“Hehehe, as expected of the chieftain of the Steel Spear tribe, truly generous with his offerings,” chuckled the emaciated figure, his face hidden behind a thick black robe. “This is the first time I’ve handled a transaction of this magnitude.”
On this moonless night, two figures stood in the dense jungle outside the Steel Spear tribe’s territory. One of them was none other than the chieftain of the Steel Spear tribe.
The chieftain was dressed similarly to how he had been in his tent earlier, but his expression was one of urgency. He glared intently at the black-robed figure before him, his voice laced with unconcealable anxiety, “So, where are the potions I requested? Hurry and give them to me!”
“Hehehe, Chief, please do not be impatient. I do not have much stock of that much Divine Blood on hand. For the quantity you require, I will need to procure it from my colleagues on the Great Plains,” the black-robed man extended his thin hand, revealing three fingers. “Three days. After three days, the goods you desire will be in your hands.”
“Three days? In three days, those scoundrels might be sitting in my main tent celebrating their victory!” the lion-headed chieftain roared with anger. “Can’t you speed things up?”
The black-robed man chuckled coldly twice more. “I merely said that the transaction with you will be fully completed after three days. However, for now, I can still hand over the remaining Divine Blood I have. With the help of that Divine Blood, Chief, you shouldn’t be defeated within a mere three days, should you?”
“How much of that… Divine Blood do you have left?”
“Not too little, not too much. This much,” the black-robed man extended a few more fingers.
Upon seeing the number the black-robed man indicated, the chieftain’s brow eased. With this much Divine Blood, three days should be manageable.
“Then, what about the other thing you promised…”
“Haha, of course, I haven’t forgotten. Rest assured, tomorrow you will see a force that is absolutely loyal to you appear before you.”
“Good, good, once I defeat the Bone Wing tribe, I will certainly not forget your contribution!” The chieftain’s mood completely relaxed. These black-robed individuals wouldn’t lie to him about such matters.
Without him, their operations on the border of the Great Plains would not be so convenient. For both public and private reasons, these people would not stand by and watch him fall.
With a cheerful disposition, the tall lion-headed figure exited the jungle, leaving the black-robed man standing alone within it.
Shortly after the lion-headed figure departed, several black-clad figures, dressed identically to the black-robed man, silently appeared in the jungle. Upon seeing the black-robed man, they immediately knelt on one knee and respectfully whispered, “Envoy!”
“No need for formalities. Have you completed what I asked you to do?” the black-robed man waved his hand and turned his back.
The black-clad figure kneeling in front immediately nodded. “We have selected the strongest Orcs and sent them to the land of revival. The remaining ones, those who were not fit, have had beliefs implanted in them, turning them into loyal followers of that chieftain.”
Given that the Orcs’ mental resistance was not very strong, the black-clad figures exerted little effort in this task. Since it only needed to last for a few days, no complex methods were required.
Of course, they wouldn’t have any more complex methods either.
“Well done.”
“But Envoy, judging by your demeanor, it seems you do not intend to help that chieftain achieve victory?” the leading black-clad figure asked, looking perplexed. If the black-robed man intended to provide full support to the chieftain, he should have offered more powerful assistance, rather than acting like this, draining the pond to catch the fish.
It seemed as though the black-robed man simply wanted to harvest some leeks and leave, which would yield good immediate returns, but the long-term gains would be incomparable to a steady stream.
The black-clad figure’s confusion did not displease the black-robed man. He was delighted to have subordinates who could think. “You do not need to inquire further about this matter. I can only tell you that the revival of that great adult has reached its most critical juncture. We only need to offer enough sacrifices to that great adult in the shortest possible time. As for what happens afterward, we do not need to concern ourselves with it.”
Once that great adult was resurrected from the flames, the entire Great Plains would submit under His wings. Would they, as servants, receive less benefit?
“That great adult is finally returning!” Upon hearing the black-robed man’s words, the black-clad figures suddenly became excited.
“Yes, yes, so we do not need to concern ourselves with a steady stream of benefits now,” the black-robed man said with a smile. “Oh, right, has the person sent to contact the Bone Wing tribe sent back any news?”
“Yes, but he has not yet met the true leader of the Bone Wing tribe. It appears that the merchandise he presented has not yet managed to impress the leader who just achieved a great victory.”
“Then have him give all the remaining items to that leader. There are bound to be some things in there that people here cannot refuse.”
“Understood!”
…
It was already late at night, but Linglong was still in her brightly lit tent, handling official duties. Even when away on an expedition, some tribal affairs still required her final decision.
This young dragon girl, who had only recently reached adulthood, had been forced by reality to become both proficient in civil and military matters.
After approving the last report, Linglong rubbed her eyes and yawned tiredly. Having just won a great victory, the amount of work demanding her attention had suddenly increased.
Even though she had sped up her processing as much as possible, she had still worked until past midnight to clear all these complicated matters.
With her work finished, she could finally get some proper rest… or could she?
“Divine Maiden!” a slender cat-tribe beast-woman, holding a small bag with both hands, hurried into the tent from outside. “Aren’t you asleep yet?”
Has something problematic happened again? Linglong looked at the cat-girl helplessly. This was her trusted intelligence officer, and she had even granted her permission to enter her room without prior announcement.
This time, she probably saw that her tent was still lit and just entered directly.
“Is there anything important?”
“We’ve found out why the warriors of the Steel Spear tribe are so formidable!” The cat-girl eagerly placed the bag in her hands on Linglong’s desk, explaining the source of the bag’s contents as she did so. “We captured a prisoner earlier, a rather renowned warrior from the Steel Spear tribe. We found this on him.”
A transparent tube containing a golden liquid was inside the bag.
“This is… a potion?” Linglong picked up the transparent tube and gently shook it.
