395 An Expensive Gif

He was not stupid. He understood that everything had been orchestrated by Chief Valencia. It was too strange that no one came to find out the situation even after hearing such a commotion in the private courtyard.

"You're right, Little Brother Leonhardt. I apologize for this. It won't happen again." Chief Valencia quickly acknowledged her mistake with a nod before asking, "Can you tell me how you found out now?" 

Leon nodded.

"Actually, it was not hard to guess. It was not possible for the Beast Tamer Faction to get news of me joining the tribe so soon on the same day I joined, not unless you purposely divulged the information to them. Why would you do this, you might ask? I presumed that you understood the Beast Tamer Faction will learn the news sooner or later, so you made the best of this information to benefit your side."

"For example, finding a way to secretly deliver the news to someone important within the Beast Tamer Faction, whom you were also certain that they were going to displease me. This way, it will cause the relationship between the Beast Tamer Faction and me to not be harmonious and force me to lean towards your faction."

"If Lord Goldenfang had actually raised his hand against me, you would have mostly like intervened and stopped him from doing so. Thus, you had to be in a position that is close to me while not being found out by me but also convenient for you not to be suspected by me when you make your move. It just so happens that this courtyard building I'm standing close to is in line with the direction to your palace and presented the best hiding spot for you while you watch over the situation."

Leon gave a detailed explanation to Chief Valencia. 

However, she still had some points she was uncertain about and asked, "But how can you be so sure that I was the one who divulged the news to Lord Goldenfang? If there were spies or the previous owner of this courtyard was a person of the Beast Tamer Faction, the news would have still easily reached Lord Goldenfang."

"Yes, I had thought about this point when Lord Goldenfang arrived abruptly with his people. However, I highly doubted that Chief Valencia was not aware of this fact when you were to purchase their property. Thus, I believe you had a level of certainty that the person would deliver the news to Lord Goldenfang without requiring you to expend much effort. You just needed to wait and reap the rewards." Leon explained.

Chief Valencia was astounded after she heard everything from him. She was awed by his level of deduction and shook her head ruefully.

Her little scheme had been seen right through. 

Like the person had said, she should not continue to play these tricks on him. It was already a blessing that the person had decided to settle down in her tribe. She should kill all hopes of recruiting this person into her faction and not push her luck. Otherwise, the person might just get up and leave.

It should have already been clear that Leonhardt was a person who likes to be free and unfettered, considering the conditions he had set for joining. They can cooperate, but it is impossible to tie this person to her war chariot. 

"Little Brother Leonhardt is very perceptive. I have made a fool of myself. Oh, right. Before I forget, this belongs to you now, Little Brother Leonhardt." Blurted Chief Valencia as she reached out and pass a small wooden tablet to Leon.

Leon accepted the wooden tablet and read "Barren rock Courtyard" on it before asking, "Is this the name of this property?"

"Yes, that's right." Chief Valencia nodded and said, "That wooden tablet serves as the property deed to this place and serves as your proof of ownership."

"Oh?" 

Leon was slightly surprised. He did not think that the Darkmoon Tribe would have something sophisticated like property deeds. It was his misimpression that the Darkmoon Tribe was primitive. In fact, they were quite developed in multiple areas. They only look primitive due to their way of living, which is forced upon them by the limited resources of the barren land they live in.

"How much did this thing cost for you to get it from the previous owners of this property?" Leon asked.

"Not too much, only 80 thousand Dark Crystals." Chief Valencia answered nonchalantly. 

'Only 80 thousand Dark Crystals?'

Leon's lips twitched slightly. 

That was four times greater than the amount he gained from the interspatial pouch he took from Old Tailor! How many top-quality Soul Weapon and Enchanted Equipment could he purchase with that amount of money?

Thus, he knew that although Chief Valencia appeared nonchalant about it, it was actually an astronomical amount of money spent. After all, the private property was just a place to stay. It might be close to the center of the tribe, but that was it. It had no practical value except saving a bit of time.

On the other hand, if these Dark Crystals had been invested into good Soul Weapon and Enchanted Equipment, it could mean saving one's life in their future battles.

"What is the market value of this place? Surely it is not worth 80 thousand Dark Crystals." Leon asked.

"Sure enough. Nothing gets past you, Little Brother Leonhardt. You even realized this. That's right, this property is only worth around 30 thousand Dark Crystals normally." Chief Valencia admitted.

"But the previous owners are part of the Beast Tamer Faction. It is only normal for them to ask for a sky-high price and try to milk as many Dark Crystals out of me as possible. However, I have given you my word that I would gift this property to you. You don't need to worry about the price. It is not enough to dent my wealth." Added Chief Valencia while waving it off nonchalantly.

After all, she was the chief of the tribe, and the Dark Crystal Mine belonged to her. She could have as many Dark Crystals as she wants. Even so, 80 thousand Dark Crystals was not a small amount. However, if this is all it takes to appease Leonhardt, it would be worth it.

No matter how Chief Valencia tried to play it off coolly, Leon could not help but frown at the astronomical amount of Dark Crystals. The price Chief Valencia paid for the property was almost tripled its market value! 

This was a blatant robbery! The greed of the previous owners was simply insatiable!

"Then I will thank Chief Valencia for the generous gift." Leon expressed with a cupped fist gesture.

His impression of Chief Valencia had dropped slightly after the little trick she played on him, but it was still relatively good.

After all, even if Chief Valencia did not purposely attract attention to him, the Beast Tamer Faction would have eventually tried to sent other people to recruit him. 

They did not care about him before, but now that he is part of their tribe, he was included in their dispute.

And the more he was involved with the Darkmoon Tribe, the more he realized that Chief Valencia was not as simple as he had assumed.

She was not just a powerful body cultivator, filled with muscles. She was also equipped with intelligence. It makes him wonder what else he was not aware of.

Chief Valencia was aware that even though the Beast Tamer Faction had no chance of succeeding in their campaign to invest all the Dark Crystals into nurturing the Dark Wyvern, she still had to expend some efforts to remove the problem peacefully.

Furthermore, the Beast Tamer Faction's existence was not entirely bad as it increases competition and stimulates the tribe's growth.

If she simply uses force to remove these dissidents from the tribe, she will lose the hearts and respect of many people and simply rule over them through fear. That was not what she wanted. 

That is what a tyrant dictator would do, not a leader.

Leon could faintly guess that Chief Valencia was using a soft approach to neutralize the Beast Tamer Faction's growth, but he disagreed with her methods.

She would make a great leader during peaceful times, but chaotic times require more decisive and ruthless methods. At least, that is what he believes.

"Allow me to offer Chief Valencia some advice. However, it is up to Chief Valencia whether you want to consider it seriously or not. A pot mixture of poisonous insects can indeed produce a more poisonous insect, but fear the poisonous insect killing the poison master." Leon said profoundly.

'A pot mixture of poisonous insects can indeed produce a more poisonous insect, but fear the poisonous insect killing the poison master.'

Chief Valencia had a crumpled expression as she mulled over Leonhardt's words. Why did he suddenly mention this? What does he mean by it?