The trees are lush, the hills are rolling, and the simple dirt road also has ups and downs, making walking quite exhausting. The woodpecker Aipei let the battalion rest where they were, while he lowered his head curiously and flipped through the large and small straw baskets of flag captain Babei to see what the so-called "good things" were.
"Lord God! What are these? A small red pottery statue made of bright and delicate rain god clay (tlaloc clay)? Uh... why is there still an arm missing?"
"...small white oak objects, combs, spoons, wooden bells...Huh? What is this, a half-legged wooden board? It seems to be the old graphics of the Kingdom of Tarasco? Where did the other half go? Huh?!..."
"...The obsidian stone tool, no, this should be a sacrificial tool, right? The scattered obsidian beads are sparkling. This is the best obsidian! There are holes on it... That's right! Which of the three do you think of it? The necklace of the divine priest was snatched away? The rope was torn and the beads were scattered. Stupid, idiot! The number and shape of the beads must be in line with the divinity and the divinity! If they are scattered, they will be broken. It’s valuable, do you understand?…”
Woodpecker Aipai frowned and thought about it for a long time, with surprise and disappointment on his face. These rough-and-tumble tribesmen who don’t know where they came from are even clumsy in robbing, and they forcefully mutilate these valuable sacrificial vessels. It’s really frustrating.
"Red pottery statues, white oak, obsidian...Are your flag troops so poor? Are you even going to rob these rags?...Oh no, it wasn't rags in the first place. It becomes rags after you rob it. You must have robbed a high-ranking priest of the old god. , Where is his magic staff? Where is his gem weapon?..."
"Ah? What?! After we finish robbing, it won't be worth anything anymore?! Why!"
The woodpecker's words were as fast and powerful as the woodpecker's words, just like the "doo" woodpecker on the tree, which made the flag captain Babe dizzy. He widened his eyes, looked at Ape in a daze, and pulled his hair hard before he asked hesitantly.
"God... God's staff? Is it that tattered wooden stick? We didn't take it. Is that thing very valuable? ... Oh, the red gem? That thing has been replaced! A few copper spears have been replaced. Red The hairy man said he liked the red one, so he took the bronze spear in exchange..."
"Uh! Come on, it turns out you have been picked on? No wonder there are no good things!"
The woodpecker Aipai shook his head and turned to leave. However, the flag captain Ba Beipei quickly stepped forward and grabbed the opponent.
"Rich Chief! Powerful Chief! Don't leave! There are more good things!...Oh! There are also a few pieces of silverware that the red-haired barbarian wants to change, but I didn't even give them to him. They must be good things!..."
With that said, flag captain Babei Peck said a few words of greeting behind him. Then, two blue-haired hunters carried a tattered straw bag and handed it into the hands of the woodpecker.
"What is this? Oh! Silver mask, silver pendant chain, silver bracelet, um...the pattern is very old, like it was carved by the Otomi people...and the silver cup...ah? Why did you smash this cup? Damn! The patterns are all wrinkled!…”
The woodpecker looked at it for a moment, and his blood pressure rose again. He couldn't help it any longer and cursed and yelled at the corncob hammers.
"Witness the Lord! Next time when you go out to rob, can you be more careful?! Pottery statues are easy to crack, heavy and not worth grabbing. The inheritance board must be complete. It is incomprehensible in the first place. It is useless if it is broken in half. ?! The obsidian necklace needs to be a complete one, and every bead cannot be missing! The ancient staff you lost is more valuable than this pile of junk!..."
"Also! The ruby magic weapon was exchanged for a few copper spears. Are you stupid? If you sell it directly to the priest, you can exchange it for ten copper axes! ... Silverware is not valuable in the first place, it all depends on the gods engraved on it. Sexual patterns, the more primitive and simple the better, how can they be smashed flat?"
"Ah? Ah!...I...we just want to flatten it so it doesn't take up space so we can bring it back..."
