To the east of the mountains, the sun is shining brightly and the sea breeze is gentle. The comfortable southern seaside is unforgettable and a rare respite on the long journey.
Three thousand Guakili troops rested in Trout Village for three days. On both sides of the Talsas River, the canine warriors plundered food as if they were in no man's land. The red-haired scouts went tens of miles east of the Tahe River, had a small fight with the scouts sent by Haenyeo City, and captured two survivors alive.
After interrogating the two survivors, Hei Lang was disappointed.
All units in Southeast Tekos are in a state of preparation for war. The small tribes moved into the jungle of the Pumpkin Mare Mountains to hide. The mountains are high and the roads are far away, making it extremely difficult to find them. Large tribes gathered in Haenyeo City and gathered tens of thousands of tribesmen, at least six to seven thousand strong men who could defend the city.
Three thousand canine warriors faced off against six or seven thousand Tekos Dingzhuang. If it were a wild battle, Black Wolf would be sure to win in one fight without even suffering too many casualties. But if it is to attack a walled city built on a mountain, it is somewhat inadequate. And even if the attack can be successful, the casualties will definitely be huge.
"...Besides, the Guakili Army has been running for a long time and is quite tired. The soldiers have all stolen property, and their fighting spirit is not as good as before."
Black Wolf stood at the mouth of the Talsas River, looking at the raging river. Hundreds of canoes were swaying on the river bank. Thousands of canine warriors were happily stuffing the large property they had just collected into the canoes.
Canoes were used by the legions to transport food and also to carry trophies. Black Wolf watched as a young warrior piled several baskets of corn and two bags of black beans in the boat. Another middle-aged warrior tied a turkey and threw it into the boat. The turkey cooed hard at first, struggling desperately in the boat, its feathers flying everywhere. The canine descendants were shouting and busy, but no one paid attention to it. It barked desperately for a while, then suddenly stopped barking, and just stretched its head forward bit by bit.
The black wolf squinted his eyes and looked carefully, only to find that the turkey had pecked a hole in the black bean bag and was eating the beans one by one.
"...Stealing military rations, I'll roast you tonight."
Black Wolf licked his lips, feeling a little hungry. He continued to move his eyes and looked at the other ship, his brows furrowing unconsciously.
A red-haired hunter picked up a large ball of straw and threw it into the boat. He was followed by a few ordinary canine descendants, walking over carefully with every movement. In the arms of the dog-born people, they actually held large clay pots for cooking! Several people arranged the clay pots on the straw, and placed two rolls of cotton cloth on top. Finally, the red-haired hunter thought for a while and stuffed a bunch of salted fish into the clay pot and several clay bowls.
Seeing this, Hei Lang was both angry and amused, but said nothing. The soldiers fought hard and took away the spoils. It's just that the canine descendants started looting, even the pottery pots and bowls, and they were really poor.
"Well, the legions carry big and small bags, and they will lose their energy when fighting... It's time to go back!"
Black Wolf made up his mind. He informed the whole army of his decision to return to the army, and the canine army burst into cheers. The personal guard Mavik specially brought the sacred stone to say a "friendly" farewell to the village Maho. Huitu Puap handed over the sailors and boats he brought to Black Wolf.
Two days later, the three thousand Guaquili Legion finally ended their journey and returned north along the Talsas River with more than a thousand enlisted civilian sailors. The canine descendants marched along the river bank, and the fleet went upstream with them, while the scouts took the lead and rushed to Kuramo City to report back.
Where is the water? Thousands of boats are returning to the north. Before setting off, Black Wolf looked to the west for the last time, confident and heroic, and filled with emotion. He started from Appachingan, went deep into the southwest mountainous area, arrived at the coast of the sea, then detoured along the coast and returned north from the mouth of the Tahe River. Fighting thousands of miles along the way, the casualties were only a few hundred, and the enemy was defeated by tens of thousands!
"All the tribes in the southwest are about to fall into famine. What are Chimali's tribal coalition forces doing at this moment?"
To the west of the mountains, seven hundred miles away. The fire in Hand Snake City has long been extinguished, and most of the buildings in the city were reduced to ashes. All that was left of the once prosperous city was a circle of low stone walls, covered with smoky blackness. These remaining traces are like the last confession, silently telling the fate of destruction.
Shield Chief Chimali climbed to the top of the city, silently looking at the hand snake city that burned to the ground without saying a word. This city was built by him and his people, and it carries many of his past ambitions! Soon, the memories of the past month flooded into his mind, like an inescapable nightmare, bringing him constant pain and despair.
Two months ago, 12,000 tribal coalition troops poured out from the mountains to support the alliance's Palm family and met the enemy in the Apa plains. The two sides were entangled for half a month, but no war broke out. However, incredible news suddenly came from the rear: the food road was cut off, and the enemy's retreat was attacked by the enemy! The army suddenly fell into crisis and its morale dropped sharply.
