Alien world

Chapter 1671, Section 304: The Rodent Clan
"By the way, was it your Bloodthirst Clan that went there?"

What was Annan, who loved watching the drama unfold, thinking of?

"No, they are brother clans."

Annan nodded, "That's a good thing."

As the cooperation between Free City and the Skaven Elders deepened, their relationship appeared to be getting better and better, but in reality, it constrained Free City—the Bloodthroat Clan firmly controlled interactions with Free City, preventing other clans from getting involved.

It's like the lord has several mistresses, but the succubus mistress drains him dry every night, leaving him no time to favor the other mistresses.

The advantage is that everything can be discussed, including things that don't align with the interests of the Stoan ratmen, which the ratman elders will tolerate. The disadvantage is that Annan will never be able to touch other clans...

This contradicts Annan's original intention to corrupt the Skullmen.

Although it is unknown how many clans the Skaven have, they should be not much fewer than the McKenna clans, with the Bloodthirst clan being only one-thirtieth of them.

Annan's target was the entire Stunn clan.

Now that a second clan has arrived, essentially like a mistress's twin sister visiting, there's a natural advantage in getting close. Who knows, a few sweet words might be enough to lure her into bed...

Damn, what kind of metaphors are these?
In short, Stunn is no good at fighting on the front lines, but he excels at stirring up trouble.

Annan hoped they could distract the demons and allow the Empire's main battlefront to proceed more smoothly.

From this perspective, the work I do is about the same as that of the Stoun ratmen?
Annan just wanted to see them fight to the death!
"The food should be almost ready. Shall we go to the restaurant?" Annan invited.

“I also need to inform the tribe.” The rat-man elder shook his head. “Annan bastard, have your people pack up the food and take it with me.”

Annan saw the ratman elder off, leaving only Maria and Gale in the council chamber.

Maria gave Gale a cold look: "What are you hesitating about?"

She was referring to the fact that Gail had stayed in the same spot without moving.

“That’s our elder…” Gale looked very frail, quite unlike how she treated Mary Adam like a lowly rat when she first came to Free City.

"But don't forget, everything you have now was given to you by Annan."

Gail lowered her head and remained silent.

"Alright, it's not her fault. Gale hasn't been in Free City for very long after all," Annan said calmly as he returned to the council chamber.

Maria glanced sideways at Annan with her narrow eyes: "Then am I superfluous?"

“No.” Annan smiled gently, “But you were too impulsive. The ratman elder is petty, and he may have remembered what you just did.”

"The elder can unleash evil energy instantly; if it attacks you, the tower spirit won't be able to react."

"It won't do that. Without me in the Broken Mountains, blood...blood..."

"Bloodthroat".

"...The Blue Dragon will devour all of the Bloodthirst Clan's profits."

The relationship between Liberty City and the Bloodthirst Clan is one of mutual benefit; if one suffers, the Bloodthirst Clan suffers.

The ratmen's most effective tactic in the south is, "You human, you don't want the other lords to know you've made peace with the ratmen, do you?"

But when it came to Annan, he wasn't buying it at all. Magical images formed a solid wall, magical newspapers were the sharpest weapon, and with Annan's reputation, even if the Stoun ratmen were to one day reveal their intention to implicate Annan, the discussion would take place in a tavern, not a council chamber, and the topic would be "What kind of beautiful ratmen did the Stoun ratmen send to seduce Annan Reeves?" rather than "My goodness, Annan Reeves is actually a ratman spy!"

"Try to bring your brother over." But just in case, Annan wanted to help Maria eliminate any leverage over her.

"I already said it, it doesn't want to."

"It's a champion rat, where would it get such loyalty... to that gray rat girlfriend?"

Maria confirmed Annan's guess and gave him a thumbs-up in appreciation.

Despite being a champion rat with skills equivalent to human elites to masters, Jerry is still a lowly brown rat in the rigidly hierarchical rat-people society.

For him to fall in love with a gray mouse is no less difficult than for a commoner to marry a princess—something that only happens in storybooks.

Maybe that cheap younger brother can really give me a surprise and bring back a ratman priest.

Then, if I raise my voice and call upon the rightful heirs of Stunn in Free City, I might be able to infiltrate the Skaven Council.

Annan instructed Maria to tell Jerry that Liberty City would be his strong support, and that he should cast aside all worries and boldly pursue his true love!
Meanwhile, arrangements were quickly made to fulfill the promise made to the rat-man elder.

The overseas outposts in the far north were transformed into transit points, and the remaining ships were put to use. Annan even sent his trump card—Little Smo—to the current outpost's commander.

"The rat people live in dire straits; most of them never live a single day as living beings in their entire lives. I believe the blade of freedom should not be aimed only at the parasites among humanity."

"But note that we need to win over not only the slave rats, but also their superiors..."

Annan believed that Little Smo would understand what he meant.

……

Two days later, Annan left Free City as he wished, and met the Rat King, Elders and Priests of the Rodent Clan at the border between Gem Bay and the Duchy of Montabullock.

His excuse was so convincing that even the two deputy city lords couldn't refute it: "The new clan is crucial to our strategy against the Stoun ratmen. It's of utmost importance. Little Smo alone isn't enough. I have to personally lead the charge."

Skeleton King and Biglett followed Annan, while the Ratman Elder was also present. The concern wasn't that they were colluding, but rather that they might fight each other.

The rat king of the rodent clan was a big guy; he sat there like a small hill.

In the world of Allen, there is an unwritten rule: the larger a creature is, the more powerful it is.

"Can we hold out?" Annan asked Commander Biglet in a low voice.

"Your Highness, as long as I live, the Rat King will not be able to harm you."

"...Your words are really discouraging."

But since the gods have lost contact, this Holy Legion Commander can't use any of his divine spells and can only be a legendary warrior.
Stunn Rat did want to control Annan, but he wasn't foolish enough to subdue him here, so the two sides maintained a nominal cooperative relationship. The Rat Elder asked how to send them over.

"I will first use a portal to send the Rodent Clan to the outpost, and then take a ship to land in the far north."

How big is the ship?

“It’s…that big.” Annan gestured. “A fleet of three-masted and five-masted sailing ships can easily transport thirty to fifty thousand at a time.”

"Only thirty to fifty thousand?" the rat-man elder of the Rodent Clan shrieked.

"That's already a lot. The far north is full of magic-suppressing zones. Before long, even the outposts will be covered by the expanding magic-suppressing zones."

(End of this chapter)