Chapter 1021: Auspicious First, Ominous Later

Xiong has already delivered all the Weapon that should have been given to the Xuanyuan Tribe, but due to Huaxia's production capacity issues, there is still a significant shortage in the total quantity of Weapon promised to the Xuanyuan Tribe; Xuanyuan did not have any objections, as it is indeed not easy to produce so many Weapon at once.

As Huaxia's ultimate means, the Bomb was only shown to the people of the Xuanyuan Tribe, and they were not demonstrated how to use it; after all, the Bomb is very precious, and bringing it here from Huaxia was even more difficult.

Now, seeing that half a year has already passed, if one wants to conquer the Shennong Clan as quickly as possible, waiting like this is absolutely impossible; one must take the initiative to attack.

Huaxia's Vanguard Team went out first to scout the path ahead and map the terrain, while the main force moved slowly behind.

On the fifth day, the Vanguard Team returned to deliver news.

"Marshal Xiong, Tribal Chief Xuanyuan, my unit was scouting ahead and saw a massive group of people moving in our direction!"

Xiong immediately asked: "Which tribe is it, how many people, and how many Soldier?"

The vanguard's tone was also somewhat puzzled: "The number of people is huge; roughly speaking, it must be over thirty thousand, and there are men, women, old, and young alike. They are moving very fast and barely stop in any one place. It doesn't look like they are coming to attack, but rather, like a full-tribe migration?"

"Migration?"

Xiong also looked at Xuanyuan with confusion: "You arrived here earlier than I did, and although you told me all the intelligence, think about it—what kind of situation would this be?"

Xuanyuan was also somewhat puzzled: "Normally, the Fengbo Tribe has already left the Shennong Clan, and the news likely hasn't been sent back. It is unlikely that Linkui has received the news now, unless he does not trust Fengbo and therefore sent another tribe to take over Fengbo's territory, but that doesn't seem to make sense either."

Fenghou, who had been listening on the side, reminded them at the right moment: "Tribal Chief, think about it, could it be the Yushi Tribe? The Fengbo Tribe left the Shennong Clan, and the two tribes have a close relationship; Fengbo should also go to persuade Yushi."

"The Chiyou Tribe would also likely accept both the Fengbo and Yushi tribes; if you look at the timeline, it seems about right."

"That's right, the Yushi Tribe—it is very likely them. Chi, why don't you send your people out to make contact and ask them which tribe they are and what they intend to do? If it is the Yushi Tribe, tell them they can bypass this place and go to the Chiyou Tribe; otherwise, we might choose to attack them."

"If it is not the Yushi Tribe, try your best to persuade them to surrender. Our Xuanyuan Tribe and Huaxia can give them a better life, can't we?"

Xiong was somewhat hesitant: "So direct? I feel it is better to be safe and ensure our own security first. If we go and ask so directly, wouldn't we expose ourselves? It is best to prepare for battle first; if they really are the Yushi Tribe, we can just let them take a detour."

Limu could not get a word in now, so he chose to stay silent. Xuanyuan saw that he and Xiong had a disagreement; since this might be the first battle they fight together, it would be best to resolve it through cooperation and avoid conflict if possible.

So he turned to Fenghou: "Fenghou, you perform the divination and ask about the fortune."

Fenghou nodded, then took out the Yarrow and began to calculate in front of everyone, but his expression slowly changed from Nature to somewhat nervous.

After he put away the Yarrow, Xuanyuan asked impatiently: "Fenghou, what is the result?"

Fenghou sighed: "Auspicious first, ominous later."

Xiong also leaned in: "What does that mean? Can you be more specific?"

"The tribe we are facing this time poses no danger; I guess it is likely the Yushi Tribe fleeing the Shennong Clan for the Chiyou Tribe. But the hexagram immediately turned into a great omen of disaster, indicating that a great change will occur right after them, and we will face a very dangerous and difficult battle."

Limu also leaned in and interjected: "So this Yushi Tribe is pretending to leave, but actually intends to wait until we let our guard down and then sneak back to attack us?"

"No, no." Fenghou shook his head and said: "The danger does not come from the Yushi Tribe. The source of the crisis and the auspicious sign are not from the same place. I suspect that the news of the Yushi Tribe leaving the Shennong Clan was likely discovered by Linkui, who then sent Soldier to intercept and attack this Yushi Tribe."

"However, this tribe is likely to collide with us. Therefore, this is the source of our danger."

Xiong believed that the descendants of the Fuxi Clan were very capable, but speaking with such certainty made him suspicious: "Fenghou, is this so accurate? Can you divine everything just by holding some grass?"

Fenghou's expression remained calm: "It is not that I can divine everything; I can only divine the changes in fortune and then combine them with the information we already know to make reasonable inferences. For example, this first tribe might not be the Yushi Tribe, but they are fleeing the Shennong Clan and pose no threat to us, so it remains auspicious."

"But the tribe chasing behind might be the Yushi Tribe. However, it is not necessarily people that will cause us an ominous omen; it could also be suddenly cold weather sweeping across our two tribes like a Knife or Sword. My inference is just the greatest possibility."

"So that's how it is." Hearing the reasonable explanation, Xiong believed it a bit more. After thinking about Xuanyuan's previous proposal, he said: "I still disagree with making direct contact with this tribe; it is too dangerous for our Soldier. However, based on the results of Fenghou's divination, I can let the Soldier go further ahead, past the first tribe, to see if there is anyone chasing behind them."

"Our Soldier ride cattle, so their speed is faster; even if they run, they can run faster than ordinary Soldier. This round trip will take at least three days, and we can get the news back half a day early."

"If it really is as Fenghou said, then we can make contact with this first tribe and ask their purpose. If they just want to flee the Shennong Clan, I think we should let them leave and we can deal with the one behind directly. Otherwise, we will just deal with the one behind in full force."

Xiong stated his thoughts; although this balanced his and Xuanyuan's ideas, it made Xuanyuan and the others feel it was too complex, too cumbersome, and had little feasibility. If any link went wrong, the entire plan would be ruined.

Therefore, after hearing this, Xuanyuan remained silent and instead sat down to think carefully, hoping to come up with a safer plan.