Faced with this dangerous situation, Chimali first led the tribal coalition to plunder several villages in the Apa Plain and obtain a few days of food. Then, while everyone mustered up their courage and fought with thousands of northern barbarians, they withdrew their troops to the southwest mountain road with great hardships.
Retreating in front of an enemy is most difficult, especially when the opponent is a red-haired barbarian who is as fast as the wind. The coalition forces left behind the bulky loot and delayed the barbarians for two days. Then, after thousands of barbarians took the things, they came up again and harassed them repeatedly. Each department could only retreat twenty miles a day, and soon the morale of the army began to decline.
After finally crossing Kanhe Village, the mountain road back home was in front of us, but the coalition forces split on the spot. Two thousand Southeast tribesmen decided to retreat from the mountain paths to the depths of the southeastern mountains and forests. They were originally from the tribe there, and they came out of the mountains to plunder. Now that the various ministries are retreating, they will naturally not go to Hand Snake City in the southwest.
If Chimali has insufficient food, it will not be able to retain people's hearts. He reluctantly nodded in agreement, and the two thousand coalition troops left that day. Later, he left two thousand warriors from small tribes to stop the enemy at the mountain pass. The remaining eight thousand tribes quickly went south and rushed towards Hand Snake City.
In early January, the coalition finally returned to the Hand Snake Basin, with villages reduced to ashes along the way. Everyone was uneasy, and when they arrived at the foot of Hand Snake City, what they saw was a ruins of ruins, and thousands of men's heads built into the capital!
The tribe's young men are gone, the women and children in the city are gone, the chief's hall is gone, the wooden houses are gone... and more importantly, the barns filled with food are gone!
Chief Chimali rushed into the city and looked at the burned barn as if struck by lightning. There, he had accumulated enough food for several years to feed 50,000 people for a year! Once there is no food, it will be more terrible than losing thousands of soldiers. That is a terrible result that the coalition forces cannot bear!
After checking the barn, Chimali was like crazy. He personally led the tribal warriors to remove the grain ashes from the barn, from early morning to evening, only to remove a little bit of burnt grain. The nearby villages were destroyed, the mountain people fled, and there was no food to collect.
At this time, it is the end of the world and the end of the hero. Chimali is just the leader of the tribal alliance, relying on his prestige and strength to suppress the various tribes. But at this moment, the expedition was unsuccessful, the plundering was fruitless, and the city was burned down. His prestige was running low. When the hearts of various departments are scattered, they cannot be restrained.
Eight thousand coalition troops gathered in Hand Snake City, and the food they brought with them could only last another seven or eight days. After the tribes learned that there was no food in the barns, their last remaining energy disappeared. More than 3,000 tribal warriors left that day, most of them heading to the southeastern mountains and forests, each returning to their hometowns. A small number of small tribes fled to the northwest, looking for relief from the Colima tribes in the west.
In this way, under the surprise attack from behind by the Black Wolf, the more than 10,000 brave Tekos coalition forces gradually collapsed without a major battle. Within a few days, only the more than 4,000 members of the Shield Tribe were left in Hand Snake City, and all the other tribes that had been gathered dispersed.
Chimali sent envoys to cry for help from the Colima tribes more than 200 miles away, promising tribes and land, and willing to submit to the Colima chief. Then, while sending tribal warriors into the mountains and forests to hunt, he also established a hidden slaughterhouse in the city to quietly turn the old and weak into food.
Four thousand warriors just stayed in the Hand Snake Basin and suffered miserably, relying on the defense of Hand Snake City while allowing the black wolves to attack and kill in the rear, unable to stay away at all.
Because traces of thousands of red-haired barbarians appeared again in the north of the basin. These northern barbarians are in hot pursuit, like greedy and persistent wolves. Once the tribal army, which is short of food, retreats south, they may soon be dispersed by the pack of wolves. The two thousand Tekos warriors at the rear must have been devoured by the wolves.
"The autumn wind blew by, and yellow leaves fell from the mountains. I thought I was an evergreen pine and cypress, but I didn't want to be just a withered tree on the top of the mountain... The hope for the remaining trees is in the mountains in the west..."
The morning sun is rising, the mountain wind is cold, and the yellow leaves are rolled up. Chimali stood bitterly at the top of the city, looking to the west, like a stiff wooden sculpture.
The Colima ministries in the west were his only hope. Even though the two sides were once at odds, now facing the pressure from the Northern Kingdom, they should join forces and form an alliance. Well, submission is also a form of alliance.
