Chapter 474 - 454: Discussing and Deciding Strategies

White Ivy and Melde spent five days completing this year’s Origin Force Food acquisition and arranged for transportation.

The team set out lightly loaded, leaving the Flame Spider Kingdom.

They walked along the rugged rainforest mountain path,

when White Ivy, leading the way, suddenly took a turn, slipped through the dense forest, and scaled a mountain peak.

Glancing around, making sure there were no insects in sight.

White Ivy untied the spider silk rope binding the cargo on her carapace, counted out 2.5 million Spider King Silk Scrolls, and tossed them to Melde.

"Melde, you’re so ruthless—even want to earn Source Stones from your elders."

"Weren’t you the one who went and did it?"

"You were the one who talked me into it. I’ve always respected Old Spider King Spurge, you know."

"Heh~ Heh~"

Melde also untied his spider silk rope, took the Divine-Given Origin Force Food that originally belonged to White Ivy off his carapace, and placed it on the ground.

To ’ingeniously’ sell Moon Peach Fruit to Spider King Spurge, White Ivy had handed all her other goods to Melde and took Spider King Silk Scrolls from him, making up a total of 17.5 million.

They returned each other’s money and goods.

Packed everything up quickly.

White Ivy said seriously, "Let’s talk business. That Dabai Tribe’s Shashuo Divine-Given Seed—we absolutely have to get it this trip."

When traveling with the Revolve Spider King Caravan earlier, they hadn’t had the chance to discuss this, but everyone had been mulling it over.

On hearing this, everyone fell quiet.

Lupine spoke up first, "Chances of getting stabilized trade rights aren’t high."

Grass Dragon followed, "The Ten-thousand Tribes Continent is not like Cloud Trace Continent. Those Ten-Star Firefly Leaf Beetle Tribe definitely aren’t as easygoing as Dragon Cypress."

White Ivy snapped, "I told you to use your brains and discuss solutions together—not to mope around and kill everyone’s energy."

Lupine: "That’s actually the result of our thinking."

Melde raised his forelegs to signal them to stop bickering and said slowly:

"Two avenues to analyze. First, from the Ten-Star Firefly Leaf Beetle and Dabai Tribe side—given their tribal structure, Divine-Grade Fruit basically circulates internally. At least a third gets handed over to the tribe for central allocation; then Golden Frost Mountain Lord will definitely keep a third for itself, to personally trade for needed Divine-Grade Fruit or Divine-Given Origin Force Food; what’s left for caravans is probably just that remaining third."

"Now, from the caravan side. News of the Shashuo Divine-Given Seed spreading to Yuezuo Mountain means quite a few caravans got wind of it—competition will be intense. According to Magnolia-Bark Leader, news leaked out last year. Us heading over this winter already puts us at a disadvantage in timing."

Melde summed up concisely, "The possibility of our caravan securing stable trade rights isn’t large."

White Ivy was about to retort,

Red Peach sighed, "Chances are basically zero."

Lupine: "We can only compete for Golden Frost Mountain Lord’s personal share, negotiate an exchange, use Divine-Grade Fruit it wants to trade for other Divine-Grade Fruit. Magnolia-Bark Leader sharing this news with us is basically giving us that hint."

Grass Dragon: "And it’s a limited number of exchanges—not a long-term partnership like with Cloud Crown Mountain or Yuezuo Mountain."

Red Peach: "In terms of quality, Divine-Grade Kunlun Seed is way superior to Divine-Grade Shashuo Fruit; in terms of demand, that Ten-Star Firefly Leaf Beetle warrior called ’Golden Frost Mountain Lord’ is definitely eager for our Kunlun Seeds, Night Fragrance Fruits, Spotted Embrace Fruits, and will also need White Poplar Fruit and Moon Peach Fruit in future. So, if it’s limited exchanges, we’ll definitely succeed."

Grass Dragon: "With limited exchanges, the initiative is on our side."

Red Peach: "This Dabai Tribe trip, the Divine-Grade Shashuo Fruit is also something we’re determined to get. Dragon Cypress Ant King and Mountain Lord Ink Orchid both want it—we can use this to vie for a bigger share of Divine-Grade Molan Seeds."

