Chapter 426: One After Another

"On this journey, we don't even have enough Dry Rations for ourselves, and we'll have to hunt while traveling on the way back. Furthermore, in your current state, you would definitely rely on us on the road, and we don't want to take that risk."

But to Xiong's surprise, the Tribal Chief of the Twelve Tribes said very excitedly: "That means if we can avoid relying on your team and follow you to Huaxia, you will accept us, right?"

Xiong did not expect him to interpret his words that way, but it was indeed similar to his own thoughts. He did not refuse other tribes wanting to join Huaxia, but the prerequisite was that they could survive and return together.

So Xiong nodded, indicating his agreement with his statement.

The people of the Twelve Tribes cheered, and the Tribal Chief of the Twelve Tribes dared to walk up close to Xiong. He knelt on one knee, touched the top of Xiong's foot with his hand, and then said in a trembling voice: "Our Twelve Tribes are weak. If we don't have a powerful tribe to rely on, we will likely find it very difficult to survive this Winter. But we have never thought about living entirely by relying on your tribe. We are all Soldiers; we can hunt and we can forage. On this journey, we don't need to eat your Dry Rations. No tribe would eat Dry Rations while wandering; catching our own food is our way of survival."

After listening, Xiong suddenly felt that he had fallen into the misconception of large tribes again. When savages go out, isn't the source of food the wilderness? Since when could one not survive without Dry Rations?

So Xiong pulled Twelve up and informed him: "You may follow behind our team, but you cannot be too close. On this journey, we will not provide you with food; we must first ensure our own survival needs. Of course, you only need to take care of yourselves; you don't need to hand over food to us. We may encounter many dangers on this journey, and we need to face them together until we enter the territory of Huaxia. Do you understand?"

Twelve nodded repeatedly, indicating that he understood very clearly.

Afterward, seeing that it was getting late and their current location was very suitable for camping, Xiong ordered everyone to start camping on the spot, collect firewood, and cook. The Twelve Tribes could also camp at a distance from them; if they discovered enemy activity, they could warn each other.

Just as Xiong and his group were busy in the heat of the moment, the people of the Twelve Tribes raised an alarm. The Huaxia Soldiers immediately stood up, picked up their Weapons, and instantly entered a combat state.

Xiong thought it was the people of the Wulengebu who had caught up, but he didn't expect that one person from the Twelve Tribes had brought over two more tribes from the forest, numbering several hundred people. According to their own description, they also wanted to come and join Huaxia. Two different tribes had met on the road and learned they had the same goal, so they traveled together. Their specific explanation was not much different from that of the Twelve Tribes.

Xiong felt very suspicious. If it were just the Twelve Tribes alone, he wouldn't think much of it, but now that these two tribes had inexplicably appeared, Xiong couldn't help but be suspicious.

Xiong repeated what he had said to the Twelve Tribes, but this time, he demanded that these tribes camp further away from their position, and explicitly stated that if they walked toward the Huaxia camp at night without explaining the reason in advance, they would attack without hesitation.

Everyone was a smart person and heard Xiong's distrust. They felt very helpless because it was truly too coincidental. Who knew that more than just their own tribe had such an idea? Now, all they could do was follow Huaxia's arrangements completely to truly gain Huaxia's trust.

Because these tribes were basically traveling all day to catch up with Huaxia, they had hardly found any food. A tribe of several hundred people was eating bland soup, and some people even had to go hungry.

On the Huaxia side, all Soldiers had to ensure their intake was sufficient. They couldn't eat their fill, but they had to ensure they had the energy and strength. Having been away from Huaxia for so long, their appetites had decreased quite a bit, and those women ate only slightly better than those savage tribes—it could only be said that the soup was a bit thicker.

Xiong had also told those tribes in advance that only after they were far away from this gathering place and could fully ensure safety would he leave half an hour every day for hunting. Right now, safety was the priority. If these tribes couldn't hold on, they could wait until they had hunted enough prey before catching up; in any case, their tracks were very obvious along the way.

All the tribes were unwilling to give up the hard-won opportunity and did not want to leave the Huaxia team. They said they would consider food on the road every day, so Xiong didn't need to worry too much.

Xiong didn't pay much attention to them, only letting the night-watch Soldiers closely monitor the actions of those tribes at night. If there was anything unusual, they could attack directly, with ensuring their own safety as the priority.

Fortunately, those tribes were very well-behaved all night; even when going to the toilet, they would not head in the direction of the Huaxia camp. However, Xiong would not completely trust them just because of one night.

The next day, Xiong and his group led the way, while the several tribes gathered together and trailed behind, keeping a distance that had to be maintained; they could not be too close.

Just as it was approaching noon, trouble happened again. The tribes behind suddenly started to become noisy, and Xiong and his group had to stop to observe the situation behind them.

After Twelve indicated that he was alone and unarmed, and obtained Xiong's permission, he ran over with long strides.

Then he pointed into the distance and said: "Two more tribes have come! The people who ran over talked to us, and their intention is also to join Huaxia!"

Xiong frowned. It's endless, isn't it? Now he was extremely suspicious of these people's motives. They were coming one after another; he was afraid that the Soldiers who had arrived now could already surround them, the people of Huaxia.

Just as Xiong intended to refuse, Twelve hurriedly added: "They also said that the Wulengebu has come from behind. I heard them say that the Wulengebu is coming specifically for Huaxia."

Before Xiong could finish his words, he immediately changed his tone and asked: "Did they say how far the Wulengebu is from here and how many Soldiers they have?"

Twelve turned his head to judge the distance and said hurriedly: "If we stay here a little longer, we will be able to see the people of the Wulengebu. The Wulengebu has about two hundred or more Soldiers!"

Xiong turned his head to look at his own team. It was too late to run; they could only fight. If they were up against the savages of the Wulengebu, they would still be fully confident if there were only two hundred or so, but the prerequisite was that these tribes following behind their backs did not become their enemies.