"...Two months ago, I had more than 10,000 troops, tens of thousands of tribesmen, the city was rich, the food was sufficient, all the ministries responded to the call, and my prestige was unparalleled. But now, now...ah! Black Wolf, I I will kill you!! Roar! Roar!!”
Chief Chimali stood for a moment, hideous pain appearing on his face. He growled like a wild beast until a middle-aged noble chief came in a hurry. That was his younger brother, the herbal elder Malina.
"Brother, more than a hundred tribal warriors escaped last night!"
Elder Malina looked heavy, and as soon as they met, he reported bad news.
"Damn it!"
Chief Chimali cursed in a low voice, but the anger on his face silently disappeared, turning into a confident calm. Among the wolves in the jungle, the wolf king who loses his majesty will be devoured, and the tribe is like the jungle.
"Malina, my brother, go and comfort the tribal warriors for me! Tell them that we still have one month of food. The various ministries in Western Colima have promised to support us, and the first batch of food support is on the way!"
Elder Malina opened his mouth but stopped talking. It is now the end of January and the tribe has run out of food. The soldiers ate meat and insects of questionable origin, and chewed leaves and bark that were barely enough to satisfy their hunger. How could they hide it?
The envoys who went to Fire River City also returned without success. Colima's various ministries quarreled and never reached an agreement. The chief of Colima gave an unacceptable condition, but let the Shield tribe move westward and merge into the various tribes of Colima.
"Brother, the red-haired barbarians from the north are attacking outside the city day and night. The soldiers are in a state of confusion. We don't know when support from Fire River City will arrive."
Elder Malina hesitated for a while and whispered.
"At this point, the destruction of the Palm Family is a foregone conclusion. There is no irresolvable hatred between our southwestern tribe and the Northern Kingdom... No matter how powerful the Northern Kingdom is, it cannot directly bring the Seven Hundred Miles Mountain area under its management. Are ministries autonomous?”
Hearing this, Chief Chimali turned around suddenly and looked at him coldly.
"Malina, what do you want to say?"
"Brother, as long as the northern kingdom is willing to cease the war and support some food. Even if the tribe surrenders to the north again and pays tribute regularly, just like the Kingdom of Tarasco, it is not unacceptable... As long as the tribe can continue. ..”
"Malina, my brother, the Northern Kingdom is extremely vicious, a beast that eats people without spitting out their bones! They don't even spare their own nobles!"
Chief Chimali replied coldly.
"Look at what these people did! They burned Hand Snake City, burned all the food that could not be taken away, destroyed all the villages, and left behind a brutal Jingguan... They wanted our lives, but how could they spare us? possible!"
"...brother..."
"say no more!"
Chief Chimali suppressed his anger and shouted sternly.
"Go down!"
"yes."
Elder Malina's face showed fear. He lowered his head and turned to leave. Soon, the roar of the beast sounded again from behind.
Hearing his brother's roar, Elder Malina paused and his expression changed. After a moment, he pursed his lips and walked toward the city silently.
All the houses in the city were burned down, and everyone lived either in thatched huts or tents and wooden shacks. He walked past the grass hut where the soldiers gathered, chatted with everyone for a few words, and then left with complaints of "I don't have enough to eat at all!" and "When will the food arrive?" Then, he walked with his head down and came to his tent.
It was eerily quiet in front of the tent, and the two soldiers who were supposed to be on guard disappeared. Elder Malina stood for a moment, lowered his eyes, and finally opened the curtain and entered.
"Malina, you are finally back!"
The strong herbal flavor hits your nose. A burly middle-aged noble chief sat cross-legged in the tent. His face is carved with blue and green lines, his arms are painted with birds and animals, and his hair is deliberately cut short. At first glance, it reminds me of a jungle.
"Hunting Elder Toppan, what are you doing here so early?...Get up and don't sit on my herbs!"
Elder Malina had a sullen face and cold words. As the herbal elder, he manages the herbal medicine in the tribe. Toppan manages hunting in the tribe and is also a famous warrior leader in the tribe.
"What to do? Haha, it's not like you don't know."
Elder Toppan laughed and remained motionless. Then, his face became solemn and he asked in a deep voice.
"What did Chimali say?"
"...Brother disagrees. He said that the Northern Kingdom will not let us go. He is also waiting for assistance from the various ministries of Colima."
"Haha! The Northern Kingdom won't let us go? No, the Northern Kingdom won't let us go. Only he, the chief!"
Elder Toppan smiled coldly.
"The assistance from the tribes of Colima swallowed us up! Then no one in our Shield Tribe was left, and we were all divided up. Besides, the Northern Kingdom had already sent warriors to attack the road to the west. The tribe wanted to move , you have to leave!"
Elder Malina remained silent. After a long time, he spoke quietly and accepted the sentence of fate.
"Tell me, what are the conditions on the other side?"