The flag captain, Babei, stammered, his simple face showing both heartache and sadness. But soon, he reacted and cursed loudly.
"Damn it! The red barbarian whose ashes are scattered in the wind! He lied to us about the gem!... Next time we meet him, I will definitely exalt him!..."
"Boss, there are so many red-haired barbarians. There are so many flag troops that I can't even count them on my fingers! They all have leather armor and good weapons. We can't defeat them..."
"Shit! Then let's drag the Feng Barbarian from Guamar with us! The red-haired barbarian not only took our gems, but also the gold items that Feng Barbarian snatched!..."
"Boss, Feng Manzi and we don't want to deal with each other! Last time we almost got into a fight over the prisoners of war to sell to the chief!..."
"Damn it, shut up! It's all the silverware you smashed!..."
"Boss, what are you talking about? I picked up the priest's old stick and prepared it for carrying my luggage. You asked me to throw it away, saying it was a broken piece of wood..."
"Ah! Shut up!..."
“…”
Seeing these flag team hunters arguing among themselves, Woodpecker Ai Pei was speechless. He shook his head and turned to leave, but was caught by flag captain Babei.
"Praise the Lord God! The rich...oh no, the powerful chief!...Just change it for whatever you like! We don't want more, you ask the price, take it as you like!..."
"Huh? This pile of crap..."
The woodpecker Aipai turned his head and saw the dark, simple face of the flag captain Babei on the wasteland. However, seeing the widened eyes of the other party at this moment, the pleading, eager, stubborn and fierce look, Woodpecker Aipai raised his eyebrows. He pondered for a moment, and estimated that if he really didn't change anything today, these barbarians might follow them all the way for this reason, and then secretly shoot him an arrow in the middle of the night...
"Forget it! These barbarians are short-sighted... they are entangled, it's not worth worrying about. Then just buy some!..."
Thinking of this, the woodpecker Aipei nodded.
"Well... that's okay! I'll give you two big bags of cocoa beans, this half piece of heritage board, a dozen obsidian beads, and this bag of silverware, give them all to me!..."
"Huh?! Cocoa beans? The kind of brown beans that you can eat, drink, and spend..."
Hearing this, flag captain Babei licked his lips, knowing that these were useful beans. But he was used to living a hard life in the wilderness, and he was not picky about food or drink. After much deliberation, cocoa beans are still impractical...but what is really practical is also urgently needed by the tribe...
"Praise the Lord God! Well... Chief, we don't want this bean... we want your copper axe! The ax is good! It can chop down trees and people!..."
"Well…"
The woodpecker Aipai twitched his arm, but was tightly held by the flag captain Babe and could not pull it out at all. He sighed helplessly and said to the guards behind him.
"Give him two, come on, three copper axes!... Put these away for me. Well, especially the heritage board! I want to take a good look and see if I can read any ancient epic..."
"Yes! Battalion Commander!..."
Soon, the two sides delivered the goods with one hand and the ax with the other. They were very happy and there was no nonsense. Flag captain Babei loosened his hand and held the precious ax in his arms, with a smile on his face again.
"Hey! Don't giggle, remember this! Next time you go out to rob, you must remember to grab gold, silver, clear gems, and pure jade!..."
"Praise the Lord God! Well done!"
Looking at the cheerful and simple flag captain, Woodpecker Aipai shook his head and continued to set off with the archer battalion. On the way, he felt a little worried for no reason.
"Lord God! If all the tens of thousands of barbarians in the kingdom's banners are such fools, how long will it take for these coyotes who can only bite people to learn to farm well and build a A village where you can farm and pay taxes..."
While the woodpecker was marching, the woodpecker thought about such a big issue that concerned the country and the people for a long time. It wasn't until the sun set in the west and a post station appeared on the high ground of the hills that he came to his senses and sent someone to inform the post station.
"Witness the Lord God! Lake Quizeo is at the foot of the mountain, and there is still half a day's journey to Hekou County. Tonight, we have to rest around the inn. If we go to the surrounding tribal flags, we will waste time, and we may not even get the paper. A, they all have to be stolen by these poor people..."
