The Primitive Tribe is about to rise (10): The Great Tribe in the North

This event, called a trade fair, was actually more of a showcase and presentation. The process went on for quite a while, all the way until the sun was nearly setting. Only then did the tribesman, his voice hoarse, take a sip of water and finish explaining each and every treasure from their tribe.

By this time, almost everyone in the entire marketplace had gathered around. They stared without blinking, not even stopping to eat lunch. The sound of growling stomachs echoed from the crowd now and then, but no one was willing to leave.

The tribesman smiled and said, “Now we’ll begin trading. If there’s anything you’d like to buy…”

Before he could finish speaking, the crowd erupted with a roar like a tidal wave: “I want that bow! And lots of arrows! I have salt, I want to buy!” 

“Give me chili peppers! These things make you sweat even in winter—I must have them!” 

“Give me sugar, I want to taste what sugar is like, hurry and give me sugar!”

 “Ahhh, don’t fight me for it, I was here first! I want the dagger, hurry, give me the dagger!” 

“…”

There were six beastmen from the tribe handling the trading, but even with all six stepping up, they couldn’t keep up with the demand. The beastman warriors watched closely, eyes locked on the swarming crowd, afraid someone might try to steal or cause trouble. They held their knives as a warning to anyone with bad intentions.

Meanwhile, the older beastmen who had been cooking for the tribe in the back saw what was happening. Without a word, they rolled up their sleeves and rushed over to join the sales. They were the oldest, but also the sharpest. Before coming, they had specially studied arithmetic with Si Qi for quite a while. Not only could they count to one hundred, they had even learned addition and subtraction. They said proudly: “One arrow for two fingertip-sized pieces of salt. Seven arrows makes fourteen pieces.”

“You gave fifteen—our tribe values honesty the most. We won’t overcharge you. Take this piece of salt back.”

“One bow, ten arrows, two ceramic bowls, one wool blanket—that totals twenty-three pieces of salt.”

“I’m fast at calculating? Not really. The amazing one is Si Qi from our tribe—he can even count all the stars in the sky! He’s our teacher, and we admire him so much!”

Some of the beastmen chatted while trading, slipping in comments like:

“Oh, more meat again? We have so much meat in our tribe we can’t finish it—we’re sick of seeing it!”

“It’s not just because our weapons are good that hunting is easy. We also raise dozens of wild boars waiting to be eaten! Freshly slaughtered is the best. Even in winter, we can still eat the tastiest meat in our tribe!”

“Jealous? It’s actually not that big of a deal. If you’re willing to join our tribe, you could live like this too!”

“Everyone in our tribe is really nice. Once you join, you’re family! And we don’t keep things to ourselves. If you want to learn, you can! Whether it’s animal husbandry, farming, or making pottery—no problem at all!”

 “Really, really! We would never lie! I swear on the Beast God, everything I said is true!”

That last line was more convincing than a thousand firm promises.

A group of beastmen and sub-beastmen were moved to the core, practically dying to blurt out on the spot, “I want to join you!!”

The idea of joining the tribe took root like a tiny seed buried in their hearts, sprouting and growing. These people, who had never even considered switching tribes before, could no longer forget about it.

A swarm of people charged in, sweeping through everything. The large stall, once piled high like little mountains with goods, was emptied in the blink of an eye. The beastmen stuck at the back, unable to push their way through, were so anxious they jumped up and down in frustration, shouting as they cursed themselves for not being able to fly.

By the time they finally managed to push past the beaming beastmen carrying armfuls of goods, and reached the stall, there were only a few scattered items left. They were so angry they could’ve fought those who had already left—how could they not have left anything behind for others?! So selfish!

Without a word, they pulled out handfuls of salt chunks and said to the sub-beastman behind the stall, “Quick, quick, give me those arrows—no more bows? Even without a bow, I still want them! Those arrowheads are sharp! I can tell they’re made from the same stuff as that dagger!”

This sharp beastman used salt blocks to snatch up the last batch of arrows and sugar, but still left with a look of regret, clearly unsatisfied. Before leaving, he asked, “Are you bringing more stuff to trade tomorrow? If so, I’ll come back!”

“No? Alright then… Tell me how to get to your tribe. Once this winter is over, I’ll definitely come visit!”

Only a few dozen tribe members were left behind, having exchanged everything except the straw mats on the ground—not a single strand of fur remained unsold. They looked at each other for several seconds before all throwing their heads back and bursting into laughter.

