When Gran's fleet sailed back into the estuary on the east coast of Anawak, the familiar camp was deserted.
The campfire had long since died down, the totem pole lay fallen, and the only remaining traces were footprints eroded by wind and rain and scattered animal bones. His heart sank— the Da Xi Liu Tribe was gone.
He sent out scouts up the river, deep inland for several days, and finally discovered a new settlement on the north bank of a tributary.
The camp was rudimentary, with low fences and many tents cobbled together from animal hides. What shocked him even more was the significant reduction in the tribe's population; the original group of several hundred people had dwindled to less than two hundred, mostly elderly, women, and children, with very few able-bodied men.
Beside the altar in the center of the camp, he met an old friend he had met on his last visit— Egbert, the old priest of the Da Xi Liu Tribe.
This once tall and dignified Bull-Headed People is now much more hunched over, with black cloths wrapped around his corners as a symbol of mourning, and his eyes are bloodshot.
"Ah, my friend Gran …you're back." Egbert's voice was hoarse and deep.
After Gran greeted them, he eagerly inquired about the reason for the migration.
Egbert slowly raised his hand and pointed to the southern sky: "It's the Serdans... they're getting more and more arrogant."
Gran noticed that Egbert used to refer to the horned people with reverence, using terms like "superior species," but now he simply called them by their names.
The Serdans he referred to were inhabitants of Andesia, a southern continent. Gran had visited the southern continent and was imprisoned by the Serdans. Their civilization was far more advanced than that of the various beast-like tribes still in a primitive society on the northern continent, and comparable to that of Aldor on the mother continent. Of course, this refers to Aldor before the Industrial Revolution in Northwest Bay.
When Egbert left last time, he told Gran that the Serdans often captured them to be enslaved.
Now it seems that the situation has worsened considerably.
"Their looting is getting more and more outrageous." Egbert's eyes filled with grief and indignation. "They sailed into the camp in large ships, with chains on them, and indiscriminately took away men, women and children, binding them to ships and transporting them back to the south."
He whispered, "We heard they're fighting a big war and need soldiers. Bull-Headed People, cat people, and rabbit people that they've captured are being stuffed into the army and sent to the front lines… The living continue fighting, and the dead are buried on the spot."
The old priest looked at the surviving children of the tribe: "We can't stay here any longer. If we don't leave, the whole tribe will be hollowed out. But the north is cold and the land is barren. We... alas, how long can we hold out?"
Gran listened, and his mind immediately became active.
His return to New World was officially commissioned by Paul Greiman with a key mission: to establish a precious metals mining system for Northwest Bay in New World, and to attempt to transform this land into an overseas territory of Lakeheart Town.
But Paul also gave clear instructions: prohibit the use of force to seize territory, prohibit the enslavement of natives, and prohibit the destruction of existing social structures.
Paul knew that while brutal plunder might bring short-term profits, it would provoke lasting resistance and deviate from the image of the new order that the Northwest regime was trying to establish. He did not want Northwest Bay to repeat the old path of European colonists who used oppression to gain benefits.
Therefore, Paul devised a strategy of developing in cooperation with the indigenous people, an idea deeply inspired by a distant history—there was once an island on Earth called New Zealand, where the colonization process was not carried out by iron heel and cannons, but through an agreement called the Treaty of Waitangi.
In that treaty, the colonists did not directly declare occupation. Instead, they signed a pact with the indigenous Maori tribes: the Maori relinquished sovereignty in exchange for the protection of the British Crown and the rights of British subjects; they retained ownership of the land and resources, but could only sell land to the Crown, thus establishing an officially controlled land transfer system. The colonists positioned themselves as protectors, providing security, trade, and institutions, gradually integrating the indigenous people into the new economic and governance system.
Of course, what actually happened in history was not as wonderful as the treaty stipulated. Although the Treaty of Waitangi had an idealistic aspect, it ultimately led to the massive loss of Maori land, cultural marginalization, and long-term rights disputes.
However, Paul believes his moral bottom line is much higher than Da Ying's.
He did not appear as a conqueror, but rather as a treaty arbiter, technology provider, and protector, aiming to achieve actual control over the new land. He hoped to establish a symbiotic relationship between outsiders and local indigenous people in Anawak.
Northwest Bay provides agricultural technology, iron farm tools, durable fabrics, medicines, and other inexpensive industrial products in exchange for the indigenous people's land use rights in specific mining areas. Mining is led by a technology team dispatched by Northwest, but a large amount of basic labor will be provided to local tribal members, who will be paid in kind or in credit. If the indigenous tribes are willing to accept Northwest's administration and legal system, they can obtain cooperative tribal status and enjoy trade priority, military protection, and support for basic education.
This is not just an economic strategy, but also a political experiment—to encourage Indigenous people to voluntarily enter the Northwest's order through gradual integration, institutional attraction, and survival dependence, rather than being forcibly driven in.
Gran came with this entire plan.
Standing in the simple camp of the Da Xi Liu Tribe, he felt sympathy for the Bull-Headed People, but the mission he was shouldering also flashed through his mind like lightning.
This is precisely the opportunity.
These tribes are at their most vulnerable and in dire need of protection. They are filled with disillusionment with the superior species on the southern continent and have lost all confidence in their ability to protect themselves.
They needed a powerful ally to stop the Serdan invasion, and Northwest Bay could be that ally.
If the Aldors can provide advanced weapons, build fortifications, send patrol fleets, or even actively intercept Serdan ships, then they will no longer be outsiders, but protectors.
Once the Da Xi Liu Tribe and its fellow indigenous communities realize that cooperation with the Northwest means hope for security, survival, and reconstruction, wouldn't Glaeman's vision naturally come true?
This is not taking advantage of someone's misfortune, but rather acting in accordance with the prevailing trend.
Gran could almost foresee the future: fortresses built along the river, and armies composed of native warriors and Aldor officers and soldiers...
He looked at Egbert, having already made up his mind.
"Old friend," he said softly, "I have returned this time with more than just goods and tools. If we can help you fend off those southern raiders…would you like to talk to us about the future? Our… shared future."
Egbert looked up, a long-lost glimmer of light flashing in his eyes.