Hei Lie raised his eyebrows: “What bad news?”
Great Wind Chief swept his gaze up and down at Hei Lie. Seeing his calm demeanor, he said, “Looks like you already know?”
Hei Lie’s eyes darkened slightly. He gave a cold snort: “There are always some people who just can’t stand to see others doing well.”
“Since you already knew beforehand, it seems you’ve already made preparations. Then I can rest assured.”
At the beginning, Great Wind Chief had also been frightened by the rapid development of the Spark Tribe. With a very strong sense of crisis in his heart, he was afraid that such a powerful tribe would bring a threat to his own tribe.
He had even entertained some thoughts. But once he calmed down, he felt that this might also be an opportunity.
The Spark Tribe possessed iron tools and had already become a target that his Great Wind Tribe dared not provoke. If he wanted to take any action, it would be tantamount to wagering the lives of his entire tribe.
It would be better instead to try to befriend the Spark Tribe. Based on his understanding of Hei Lie and the current performance of the Spark Tribe, they were still relatively trustworthy.
If they could form friendly ties, for them, the benefits would absolutely outweigh the drawbacks.
Besides being drawn in by the various strange and novel things of the Spark Tribe, Great Wind Chief was even more shaken by the civilization here.
In such a short time, the majority of the Spark Tribe’s people had already learned how to calculate. Those who came earlier could even recognize quite a few written characters.
Those were written characters! In the entire Eastern Continent, not many tribes possessed writing.
And what’s more, it was the whole tribe learning together. If this had been in the past, he absolutely would not have believed it to be real.
All along, writing had always been something very sacred and also very complex, something only shamans and the like in the tribe were qualified to inherit.
Writing was used to record the events that had happened in their tribe, so that the descendants would know they had once existed.
But clearly, in the Spark Tribe, it played an even greater role.
Although Great Wind Chief couldn’t understand those characters, he could still tell from the books that this written language must be extremely rich.
The Spark people were unique. Everywhere in the Spark Tribe, one could see written signs. These meant that in this tribe, learning words was just like everyone having to learn wilderness survival. It was a basic skill.
Such a tribe was far too different. Great Wind Chief very much wanted to see just how far the Spark Tribe could develop, and what kind of opportunities it would bring to the Great Wind Tribe.
At the very least, this trade fair this time left him extremely satisfied.
The goods here were of many varieties, and the prices were not expensive.
After joining in the exchange system organized by the Spark Tribe, the things they could trade back from other tribes also increased. Unlike before, when they often got back a pile of useless stuff, every single item was very pleasing. This winter, their tribe could live better than usual!
“Although we had already expected it, there must definitely be many things we don’t know clearly. I truly thank you for coming, especially to remind us.”
Hei Lie raised a smile and struck his fist toward Great Wind Chief.
Great Wind Chief returned the gesture and said, “I am very satisfied with this trade fair. I certainly don’t want to miss it next year.”
“So long as the sun, moon, and stars still exist, our Spark Tribe will exist forever.” Hei Lie’s eyes shone brilliantly.
Great Wind Chief told Hei Lie the news he had heard: “I don’t know the detailed situation either, but they should have been planning for a long time. Inside it, there’s even the shadow of the Western Continent trading caravans.”
Hei Lie slightly furrowed his brows and gave a cold snort: “Truly, they never fail to show up.”
Great Wind Chief also did not have much good opinion of the Western Continent caravans: “These people have never had small ambitions. I heard that in the areas near the Western Continent, quite a few places have already been occupied by the Western Continent people.”
Between the Eastern and Western Continents lay the great sea, cutting them apart into two sides. There were also places where the land connected, but there stood mountains so high they were impossible to cross.
For the people of the Eastern Continent, aside from those sold away as slaves, no one had ever gone to the Western Continent, because they could not build ships capable of crossing the ocean.
The sea was just as dangerous as the land, and for people who survived on land, being on the water was even less favorable for them to exert themselves.
Yet the Western Continent could build great ships, able to sail across the ocean and come to the Eastern Continent.
The distance between the two sides required roughly twenty or so days of drifting before reaching the opposite shore.
Such a number of days was still considered very fast for the people here. It also allowed many Western Continent merchants to come here to carry out all kinds of trade.
Now, it seemed they had even greater ambitions.
“They have finally bared their fangs.”
“This time, there will be even more tribes coming to the trade fair, all for the sake of seizing salt. Otherwise, people would not so easily agree to enter your tribe.”
Great Wind Chief thought of the rumors about the Spark Tribe and couldn’t help but laugh.
“You all slaughtered the entire Fang Tribe. Many people say you ate them all, which is why not even a corpse could be found.”
“Eat them? I’d be afraid of getting an upset stomach.” Hei Lie’s face was full of disgust. “What’s this about seizing salt?”
“The Western Continent people occupied many places, and those were all salt-producing areas. Now, if you want to trade for salt, you have to pay an even higher price.”
“Looks like they occupied them with a purpose.”
From books and from Yang Yi, Hei Lie learned that the sea could be refined to produce salt. In the past, many tribes that possessed salt should have obtained it from the sea.
Now that quite a few places had been occupied by the Western Continent people, it became very easy for them to drive up prices.
Some tribes could not bear the cost, so those not too far from the Black Forest changed their old habits and came here to exchange salt with the Green Python Tribe.
Hei Lie’s expression turned rather grim. Salt was an extremely important necessity. If their throats were choked on this matter—
Then trade between the Eastern and Western Continents would become extremely passive.
