Chapter 117: It's time to trim the trees

If one were to say that Ge Wa Fa's death cast a shadow over the Tanite Tribe.

Then when Ma Sai La died the same way, killed in his own tent in broad daylight, and the patrolling guards found no trace of the killer.

Not only did the elders feel threatened, but the entire tribe was wildly spreading an uneasy panic.

A man-eating wolf hid within the tribe, yet no one could find where it was.

Especially in the following days, deaths continued in the tribe; despite mobilizing all its strength, they found nothing—not even a clue about the killer.

This left the entire Tanite Tribe in a state of panic, temporarily halting even their hunting expeditions, as all efforts went into defense and vigilance.

As for Luo De, who had long cleared his own suspicion, he now appeared again in the classroom prepared for him by Ba Bie Er, welcoming a new batch of students.

Hunter Eagle.

The Death Warriors cultivated by the Tanite Tribe are also the tribe's hidden trump card, true elite fighters.

Originally, Ba Bie Er wanted to bring the Hunter Eagles under her control, but that would have been troublesome, given that Ma Sai La and she were not on good terms.

But now, Ma Sai La, the 'father' of the Hunter Eagles, is dead.

Plus, Ge Wa Fa is dead too.

The Te Ya Camp's elders dropped from six to four in an instant, and since the two slain elders were the tribe's real power holders and military mainstays, the Te Ya Camp lost its advantage before the Ba Bie Er Camp, which still had three elders.

Amid their mutual infighting.

In the end, Ba Bie Er successfully seized command of the Hunter Eagles.

This saved her the trouble of negotiating with Ma Sai La; she simply sent over the immature Hunter Eagles that Luo De wanted, as he had requested.

And this was also the first time Luo De did not drive anyone away from his class.

"Hunter Eagles that have undergone the coming-of-age ritual are already done for; they've completely become the shape of the Tanite Tribe."

"But these children are far purer in thought than the natives of the Tanite Tribe."

Looking at these youngsters covered in wounds despite their tender age, Luo De sighed inwardly.

The Tanite Tribe's taming of Hunter Eagles is extremely brutal.

Put simply.

It is a Gu-rearing style.

It involves ruthless, life-or-death training, constant internal attrition, and at the coming-of-age ceremony one must personally kill all one's friends, achieving a mind filled only with slaughter and the tribe, devoid of any feeling.

"Hunter Eagles belong to hunters, not to the earth; once bound by earthly ties, their eyes and claws grow dull—how could I expect them to hunt for me?"

These were Ma Sai La's words when he tamed Hunter Eagles.

So Luo De simply gave up on the adult Hunter Eagles and chose to observe those still in training.

"Such a large tribe, yet so few children can guard the purity of their hearts."

Nadixa's voice sounded sorrowful, tinged with an undisguisable fatigue.

These past two days she hasn't been idle, using dreams to thoroughly observe everyone in the Tanite Tribe from top to bottom.

A huge tribe numbering several thousand.

Besides, this isn't Xu Mi Cheng; the Void Terminal's signal is unstable here, so what could easily be done now leaves one utterly exhausted.

According to Nadixa's summary.

Luo De also divided the Tanite Tribe into three types of people.

Those who must not be killed, those who must be killed, and those who may be killed.

Those who must not be killed are basically the children.

Those who must be killed include all the elders, warriors, and a considerable portion of the lower-district residents.

As for those who may be killed,

this actually means they can also be spared.

These are mainly concentrated among the children Luo De drove away.

Actually, according to Luo De's thinking, they are beyond saving and should be killed to eliminate future trouble, but Nadixa's intention is to keep them, educate them well whether they do hard labor or anything else, perhaps giving them a chance to turn back.

In other words,

Nadixa has always held a sliver of hope for the children; even if they are confirmed utterly black, she hopes to wring out a thread of white from that total darkness.

Regarding that,

Luo De didn't argue with her; he simply followed his plan, continuing to stir up conflict in the Tanite Tribe while removing those likely to cause him trouble.

For example, the Tanite Tribe's First Warrior, A Sa Li Ge.

This guy is the hardest to kill in Luo De's assassination plan.

However, the difficulty isn't that A Sa Li Ge can block Luo De's sneak attack; it's simply that his vitality is extraordinarily tenacious and he's good at playing dead, which almost fooled Luo De.

Had Nadixa not reminded him that this guy still had consciousness, he would truly have let him slip through.

After today's class.

Looking at the young eagles whose faces now showed a bit more sunshine befitting their age, Luo De nodded slightly.

Good.

Good that they're still young; even with blood on both hands, they retain a semblance of humanity.

Counting the time.

Luo De has been in the Tanite Tribe for half a month, and he has spent half a month with those children whom he and Nadixa jointly believe still have a future.

"Progress is much faster than expected."

Recalling the words spoken by the young eagle Ta De La after class today, Luo De returned to his tent, looked at the food Ba Bie Er had sent, didn't touch it, and a faint sneer curled the corner of his mouth.

Using it up and then throwing it away—truly fits her character.

These foods are exactly the ingredients from the poison formula Luo De wrote down.

Quite obvious.

Babier completely didn't believe Luo De; this was just using him to test medicine.

If Luo De were merely an ordinary scholar.

Then, regardless of whether he recognized these deadly things or not, he would surely die.

"The sandstorm is coming soon."

He muttered a sentence, Luo De used the Void Terminal to send a message to Dixiya, then took out the Reason-Convincer that had never been used since it was forged, and began to wipe it clean quietly.

He had been provoking for so long.

Those who might have brought trouble to himself have all been dealt with.

Now the timing is ripe; only the final step remains.

While Luo De waited patiently, time trickled by.

The sky grew ever darker.

Outside, the wind's howl grew ever fiercer, and shouts and curses filled every corner of the Tanite Tribe.

Soon.

Amidst several cries of 'The sandstorm is coming!', the guards tasked with watching and guarding Luo De violently flung open the curtain and hid inside Luo De's tent.

The super-large sandstorm that Dixiya had predicted arrived right on schedule.

The guards watching Luo De wouldn't foolishly stand outside waiting to eat sand; these few confidants of Babier clearly knew Babier was preparing to eliminate Luo De, so they no longer treated Luo De as a person as before, and rushed in spewing vulgarities.

But what surprised them greatly was.

Luo De, who had always been as timid as a little lamb, this time not only did not show his former meek expression, but instead lifted a heavy iron rod as tall as his shoulders, smiling as he stared at them.

"You—"

Before his words fell, several muffled 'pup-pup-pup' sounds rang out, blood spattered, and the tent fell silent again.

After killing these few people.

Luo De took out the Void Terminal and Dixiya's leaf, ignoring Dixiya's shouts for him, placed them both by the bed, then picked up the Reason-Convincer and walked out, facing the arriving yellow sand, as if beneath a blood-red sky, he softly said: "The time has come, it's time to tend the tree."

(End of chapter)