“Hahahahaha! That felt amazing!!!”

After laughing to their hearts’ content, they started packing up the straw mats. Just then, someone from another tribe came over and asked, “Will you come again next time the market opens?”

Someone nearby overheard and responded instinctively, “Yeah! Your tribe is so strong and big now—why don’t you just open a market next to your own tribe? That way you don’t have to travel so far, and we could trade for even more things from you.”

The tribe members froze for a moment. They really hadn’t expected that, in just half a year, they had gone from being seen as an ordinary, unremarkable little tribe to one that everyone admired and envied.

Each tribe usually only attended one gathering per year, and it was typically held near a large tribe.

First, because big tribes had more and better things to trade, everyone was happy to go there.

Second, smaller tribes only had so much to trade in a year—after attending one market, they usually didn’t have anything left for a second.

Who would have thought that, without even realizing it, they had reached a point where they could host a market right outside their own homes?

And judging by the excited looks on the surrounding beastmen’s faces when they heard the suggestion, it seemed like everyone was really looking forward to it.

This made the tribe members, who were used to thinking of themselves as people from a small tribe, feel a little self-conscious but also slightly proud. They forced themselves to hold back their laughter and, almost instinctively, imitated the demeanor of the person they admired most—the powerful beastman, Si Qi. In perfect unison, they revealed a composed and relaxed smile, and said slowly and calmly, “I will return and consult with our chief about this matter.”

“Wow, he actually said ‘consult’!”

“I’ve never heard such a refined word before!”

“I think I heard our chief say it once!”

“As expected of someone from a big tribe!”

The tribe members blushed slightly, thinking to themselves that they had actually learned that word from Si Qi.

That handsome and intelligent beastman always spoke with words that were both elegant and precise. The beastmen around him loved nothing more than imitating him and learning by staying close to him. Because of that, whether it was clothing, food, housing, or even speech, traces of Si Qi could be seen throughout the entire tribe.

And sure enough, with just a small display, they had completely impressed the surrounding beastmen.

Trying not to laugh, they maintained polite expressions while repeatedly describing their tribe’s location, its beauty, and their tribe’s intention to invite more beastmen and sub-beastmen to join them.

Many faces showed hopeful anticipation. It wasn’t hard to imagine that once these visitors returned to their own tribes and spread the word, when spring came and all life began to revive, countless beastmen and sub-beastmen would come seeking out their tribe…

Just then, a large, heavily built beastman with a very gentle presence walked over. His voice and tone were incredibly soft as he asked, “Are you the ones from the Lion Tribe?”

This beastman had already noticed the commotion here earlier and had been quietly observing them from a distance. He only approached once the members of the Lion Tribe finally had some breathing room.

One of the sub-beastmen from the tribe looked up with effort, eyes fixed on the towering figure before him—at least three times his size. The silent pressure made him tense up instinctively. “W-what is it?”

The lion tribe warrior next to him, who had more battle experience, only lazily lifted his eyelids, completely unfazed—they could sense the gentleness in this stranger’s demeanor, and more importantly, they could tell from instinct that this was a herbivorous beastman. There wasn’t the slightest trace of blood on him.

Besides, lions were proud and fearless, never intimidated by any race—unless, perhaps, the opponent was something like an elephant that could snap a tree trunk with its trunk…

They didn’t even have time to fully recall what that massive creature looked like when the large man across from them gave a simple, good-natured smile and said, “I’m a beastman from the Elephant Tribe. I—”

Several big cats suddenly jumped in shock, visibly startled. The elephant tribe beastman had to pause mid-sentence, blinking his large, dark, harmless eyes in confusion, innocent and kind.

“What’s wrong?” he asked with a smile.

The big cats arched their backs, fur bristling, speechless. Finally, one of the older beastmen, who had seen much over the years, stepped forward and asked, “Is there something you need?”

The elephant tribe beastman looked at the small, stooped elder before him. Out of habit, he bent down and half-knelt to speak respectfully, his tone kind: “I’ve come following the guidance of our grand shaman, looking for you.”

The old beastman asked in confusion, “Your grand shaman?”

Elephant Tribe Beastman: “Our grand shaman received guidance from the Beast God, foreseeing an approaching danger and a path of hope pointing eastward.”

The old beastman pointed at his group and asked, “Do you think this hope in the east refers to us?”

