On the great plain in the middle of Anshan, a middle-aged man wearing a bamboo hat was riding a horse in the wilderness. After he climbed up a slightly raised mound, he saw a large camp from a distance. On the surface, it looked similar to
It is no different when indigenous tribes gather on the plains.
But there was a flag planted outside the camp with a simple scale pattern on it.
He picked up the water bag and took a sip of water, then checked the swords and crossbows he carried with him, and then slowly drove his horse forward. When he came to the vicinity of the camp, a group of barbarians immediately rushed out and shouted at him, while carrying
They aimed crossbows and muskets at him, and asked him to identify himself in barbarian language.
The middle-aged man took out an iron plate from the crack in his chest with a scale symbol on it. After seeing it, these people relaxed and got out of the way, cursing.
The middle-aged man got off his horse and led the horse into the camp. This place was no different from the indigenous tribe camps he had seen before. The tents were scattered in a messy manner, and cattle, horses and other livestock were mixed with people. There was dirt everywhere underfoot.
, a few native dogs were stirring something in the soil, and mosquitoes and insects were buzzing and crawling around.
There are about two to three hundred people here, some are indigenous, some are mixed, and some are An people, but it can be seen that they are not from the same place, but everyone is fully armed and looks extremely tough.
He had not gone far when he heard a shout.
"Lao Yu, here."
He followed the sound and saw a short old man saying hello to him by a relatively clean tent. There were four or five rough-skinned young people surrounding him, all looking at him curiously.
The middle-aged man looked at it, led the horse over, and sat down on a wooden post in front of the tent.
The short old man whispered: "Why are you here so late?"
The middle-aged man did not answer the question, but just looked around and said, "Who are they?"
The short old man replied: "Most people are believers in the God of Scales."
The middle-aged man hummed. He was not interested in followers of any god. He just used money to do things. Of course, if the things he did were not to his liking, he would give up the job.
He asked: "Do you know what happened this time?"
The short old man came closer and said, "I heard that this time we are gathering people to attack a garrison town."
The middle-aged man looked at him and said: "There are guns and artillery in the town, and all the men have been trained to fight with the natives in the wilderness all year round. It is impossible to win with these ragtag groups. If this operation is for this matter,
If it’s okay, then I’ll leave right away.”
"Don't be anxious." The short old man looked outside and gave an order. The four or five young men understood and ran to a farther place to keep watch. Then he whispered: "Lao Yu, do you know that the scale of the balance
God is resurrected, and one of his dependent bodies will come here at night and act with us." His face was full of excitement, "That is a god. How can a god lose if he does it himself?"
When the middle-aged man heard that the gods would come, his eyes moved, but he still said calmly: "But what's the point? If Zhutun Town is defeated, the Protectorate will definitely recruit militiamen to conquer, even if the gods can't fight against the gods,
The government and the Shenwei Army."
The short old man shook his head and said: "Then I don't know, but I think gods will never do useless things, right?"
The middle-aged man thought deeply for a moment, and suddenly something occurred to him. His expression became tense. Then he suddenly stood up, took the horse and walked out, saying: "I remembered something and I need to deal with it first. Don't wait for me."
Seeing that he was walking in a hurry, the short old man got up and chased after him for two steps and said, "When will you be back?"
The middle-aged man didn't answer him, and walked all the way out. When he reached the exit of the camp, two natives tried to stop him from questioning him. He knocked down two of them, then got on his saddle, and quickly left the camp, riding away.
Already.
In the southern region of the Protectorate, the Strong Claw tribe is stationed.
The original crude civil buildings had been bulldozed as early as last year. Now there are brick and wood buildings with neat layout and exquisite layout. The roads outside have also been compacted and smoothed. Nowadays, all the tribal people walking on the road are wearing them.
Wearing gorgeous woven clothes.
Although the overly bright clothes seemed to be quite out of place on these thick and dark natives, after all, they were no longer the primitive and barbaric look they had before.
In the largest mansion in the station, the chieftain Ekulu was receiving a woman wearing a mask. He touched his chin and said: "You mean, you can help 'Toloti' quickly regain its strength, and you can also help '
Toluoti' provides a good body to rest on?"
"Yes, chieftain." The woman's voice was very unique, with no ups and downs. No matter what the narration was, there was no hint of emotion in it.
Ekuru asked curiously: "Then why do you do this?"
The woman replied: "Let all things be under the control of gods. This is the order that the world should have. This is what our Restoration Society pursues. I think our interests should be the same."
Ekuru shook his head and said, "But I don't think so, and I don't think what you said is right either."
The woman said: "Chief Ekulu, haven't you noticed that your tribe is losing control?
