Chapter 161: Pioneering

The sun sank below the western horizon, and the stars filled the sky, illuminating the earth with a brilliant light that was only a shade weaker than the sun itself.

Compared to the Southern Wasteland, the Central Land seemed to have received the special favor of heaven and earth, with both sunlight and starlight shining several times more brightly. Standing beneath the starry canopy and gazing up into the night sky, one was struck by a dazzling expanse of stars, swirling like vortexes to create the illusion that one's soul was about to be sucked right in.

Bonfires roared brightly. In the central plaza of the tribe, the enthusiastic hosts had laid out a grand feast.

Ji Hao had saved their injured tribesmen and selflessly passed down several life-saving and detoxifying witch medicine recipes excelled by the witch doctors of the Southern Wasteland. In deep gratitude, this tribe of tens of thousands, whose totem was the exotic Golden-Eyed Lion, welcomed Ji Hao and his party with boundless joy and treated them with the utmost hospitality.

Though the home-brewed millet wine was somewhat watery, it carried a rich and sincere warmth.

Fat fish just hauled from the river were roasted over the campfires until oil sizzled and dripped.

Dozens of plump livestock were felled in a single stroke, hoisted above the flames, and roasted until the savory aroma of meat made mouths water uncontrollably.

There were also over a thousand fat geese, tender chickens, and large ducks; thousands of wild hares, deer, and muntjacs; robust wild boars; delectable game birds; and freshly picked, thoroughly washed wild fruits gathered straight from the forest.

The Golden-Eyed Lion tribe was not particularly powerful, with only a dozen or so Great Witches in the entire clan. Yet, they used their most grand hospitality to entertain Ji Hao and his companions, even enthusiastically pushing the most beautiful maidens of their tribe toward Ji Hao and Si Wenming.

Whether in the Southern Wasteland or the Central Land, certain customs among tribes remained the same.

Whenever capable and talented distinguished guests passed by, it was best to leave behind a lineage within the tribe, thereby enriching the tribe's bloodline and allowing it to multiply and flourish.

Ji Hao feigned ignorance, simply drinking large mouthfuls of wine. Si Wenming also feigned ignorance, chatting boisterously and laughing with the elders and witch priests, while deliberately ignoring the maidens entirely.

Only Manman showed a great interest in these young women. She pulled them close, curiously poking and prodding their plump curves with her fingers, occasionally grabbing a pale-faced maiden and forcing a jar of aged wine down her throat with a wild, cackling laugh.

Before long, not a single maiden dared to appear near Ji Hao; as for the warriors who tried their luck, they all collapsed onto the ground, dead drunk with flushed faces.

Deep into the night, the wine took its effect, and passions rose. Si Wenming warmly exchanged knowledge of all kinds with the witch priests and elders. Ji Hao clearly saw a brilliant light flashing in Si Wenming's eyes—while imparting practical knowledge to the tribe, he was also absorbing valuable experiences from the Golden-Eyed Lion tribe.

Ji Hao seemed to understand what drove Si Wenming to travel extensively year after year.

Woo-woo! Woo-woo!

As the bonfires gradually died down and the tribal warriors lay scattered across the plaza in a deep slumber, a high-pitched buffalo-horn bugle suddenly sounded from the tribe's watchtower. The tribe immediately plunged into chaos, and soon elders and witch priests stepped forward to issue loud, commanding orders.

Women and the elderly quickly gathered the children toward the sturdiest stone houses in the center of the tribe. Valiant and sturdy warriors grabbed their weapons and rushed toward the plaza. In this modest tribe of just a few tens of thousands, over ten thousand warriors assembled in a remarkably short time.

"Pardon us for alarming our honored guests," an elder said gravely, stroking his long beard. "Lately, outsiders have been lurking near our territory. We have already clashed with them a few times, and today must be another of their harassment raids."

As guests, they could not simply turn a blind eye and walk away when their hosts were in trouble.

Naturally, the three of them followed the tribesmen and strode toward the main entrance of the village. A few miles away, a small army was rapidly approaching.

A golden light flashed in Ji Hao's eyes. Activating the Golden Crow Divine Eyes, he clearly made out the appearance of the approaching party:

At the vanguard was a luxuriously dressed, three-eyed Yu族 (Yuzu) youth, followed by nearly a hundred fully armed Jia tribe warriors. Further behind were a thousand black-skinned auxiliary soldiers clad in soft armor and holding crossbows. To Ji Hao's surprise, trailing at the very rear of this force were three small tribal armies.

Several tall and brawny men wearing crude leather armor and holding flagpoles led the way. The three totem battle flags bore the images of a fox, a vicious wolf, and a winged tiger, respectively. Behind each totem battle flag followed a thousand tribal warriors.

With crisp hoofbeats, the three-eyed Yu youth sat in a four-wheeled war chariot. Several heavy-armored Jia tribe warriors, radiating murderous intent, surrounded him, holding heavy shields to protect him impenetrably.

The chariot was pulled by three fire-breathing tricorn rhinoceroses whose pitch-black scales shimmered under the starlight. Possessing immensely powerful auras, these three beasts were both at the level of Great Witches.

The chariot itself radiated a multicolored, flowing brilliance and was densely covered in various gemstones. Under the gaze of Ji Hao's Golden Crow Divine Eyes, thousands of large and small runes could be faintly seen flickering beneath the crystals. It was an exceptionally powerful war witch tool.

The Great Elder of the Golden-Eyed Lion tribe hefted a large axe, strode forward a dozen paces, and shouted sternly at the Yu youth, "Foreign demons, this is the land of the Golden-Eyed Lion tribe. Our ancestors carved out this foundation, and we have lived here for generations!"

Hacking his large axe fiercely into the ground, the Great Elder roared angrily, "We will never bow our knees to foreigners, nor will we ever betray the land left to us by our ancestors. Get out of our territory, or remain here forever and never leave!"

Several warriors of the Golden-Eyed Lion tribe burst into laughter. "Hey, three-eyed pale-face, our land is very fertile, but we don't mind adding a bit more fertilizer!"

"Judging by your tender, delicate skin, I'm sure some very pretty wildflowers and weeds will grow on your corpse next year."

"What a pity that someone so fair and tender is a man; if you were a woman, I'd definitely snatch you back!"

The warriors of the Golden-Eyed Lion tribe roared with laughter. Sitting proudly atop his war chariot, the Yu youth lifted his chin arrogantly, pulled a flagpole from behind him, and heavily hurled it down right before the Great Elder.

The flagpole sank a foot deep into the ground. With a shake of the pole, a black banner that had been tightly wrapped around it unfurled, revealing the emblem of a black tower with a blood-red vertical eye hovering above it.

"I am A Luo Zhai of the A Luo clan, belonging to the most noble Radiant Sun lineage of the Yu race. Guided by the great Radiant Sun, I have come to this fertile land to develop my private territory. I declare that your land belongs to me from this moment on, and you are all my slaves!"

Tossing his head back arrogantly, A Luo Zhai laughed cruelly, "Because a few days ago you injured my envoy and killed my loyal slave soldiers, you must be punished. All the elders in your tribe will be put to death... The grain produced on my land does not feed waste!"

With a dull twang of a bowstring, the Great Elder, who was gazing intently at the flag before him, let out a muffled groan as a crimson crossbow bolt pierced clean through his chest. (To be continued.)

PS: If those jackals should come~~~