The nearby Lion Tribe beastmen, suppressing their inner wariness, leaned in and said, “Your grand shaman also foresaw danger? So did we!”

The elephant beastman smiled honestly and said, “The grand shaman sent me to evaluate your tribe, to see if you’re qualified for us to join you. If you’re just a small tribe that we’d have to protect in times of danger, then we might as well bring you to live in our tribe instead.”

The speaker was straightforward, and the listeners were just as simple-minded. With curious and obedient faces, they asked, “So what’s the result of the evaluation? Are we okay?”

Only one of them, a prideful beastman, huffed and mumbled, “Our tribe is amazing—we should be the ones evaluating you!”

But none of the others paid him any mind, which made him a bit annoyed. He raised his voice and said, “We have endless food and more pottery than we could ever use! We’re the best tribe!”

That finally got a reaction from the others nearby. They all nodded in agreement, faces full of certainty.

Seeing this, the elephant tribe beastman chuckled and said, “I see that your tribe is quite capable. Even though many of the things you have aren’t useful to our tribe, the fact that you know how to farm means you’re definitely a good tribe.”

“Hmph!” the prideful beastman snorted again, but before he could continue bragging, the others eagerly spilled the details: “We just learned this during the warm season!”

“Si Qi taught us!”

“He can do everything!!”

“Si Qi?” the elephant tribe beastman recalled hearing that name. When the grand shaman had repeated the prophecy from the Beast God, it seemed like the Beast God was subtly hinting at a powerful individual. Even though the name wasn’t explicitly mentioned, the implications were clear: this person was one-of-a-kind, a once-in-a-lifetime figure, and just meeting him was considered a blessing for any beastman.

Someone so highly praised and revered by the Beast God must be truly extraordinary.

The elephant tribe beastman couldn’t help showing an expression of admiration and longing. He said to the Lion Tribe, “May I meet this Lord Si Qi? The grand shaman instructed me that evaluating the size and strength of the tribe is also part of the mission.”

“Of course!” The Lion Tribe beastmen responded excitedly. “Our tribe is super amazing! We have huge houses that block the wind and the rain can’t get in either! All the lions love them!”

With limited vocabulary, the beastmen did their best to praise their tribe, pulling out every good word they could think of. Even then, they felt it wasn’t enough.

In the end, they proudly concluded, “You’ll understand once you see it!”

The elephant tribe beastman nodded. “Then I’ll return with you when the time comes.”

“No problem!” The Lion Tribe beastmen quickly packed their mountain of salt blocks into crates, hoisted them onto their backs, and headed off together to rest at the camp they had prepared the night before.

Turning to the elephant tribe beastman, he asked, “Where are your tribe members?”

Elephant tribe beastman: “They went to other markets to look for you, and also to investigate the source of the crisis.”

The lion tribe members naturally said, “The source is in the north!”

“Our grand shaman saw it!”

“Si Qi also said we will definitely overcome this crisis!”

“Yes, yes!” All the beastmen nodded in agreement, completely forgetting that Si Qi had only smiled.

“The north…” the elephant tribe beastman murmured to himself, quickly recalling a massive northern tribe made up of many different races.

At the same time, in the northern tribe.

The annual late autumn market was being held. During the day, leaders from the large northern tribe had been observing and identifying which small tribes had the richest resources and were the easiest targets for invasion. Now, they were discussing it around a flickering fire.

“That southern tribe is full of deer beastmen. Although there’s not much decent food to take, they have a lot of sub-beastmen.”

“That’s probably because most of their beastmen were killed by wild beasts nearby. Weak tribes are like that. It’d be better for them to join our tribe early and give birth to more cubs, so they can live a life without worry.”

“Add that tribe in. After the market ends, follow them and find their exact location. Then bring all their sub-beastmen back.” The chief made the decision. “Next?”

“The turtle tribe in the west. They have abundant aquatic resources and know how to produce salt…”

“Turtles are easy to kill. Even if they transform into beast form and hide, one fire will burn them all to death,” one beastman said loudly, visibly excited. “Let me lead the team this time!”

“Enough. We can’t kill too many this time. If we end up killing the only one who knows how to make salt like last time, it’ll all be for nothing.”

“Last time it was because that guy was stubborn and fought me to protect his mate. I accidentally—”

“Alright, stop with the nonsense.” The chief impatiently glanced at him. The bloodthirsty beastman froze at once, shivering and not daring to argue further.