Your people are yearning for the life in Ruiguang City more and more. They like Dongting's gorgeous clothes, enjoy Dongting's food, and are willing to accept the command of Dongting people. They are beginning to look less and less like pure Jianclaws.
A warrior of the tribe."
She pointed to the steaming tea cup on the table, "Including the things you used to entertain us, these are all Dongting's. Everything in the Tide Claw tribe is disappearing."
She looked at Ekuru again, "Your warriors are losing their faith. Helping the gods of the Hard Claw tribe will help them regain their original faith."
Ekuru met her gaze and said: "My warriors fight hard on the battlefield, so when they have spare time, they have the right to enjoy these, wear gorgeous clothes, and taste delicious food. This is their right.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong here.”
The woman said: "No, Great Chief, when the soldiers find that they can get these things without relying on you, then what is the meaning of your existence, Great Chief?"
They no longer regard you as the embodiment of strength, and they no longer believe in the gods of the tribe. They are still learning the characters and language of Dongting. They may not be able to see it in front of them, but the next generation, and the next generation after that, may insist on
The Claw tribe disappeared because they all became Dongting people."
Ekulu laughed and said: "I admit that what you said makes sense, but there is nothing wrong with the people of the Hardclaw tribe becoming Dongting people." He picked up an apple and gnawed it, "They can kill us."
Treat him as one of his own."
The woman said: "Excuse me, if you ask me, then your people got what they wanted, and what did you get, the chief?"
Ekulu's expression became serious, and he said seriously: "I have gained a lot of things, including truth, righteousness, loyalty, civilization, and etiquette. With these, even if I wear animal skins, I am no longer a barbarian."
The woman looked at him and said, "If you believe in this, your gods will abandon you."
Ekulu said without hesitation: "Then let it leave. It needs us now, not that we need it."
The woman nodded, stood up and said, "I understand what the chieftain means. If the chieftain changes his mind, he can come to us again." She placed an exquisite bronze medal on the case.
"Take your things back," Ekulu also stood up, "I won't need such things anymore, and you can call me by my current Tianxia name, Ai Chengjian!"
The woman didn't take the bronze medal back, she looked at him and walked out directly.
The Kamo priest who had been sitting silently on the side looked worried and said: "Chief Chief, we rejected her. Is this really okay?"
Ekuru said: "Kamo, do you think the present life is better or the past life?"
Kamo carefully replied: "Under the rule of the great chief, I think things were pretty good, but... now it's better than before."
Ekuru walked to the door of the mansion and said: "What did we see in the old Hardclaw tribe? A group of wild beasts that knew nothing except hunting and reproducing all day long, and their minds were filled with blood.
And killing, even I used to do that.
Oh, there may be a god, but besides constantly asking for things from us, what can he bring to us? Regain our faith? Humph, let us become beasts again?"
Kamo said cautiously: "But the gods have protected us after all..."
Ekuru immediately denied: "No, to be precise, we hired it, we sacrificed to it, and it was responsible for protecting us, just like the people in Ruiguang City hired our warriors. Without it,
We can also have something else as a substitute."
He looked at the Kamo sacrifice and said: "Kamo, you should know very well that your power was never given by the gods, but was obtained by praying for all things day after day. What the gods need is for you to
If you dedicate the strength you have worked so hard to gain, although he will give you a little sweetness, it will be far less than your efforts. Do you think this is fair?"
He looked outside and said, "I think the Dongting people have a good saying, we don't need gods, because we ourselves are gods."
Priest Kamo asked: "What about Toloti..."
Ekuru walked out of the gate and looked at the crowds of people walking around under the sun. Everyone's face was full of hope, instead of living in a hazy state like before.
He said: "Now, we don't need it anymore."
After the masked woman left the Hard Claw station, she rode towards the south. Half a day later, she stopped in front of a wooden shed at the foot of the hillside. A wooden pole was inserted in front of the shed door, with a dyed horsetail fluttering in the wind.
The curtain of the shack opened, and an old priest came out and said: "How is it? I have already said that Ekuru will not agree with you. He is no longer the chief of the Hardclaw tribe. He is no longer the chief of the Hardclaw tribe.
He is a foreigner."
The woman said: "Then are you willing to cooperate with us?"
The old priest said: "I have received Troti's oracle, which will tell me to control the people and do what you want."
The woman said: "Your choice is correct."
The old priest said: "The choice of the gods should not be judged by us mortals."
The woman said: "So what are you going to do for Toluoti's sacrifice?"
The old priest was about to speak when suddenly a listening expression appeared on his face, and then he said: "The sooner the better, the great God of Slaughter can't wait to share the feast of the gods."