Hei Lie sneered coldly, his gaze sinister and gloomy, no longer carrying the friendliness from before.
“I never knew you were this foolish, to actually dare make such a request of me.”
To dare lay hands on the Spark Tribe meant being prepared to suffer the backlash.
Especially since they had even stretched their hands toward Yang Yi. This was truly an unforgivable crime.
En and Qiao’s expressions were both rather unsightly. If possible, neither of them wanted to play this role of persuader.
As for that Western Continent caravan, the two of them did not hold much goodwill toward it. In fact, they were in a competitive relationship.
Behind that Western Continent caravan stood the great city of Maple Leaf City, which had always been at odds with Roland City, where En and Qiao were from. Conflicts often broke out between the two cities over border territories.
But this matter concerned the face of the entire Western Continent. If a Western Continent caravan were to be slaughtered here in the Eastern Continent, then for all Western Continent caravans, this was not something worth rejoicing over.
It would send a signal to the Eastern Continent people that they were not so strong after all. This would influence future trade dealings.
The problem was, the Spark Tribe was both far away and extremely powerful. To mount a punitive expedition against them would not be easy. The losses would be enormous, and thus it would fail to have a deterrent effect. The best method was still to resolve things peacefully.
No matter what internal disputes there were, when facing the Eastern Continent, they all had to twist into a single rope. This was a consensus in the Western Continent.
En calmed his emotions and continued to persuade: “Maple Leaf City’s caravan already lost many people last night. That alone has delivered enough deterrence to the outside world. Wouldn’t it be better to let the survivors create even greater value?
Maple Leaf City possesses abundant mineral resources. I believe that trade between you and them will satisfy both sides.”
Early this very morning, the corpses of those invaders had been impaled upon tree stumps not far from the trading area, for all to see the fate of daring to offend the Spark Tribe.
The ones still alive would also be executed under the eyes of the crowd, as a warning to everyone present and to display their strength.
This was the tradition of the Eastern Continent. When dealing with invaders, they were always extremely cruel.
Sometimes, dying in battle was actually a form of release, while those captured would usually have to undergo torture. In this regard, the natives here needed no teacher. They were naturally skilled.
Yang Yi had no objections to such a tradition. If not for their victory, then he and the people around him would have been the ones dead.
As for En’s proposal, Yang Yi expressed no opinion, leaving the matter entirely in Hei Lie’s hands.
Hei Lie was better at weighing the pros and cons. Yang Yi was not skilled in handling such diplomatic affairs.
“It doesn’t matter. For our Spark Tribe, any invader has only one ending—death.”
En hadn’t expected Hei Lie’s attitude to be this unyielding. His gaze shifted to Yang Yi.
“Merciful Divine Envoy, you are the one sent by God to redeem this world. Surely you would not wish to see slaughter.”
Yang Yi smiled faintly: “There is a saying that goes like this, ‘Showing mercy to the enemy is cruelty to oneself’.”
Since even Yang Yi had answered in this way, En and Qiao knew it would be difficult to change their decision.
Qiao thought for a moment, then asked: “Then could you at least spare Maple Leaf City’s nephew, Su? He only came here to broaden his horizons and did not take part in any of this.”
“Su? The one who stayed alone in a suite?” Hei Lie seemed to have some impression of this person.
The lodging house also had different conditions. There were the thatched mud huts built in the earliest days, and the later rammed-earth tile houses.
Even among the tile houses, there were different arrangements with different fees. Suites were the best. It was not only spacious but also warm, with the interior furnished with greater care.
Even on Earth, just judging by the furnishings, it would already count as a very fine and artistic little house.
Inside, it even came with a bathroom, so one could relieve themselves and wash directly in the room. Every day, someone would come specially to clean it.
A water tank was also installed on the roof, just like in Yang Yi’s room, allowing for an uninterrupted supply of hot water.
Every day, free fruit and snacks were provided, the kind of snacks that couldn’t even be bought outside. Living there was extremely comfortable and convenient.
Of course, the price was also very expensive. It was something Yang Yi had carefully designed for people of the Western Continent and those like Jin Huan.
Sure enough, not long after the trade fair began, the few suites available were already fully occupied, and they received great praise.
“Yes, that’s him.”
Hei Lie did not give a direct answer, only saying he would think about it some more.
This matter was of great importance. It needed the collective approval of the tribe.
Qiao and En, not getting the answer they wanted, had no choice but to leave. Though they were not very pleased in their hearts, seeing that Hei Lie’s attitude toward them hadn’t changed much, they felt somewhat relieved.
Maple Leaf City had always been cunning. They had spent so long contacting other Eastern Continent tribes that wished to annex the Spark Tribe, making their arrangements. Yet in just one night, they were wiped out completely without a sound.
The Spark Tribe was far stronger than they had imagined.
“If the moat is ever completed, the Spark Tribe will be even harder to breach.” Qiao’s brows were tightly furrowed.
En tugged at the cloak behind him: “By the time of next year’s trade fair, who knows what this place will look like.”
In the end, the Spark Tribe decided to agree to Qiao’s suggestion and spare Su.
If they wanted to exchange for Su, they would have to bring enough copper to equip a force of five hundred men. The price was enormous.
At the same time, all the goods that Maple Leaf City’s caravan had brought would belong to the Spark Tribe.
During those two days, the entire Spark Tribe was filled with the stench of blood. The surviving rebels and invaders were all subjected to the most severe punishments.
With so many people, the scenes were extremely gruesome, causing even the visiting tribes that came for trade to frown.