The woodpecker Aipeck laughed at the barbarians of the wilderness and walked towards the higher station. But when he was still a little away, he suddenly stopped and the expression on his face changed.
"Ah this? This! This is?!..."
The post station on the hill is quite large, occupying a large area of the hill. It is surrounded by a simple wooden fence and can probably squeeze in the entire Archer Camp. At a glance, there are a large row of thatched huts inside the fence, a covered cellar for storing things, and even a grand wooden house. Outside the inn, a large field was cultivated beside the small river in the hills and valleys. These fields are very large, estimated to be several hundred acres. Although it doesn't look very neat, it has been harvested and taken care of at least, and it looks like farming.
However, at this moment, when they saw the approaching tribal archer camp, hundreds of fierce canine hunters poured out of the tribal camp-like inn. Most of these hunters have red hair, wear strong leather armor, carry tall bows, and carry sharp copper axes on their waists. And they spread out on the mountain road, blocking the road directly. Looking at the tough and indifferent expressions, they were obviously veterans who had committed murder.
】
"The Lord God witnesses! Stop! Those at the inn can rest!..."
Soon, a red-haired and armored leader emerged from among hundreds of elite hunters. The refined leather armor on his body also has a picture of a wolf painted on it, but it is a warrior of the Black Wolf Legion. He squinted his eyes and carefully looked at the group of paper-armored and bamboo-bowed battalions, and finally stopped at the most gorgeously dressed and conspicuous woodpecker, Aipei.
"The flag bearer! Are you their battalion captain?!"
"Witness the Lord God! I am a military noble of the kingdom and the commander of this battalion, Woodpecker Ape!"
Woodpecker Aipai stared at the red-haired leader dozens of steps away with his hand on the copper ax on his waist.
"Who are you? Are you the postmaster of the inn? Why are you blocking the road?!"
"Oh, I'm not, I'm the personal guard of the commander of the Black Wolf Army! The postmaster is from our flag team... These rest rooms were also built by the flag team for him... As for blocking the road, I want you to Rest at the inn and have a warm meal!…”
The red-haired leader smiled and gestured behind him. Then, the two hunters behind him skillfully carried an extraordinarily large flag and planted it at the door of the inn. The mountain breeze blows, the flag is unfolded, and on the left is a stone scale symbolizing transaction. The painting is very neat, and the brushwork is even a bit like a mural. The right side is crooked, with abstract paintings of fur, feathers, animal teeth and so on.
"Lord God! This! What are you doing? Come again?!..."
Seeing this familiar flag, Woodpecker Ai Peck twitched his brows and twitched the corners of his mouth. When he looked carefully, he realized that the big flag was actually two flags sewn together. The balance flag on the left is very formal, and I don’t know which market it was stolen or robbed from. The flag on the right is made of fine fine cloth, with a mysterious long snake painted on the background, and the flag is stained with blood that cannot be washed away.
"Huh? This is the main flag of an eastern city-state, right? Is it the cloud serpent of the Tlaxcala people, or the feathered serpent of the Totonac people? Let me think about it, the feathers of the feathered serpent are three colors, and the clouds are The snake is a solid color... Huh? Where are the feathers on the flag? Where are the iconic feathers?... Oh yes! Feathers are usually real objects that are glued on, so you must have lost them..."
"Flag bearer! What are you talking about? What kind of snake is hairy?...Did you just say 'again'?...Have you encountered other trading tribes? Impossible? We are the only trading station! Which one?" Are we the ones who secretly learned from the local dogs?!..."
The red-haired leader scratched his head with some confusion on his face. But soon, he stopped thinking about it, and a simple and bright smile appeared on his face, like a wolf with its claws put away and smiling innocently.
"Praise the Lord God! Since you know, I won't explain more. It's the same here, trading that...good thing! The flag team's bastard!"
