Chapter 25: I Will Give, But You Cannot Take
A sleepless night passed, and by dawn, the elders of the Tanit tribe received the news.
Supposedly good news, but not entirely so.
Babel exhaled deeply and set aside her ambitions.
It was only now that Babel realized why she had always disliked Rama's methods.
Rama's methods were completely contrary to hers, yet Rama always succeeded, while she was still far from success.
It's understandable for anyone to be irritable when seeing someone who always succeeds by taking an opposite path.
The warriors of the Tanit tribe surrounded Rama as they returned to the tribe.
Behind them was the wealth of an entire tribe.
Supplies, people... everything that could be taken was to become the foundation of Tanit.
On the way back, Rama stood before the new slaves and the warriors of the Tanit tribe and briefly explained the whole matter.
"Everyone, I want to become the king of the desert, to rebuild the great achievements of King Deshret, and to unite all the tribes of the desert under one kingdom."
"I do not wish for them to be slaves, because to a king, everyone is his subject."
Standing on the shoulder of a combat machine, the handsome young man's words were calm yet powerful.
"And you all know, I have always acted as a scholar within the tribe, and the elders do not support my ascension."
"So I killed them, and in exchange, gained the compromise of the remaining elders."
Revealing slaughter and violence, and informing the common people of the power struggle within the tribe's upper echelons, was certainly a mistake.
But Rama didn't care.
He knew exactly what his foundation was, so he did not conceal his acts of violence nor did he care about how others viewed his actions.
"So there was tonight's operation, as you saw, I took command as a scholar."
"Because they feared my violence and power, they did not want to die, so they compromised with me."
The deputy nearly ground his teeth to dust.
The deaths of several elders could not be hidden, but he hadn't expected the reason for the conflict to be so straightforward.
He had considered various disputes and conflicts of interest but hadn't thought the answer would be so simple.
I wanted to rise to power, they wouldn't allow it, so I killed three elders. The remaining elders, being sensible, recognized my worth and granted me power and status.
Boss, is this something that can be openly said?
You can do it, but you can't say it!
"I did such a thing, and I can tell you all, I do not wish for you to do the same."
"I seized the tribe's power through violence, but the first thing I did after gaining power was to teach you morality and law, to ensure you attain power according to the rules, rather than following my unruly path."
Rama's gaze swept over everyone below.
Their eyes were filled with identical astonishment and indignation.
Naturally.
"Because I took someone else's power, but if you follow this path, you would be taking my power."
"Power should be the king's private property."
"I will distribute power to you, but it must be given by me, and you cannot take it."
They had fervently surrounded Rama, but now they looked at him with wary and hostile eyes, as if gazing at a mortal enemy.
Rama sat cross-legged, letting the voices below gradually grow louder.
The tribe's warriors were unhappy with his selfishness, and the newly enslaved people also wanted to escape their status. They hoped the Tanit warriors would stand up against Rama, giving them a chance to flee.
The deputy stood up, wanting to call out.
However, a gaze from above silenced him. He stammered and quickly walked forward, then knelt at the foot of the machine.
"I still wish to follow you, my great king."
The one who sticks his neck out gets shot... Whether Rama succeeds or not is uncertain, but if he stands out, Rama can kill him without a problem.
Madness, how could he dare to stand up.
No one wanted to rebuke Rama, but everyone knew the deputy was an "ordinary" elite warrior of the tribe.
If you scold him, he can do nothing to you.
The curses rang out, and in an instant, the deputy's family was torn apart by the outcry.
His relatives, living, dead, and yet to be born, were all implicated.
The desert people's words were rough, with no reservations.
Rama clapped his hands vigorously, and intense pyro flames erupted high.
"Silence, everyone."
He stood up to defend the first person who had aligned with him.
Even before he finished speaking, this person had stood up. Rama knew he was not his supporter.
He was merely afraid of death.
But the reason was unimportant; what mattered was that he did something beneficial to Rama, so he had to protect him and reward him adequately.
A person's reason for acting is unimportant; what matters is what they do and their value.
This action was useful to Rama, so he had to stand up and support it.
"This is a conventional answer; my saying it does not mean I am the only one doing it."
"I guess you do not understand the history of the desert, nor do I intend to teach you history."
Rama stood up, looking as usual.
"I have a simpler reason: Do you want to be well-fed?"
Coercion and inducement.
The intimidation had been effective enough. Tonight, he single-handedly broke an entire tribe's defense. This achievement intimidated everyone, which is why they cursed the deputy rather than Rama.
The next step was naturally inducement.
The desert people weren't all fools. They knew what Rama intended, so they sat down to hear his terms.
These were not ordinary desert people; within the tribe, they occupied middle ranks.
Because they were warriors, soldiers were expensive assets of the tribe.
Because they had a certain status but not high enough, they were precisely the main force needed for reform.
"The desert is barren. To live better, we must conquer."
"First, we need to conquer all the tribes. This is not difficult; you have seen tonight's results."
Victory is the first premise. Only with the ability to win is there a reason to listen further.
"And in this process, we will become the sole regime in the desert."
"In a power structure, someone must stand at the top to take over the ruling position."
"I am already in this position, but what about the remaining positions? Don't you want to become the next tribe elder?"
(End of this chapter)
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