These past days, they had all felt the friendliness of the Spark Tribe. Every host was so kind, always wearing a gentle smile. But this time, they experienced the tribe’s strength and dominance.
When facing enemies, they showed no mercy. They are utterly ruthless and cruel, not leaving a single path of survival.
Some timid tribes hurriedly completed their trades that very day and then quickly fled.
“Such tribes aren’t many. Most likely, they themselves aren’t very clean,” Han Bing reported to Yang Yi after summarizing the situation of this incident.
“Overall, people’s emotions haven’t fluctuated too much. Those Western Continent caravans don’t seem to have any intention of leaving in a hurry either.”
For Earth, such slaughter would be seen as extremely cruel, done so absolutely that it might even be considered inhumane. But here, it was nothing unusual.
Most people only sighed at the strength and thunderous methods of the Spark Tribe. Though they had their private thoughts, at most, they would shorten their stay and restrain their behavior. They would not cut off dealings.
Yang Yi nodded: “Still haven’t received any fish fry?”
“No. Some caravans and tribes tried to bring them, but the journey was too long, and they all died halfway. Things like dried fish, however, are in great abundance.”
“Looks like raising fish still has to rely on ourselves.”
Yang Yi let out a sigh. He had thought the trade fair might solve this difficulty, but it seemed he would still have to think of a way himself.
“Divine Envoy, there’s a tribe that wants to send people over to study with us.”
“Study?”
“Yes. They also want to send the smartest people of their tribe into our tribe’s school.”
When Han Bing said this, even he couldn’t help but laugh, feeling that this tribe was either too bold or a little foolish to dare make such a request.
Which tribe would so easily let this kind of knowledge be spread outside?
Writing had always been the most sacred thing. Tribes like theirs, where the entire tribe was made to learn, were far, far too rare.
When those tribes saw their library, the envy on their faces could not be hidden.
Paper and ink had become some of the most sought-after goods, and many people of the tribes had already realized their importance.
This was also closely tied to the rapid development of the Spark Tribe. The identity of Yang Yi as the Divine Envoy had not been deliberately concealed.
However, the main direction of the message being spread was that Yang Yi had brought the wisdom of God, not that he was all-powerful.
If one wanted development, one had to master this knowledge and not depend on divine charity.
Yang Yi was merely the one who brought this knowledge and gave everyone some simple guidance. He was not all-knowing.
The Spark Tribe’s rapid rise and the creation of so many astonishing things were the best proof of this.
Although there were still those who believed it was a divine gift, who placed less weight on individual contributions, they nevertheless acknowledged that knowledge carried tremendous power.
Yang Yi was taken aback for a moment, then also smiled: “A very studious and intelligent tribe. They know the importance of knowledge.”
“Unfortunately, they are not people of our Spark Tribe.” Han Bing was very proud.
“Tell them that in the future, our tribe will consider having foreign students.”
The spread of culture was also a process of integration. When people shared the same cultural sphere, it was easier to reach a consensus.
Moreover, though Yang Yi felt deep affection for the Spark Tribe, as long as his own situation was secure, he also hoped that elsewhere there would no longer be cases of people starving or freezing to death.
Since he had been sent here by the Great God of Transmigration and granted so many things, he could not just keep his eyes fixed on this one small plot of land before him.
Han Bing thought for a moment, then said: “Divine Envoy, I understand. This way, they will also feel closer to our tribe and be unwilling to turn hostile against us.”
“You’ve reminded me—find some time to let these people attend one of our open classes.”
“Open class?”
Yang Yi explained, “Anyone who’s willing to listen can come. Let’s teach a math class. Didn’t the beastfolk just select another batch of students to attend? They’ve only just begun, so everyone should be able to follow along.”
The arithmetic of these natives was truly too poor. Without the help of people from the Spark Tribe, many tribes would make mistakes during trades, causing a lot of laughable situations and extremely low efficiency.
For example, if one egg could be exchanged for two ground fruits, they could not calculate how many one hundred eggs would fetch. They could only trade one by one. Even a small exchange could take up an entire morning, or even a whole day.
This time, the trade fair was conducted with very high efficiency, greatly reducing the time needed for transactions. By now, the fair was already drawing to a close. If it had been in the past, it would certainly have dragged on for several more days.
“This is an excellent idea! I’ll go arrange it right now!” Han Bing praised. “The beastfolk learn slowly, so the teachers explain in greater detail, which makes it easier for people from other tribes to understand as well.”
When it came to the problem of beastfolk education, Yang Yi felt a bit of a headache.
These beastfolk were loyal and capable, but some of them were just like certain people on Earth—falling asleep the moment they saw words, treating the idea of attending class as if a knife were pressed against their necks.
Among the Eastern Continent people, there were those like this as well, but their aversion to learning was far less severe than that of the beastfolk. At the very least, they would grit their teeth and push through.
As for basic subjects and literacy, they could still barely manage to persist.
For the current stage, being able to learn to that degree was already sufficient.
But the beastfolk who hated studying were different. Even the most captivating animated films could not motivate them.
They didn’t care whether they understood or not. They could still watch with great joy. Whenever a screening was held, it was always them who laughed the loudest and rushed to the very front.
But the moment classes started, all kinds of problems arose. They had somehow mastered, without being taught, the skills of faking illness and skipping class.
Reasoning had been tried, and strict enforcement had been applied, but it still didn’t have much effect.
Sometimes it was simply mutual torment. There were already several teachers who, driven to anger by these study-hating beastfolk, had actually struck them.