Silvergrass: "Exactly! Dragon Cypress Ant King’s share of Divine-Grade stuff is the easiest to secure! Let’s put our best effort into getting more Divine-Grade Molan Seeds."

White Ivy: "Yes! That’s what I meant too!"

Everyone suddenly fell silent.

After a while,

Lupine broke the silence and said, "Elemental Granting–type Divine-Grade Fruit comes with a success rate issue—the higher the Evolution Level, the better the odds. For Mountain Lord Level, though, success rate is too low, not worth risking it. Best to talk it through, maintain the relationship, and after some years exchange then. Anyway, Ink Orchid’s still Mountain Lord Level—years away from needing to distribute Divine-Grade Molan Seed shares."

Grass Dragon: "It’s not very high for Lord-Level either, is it?"

Melde: "Generally, Mountain Lord Level has about a 20% to 30% success rate; Lord-Level is about 30% to 40%."

Melde: "Shrubs and vines have slightly lower rates, great tall trees a bit higher; Wild Divine God-Given Seed is a bit lower, God-Given Life Seed is slightly higher. After King-Level Evolution, with a fully awakened soul and developed spiritual power, those differences vanish, and then the success rate is around 45–50%."

Melde: "Divine-Grade Shashuo Divine-Given Seed is a petite arbor, nurtured as a Life Seed. Rough estimate—at Lord-Level the odds are above 35%. If you’re willing to pay any price and use Metal System Divine-Given Origin Force Food together, success probability might reach around 50%."

White Ivy: "Still way too low."

Grass Dragon: "Knowing Dragon Cypress, it’ll definitely wait until King-Level for the exchange."

Red Peach: "Here’s an idea: Let’s do our groundwork at Dabai Tribe now. For next spring’s trade, tell Dragon Cypress Ant King that it can decide for itself when it wants it; whenever it needs it, we’ll help swap for it, reserving those Divine-Grade Molan Seed quotas in advance."

Red Peach: "Golden Frost Mountain Lord is only a 7–cycle Mountain Lord still; King-Level is far away. If Dragon Cypress Ant King insists on waiting until King-Level, then during that long wait we can do one or two swaps first with the Ten-Star Firefly Leaf Beetle Tribe, to prove our caravan’s strength and maintain the relationship. The Divine-Grade Shashuo Fruits we get—White Ivy Lord, Lord Melde, Lupine, Grass Dragon—you can use them yourselves or trade elsewhere. Good stuff never lacks buyers."

Red Peach: "When Golden Frost Mountain Lord evolves into Golden Frost Insect King, it’ll definitely have plenty of juniors needing help. The demand for our various Divine-Grade Fruits will only rise—no need to worry about them not wanting to trade."

Red Peach: "And we can try pitching Origin Force Honey to them—best if we can set up ongoing annual exchange through honey deals."

White Ivy clapped, "Not bad, not bad, Red Peach, you’ve mastered a third of my skills! That’s a thorough analysis—let’s follow Red Peach’s plan."

Melde: "..."

Lupine: "..."

Grass Dragon: "..."

Another round of silence.

Silvergrass: "What about me?"

White Ivy said boldly, "I’ll get you one too."

White Ivy urged, "To Dabai Tribe we go! Half a month’s journey there and back—let’s get going, move it!"

Silvergrass instantly raised his forelegs in agreement, "Let’s go! Let’s go!"

Red Peach: "Charge!"

...

...

...

Most Leaf Beetle Tribe warriors aren’t skilled in combat.

Dabai Tribe is a prosperous large land jointly formed by more than a hundred Leaf Bettle Tribes.

Each tribe has its own Leader, and the Leaders of every tribe collectively elect three Great Leaders.

The wisest warrior is elected, responsible for Dabai Tribe’s internal management and foreign affairs, honored as the "Great Elm"—the top chief.

The most battle-hardened warrior is elected, responsible for Dabai Tribe’s military matters, honored as the "Great Locust."

The wealthiest warrior is elected, in charge of Dabai Tribe’s trade, honored as the "Dendrobium."