Fortunately, the Green Python Tribe possessed many salt resources, and with the refining method given by Yang Yi, otherwise the bulk of this trade would have been seized by those Western Continent people.
Great Wind Chief wanted to see the rise of the Spark Tribe, also in hopes that there could be a tribe able to stand against the Western Continent.
From his observations over these past few days, it was obvious that even the Western Continent people had been shaken by the Spark Tribe, showing that they were not stronger than the Spark Tribe.
“So you and the Green Python Tribe must be careful. These fellows are extremely cunning. No one knows what they might do.”
“Thanks for the warning. As a token of thanks, would you like to experience what it feels like to live inside a house?”
Great Wind Chief’s eyes lit up. He had long been coveting the dwellings of the Spark Tribe.
But his tribe was not well-off. Last time they traded for wine, they drank it up straight away. Now, if they were to stay in those houses, it would really not be appropriate.
In his tribe, many people still could not get enough to eat. Whether they could even survive through the winter was uncertain. For them to squander like this, it really couldn’t be justified.
“All of us can live inside?”
“I’ll give you fifty houses. As for how to distribute them, that will be your tribe’s own matter.”
Great Wind Chief was extremely excited: “You are a generous man. The heavenly gods will surely bless you.”
“Of course, the gods will bless me. After all, the divine envoy is right by my side.”
Hei Lie looked smug, which made Great Wind Chief glare at him sourly. Hei Lie only laughed with even more pride.
After Great Wind Chief left, Hei Lie also departed and gathered the main leaders for a meeting to talk about this matter.
“I think there must be spies planted in our tribe.” The very first words out of Hei Lie’s mouth were these.
Everyone’s expressions grew heavy. Such despicable methods had always been the most hated by the straightforward people of the Eastern Continent. It is impossible to guard against, and even more destructive to the bonds between people.
“Wasn’t that something we already guessed?” Yang Yi said.
They had long considered this possibility. With so many people coming all at once, it was always unsettling, so they had already been on guard.
“It’s not just the later arrivals. Even among the earlier ones, there should be some.”
Yang Yi frowned: “What do you mean?”
“The first group of people who were driven out should be fine. But as for the others, it’s hard to say. Even among those I brought over, I fear there may be suspicious ones.”
As soon as these words fell, everyone’s faces became even uglier.
The later arrivals had not been here long and were basically all arranged to do some manual labor.
But as for the old members, they hadn’t been guarded against much. Everyone had thought they had fought and struggled together, and regarded each other as brothers and sisters.
Now, for such a sentence to suddenly come out, it was hard to believe.
“Hei Lie, could it be that you’re overthinking?” Chi spoke up. “I don’t feel like anyone has a problem. I know every one of them. Everyone is working hard to build our tribe. Have you discovered anyone who seems suspicious?”
Those present all shook their heads, having great trust in the people under them.
“If there were a problem, I would’ve already dragged them out. I wouldn’t keep that kind of person in my department.”
“That’s right, I can swear, the people in my department are all reliable, one more dependable than the next. Our Spark Tribe is so good. Who would have their brain kicked by Goose King to think of betraying us? People can’t even wait to join us!”
“Exactly, exactly. Already, tribes are asking me about joining our tribe.”
“You don’t know how envious those tribes are. Once they moved into our houses, they didn’t even want to come back out!”
“Isn’t that so…”
Dong, dong, dong—
Hei Lie knocked on the table, cutting off everyone’s digression.
This trade fair not only gave a great shock to the merchant teams of the other tribes but also gave the entire Spark Tribe a stronger sense of pride.
Especially for the beastfolk, who had come from once backward and barren places, they could feel even more the strength of the tribe and the direct benefits it brought.
Even their voices when speaking were louder than before!
When one is in high spirits, it’s hard not to slip into self-praise after just a few sentences.
“Don’t forget today’s topic.” Hei Lie’s tone could already be described as stern. “You are the leaders of the tribe, so you should be even clearer about what should be done and what should be said at what time.”
The hall instantly quieted down. The previously smug expressions all turned serious in a flash.
“The reason I said this is because I heard some news. If it’s not true, that’s best. But if it is, then everyone must be prepared.”
At that, everyone’s spirits sank quite a bit. No one wished for problems to arise among the people they were responsible for.
“If there really is such a person who wants to harm our tribe, no matter who it is, I will not let them off.” Qing was the first to state his stance.
The others also echoed one after another, their gazes turning fierce.
Personal feelings were absolutely not more important than the interests of the entire tribe!
“All workshops and factories must be put under double guard. For now, let’s suspend operations and gather all manpower together.” Yang Yi spoke.
The smelting plant and ironworking workshops, these critical places, were unknown to the newly arrived beastfolk and the others. For now, they also didn’t dare entrust those places to them to guard.
The tribe also could not transfer away too many people, so manpower in the manufacturing area was limited.
Everyone felt reluctant in their hearts, but no one voiced any objection.
In these chaotic times, sacrifices always had to be made.
“What about the mining, smelting, and ironworks over there?”
Iron tools were far from sufficient. If the whole chain stopped, it would delay a lot of time and matters.
Hei Lie pressed his lips together. After quite a while, he finally made his decision:
“Listen to the divine envoy. Stop everything for now and concentrate manpower on defense. Just because we possess iron tools doesn’t mean we can afford to let down our guard.”
