"This is impossible!"
Yesterday afternoon, that was when Uwuyi led the Aztlan people into the Poison Spring. She saw with her own eyes hundreds of Aztlans who fell to the ground after drinking the water from the spring, and whose feet were still aching from the arrows they had shot while escaping. There is absolutely no way these Aztlan people could appear in the tribe at the same time. Wuwuyi also doubted whether she had slept all day, but not to mention whether the number of Aztlan people could still reach three thousand after losing five or six hundred people. Listening to Rolos' tone, Aztlan The Lan people arrived before the tribe was ready to migrate!
Doubts, panic and anxiety made Wuwuyi ignore Rolos's obstruction, pushed him away and ran towards the camp.
There were two groups of people standing in the camp. On one side were the tribesmen, all of them lowered their heads in fear, not daring to express their anger. On the other side stood a group of uninvited guests. Their number was more than six times that of the tribesmen, and they almost filled the entire camp. They were standing, sitting, squatting or lying down, talking and laughing wantonly, and flipping through the books at will. Standing in the tribesman's tent, finding some wine and opening a cup to drink, it was as if you had entered your own home.
Wuwuyi noticed that the clothes of this group of uninvited guests were exactly the same as those of the Aztlan people. There was no doubt that they were Aztlan people.
There were only a dozen Aztlan soldiers standing upright, looking at each other with a dozen tribesmen holding weapons. Behind them is the tent of Wuwuyi's father, the tribal chief.
Wuwuyi rushed into the tent without saying a word. The Aztlan soldiers standing guard wanted to stop her, but were stopped by the tribesmen on the opposite side. She got into the tent, and as soon as she said the word "father", she saw her father sitting cross-legged on the ground, talking to an Aztlan man.
Wuwuyi's father is already very old. It is said that he was once the bravest warrior of the tribe, but now, it takes a lot of effort for him to even walk normally. His eyes were also dim. The Aztlan was sitting opposite him, but he still had to squint to see clearly.
The Aztlan man sitting opposite his father was dressed almost exactly like the "Chief of Aztlan" from before. The only difference is that his head is covered with fur ripped from a leopard's head instead of an eagle-shaped helmet.
At that moment, Wuwuyi realized something unbelievable, but true and terrifying: that army, which exceeded six times the population of her entire tribe, was only a small part of the Aztlan people's strength.
This is probably how mortals feel when they look up to gods. Wuwuyi felt that her legs were weak and she almost fell to her knees.
"Your daughter?" The Aztlan officer smiled meaningfully, "Although she is not mature enough, she has a good foundation."
After squinting his eyes and seeing clearly that it was Wuwuyi who walked in, the chief's face showed surprise at first, and then turned to despair. Finally, he sighed as if he had accepted his fate, and weakly waved to Wuwuyi: "Sit down when you come, stay quietly aside, and don't talk too much."
"Then, let's get back to the business." The Aztlan officer said, "The empire has decided to go into full-scale war with the group of bandits who landed from the sea. Chief, which side will your tribe stand on?"
Wuwuyi's father sighed helplessly from his mouth, which had few teeth left:
"Why does the Aztlan Empire pay so much attention to our small tribe of less than 500 people? Even if we participate in the war, with just these few people, we can't help you."
The Aztlan officer snorted and said: "My value to you is very clear. Once the war starts, this grassland will become the front line of the battle between the two sides. Neither the empire nor the opposite side has any regard for the terrain here. Familiar with each other, whoever can get the support of the local tribe will have an advantage. Don’t say anything about evasion, I will only ask one last time - which side does your tribe want to stand on?"
"We don't want to be involved in the war, but we won't join the other side either." Wuwuyi's father said, "Don't worry, we will move north immediately after electing new priests, and we will never accept those outsiders. Bewitching.”
His old age made his words lack strength, and he paused several times in this short sentence. If you don't listen carefully, you can't even make out what he's saying.
"These words alone cannot reassure the empire." The officer pressed forward step by step. "The Sun King has issued an order that anyone who does not assist the empire will be regarded as an enemy of the empire. Chief, I will give you one last chance. .”
Wuwuyi was sweating profusely. She had never been afraid of anything since she was a child, but after seeing the Aztlan military strength, her self-confidence was gone.
"Isn't there any compromise?" Wuwuyi's father asked. After saying this half sentence, he said "hmm" and seemed to want to say something else, but he forgot it in an instant. After thinking for a long time, he squeezed out the second half of the sentence, "The empire is forcing us so... Even if I nod here, my compatriots probably won't actually contribute much."
A hint of coldness shot out from the officer's eyes.
"My patience has run out. You must want to move, right? Well, let you move."
Just when Wuwuyi breathed a sigh of relief, the officer stood up and walked out of the camp in a few steps.
"Stand up!" he shouted to his troops, "protect this tribe and move south immediately!"
"Moving south?" Wuwuyi's father hurriedly grabbed the crutches and stood up, "Sir, we want to move west..."
"You have no choice," the officer said, "take the entire tribe to move into the city-state of Aztlan, or become our enemy at this moment."
"Moving to the city-state of Aztlan?" Wuwuyi's father shook his hand and dropped his crutch on the ground, "Sir, we are used to hunting wild beasts on the grasslands. After entering the forests and hills, we may not be able to adapt very well. "
"This has nothing to do with me." The officer smiled, "If you work harder, you can survive. If it doesn't work, can't you still sell yourself as a slave?"
Wuwuyi clenched her teeth. She knew that the last half of the officer's words was the real purpose. Once their tribe left the grassland, they would lose all their property. After entering the city-state, most people will become slaves because they cannot make a living. But even so, she didn't have the courage to resist the Aztlan people. She could only clenched her fists tightly and swallowed her breath into her stomach.
"What's wrong?" The officer's eyes flashed with a fierce light, "Go, or not?"
The chief slowly knelt down and picked up the cane from the ground. Wuwuyi noticed that his body was shaking. His mind is no longer as flexible as when he was young, so he can only use slow movements to buy himself time to think.
But the officer couldn't bear it any longer: "Tell me, are you going to leave or not?"
The chief was startled, and the crutch he finally picked up fell to the ground again.
"Okay..." There was a whimper in his voice, "We'll go with you."
(End of chapter)