There are also five Left Elm, five Left Locust, and five Left Morus, who assist the Great Elm, Great Locust, and Dendrobium in handling affairs, while also serving as oversight and balance.

Dabai Tribe’s territory is not rich in Natural Primordial Force—the terrain, soil, and climate are nothing special, there’s no Source Stone Mine, not a land blessed by the Natural God.

Through high-level management, strict organization, and mutual assistance among tribes, they cultivated Dabai Tribe into one of the most prosperous top-tier clans of the Southwest Domain of the Ten-thousand Tribes Continent.

Dabai Tribe practices fully open management.

Outside the mountains, there is a year-round open, large trade plaza where all caravans can go to do business.

All Insect Clan Warriors of Dabai Tribe are free to dispose of their territory’s ordinary Origin Force Food and the Divine-Given Origin Force Food from Life Seed Divine-Given Seeds—buying and selling at will.

Dendrobium and the five Left Morus, in charge of trade, only handle transactions involving Divine-Given Origin Force Food produced from wild God-Given Seeds.

Dabai Tribe is considered the top-level, most free-wheeling major clan on the continent.

...

Early winter, when everything lies still.

A misty morning.

White Ivy led the team, walking slowly along the wide, straight path.

At the gorge pass between two steep peaks, Leaf Bettle Warriors guarding the pass all snapped to attention.

A plump, oval-shaped Leaf Bettle Warrior with orange-yellow carapace banded in black—Willow 20-Spot—walked forward suspiciously.

"Spider Tree Lord!"

"You’re with...the Revolve Spider King Caravan..."

"Yes! I’m White Ivy. I specialize in Origin Force Honey trading."

White Ivy picked up speed and started running.

"Oh! Right! Lord Melde...but..."

Spider Tree Lord squinted at White Ivy, then awkwardly sidestepped to look at Melde behind her.

Spider Tree Lord had talked with Melde before—thought well of him, felt Melde was a calm, perceptive spider destined for great things.

"Spider Tree Lord."

Melde stepped forward to greet him.

Spider Tree Lord: "Lord Melde, didn’t you already come here for trade? And it’s past the busy trading season now..."

Melde: "There’s a special matter, so we came again..."

Next to him, White Ivy promptly handed over a petite spider silk bag.

Melde: "This year’s Origin Force Honey is all sold out. I’ll set aside a jar for you next year."

"Ohhh——"

Spider Tree Lord raised his claw, took the bag, opened it and glanced inside, slurped up the Divine-Given Origin Force Food along with fruit shell into his belly, and returned the spider silk bag to White Ivy, like it was second nature.

"Lord Melde, Lord White Ivy, you two are too kind. What’s the matter? Please speak freely."

Melde lowered his spiritual power and inquired, "Spider Tree Lord, are you familiar with the Ten-Star Firefly Leaf Beetle Tribe?"

Spider Tree Lord responded, "Are you guys here to visit Wave Leaf Insect King too?"

"..."

White Ivy and Melde both froze for a moment.

Melde: "Yes..."

White Ivy: "Are there a lot of caravans coming to visit Wave Leaf Insect King?"

Spider Tree Lord: "Not many. You’re the third caravan; the first two were very famous Spider King Caravans."

Spider Tree Lord lowered his spiritual power and asked, "Something major happened with that Ten-Star Firefly Leaf Beetle Tribe? It’s been strict the last two years—so strict no one’s allowed to inquire, not a scrap of news gets out."

White Ivy: "Something huge."

Melde: "If your tribe is so strict, there’s no way our caravan can spread anything around."

White Ivy: "Spider Tree Lord, could you help by sending word in for us?"

Spider Tree Lord cut the nonsense and directly projected his spiritual power, calling out, "Ironwood, Ironwood, come out!"

"Huh?"

A Mountain Lord Level Beetle Warrior with a jet-black head and carapace in black and yellow stripes crawled out of a cliffside cave.

Spider Tree Lord: "Take Lord White Ivy and Lord Melde to the territory of the Ten-Star Firefly Leaf Beetle Tribe."

"...Alright."

Ironwood trotted over.

"Sorry to trouble you."

White Ivy handed over a petite spider silk bag.