Chapter 1577: The Eagle's Perspective

The sudden return of the falcons caused Zhang to feel a moment of bewilderment, for these few falcons had only just been released not long ago and should not have reached the point of exhaustion yet; why had they returned so suddenly? Could it be that they had encountered something even more dangerous? Furthermore, their cries were also slightly off.

Zhang raised his arm; the thick Leather Armor on his forearm was sufficient to handle the falcons' sharp talons, so there was no need to fear being scratched.

And falcons, much like dogs, were quite perceptive; they knew who the greatest leader here was and would seek the leader out on their own.

Of the three falcons, two landed on the ground and walked about in a somewhat comical fashion, while one landed on Zhang's forearm. Zhang took several pieces of dried meat from his pocket and distributed them to the three falcons; this was a reward for them, and also a necessary step in training falcons.

"What is it, my noble eagles? Did you discover something, or did you encounter danger?"

After the falcon shook its neck at Zhang a few times, it immediately pushed off its legs and took flight, and the other two made the same movements. Their target was very clear: it was that hilltop. They flew high enough and their eyesight was good enough, so they were able to discover the target they were looking for at the first opportunity.

Wulian and the others did not think much of the few falcons appearing above their heads; they did not believe that humans could domesticate such things and put them to use.

It was just that they felt these things were a bit ominous, because their appearance was more representative of death. Don't look at how they also hunted and were skilled hunters; if they encountered carrion, they would certainly want to have a bite, so they, like owls, were considered inauspicious.

Owls were called "Owl Gods" and were believed to be fierce spirits representing strife and plunder, which was quite unlucky. All owls were like this, but it really couldn't be blamed on people; if one had ever heard the call of an eagle owl in the mountains and forests at night, one would know how terrifying it was—eerie, with strong penetrating power, it was exactly the feeling of a horror movie.

Seeing these falcons circling above their heads, Wulian and his men thought they were being treated like dead people, so they very rudely picked up a stone and threw it toward the sky. However, they did not have the might of Xingtian; the stone did not fly very high before it fell back down, not even startling the few falcons.

"Ouch!"

One man covered his head, feeling a bump rising on his scalp: "Stop throwing, you hit my head."

Wulian gave a sheepish laugh: "Hehe, things above one's head are hard to hit, hard to hit."

After the falcons took flight, Zhang had already picked up the Telescope to observe, his field of vision following the falcons all the way to the hilltop where they were circling, but Zhang truly could not see what was there because the view was obstructed.

However, the moment Wulian jumped up to throw the stone was seen clearly by Zhang. That posture was definitely human, without a doubt. According to the King's words, only primates could make such a movement, but in this wilderness, it was clearly impossible for monkeys to exist, so it must be humans.

Not only did Zhang not feel afraid, but he was also very happy as he announced to the Soldiers behind him: "Hahahaha! Found them! Found them! On the hilltop opposite, there are people!"

All the Soldiers cheered upon hearing this news, because this meant that they could finally begin to fight and would no longer have to run around so aimlessly.

Along this journey, they even had to shoulder the logistics themselves, each and every one of them carrying large bags, or lifting, shouldering, and bearing the supplies they needed along the way.

Because of the nature of the environment, they didn't even bring many Tents, but instead, at dusk, would find a suitable location, use shovels to dig a rough hole, and cover the outside with things like tree branches; that was enough. After all, there wasn't much rain, and it wasn't like Winter, where one had to shelter from wind and Snow. Bringing fewer Tents allowed them to reduce their burden and carry more food.

The Western Development Group had no Laborers to provide them with logistical support, so they could only do it themselves. Thus, this battle they were fighting was truly not easy; all the Soldiers already had thick calluses on their shoulders.

Now that they heard there was a situation with the enemy, how could they not be happy? As long as the battle was over, they could go back and have a good rest. On the way back, those captives would also become their Laborers, reducing their burden. Most importantly, they would be able to obtain Military Merit, ensuring that the suffering they endured along the way was not in vain.

The Soldiers' cheers rose one after another, but Zhang was not afraid of being heard at all, because he felt that he had already been exposed. The enemy occupied the highest mountain in terms of vision, so they must have seen them long ago; it didn't matter if his voice was a bit loud.

It was just that attacking from a low position to a high one was relatively more difficult. Fortunately, the Wulenge Tribe had almost no tactics and didn't really know how to utilize terrain advantages; they had already summarized this experience last year. If they had the good Geography of Huaxia, they would certainly have to make good use of it, but the Wulenge Tribe would likely just charge straight down, prepared for close-quarters combat.

In order to save energy and scout the situation, Zhang immediately ordered the Soldiers to exit the valley and camp on the hillside to the left. Because it was impossible to determine exactly where the enemy's main force was—whether they were all on that high mountain peak or behind the mountain to his right—the hillside on the left was the most prudent choice.

After arranging for the Soldiers to set up camp, he then had the Cavalry quickly disperse to go around the hillside on the right to check the situation on the back side. Zhang also blew the Whistle to summon the falcons back.

Wulian and the others on the mountaintop also heard the shouting of the Huaxia people in the distance; although it was far away, it was loud, so they could vaguely hear a little bit.

Wulian didn't bother with the birds above his head either; they weren't tigers or wolves, so they couldn't do anything to them. He simply stood up straight to watch the movements of the Huaxia.

Having already discovered the Huaxia team, Wulian was not in the slightest bit anxious now; he believed that those tribes would certainly unite.

It was during the time he had climbed up that the tribes separated from the Huaxia by two hillocks had grazed their herds further away, increasing the distance between them and the Huaxia. If he hadn't come here to look, he feared he would have missed the Huaxia again.

Wulian even wondered if he had brushed past the Huaxia several times before; after all, in a place like this, meeting was truly too difficult and was a great test of luck.

Wulian was not in a hurry to go back either, but instead stared at the movements of the Huaxia, first seeing where they were going. If they were heading in the wrong direction, Wulian felt he could still give them a signal to let them come in the correct direction to find him.