I Became The Chief Of A Primitive Village

Chapter 1031, Suppression at Equal Rank

Translator: Silavin

Ye Tu pressed forward with his comrades, his curiosity barely contained, his eyes moving constantly as they advanced. Although they had entered the Flame Dragon Tribe’s territorial boundaries, no one could bring themselves to relax.

The memory of those fallen Warriors remained vivid and present. None of them dared to let their guard slip.

“Are we truly already inside the Flame Dragon Tribe?” Huang Ji asked, his voice tentative.

His gaze kept drifting back to the stone wall, struck by the sheer scale of it. He had initially assumed such a wall would span only a short stretch, yet they had been walking for a considerable while and still could not see where it ended.

The Wild Fox Tribe had approached from the side of the Flame Dragon Tribe, and so they had entered directly at the midpoint of the wall. The Flame Dragon Tribe’s wall extended outward from both flanks of the main settlement, with the great river running behind the Tribe, and the primitive forest stretching across the left, right, and front.

The Wild Fox Tribe sat to the Flame Dragon Tribe’s left, so their direction of travel had naturally brought them straight to this section of the wall.

Ye Tu had simply led everyone over it. At its current height, it posed no challenge to Totem Warriors. He surveyed the surroundings with sharpened wariness before responding: “This should be the Flame Dragon Tribe. I haven’t yet heard of any other Tribe capable of bonding stones together.”

“That’s right, I remember now. There were rumours before that the Flame Dragon Tribe’s buildings were made like this.”

Huang Ji’s eyes moved quickly as he added. “The rumour said their structures were stones bonded to stones. Amazing to the extreme.”

He had still not fully recovered from the sheer impact of the wall, which was why he kept glancing back at it with every few steps. It took several firm nudges from his fellow Warriors to bring him back to attention, after which he quickly resumed a state of alertness.

“Who are you? Why have you intruded into our Tribe?” Shu Feng beat his broad wings and held his position in the air.

He had noticed this group long before they arrived. His intention had been to stay concealed unless they actually climbed over the wall.

Ye Tu looked up at Shu Feng hovering in the sky, taking note of the strange weapon in his hands.

Without hesitation, he signalled his Warriors to hold position and raised a hand in greeting. “We have come to the Flame Dragon Tribe to trade. We have absolutely no hostile intentions.”

Ye Tu could not identify what the weapon was, but the way Shu Feng held it in both hands told him it was not something to be underestimated. He adopted a mindset that the unknown was dangerous, and moved swiftly to have his comrades offer a show of goodwill first.

“Why come to our Flame Dragon Tribe during the rainy season? I have never seen you before. Which Tribe are you from?”

Shu Feng’s grip on his recurve bow remained firm. He was confident that if any hostile intent flickered across their expressions, he could put an arrow through the nearest one’s skull before they could act. This was the product of his daily training, where accuracy drills had become a mandatory part of every Warrior’s routine.

Behind Shu Feng, Warrior Trainees and those who had not yet become Warriors stood with their own recurve bows in hand.

Those of the Flame Dragon Tribe who possessed wings were few, and fewer still among them had awakened as Totem Warriors or Warrior Trainees. So, Su Bai had arranged for those with wings who had not yet reached Warrior rank to train alongside the others daily, so that they too might contribute to the Tribe.

“We are from the Wild Fox Tribe. This is our first time visiting the Flame Dragon Tribe. We are not familiar with your customs, so please tell us if we have committed any offence.” Ye Tu drew on his accumulated experience and spoke steadily, continuing to signal his group to remain still.

He had seen how sharp Shu Feng’s weapon was. A reckless move might cost him more Warriors. Moreover, Shu Feng was positioned in the air while they stood on the ground. Tactically, a battle here was disadvantageous to them.

And they were at the border of the Flame Dragon Tribe itself. Any reckless act here would guarantee an ugly death.

“Wild Fox Tribe? Aren’t you quite far from here? Why make such a long journey specifically for this Tribe? If I recall correctly, you have always traded with the Spotted Deer Tribe, haven’t you?”

Shu Feng had long since compiled intelligence on the surrounding Tribes and had reported all of it back.

“We heard that the Flame Dragon Tribe possesses many extraordinary things, so we made the journey alongside our Warriors specifically to see for ourselves and to trade for some goods.”

Ye Tu dared not conceal anything, fearing that the slightest evasiveness would arouse suspicion and provoke action.

“Walk straight ahead, submit to inspection at the Tribe’s entrance, and surrender your weapons for holding. If you agree to these terms, proceed forward. If not, you may leave right now.” Shu Feng’s tone was sharp and direct. He wore a raincoat and was entirely untouched by the rain, whereas the Wild Fox Tribe’s people looked like drowned rats.

“Understood. We agree.” Ye Tu did not deliberate for long. He simply accepted.

*Step step step…*

Ye Tu led his Warriors forward, every movement measured and cautious. There was no other reason for it. They feared provoking Shu Feng and the others. They had not come all this way to die on the doorstep of the Flame Dragon Tribe.

“Leader, must we truly surrender our weapons? Could this be a trap?” Huang Ji asked quietly.

He did not even dare to raise his head, keeping his gaze low and his pace swift, afraid that meeting anyone’s eyes might count as a provocation.

For reasons he could not quite explain, Huang Ji felt that Shu Feng and the others radiated a natural sense of dominance that weighed upon him.

Although both sides were Early-Stage Totem Warriors, the other party possessed an innate pressure that simply existed.

“What choice do we have? This is their territory. However unwilling we are, we have no other alternative unless you want to go back home without nothing to show for it?” Ye Tu replied.

Did he want to surrender his weapons? Of course not. But what could he do? They had already come this far.

And this journey had already cost so many Totem Warriors. Whether they liked it or not, they had to comply.

“Leader, I’m worried the Flame Dragon Tribe might be deliberately luring us in.” Huang Ji lowered his voice further.

“That doesn’t make sense. If it were a trap, they wouldn’t need to let us inside. They could simply capture us out here. You saw that strange weapon yourself. It’s clearly formidable.”

Ye Tu still held a deep wariness of that bow. “Besides, he said we could leave if we refused. He made absolutely no attempt to force us. We’ve paid such a heavy price to get here ;  however it goes, we have to at least go in and see.”

“Fair enough. We’ll go inside first and see. If it comes to it, we head straight to the Spotted Deer Tribe.” Huang Ji gave a small nod.

“Fool. Watch what you say. Don’t let them hear you, or we’ll die very badly.” Ye Tu cautioned him sharply.

“Understood.” Huang Ji instinctively covered his mouth.