Legendary Clan Chief
Chapter 566 - 552: Shortage of Yuan Stones; Long Way to Go! _1

Chapter 566: Chapter 552: Shortage of Yuan Stones; Long Way to Go! _1

In the broad Great Hall, the Iron Hoof Clan Leader sat at the sub-seat, feeling oppressed by an enormous pressure despite Xiao Chen, seated in the main seat, not exuding any noticeable aura.

The lustrous and fragrant spirit fruits before him failed to draw his attention even slightly. Now that he was face-to-face with Xiao Chen, whose fame had already spread across the Great Wasteland, he could truly feel the subtle and looming crisis latent in Xiao Chen’s seemingly nonchalant aura.

In the Great Hall, a few people were chatting rather oppressively. Knowing what the Iron Hoof Clan Leader was thinking, Xiao Chen deflected his words without directly answering his questions. After a long while, the Iron Hoof Clan Leader finally spoke out: "There’s no falsehood in Clan Leader Xiao’s words. The alien races are rampant, wreaking bloody havoc upon our human world, ruthlessly slaughtering our human kin. Your tribe and mine should join hands to resist these alien invasions. I hope that Clan Leader Xiao can be forgiving about any previous offenses made by the Iron Hoof Battle Division due to our ignorance."

Fearing Xiao Chen’s anger, the Iron Hoof Clan Leader quickly added: "Since it is our Iron Hoof clan that has offended you, we will definitely make amends that will satisfy Clan Leader Xiao."

After saying these words, the Iron Hoof Clan Leader didn’t feel as pressured as before. It was better to put everything out in the open now that things had come to this point.

Hearing the words of the Iron Hoof Battle Division Clan Leader, Xiao Chen couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly. It was one thing for him to not make trouble for the Iron Hoof Battle Division since they had contributed to combating the Blood Race in the Void Path. However, it was another matter entirely for the Gu Yuan Tribe to get its due benefits.

Xiao Chen didn’t speak; he was waiting. Since the Iron Hoof Clan Leader had condescended to come here, even humbling himself to the point of bending the knee, it was time for him to offer his settlement.

"Now, the Gu Yuan Tribe has grown strong, enough to rival top-tier Battle Divisions. However, the territories you currently rule, and the vassal races you have subjugated, even among middle-tier Battle Divisions, do not rank very high. Our Iron Hoof Battle Division is prepared to cede the Giant Stone Valley to your esteemed tribe. I wonder what Clan Leader Xiao thinks of our sincerity!"

As the words fell, the Great Elder of Iron Hoof, sitting beside him, took out a beast skin scroll from his chest and respectfully placed it on the white jade stone table in front of Xiao Chen.

"The beast skin scroll in front of Clan Leader Xiao lists all the lower-tier Battle Divisions of the entire Giant Stone Valley. There are nearly seven hundred lower-tier Human War Tribes in the entire Giant Stone Valley, while the countless minor divisions don’t even bear mention."

Such great generosity!

Hearing these words, Xiao Chen couldn’t help but glance at the Iron Hoof Clan Leader. He hadn’t expected that the Iron Hoof Battle Division would pay such a price. The Giant Stone Valley, similar in area to the Dragon Fall Territory, spans at least fifty thousand miles.

With seven hundred Human War Tribes, even the smallest of which was a ten thousand-man Battle Division, and countless minor divisions, the total population was close to ten million. All of those were to be ceded over without putting up a fight.

Even though most of the territory and population being ceded fell under Iron Hoof Battle Division’s jurisdiction, it was only less than two hundred thousand square miles in total. This vast territory was the result of the Iron Hoof Battle Division’s continuous expansion over the last five thousand years. Now, he was essentially handing over a quarter of the population and territory to the Gu Yuan Tribe.

Feeling Xiao Chen’s gaze, the Iron Hoof Clan Leader couldn’t help but give a bitter smile. The Giant Stone Valley and the Dragon Fall Ridge of the Gu Yuan Tribe were separated only by a single ancient mountain. Over the past few years, the forces of the Gu Yuan Tribe had already expanded beyond the Dragon Fall Territory and had entered the Giant Stone Valley.

All the friction between the Gu Yuan Tribe and the Iron Hoof Battle Division over these years had its origins in this situation. If the two tribes were evenly matched, it would not matter. However, the Gu Yuan Tribe’s sudden rise in power, becoming something the Iron Hoof Battle Division could only look up to, was something they couldn’t ignore.

If the Iron Hoof Battle Division insisted on keeping a tight grip on the Giant Stone Valley without recognizing the current situation, it would pose an endless danger to them. He firmly believed that if the Iron Hoof Battle Division didn’t give up the Giant Stone Valley, Xiao Chen would have enough means to force him to surrender this desolate land.

Given the situation, it was better to give up this wild land without resistance and hand it over to the Gu Yuan Tribe in exchange for a favour.

At this moment, Xiao Chen had to admire the Iron Hoof Clan Leader for his resoluteness in cutting off his losses. It seemed that anyone capable of being a Clan Leader was no ordinary person.

Thus, after spending about two hours in the Gu Yuan Tribe, the Iron Hoof Clan Leader left the Great Hall with his tribe’s Great Elder. However, there was a look of relief on his face, as if a heavy burden had been lifted. Without any further hesitation, they took their leave.

In the Great Hall, Xiao Chen remained motionless, continually ruminating. With the withdrawal of the Iron Hoof Battle Division from the Giant Stone Valley, the Gu Yuan Tribe’s sphere of influence would double, covering over a hundred thousand square miles and bringing the number of vassal races under their control to between fifteen hundred and sixteen hundred.

