
"War looms in the south!!"