Chapter 1365: The Recognized Boundary (Part I)

"Platoon Leader! I've finished measuring the distance, and I judge the location of that smoke to be at least one kilometer beyond the top of the slope. Do you see anything going on over there?"

The Fourth Platoon Leader slowly handed over the Telescope: "Come, take another careful look. Are there any different details over there? I'll measure the distance again."

The Fourth Platoon Leader also used the ranging method. This ranging method had been introduced before; although the margin of error was relatively large, under these circumstances, the error could be ignored. It wasn't like they were building an atomic bomb, so why be so precise?

"I see it about the same way; the distance is very far. Did you see anything suspicious?" The Fourth Platoon Leader's tone was also slightly more relaxed. Now, there was a high probability that they wouldn't encounter any major danger.

"Platoon Leader, I am still checking. From what I can see now, there really isn't anything suspicious over there. I don't see any Grass flattened, I don't see the soil turned over, and I don't see any other things that shouldn't be there."

The Fourth Platoon Leader did not put pressure on the Soldier: "No rush, keep looking slowly. If they really have an ambush, since we haven't moved for so long, they should be the ones getting anxious. Once they get anxious, they will make mistakes."

"Alright, Platoon Leader, I'll take another careful look."

Xuanyuan and his group were not in the slightest bit anxious. Since they had already arrived here, if they were to rashly advance just for this bit of distance and cause their own men to suffer losses, that would be the stupidest thing to do.

Meanwhile, behind the high slope, the team of Jiebing and the others had basically settled down. The tribesmen were dispersed to collect food in the surrounding areas, coming over every few days to deliver the food they had gathered.

The main body of Soldiers remained here, setting up Tents. Originally, they had prepared for these few days; if they couldn't find the tracks of the Xuanyuan Tribe, they would have to go hunting in a slightly more distant place. They couldn't just stay in place and waste time.

According to Jiebing's personality, if you sat still and didn't do any work, you couldn't eat. Because if you didn't put in the effort and didn't work, why should you eat? That would be a waste.

Therefore, those Soldiers would rather go out and run in vain for a day, catching nothing, than stay in the camp for a day. When they went out, they would find some wild flowers and wild vegetables to gnaw on to pad their stomachs, and they could still mix in a mouthful of thin porridge to drink when they returned. In the camp, you really couldn't drink anything at all; you would really starve to death.

What Jiebing had not expected was that there would be news of the Xuanyuan Tribe so quickly.

When the Soldiers of the Jiang Ming Tribe were out looking for food, they walked quite far. By chance, they were on the flank and saw the vast and mighty Xuanyuan Tribe team. Because they had seen them last year, as soon as they saw the team carrying the large flags this year, they knew who these people were.

Fear overcame their desire to hunt. They abandoned the group of roe deer they had been chasing for several days and sped up their return to the tribe. Moreover, they had to take a detour; they couldn't appear in the field of vision of the Xuanyuan Tribe.

After Jiang Ming learned of this, his first reaction was worry. To be confronting the Xuanyuan Tribe so early, he feared this would not be a good thing for the two brothers. Although they had many Jiang brothers and many Jiang Surname Tribes, if they continued to suffer such losses, their Jiang Surname would have no say or weight within the Shennong Clan.

Not to mention the other brothers, the two of them would likely have to account for themselves here this year. Could it be that they would become deserters and flee back to the Shennong Clan? After all, he was a Soldier and still needed some face; he could only bite the bullet and come. He hoped Jiebing could command well.

In order to win this battle, Jiang Ming went to tell Jiebing this news at the first opportunity.

After Jiebing learned that the Xuanyuan Tribe and Huaxia had arrived, he did not have the slightest bit of worry; instead, he was very expectant. He asked that Soldier: "How many people do they have?"

The Soldier shook his head: "Many, many, countless..."

Jiebing punched the Soldier on the shoulder: "If you can't even count that, then what is the use of you seeing them? Might as well let me ask them how many people they have in front of Xuanyuan."

The Soldier's complexion was very poor, but he dared not refute. He really wanted to say, with so many people, and they were constantly moving, how could he count them? Could you, Jiebing, count them clearly?

Jiebing did not care about these things. After pacing back and forth on the spot, he loudly ordered: "You all hurry back. From now on, your tribe, and the Jiang Cheng Tribe, are not allowed to light fires. I don't care about eating; you either don't eat, or you eat raw. In any case, don't let them see a single bit of smoke or fire. Hide yourselves well.

As for us here, we must burn the fire brightly and make the smoke big. I want to tell them that I, Jiebing, am here. First, we talk. If they are willing to retreat, I won't fight. If they don't retreat, then they can just wait."

Jiang Ming didn't know what to say about Jiebing. Was he being confident or arrogant? He hoped Jiebing truly had the ability; otherwise, his own tribe would really have to account for themselves here.

Jiebing unceremoniously drove Jiang Ming away. He didn't care how their tribesmen were going to eat during these few days, or perhaps even longer; in any case, he didn't care.

Now he just wanted to declare with great fanfare that he was right here. After exposing himself, it would also be easier to hide their two tribes.

He burned the fire even more vigorously, threw some damp wood into it, and the smoke increased instantly. He set up more campfire piles to make even more smoke, creating the scene of a massive number of people on their side, making the Xuanyuan Tribe pay more attention to them, yet unable to grasp exactly how many people were there.

It was precisely because of this action of his that the Xuanyuan party, while still at a very far position, saw a large amount of smoke. Now, they were even more afraid to move forward and kept waiting to observe the results.

Xuanyuan was also very patient. During the time they stopped, Lu brought over two Telescopes. He took one himself and lent one to Xuanyuan. The two of them stared at the distance without stopping, also wanting to find some clues.

"Lu, I can't tell what's there from my side. Maybe there's nothing at all. What do you think? Perhaps they recognized the territorial boundary we drew and didn't cross over?"

Lu, however, did not think so: "I reckon they aren't that honest. If they were allies like our two tribes, they would naturally recognize the boundary and such. But since it has already come to fighting, why would they care about those things?

This is such a good location here, and it is also the highest place that can be found in the surrounding area. They have no reason not to occupy it. There must be a problem. Such behavior is too abnormal, unless they are slow and haven't reached here yet."