Chapter 390: Negotiating with the Quill Faction
After a month of war amidst the Manticore tribe, Kai felt as though he was on the cusp of everything, yet unable to take any next step. He had more than enough mana ink and specialists to form a cultivation tattoo, once he had the proper design, and his power strained up against all other blockages. Many factions had united under him, but the tribe remained scattered.
All of that was likely to change as they approached the Manticore Quill faction.
Unlike the previous pitched battles, this faction actually waited for them under a canopy stretched between three stone pillars. Feida and Kulha expected negotiations to be completely pointless, just a formality, but Kai hoped that they might actually form an alliance. The Quill tribesmen had unified more than most other factions, so if they could cooperate with the Claw and Tail factions, they would actually have a solid majority of the entire Manticore tribe.
Of course, that also made them a potentially formidable enemy. There were three Earth Souls waiting for them under the canopy, with a larger number of tribal elders. Unlike the random splinter groups that charged around trying to exploit the collapse, this faction fully intended to rule the tribe.
"Glad to see you've survived these trying times!" The lead Earth Soul was an old man who gestured for them to sit in the chairs opposite the Quill faction coalition. "If you rejoin the Manticore tribe, we can regain our former strength."
"We still fight on behalf of the tribe," Kulha said, pointedly not sitting in the chair. "What right do you have to order us?"
"We have control of the patriarch's vaults," another of the Earth Souls announced. "The Manticore tribe can only survive if we unify and create a new Sky Soul to succeed the patriarch. Sit and join us, or you will perish!"
"Let's all calm down a bit." Kai swung a leg over the chair, since it was rather short, and dropped into it. Everyone on both sides stared at him. "What exactly do you expect to gain by fighting each other?"
After an uncomfortable pause, the Earth Soul elder spoke up. "The Manticore tribe has become large and heavy, bloated with cultivators who lack the will to survive. Those who endure this time of trial will become a leaner tribe that can again shake all of the Western Wilds. But we must be led by those who hold the patriarch's true legacy."