These seemingly intimidating figures were not too overwhelming given the current strength of the Gu Yuan Tribe. Aside from the size of the territory, the influence of the Gu Yuan Tribe was naturally limited due to geographical constraints.

In terms of vassal Battle Divisions alone, having nearly sixteen hundred subordinate Battle Divisions was not especially remarkable. There are countless lower-tier Battle Divisions in the Border Wasteland Region, and even when combined with middle-tier Battle Divisions, they didn’t exceed a hundred or so. Any superior Battle Division had at least several thousand Human War Tribes as their subordinates.

Before long, the elders from the Seven Halls of the Tribe arrived in the Great Hall and took their seats in an orderly manner.

Then the Grand Elder, Iron Stone, stood up to relate the purpose of the Iron Hoof Battle Division’s visit. Suddenly, the news excited the elders.

"Alright!"

Seeing that the elders had clearly understood the circumstances, Xiao Chen said softly, "The Iron Hoof War Division will soon remove the mark of their battle division from the many substandard battle tribes in Giant Stone Valley. Then all these tribes have to do is brand their battle division mark on the Clan Stele of our Gu Yuan Tribe."

"The Grand Elder and the Third Elder will be in charge of these things, with the other elders assisting on the side."

"Understood!"

All the elders answered in unison.

"Third Elder, how many Elemental Stones do we have in reserve in the clan’s treasury?"

Xiao Chen then changed the topic. This time the Void Battleship was deployed, which seemed impressive, but the expenditure behind it was distressing to Xiao Chen. The Battleship soared in the air, killing a god-level being of the Ghost Tribe, which was built up with a large number of Elemental Stones.

For this operation to kill the Ghost Tribe’s god-level being, 80% of the ten thousand top-grade Elemental Stones that were prepared before the departure were used, which is a terrifying amount.

Let alone the consumption of top-grade Elemental Stones, even the Elemental Stones, and Spirit Crystals that were left in the battleship as the power source for the last deployment were almost depleted, making it insufficient for another flight of the Void Battleship.

In other words, if the Gu Yuan Tribe cannot find sufficient top-grade Elemental Stones or Spirit Crystals, the Void Battleship that shocked the Great Wasteland will become merely a display item."

"Reporting to the Clan Leader, excluding the Elemental Stones consumed by the tribe daily and the Elemental Stones in circulation at the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, we currently have 750,000 mid-grade and 6,000,000 low-grade Elemental Stones in reserve," replied the elder.

Xiao Chen nodded upon hearing this. These Elemental Stone reserves had been accumulated over the past five years, relying on numerous mine veins. However, despite this, the low-grade and mid-grade Elemental Stones have no effect on the Void Battleship.

Pausing for a moment, the Third Elder, Xiao Tan, continued to say, "As for top-grade Elemental Stones, we only have a surplus of over 3,000 pieces. The two top-grade Elemental Stone mine veins that the tribe excavated are very small and are on the verge of depletion. According to the warriors’ surveys, there are likely less than 3,000 pieces of top-grade Elemental Stones left."

"I remember that the Dragon Legacy Tribe gave us numerous records, including most of the geographical information of Dragon Fall Territory. Haven’t any new mine veins been discovered from these records?"

"Clan Leader, the entire Dragon Fall Ridge has undergone tens of thousands of years of changes. Besides the area within a ten-thousand-mile radius of our Gu Yuan Tribe which hasn’t changed much, the other regions have completely transformed due to crustal movements," explained another elder.

"Our tribe has sent people to survey our territory, but we didn’t benefit much from it. Instead, a few abandoned mines were discovered, but they are all worthless."

The situation was like cooking without rice. Xiao Chen was at a loss. The giant cannon on the Void Battleship needed a minimum of top-grade Elemental Stones as its energy source. To activate the Battleship, top-grade Elemental Stones, or even Spirit Crystals were needed.

However, such crystals are rarely found. Take for example the two top-grade Elemental Stone veins of the Gu Yuan tribe, they are inherited from the original Dragon Ancient City, and they are a remnant mine. Even the most central part of the mine vein that bears top-grade Elemental Stones has already been completely depleted.

As for Spirit Crystals, they are priceless. When a warrior reaches a certain level, the Heaven and Earth’s Vital Energy, which is rich in impurities, becomes too low grade to use. Simply absorbing this Energy not only slows the cultivation progress but also requires expending a large amount of time to purge the impurities from the body, which is a loss indeed.

However, fortunately, other than the shortage of higher-grade Elemental Stones, other resources for the tribe people’s cultivation are very plentiful. This is a foundation for the development of the tribe. Today, the Gu Yuan tribe no longer needs Xiao Chen to personally enter the Desolate Ancient Forest to obtain necessities for the tribe people.

After considering for a while, since the Gu Yuan tribe can’t obtain a large number of high-grade Elemental Stones in the short term, the only way is to look outside. Although this would come at a significant cost, but considering that the strongest member of the Gu Yuan tribe is Xiao Chen, who is only at the third stage of the Towering Realm.

The Void Battleship is the divine artifact of the clan and the tool that can deter the Great Wasteland. If there is not enough Elemental Stone supply, wouldn’t it become like a toothless tiger, unable to do anything?

The larger the strength, the more powerful the force, the greater the crisis one must face in return. It is an inevitable result. Only by taking precautions can the tribe develop stably.

In the end, Xiao Chen ordered the clan to assign more people to investigate the mine veins within the boundary. Fortunately, the Gu Yuan Tribe will soon take over the Giant Stone Valley, which will expand the territory by more than twice its current size. Perhaps, there will be unexpected discoveries.