Florist Luscia responded gently, "I’m not tired, my sister takes good care of ."
Maximus, his emotions surging, reached out his hand toward her slightly rounded belly.
Florist Luscia said softly, "The doctor said the baby is still small and doesn’t move yet, but he is very healthy."
Maximus nodded and withdrew his hand, the excitent on his face quickly fading.
At that mont, Acronis leaned forward from behind, "Leader, it’s been more than a month since we last t—you’ve lost so weight."
Maximus touched his own face, "Have I?"
"Yes." Acronis said with concern, "It seems you’ve been too busy lately, not eating or sleeping properly. But now that we’re here, you don’t have to worry anymore; we’ll take good care of you!"
Maximus laughed heartily, "The new main house we’re living in now is bigger than before. I’ve been waiting for you, my capable chief steward, to take charge of it properly! I haven’t eaten your cooking in ages, so tonight make a lavish dinner—we’ll celebrate together."
"Yes, Leader, leave it to ! I won’t let you down!" Acronis said confidently.
Maximus then turned to Nexia and said, "You’ve walked three days—surely you’re all tired. Return to the main house and rest for now; I’ll join you there tonight for a proper reunion."
"Leader, don’t worry about us; you can go ahead and attend to your duties. We’ll take care of ourselves," Nexia responded thoughtfully, then glanced around. "Florist Luscia, Geniandafra, let’s go to the main house."
"Okay, sister," Florist Luscia responded imdiately.
Under Maximus’s smiling gaze, Geniandafra reluctantly murmured a reply.
Led by an attendant, Maximus’s three wives, Acronis, and her team entered the camp first.
Afterward, Maximus enthusiastically welcod the arriving families of Nix officials and the tribesn’s families...
By the ti the entire Nix migration group had settled into the camp, his throat was hoarse and his waist and legs sore. But it was not yet ti to rest, as the Alde migration group had also arrived closely behind.
Maximus strode forward, "Haha, Elder Budocaribas, welco, welco! You certainly kept us waiting!"
Budocaribas said apologetically, "Actually, we were eager to co early, but you know how it is—the Great Chief’s funeral and Alistacas’s succession were significant events for our tribe. We had to attend, which delayed us quite a bit. I deeply apologize for keeping you waiting!"
"No matter the reason, it’s good that you’re here! Was the journey smooth?"
"Smooth, very smooth! Thanks to your ticulous arrangents and care!" Budocaribas replied gratefully, then remarked with deep emotion, "This ti, I’ve noticed significant changes here! Just a month ago, when I last ca, we still needed military escorts. Those Segestica people hiding in various tribes glared at us with hatred...
This ti, I saw many Segestica people and Skodisqi people along the way. They didn’t show hatred or fear, only focused on working in the fields. So were even helping each other... You Nix people are truly remarkable—bringing two forr enemy tribes to the point where they can coexist peacefully in just over a month!"
Maximus replied honestly, "I wouldn’t call it peace—just barely able to coexist. There are still many issues, but as long as everyone has the desire for a better life, I believe the people here will co to coexist more harmoniously."
"You’re right, everyone desires a better life—that’s why we chose to co here," Budocaribas replied, then asked with concern, "Seeing how stable things are here puts my mind at ease, but I wonder—where will our settlent be?"
"We’ve got everything arranged, just waiting for your question." Maximus gestured behind him, "Bring the map forward."
Imdiately, two attendants carried over a wooden map to Maximus.
"Elder Budocaribas, take a look." Maximus pointed to the map and explained, "This is the Sava River. This is our Nix’s new main camp—Ophelia. This entire area represents the territory we’ve fully controlled. We’ve allocated these locations for your settlents—here, here, and here, involving four forr Segestica villages.
We’ve already relocated the residents of those villages, so you can move in directly. Based on the information you relayed to through your ssenger, your group consists of nine tribes, totaling 8,300 people.
Since your tribe has relatively more people and the other tribes each have fewer than 1,000, I suggest two or three tribes share one village. Additionally, this particular village is the largest, with the most fertile land and a nearby lake. Given your tribe’s population of over 2,000, it’s best suited as your tribe’s settlent."
The detailed and intuitive map was impressive, but Budocaribas had no ti to appreciate it. He stared at the black dots representing the villages, marked with red symbols, and his mind raced.
Previously, the ssenger had relayed information about the proposed settlents, but Nix hadn’t completely controlled this area at that ti, so the arrangents were tentative.
Now, the settlents marked on the map had so differences. The four villages were not connected but separated. Three villages were east of the Sava River, south of Ophelia East Village, while the village proposed for his tribe was west of the Sava River, south of Ophelia Western Fortress. The location indeed featured a lake and proximity to the river, surrounded by other villages, with no apparent security issues. However...
Budocaribas furrowed his brow, hesitated briefly, then couldn’t hold back and said, "Leader Maximus, the settlents you allocated differ from what you previously ntioned. Why not let our tribes settle closer together? Being dispersed like this might make our tribesn uneasy!"
Quintus chid in to reply, "We wanted to do so for easier managent for both your tribes and ours, but the challenge was relocating all the residents of adjacent villages. For example, this one—"
Quintus pointed to a village on the map near another marked settlent, "More than half of the Segestica people in this village have voluntarily joined us Nix, becoming part of our tribe. So elderly folks insisted they wouldn’t leave no matter what, saying things like, ’Even if I die, my bones must rest on my family’s land.’...
We put considerable effort into reassuring these Segestica people who willingly joined us. Naturally, we couldn’t forcibly relocate them, which would only provoke dissatisfaction and anger, harming regional stability, wouldn’t you agree? So we’ve done our best to relocate the villagers and managed to gather these settlents..."
Budocaribas found no counterargunts and remained silent.
Maximus spoke up, "Elder Budocaribas, if you’re dissatisfied with our arrangent and want your tribes to settle together, there is one alternative."
"What alternative?" Budocaribas asked eagerly.
"There are two areas of Segestica territory not yet under Nix’s control—the northern region and the Gonami Lake area in the south," Maximus pointed to the map and explained, "The Gonami Lake area near Brochi is not sothing we plan to act on for now.
The northern Segestica tribes still hold so power, but I’ve heard the Yapode people—who have enmity with Segestica—have recently been clashing repeatedly with the northern Segestica tribes. If they hear news that Segestica’s core territory has been occupied by Nix, they will undoubtedly launch another war against these local tribes. At that ti, we’ll assess the situation and might send troops to occupy this region, after which we can allocate part of the land for your settlent."
Privately, Budocaribas shook his head. This was rely Nix’s plan and depended on when the Yapode people would strike; it wouldn’t happen soon. He had already brought his tribe here—should they return to wait? And what would the people along the Murenica River think of him?
Quintus observed Budocaribas’s expression and added, "You don’t need to worry. We’ll build roads connecting these villages and construct several more wooden bridges across the Sava River. Even if your tribes don’t settle together, the convenience of travel here might exceed what you experienced living in the mountain regions."
Budocaribas paused and then asked, "What settlent arrangents did you make for the Xisaites tribesn?"
Quintus pointed to three spots on the map.
Budocaribas examined them closely: three villages, still scattered across the area and not adjacent to the Alde tribes’ settlents.
Budocaribas sighed and said, "Leader Maximus, please give a mont. I need to discuss this with the other leaders. By the way, may I borrow this map for now?"
"No problem."
Budocaribas carried the wooden map back to his group.
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