Chapter 323: Neighbors?

After leaving New City, Baifeng traveled at his fastest speed. Even though he knew Changle was not in any immediate danger, he remained very uneasy and felt he had to meet up in person. Moreover, New City was now more than a day's journey from Changle's location.

While Changle was chatting with the people from the Luoneng Tribe, Baifeng had already been traveling for a long time. He would set up camp to rest for the night and set off again as soon as the sky turned bright the next day, searching everywhere for the tracks left behind by Changle.

Fortunately, their people would leave markers along their route, carving the path into trees using Chinese characters. They were not afraid of outsiders seeing them, as those people would not know what they meant anyway. Relying on this information, Baifeng and his group headed toward Changle and the others at top speed.

They soon found Changle's location, as the ox hoof prints on the ground were very fresh, and combined with the dense footprints, it was undoubtedly Changle and the others.

The vanguard of Baifeng's team had already made contact with Changle's group. Upon learning that everything was safe and sound, and that they had even made contact and communicated with the Luoneng Tribe, the vanguards returned to report the news with peace of mind.

Only after receiving the news did Baifeng feel relieved enough to slow his pace, moving slowly toward Changle. When they heard the three words "Luoneng Tribe," several members of Baifeng's team showed signs of deep thought, as they felt the name was far too familiar and they had definitely heard it somewhere before. These few individuals were the earliest and most authentic members of the Baifeng Tribe, who had left their homes and the tribal territory where they once lived to begin wandering years ago.

After thinking for a moment, one person suddenly slapped his forehead—ah, he knew which one the Luoneng Tribe was. He then confirmed it with the others in his team, and after they compared notes, they were certain there was no mistake. Ignoring the formation, they jogged up to Baifeng to tell him about this Luoneng Tribe.

"King, King! Do you remember this Luoneng Tribe? It was that large tribe in the distance back when we lived by the Dahe. No wonder I thought it sounded so familiar."

Baifeng could not remember anything about his predecessor's time spent wandering, so naturally, he could not possibly know about this Luoneng Tribe. Now, he was not afraid of exposing his identity; in any case, he and the former Baifeng were two completely different people.

"Do you all remember this tribe? Tell me about it in detail; I cannot remember a thing right now."

Those few men did not pay attention to Baifeng saying he could not remember, as Baifeng had to handle so many things day in and day out. He only needed to remember the major tribes; not every Tom, Dick, and Harry was worth the King's memory.

One Soldier spoke up eagerly: "King, this Luoneng Tribe is a tribe very far to the west. It's just that we didn't have much interaction with them back then. I heard at the time they had three or four thousand people. They traded and interacted with tribes even further west, and they didn't have much contact with small tribes like ours back then. They looked down on us, so we actually didn't have much interaction. That is all we know; we aren't clear on anything else."

Three or four thousand people? That was still a fairly large tribe. It was just hard to say what they had become after all these years—were there more, fewer, or had there been no change? Their territory should not match where they appeared now; presumably, some major change had occurred. He would ask in detail once they met.

Baifeng told them to return to the team and then ordered everyone to speed up, as it was only a ten-minute journey left anyway.

Under the whisper of a Soldier, Changle learned that his father had arrived, and his joy was already written on his face. The people of the Luoneng Tribe also noticed this and felt that perhaps the main force of this tribe had arrived, which meant their situation might be dangerous. Although they had just eaten the other party's food, it did not mean everyone would treat them kindly.

Consequently, several Leaders exchanged glances and intended to get up and leave, but before they could even stand, they were stopped by Changle.

"You aren't in a rush right now, are you? My father, who is also our King, will be here immediately. He will likely have some things to ask you when he arrives, so you should stay for a little while."

The group did not want to stay, so they demurred: "We shouldn't stay. We have already said everything we can say. Besides, we need to go hunting, don't we? Otherwise, it won't be easy to answer to our Tribal Chief when we return to the tribe."

Changle suddenly changed his tone: "You should still stay. After all, the territories of our two tribes are now adjacent. We still need to set some rules for how we will get along in the future. Otherwise, if we come to hunt on your tribal territory, you might cause us trouble, right? Furthermore, our Huaxia is very wealthy, and we may trade with tribes like yours in the future. Discussing it now is still to your benefit."

After Changle finished speaking, the Soldiers around him gathered closer, forming a semicircle around Changle that could both serve as a deterrent to the other side and protect Changle's safety.

The Ox Cavalry Soldiers immediately jumped onto the backs of their oxen, making preparations for battle.

The people of the Luoneng Tribe also wanted to use force, but upon looking, the gap between the two sides was simply too great. Most of them were still holding Stone Knives and Wooden Spears and did not even have a decent set of clothes, while the Metal Long Sabers on the opposite side were gleaming with cold light, and the oxen were pawing the ground with their hooves.

As for resisting, they had no thoughts of it at all; however, the urge to flee was very strong. Seeing that there was no room for negotiation, the few Leaders of the Luoneng Tribe had no choice but to sit back down obediently and wait for their impending fate.

Baifeng, riding a white ox and surrounded by several silver dogs, was the first to appear in everyone's field of vision.

To the people of the Luoneng Tribe, the metal armor gleaming with light, the rare-colored and sturdy large ox, and the several silver wolves that looked like wolf kings—this combination on one person was simply that of a deity. Otherwise, those wild beasts could not possibly be so obedient.

The people of the Luoneng Tribe cried out in their hearts: "My life is over!"

Seeing his father arrive, Changle hurriedly stood up to greet him. After arriving, Baifeng dismounted, patted Changle on the shoulder with his hand, and signaled that there was no need to worry, as he would handle everything.

Behind Baifeng, several hundred fully armed Soldiers immediately gathered and formed ranks. A portion of the Soldiers dispersed to scout the surroundings and eliminate any danger, while the Bow and Blade Team set up their Bow and Crossbows in suitable positions, ready to attack at any moment.

The people of the Luoneng Tribe were so frightened by this scene that they retreated again and again. Several minor Leaders were so scared they could not even stand up. Was this still something that belonged in this world? Even the legendary Shennong Clan could not be this powerful, could they? Just these few people were already fully capable of trampling their tribe to the ground.

Baifeng walked with large strides toward the people of the Luoneng Tribe, then smiled and said: "The Luoneng Tribe, is it? I am your neighbor, Huaxia!"