The golden liquid in the tube was somewhat viscous and did not react significantly when Linglong shook it. Compared to clear water, the liquid was more akin to blood.
“I don’t know. According to that prisoner, this potion was distributed to warriors like them before battle. Afterดื่มing the potion, his comrades entered a state of extreme excitement, but he felt something was wrong with the potion and dared not drink it,” the cat-woman replied. The prisoner was a softy and revealed everything he knew without much torture.
Frankly, the cat-woman felt a bit disdainful towards such a person, but since he was an enemy, she should hope for more people like him in the Steel Spear tribe to be a good thing.
“Does this potion only produce effects after being consumed?”
“Yes, we’ve conducted some experiments. Just smelling it produces no effect. Only after consuming it does it produce a more significant effect,” the cat-woman nodded.
Hearing the cat-woman’s words, Linglong removed the wooden stopper from the transparent tube and brought the opening to her nose to sniff.
A strange, sweet, and fishy scent entered her nostrils, causing Linglong to frown. This thing gave her an uneasy feeling.
If she were to drink this, she suspected something bad might happen.
“I’ll keep this for now. If you find anything similar later, send it directly to me.” Linglong put the transparent tube away under the desk, planning to ask Leidiancia sometime later what this thing was.
After all, within the entire Bone Wing tribe, she knew the most. And now, she couldn’t figure out what the golden liquid in the tube was at all, so at this time, she should seek external help.
At this moment, Linglong’s first thought naturally went to that demoness of unfathomable strength.
Besides, Leidiancia had also said that if Linglong had any questions, she could ask her directly. Linglong took Leidiancia’s words as genuine.
“By the way, have the reasons behind the Steel Spear tribe’s kidnapping of people been investigated? Did the chieftain truly lose his sanity?” After discussing the golden liquid, Linglong asked about another matter.
The fact that the Steel Spear tribe had suddenly acted to capture beast-men hunting near the hunting grounds in the evening had spread to all the nearby tribes. Everyone, Linglong included, couldn’t understand why the Steel Spear tribe would do such a thing at this time.
She had considered many possible counter-measures that the Steel Spear tribe might take, but she never expected them to act in such a manner.
This was practically cutting off all tribes on the border of the Great Plains!
There was definitely a conspiracy. Linglong was certain that the chieftain’s actions were problematic, but she couldn’t figure out what his conspiracy was, as there was too little information.
The information Linglong currently possessed was minimal. Their side had won, and the other side had acted to capture the beast-men from the hunting grounds, and that was it!
With so little information, even a legendary grand strategist wouldn’t be able to deduce anything from it.
“It has not been fully investigated. This matter appears to have been personally ordered by the chieftain, and our people could not infiltrate such a top-secret operation.” The cat-woman bit her lip somewhat unwillingly. The spies had been investigating for too short a time to fully gain the chieftain’s trust. “However, after that incident, several tribes have extended an olive branch to us.”
The actions of the Steel Spear tribe had undoubtedly aroused public indignation, and now the Bone Wing tribe had the advantage. How could these neutral factions, who had found an excuse, not seize the opportunity to express their goodwill to the Bone Wing tribe?
Linglong naturally understood the implications. She rubbed her temples somewhat impatiently. “As long as those fellows don’t cause me trouble, you can try to get some provisions from them. As for the armies, we don’t need them.”
Despite her impatience, she still needed to get what she could for free. If they could acquire some provisions from those tribes, it would be a gain no matter how it was looked at.
However, she dared not accept the armies of those tribes. Those armies would not only fail to enhance their combat effectiveness but might also become unstable bombs at certain times. To be safe, Linglong would not involve them in this crucial war.
“Understood!”
“Tomorrow, let everyone rest for a day. The day after tomorrow, the grand army will set off to pursue the victory. We must achieve victory in one decisive battle, and not give the Steel Spear tribe any chance to breathe!” Linglong continued. She planned to visit Leidiancia tomorrow. “Has nothing happened in the tribe?”
Stability in the rear was also very important. Linglong didn’t want anyone to steal from her rear base while she was fighting hard on the front lines.
“There haven’t been any major incidents. However, a traveling merchant came a few days ago. He wished to request an audience with the Divine Maiden, saying he had some merchandise that might interest you. However, his demeanor was strange, and we found him untrustworthy.” The cat-woman took out a small booklet, flipped through a few pages, and mentioned a minor matter.
“That’s a bit interesting… Since he put it that way, I’d like to see what rare items he has.” Linglong’s eyes flashed with interest. Before the cat-woman could say more, she made a decision. “Tell him to wait here tomorrow afternoon. I have to go out in the morning.”
“In the morning? Do you need guards?”
“No need. I’m going to see someone. She might know what that golden liquid is.” Linglong shook her head.
“Yes.” The cat-woman lowered her head and obeyed.
Linglong watched the cat-woman leave the tent, stretched, and yawned again. This time, she was truly exhausted.
It was already this late, there shouldn’t be anyone else bothering her, right?
Thinking this, she motioned to her attendant to blow out the candles in the tent and prepared to go to bed.
In the darkness, the transparent tube she had just put under the desk emitted a flashing golden light, looking exceptionally dazzling. This immediately caught Linglong’s attention.
Picking up the transparent tube again, Linglong stared intently at the liquid in her hand.
The frequency of the liquid’s flashing was low, but whether it was an illusion or not, Linglong seemed to hear a heavy heartbeat.
Thump, thump, thump.
The heartbeat was exactly in sync with the flashing frequency of the liquid. Amidst this illusory heartbeat, Linglong inexplicably felt a jolt of fear, as if some unspeakable existence was staring at her.
“Screech!!!”
A thunderous cry exploded in her ears, and Linglong almost dropped the tube in her hand.
“This thing is definitely problematic!”