“The turtle tribe is in too. Who else?”

“The elephant tribe in the east…” someone said with a frown, “Only two of them came this time. They didn’t bring anything and have just been wandering around the market. Looks suspicious.”

Because they themselves had also been wandering the market all day, scouting the smaller tribes’ situations and strength, they immediately recognized “their own kind.”

A few leaders nearby said in confusion, “The elephant tribe? Aren’t they usually peaceful? Why are they thinking about invading too?” And coming to their market to gather information—were they trying to snatch food from a tiger’s mouth?

“Don’t they only eat grass? That huge prairie should be more than enough for them to live on, right? Even if they seize land from other tribes, it’s useless to them, isn’t it?”

“Strange…”

A group of chieftains were completely puzzled. The tribe leader frowned and asked, “Besides investigating, did they say or do anything?”

The chieftain who first mentioned the elephant tribe replied, “They seemed to linger around the stalls of some relatively strong tribes, asking where they came from. They also asked about their grand shamans, and whether they had received guidance from the Beast God…”

The expressions of the surrounding chieftains grew even more confused, but the tribe leader suddenly raised his head sharply, his gaze like lightning: “Keep a close eye on those two elephant tribe members. Report to me immediately if anything unusual happens!”

“Uh… okay.” That chieftain nodded, agreeing with a blank look. The tribe leader, irritated by his underling’s stupidity, reminded him, “He kept asking about grand shamans and guidance — maybe he foresaw something!”

The reason they began expanding and invading this autumn was precisely because their grand shaman foresaw the right timing and a prosperous future.

If their grand shaman could foresee such things, then other shamans might have too!

But maybe what those other shamans saw was the opposite — not prosperity, but decline. Wouldn’t that drive them to act quickly?

The slow-witted chieftain finally understood and nodded. “Got it. I’ll keep an eye on them.”

Then another chieftain suddenly said, “Today a rabbit sub-beastman came to me.”

Everyone turned to look at him, and he said, “He claimed that the tribe he came from has already started planting crops and raising livestock. They even know how to make pottery and have very powerful weapons.”

The expressions of the others instantly turned grim. The chieftain continued, “Worse still, the main members of this tribe are all lions. Fierce and strong lions!”

Everyone’s faces became even more unpleasant as the beastman described in a dark tone: “They’re only about thirty days’ journey from us. If they’re allowed to grow stronger…”

Instinctively, everyone bared their fangs, growling threateningly from their throats.

The tribe leader said coldly, “Find out exactly where that rabbit sub-beastman’s tribe is! We must wipe them out before they grow strong and become alert — this winter!”

When those lions are hiding inside their homes, peacefully waiting for the cold to pass, we’ll storm in and catch them off guard! Bury them forever in this eternal winter…

Upon hearing this, that chieftain chuckled, his tone tinged with disbelief.

“We already have the location — after bragging about how amazing his tribe was, that rabbit told me the exact coordinates without me even needing to ask… Truly stupid.”

A few nearby chieftains breathed a sigh of relief and laughed heartily, mocking how foolish the rabbit was, completely unaware that his words would bring such a terrifying catastrophe to his former tribe.

Only the shrewd tribe leader, upon hearing “lion” and “rabbit,” suddenly recalled a certain lion-rabbit pair he had seen not long ago.

A strong but dopey lion, and a small but clever rabbit — they had left a strong impression on him.

He remembered that the rabbit had been dressed well, and everything he said and did had come off as experienced and sophisticated — not at all like a naive sub-beastman from a small tribe, but more like an elder who had lived in a large tribe for many years.

Because he’d been impressed by the rabbit, he had generously allowed the lion to join a hunting party that not just anyone could join… and later observations showed that the lion performed very well, while the rabbit integrated smoothly into the tribe and lived a vibrant life.

Would such a rabbit really be stupid enough to accidentally leak critical secrets and bring doom to his tribe?

The tribe leader furrowed his brows deeply.

After weighing everything carefully, he said in a serious tone, “Send scouts to observe the lion tribe. If it’s truly as that rabbit described — a tribe on the brink of major development…”

“Then we must send a force twice — no, four times — larger than our usual war parties!” His face was grave, and his voice harsh: “Make sure every single one of them is slaughtered in their tribe! Leave no survivors!!”