Chapter 2663: Losing face? Won't you cover it?

"Since things have come to this, there's no other way; go rob, go rob the chicken king of other tribes."

"Qi Wu's expression wavered as he gritted his teeth and spoke; upon hearing this, several people present were startled, then they hesitated and spoke."

""Brother Qi Wu, that's not okay,""

""Yeah, we see each other all the time; even if it's a robbery, we could steal something else, but stealing Fire Spirit Chickens—if word gets out, wouldn't our Flame Martial Tribe's reputation be completely ruined?""

""If you're going to rob, rob some treasures; charging into another tribe just to steal chickens—are you turning into beggars?""

""Though these Fire Spirit Chickens are said to be precious, in fact, among the Barbarian God Tribe's various tribes they're no different from domesticated poultry.""

""The reason Qi Wu and the others are so anxious and worked up is entirely because of the upcoming Fire Spirit Chicken gambling match.""

""This is a gambling match held between several neighboring tribes.""

""Each tribe selects its strongest Fire Spirit Chicken; they fight in pairs, and the winner can win the stake.""

""It's not extremely valuable, but it's addictive; indeed, one can win some good things.""

""Most importantly, it's a matter of face; if our tribe's Fire Spirit Chicken wins, we naturally gain prestige.""

""The problem now is that our Flame Martial Tribe's Fire Spirit Chicken has been eaten up in a single meal today.""

""There are no chickens left in the tribe; at that point we could only surrender, which would be even more embarrassing.""

""So, facing the hesitation of several people, Qi Wu gritted his teeth and said fiercely.""

""Face? If we don't find a way to get chickens now, we'll lose even more face.""

""But stealing chickens… looking through the entire history of the Barbarian God Tribe, it seems no tribe has ever done such a thing.""

""If our Flame Martial Tribe really did this, it would truly break historical precedent—who knows what consequences might follow.""

""After all, if you're going to rob, you should take something worthwhile; stealing a few Fire Spirit Chickens would sound bad if it got out.""

""But Qi Wu now seems truly driven to desperation; facing the crowd's hesitation and worry, he gritted his teeth without being swayed.""

""Afraid of losing face? Then cover your faces—later, no one will know it was us.""

""Huh???""

""Hearing this, the several people present were first startled, then they all gave thumbs up.""

""Brother Qi Wu, this plan is great.""

""Exactly, why didn't we think of that? Covering our faces, no one will know it was us who did it.""

""Exactly, exactly.""

""Let's do it, Brother Qi Wu.""

""Brother Qi Wu, you say who to rob, and we'll move tomorrow.""

""Upon hearing this, everyone felt Brother Qi Wu was like the literary star descending to earth—truly extraordinarily wise.""

""One by one they raised their thumbs, praising him repeatedly.""

""Facing the crowd's praise, Qi Wu wore a self-satisfied smile, thinking to himself that only he could have come up with such a brilliant plan.""

""Having a plan, the atmosphere instantly relaxed considerably.""

""The people, who had expended much energy, soon took out drinks and began drinking on their own.""

""And they planned to act tomorrow.""

""As for the target, it is the Scale Stone Tribe nearest to our Flame Martial Tribe.""

""The two tribes are not far apart; most importantly, the Scale Stone Tribe's strength is inferior to that of the Flame Martial Tribe—isn't that the perfect target?""

""If we steal their chicken king, the matter will be satisfactorily resolved.""

""By the way, we could also steal a batch of Fire Spirit Chickens and have a hearty meal.""

""Thinking of the Fire Spirit Chicken Ye Zhangqing made, Qi Wu and the others couldn't help drooling—it's delicious.""

""This is the proper way to enjoy Fire Spirit Chicken; those we ate before were just junk.""

""The more they talked, the more excited they got; in the end, Qi Wu and company simply set out overnight.""

""This matter is better done early than delayed.""

""But when the next morning came, the Elder Clan Chief learned that Qi Wu had led people out overnight, and he wondered aloud.""

""What scheme did this dumb kid come up with in just one night, so quickly?""

""The Elder Clan Chief felt strange; as the saying goes, 'no one knows a son better than his father'—how could he not know how many pounds of brains his own dim-witted son has?""

""For such a thorny problem, even he as father couldn't come up with a good idea in a moment—how could this dim-witted son have a solution?""

""It really is strange; this kid doesn't seem that clever.""

""Moreover, even when asking his daughter-in-law, she said she didn't know; Qi Wu told her nothing and directly took people away.""

""Even his own daughter-in-law didn't know—what is this kid up to?""

""Just as the Elder Clan Chief was puzzled, meanwhile Qi Wu had already brought the elite of the Flame Martial Tribe to the Scale Stone Tribe.""

""The relationship between these two major tribes isn't particularly good, but it's not too bad either.""

""Occasional friction occurs, but there's no deadly enmity.""

""Moreover, being not far apart, they have considerable interaction, so they also understand each other.""

""At that moment outside the Scale Stone Tribe, Qi Wu led the people, not acting rashly but briefly observing for a moment, then using the prepared Flame Martial masks to cover their faces.""

""Wear the masks.""

""Qi Wu whispered this; hearing it, the others each took out their Flame Martial masks and put them on their faces.""

""Only one young man was about to put one on, but he suddenly seemed to realize something and stopped his hand.""

""Seeing him stand there stunned, Qi Wu felt a bit dissatisfied and said.""

""What are you doing, kid? Still not wearing the mask? You can't let the Scale Stone Tribe know our identities, understand?""

""Hearing that, the young man replied with a strange expression.""

""Uncle, I understand what you're saying, but the problem is that this Flame Martial mask is our tribe's symbol; wearing it or not seems to make no difference.""

Huh???

Upon hearing that, not only Qi Wu, but also the other tribespeople wearing the masks were stunned.

It seems that's the reasoning.

The Flame Martial mask is the symbol of their tribe; its main purpose is to intimidate when worn, and it's only needed for some festivals and rituals.

Although wearing it covers the face, one's identity doesn't seem to be hidden.

At most it just makes the Scale Stone Tribe unable to tell exactly who is who, but they can still tell at a glance that they're from the Flame Martial Tribe.

So………………… wearing this mask seems utterly useless.

One sentence left everyone who was ready to act dumbfounded, and the leader Qi Wu stood there stunned.

His face alternated between pale and red, and his old face couldn't help but flush as he spoke.

「You know it, look at what you can get—I already thought of it; how could we bring the Flame Martial mask on this operation? 」

Huh???

Upon hearing that, the young man's expression turned strange, but he didn't refute.

Immediately, Qi Wu had everyone take off the Flame Martial mask.

……………………………

At this time it was still morning; the Scale Stone Tribe was as usual, each household either eating breakfast or busy with other matters.

The tribe appeared peaceful and tranquil, but amidst that calm, suddenly a sound of fighting came from the outskirts.

「Enemy attack, enemy attack. 」

「Come quickly for reinforcements, someone is launching a sneak attack. 」

Not long after, members of the Scale Stone Tribe shouted loudly, "It's early morning, and we've been attacked!"

In an instant, the whole tribe fell into chaos.