Kyle looked at the town in front of him.
It was surrounded by huge trees, and there was an even bigger tree in the middle of the town.
The tree was almost a kilometer tall, which was crazy.
Kyle had been there several times before, and he knew this town very well.
The town was called Spirit Oak due to the tall tree in the middle, and it was around 200 kilometers southwest of Starkhold.
The town was on the edge of the Stark Brotherhood's territory, and it bordered two territories from two other Three-Weapons Guilds.
This was where the Ancient Bark Guild resided.
Every year, the Ancient Bark Guild would meet with the representatives of the three Guilds to decide which Guild would receive preferential treatment.
The surrounding 100 kilometers of territory almost entirely depended on the Ancient Bark Guild's goodwill.
The Stark Brotherhood had held the position for several years, but that could change.
"Are you ready?" Kyle asked his companion.
"No hurt Kyle!" Bonk shouted with a nod.
Naturally, as a representative of the Guild, Kyle's position was important.
Because of that, he had the freedom to ask for an escort.
If Kyle wanted, he could also have gone on his own, but he decided against it.
The reason was not that he felt endangered.
It was because Bonk had some unique uses.
If there was one thing glib-tongued officials and traders feared, it was a strong person who couldn't understand their fancy reasons.
"Then, let's go," Kyle said with a smile.
Over the last two weeks, Kyle had learned from Theodor personally about different things.
Additionally, Kyle had spent a lot of time talking to the Chief.
He wanted to know the Guild's actual situation, their priorities, and their future plans.
Surprisingly, the Stark Brotherhood was actually not that rich.
They were still earning money, but the profits were not very great.
The reason was growth.
The Guild invested a lot in their own growth.
One month ago, Kyle had had no idea how he should negotiate such a big contract.
But now, it seemed rather simple.
He knew what he wanted, and he knew what they had.
Kyle was prepared.
The two of them entered the town and approached the huge tree.
Surprisingly, there was a door inside the tree.
"State your business," the guard in front of the entrance said.
"I am the representative from the Stark Brotherhood," Kyle said politely before gesturing to Bonk. "He is my escort."
"Hi," Bonk said with a smile. The guard noticed that Bonk was a dwarf and furrowed his brows.
"Please, wait here while I inform the Guild Master."
"Of course," Kyle said with a smile.
The next moment, the guard walked into the tree.
Minutes passed.
'They are letting us wait to put pressure on us,' Kyle thought. 'They want to appear like they don't really care about our offer. Most likely, they will say that the offers of the others were too high and that they don't think that we can outbid them.'
"Why wait?" Bonk asked with a bit of annoyance. "I thought important."
Kyle did his best to keep his smirk suppressed.
"Give them some time," Kyle said. "These things take time."
"But why wait?" Bonk asked. "Is small way. Should quick."
"Guild annoying."
Bonk usually wasn't like this.
In fact, Bonk was a very patient person.
However, Kyle had told Bonk to be impatient beforehand.
Kyle told him to complain and whine.
So, Bonk was complaining and whining.
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