As I took my place at the tribal alliance gathering, I was met with a passionate welcome.

    “Who is this pale-skinned man, anyway?” “Could he be a spy sent by those Nador bastards?”

    It was a perilous situation that could quickly escalate, with the crowd looking ready to draw their swords at any moment.

    Malik, the chief of the Botswana Tribe, stepped in to calm them down.

    “This man here is Baron Pierre, the one who sells us muskets and gunpowder. He’s on our side.”

    As soon as they heard he was one of their own, everyone lowered their swords.

    It was clear that if they thought I wasn’t an ally, they wouldn’t hesitate to stab me on the spot.

    Their wild, nomadic roots showed in their barbaric ways.

    Well, eventually, they’ll come to understand my true intentions.

    “Malik, since you’re the one speaking, I’ll believe you. But isn’t he still not one of us? It’s hard to accept someone who’s not a child of the Great Plains joining our tribal alliance meeting.”

    When discussing matters or debating, this is the key point:

    Respecting the other’s words while steadfastly advancing your own opinion with the resolve of an ox’s horn.@@@@

    It’s not as easy as it sounds to uphold my convictions without clashing head-on with others.

    It’s crucial to accept only what I can while gently guiding the conversation to steer the other party toward my viewpoint.

    “Indeed, I am an outsider, born in a foreign land with different customs. It’s natural for you to find it difficult to trust someone as suspicious as me.”

    Being born somewhere else might not seem like a big deal, but...

    The chiefs of this tribal alliance were currently at war with the Nador forces.

    If a strange outsider suddenly appeared amidst such a life-or-death struggle, suspicion of espionage was only natural.

    However, with a slight shift in perspective, this situation could actually work in my favor.

    ‘They say gossiping is the fastest way to bond with strangers, right?’

    “However, my homeland, the Kingdom of Granada, is hostile to the Sultanate, the same Nador forces you are fighting.”

    Hearing that I shared a common enemy with them, they all perked up.

    The atmosphere, which had been charged with a sharp hostility moments ago, softened slightly.

    It seems that the notion of being allies in a shared struggle resonates universally.

    After all, even the Soviet Union and the United States put aside their ideological differences to fight Nazi Germany, didn’t they?

    In the U.S., there were daily leaflets claiming, “The Soviet Union is a comrade fighting for freedom!”

    The eldest of the chiefs, seemingly convinced, nodded in agreement with my words.

    “So, you didn’t sell us gunpowder and muskets just to make a profit?”

    “That’s correct.”

    Aside from mentioning my affiliation with the Kingdom of Granada, I hadn’t lied even once.

    “I possess valuable information on the Nador forces. But if you cannot trust me, I suppose I’ll have no choice but to leave.”

    The most important skill when pretending to abandon negotiations is exaggerating each preliminary move to flip the table.

    As a well-trained Baron Fabio de Rothschild, I got up and turned my back at 0.8 times my normal speed.

    ‘Will they really let me go without stopping me?’

    At that moment, the chief of the Zulu Tribe grabbed my wrist firmly.

    “I sincerely apologize for doubting you as an outsider. Please forgive us for failing to recognize the sacrifice you made to fight those vile Nador forces on our behalf.”

    With the Zulu chief bowing his head, the others followed suit.

    See, you really can’t do without me.

    “Please, refrain from doubting me in the future.”

    “We pledge by our ancestors.”

    “Good. Then let me start by briefly explaining the situation with the Nador forces.”

    There was no need to tell them details about the Nador governor’s wealth, his religion, or his habits.

    What mattered was how many troops he could mobilize and his overall military strength.

    “To begin with, the good news is that the Sultan, whom the Nador governor serves, cannot spare forces to support him all the way here. This means we only have to deal with the Nador governor.”

    If the Sultan could afford to send his central army to Nador, the governor wouldn’t dare overreach and try to seize the western Ifriqiya on his own.

    “However, even the Nador governor alone can muster over 200,000 soldiers, and his domain has a population of over 5 million, including slaves, citizens, and warriors.”

    If he did mobilize those 200,000 troops, it’d be like the short-lived Sui Dynasty after Eulji Mundeok annihilated their forces—chaos would ensue.

    But the key is that he has the potential to deploy that kind of force, much like a nuclear missile that could be launched.

    “Two hundred thousand... Our combined tribal warriors don’t even total six thousand.”

    “Of course, it’s challenging for them to mobilize such numbers at once. However, what matters is that they can do so if they decide to.”

    The atmosphere sank sharply.

    “But that doesn’t mean there’s no way to stand against them.”

    Both Malik and the surrounding chiefs were hanging on my every word.

    I intentionally delayed, waiting until they grew even more desperate.

    After ten, fifteen minutes... The chiefs began urging me to speak.

    If I had my way, I’d make them wait a day, but that would likely get me stabbed.

    “What is this method?”

    “Please, tell us!”

    “We won’t doubt you anymore!”

    With a sly grin, I finally spoke the words that would transform these people into a golden goose for decades, if not centuries.

    “Form a nation. Unite everyone—every tribe, not just those gathered here. Only by coming together can we survive.”