CHAPTER 363

Words : 1624 Updated : Oct 9th, 2025

The shock caused by this information was not small. Oliver immediately asked the question on everyone's mind, "How do the barbarians allow something like this to happen?"The Shadow agent who was leading the information search operation and was the one who was speaking to them said, "Well, apparently the barbarians only care about raising money. Also, they have their guardian deity, and have son other things to not be afraid of the other groups." Despite this, Oliver, Andrew, and Castor still couldn't believe it. While it is true that the barbarians retained the power of government over the city, the fact that there were 4 groups equally powerful as them was a problem, regardless of whether the guardian deity was on the side of the barbarians. This was because the guardian deity being a powerful demigod would not get involved in all the issues and disputes of the city and if the barbarians did not have the power themselves, it meant that they could be challenged. Although they could not be removed from power, thanks to the guardian deity, they would have a lot of trouble repressing certain issues, which might not benefit them. In short, the barbarians had lost political power. Despite that, Andrew and the others put that topic aside and began to ask about the other information that Shadow's agents had collected, starting with the other 4 groups equally powerful as the barbarians. The first group is the community of blacksmiths. As its name says, it is a kind of guild that brings together all metal and craft workers. It is run by dwarves and most of its members are dwarves, but that does not make them weak. Although this group focuses on the manufacture and sale of weapons and accessories, it also has powerful experts among its ranks. Dwarven crafts, especially their metalwork, are widely known, which is why this community of blacksmiths has a lot of recognition in the city. They are not only recognized for their great work but for the fact that they have managed to expand so much that there is practically no blacksmith or craftsman in the city who is not affiliated with this community. This might be a minor fact, but if you take into account that most of the weapons of the inhabitants of this city and the groups that live nearby are made by the blacksmiths of this city, then it is not as small as it sounds, Well, if this community is paralyzed, it means that everyone would lose the ability to create weapons. This was quite terrifying considering that even the city guards depended on this group's weapons. Again, Andrew, Oliver, and Castor could only be amazed at the ineptitude of the barbarians in handling this city. It's one thing if they had a powerful demigod behind them who takes care of them and another is just depending on that. Even Andrew and the others began to think that there was something strange because it couldn't be that the barbarians were that stupid. The Shadow agent who was informing them did not pay attention to the topic and continued his explanation. The second group is the guild of apothecaries, which, like the community of blacksmiths, had managed to bring together all health specialists. Explore more stories at empire Here specialists in alchemy, herbology, medicine, and similar branches from all over the city gathered and this group is led by the forest elves. The forest elves are masters of plant magic, making them great apothecaries and alchemists, so leading a group like this is not difficult to understand. However, the fact that they managed to bring together all the specialists in these fields, just like the community of blacksmiths, they managed to do so with the blacksmiths and craftsmen, was not good, for the barbarians in power. This guild of apothecaries managed the entire business in terms of medicines, raw medical materials, and medical care, which is dangerous, because they can, like the community of blacksmiths, paralyze the city and its surroundings in many ways. This bothered Andrew and the others, as they couldn't see why the barbarians would allow this. Even with the guardian deity watching over them, it was stupid to give away such power, but they lacked information to conclude. Shadow's agent continued to explain. The third group is the commercial consortium which is run by humans. This was the group that least surprised Andrew and the others since they already knew that humans, being foreigners in this city, would come together to do business. Searᴄh the nôᴠel Fire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. What did surprise them was that they had the same power as the other groups and the barbarians. Now this power does not refer to brute or combat force, but rather political and economic. Unlike the other two groups, the commercial consortium focuses on the export and import of products, so apparently, it does not have as much impact within the city, but this is a mistake. Perhaps in the beginning, this was not important, but currently, the city cannot survive without many materials coming from outside, so, if this group at some point decides to stop the arrival of these raw materials, the city could present serious problems. issues. In short, the barbarians had left so much power in these organizations that any of them could paralyze the city in one way or another, which was inconceivable for a power in charge of a territory. Despite everything, Andrew, Oliver, and Castor were no longer surprised. They knew that something strange was happening and at the moment they didn't know what it was so they didn't pay attention to it and continued listening to Shadow's agent. The fourth group is an organization called "The Hunters." This group was made up of 95% barbarians and they dedicated themselves to hunting monsters and looting travelers. All the barbarian tribes of the desert are affiliated with this group and upon hearing this, Andrew, Oliver, and Castor immediately understood the reason why the barbarians were so calm. On the surface, it seemed that the group of barbarians that manages the power of the city is on equal terms with the other groups, but the reality is that this group called Hunters belongs to the barbarians, so in reality, the barbarians are still more powerful. Furthermore, if all the desert barbarians are affiliated with the hunters, their strength and members cannot be underestimated. At that moment Andrew understood that, although the barbarians had lost political power, they still maintained control, through brute force. Oliver understood this too, but he went a little further and started to speak, "I understand. Barbarians are not known for being a race of intrigue and politics, in fact, they are warriors, preferring a fight to sitting behind a desk." "Therefore they preferred to leave the political field to the other 3 organizations and they had them under control with combat force," Castor suddenly complemented what Oliver was saying. Oliver agreed with what Castor said and then Andrew understood what he meant. In short, the barbarians, knowing that they were not good at political issues, left politics and concentrated on military power. Although the other groups now have more strength, none will dare to be too arrogant, as they would be crushed by the force of the barbarians. When Andrew understood this it immediately changed his thinking about barbarians. When he heard that there were 4 groups just as powerful as the barbarians ruling, he thought that the barbarians must be stupid to allow it, but now that he knows all the information, he understood how cunning this plan was. At that moment, he remembered what had happened in the desert before arriving at the city, and looking at Oliver he asked, "Aren't we in trouble?", to which Oliver, surprised, responded with another question, "What do you mean, young master?" "When we were arriving we met a group of barbarians. Won't that intimidation cause us problems? Everyone must belong to the hunting group, so…" Andrew continued. However, it was Shadow's agent who intervened in response to that question, "Young master, I don't think you should worry so much. While it is true that hunters are part of the barbarians, this unity only applies when they need to suppress a particular enemy group." Andrew understanding what the Shadow agent said, asked, "What you mean is that at the moment we are only enemies of that group of barbarians and not of all the hunters, right?" "That is correct young master," Shadow's agent responded and Andrew breathed a sigh of relief, but at that moment Oliver spoke again, "While that is true, we still must not let our guard down." "Although only that group made enemies with us, surely, they have allies who, for the benefit, would help them deal with us," Oliver continued saying and everyone nodded seriously because his words were true. Since it had only been a few hours and they had only been asked to gather important but general information, the Shadow agents did not report anything else. However, seeing how complex the politics in this city were, Andrew sent the agents to look for information again. This time he didn't limit them in time, nor in type of information, he just asked them to look up what they thought was important to know. Shadow agents were trained by Oliver himself, so they are intelligent and can make quick decisions on the field so Andrew wasn't worried that such ambiguous orders would backfire.

CHAPTER 363

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