Chapter 447: Baoxi's Speculation and Unease

In fact, while the Xuanyuan Tribe and Huaxia were trading, Baoxi had already been hiding on the opposite bank watching for a long time. Baoxi had originally intended to send people across the river to find Baifeng, but while they were making a Bamboo Raft, they heard a sound coming from the river. After investigating, they deduced that it might be people from the Xuanyuan Tribe, because only people from the Xuanyuan Tribe would come from that direction.

But what left Baoxi very puzzled was that the Xuanyuan Tribe actually had a Boat as well. His trades with the Xuanyuan Tribe had all been on land; they had never communicated via water, so naturally, he did not know that the Xuanyuan Tribe already possessed boats.

However, in Baoxi's understanding, only Huaxia would have boats. The Xuanyuan Tribe suddenly having boats now, even if they were much smaller, still forced Baoxi to develop other thoughts.

In order to figure out what was going on between the two tribes, Baoxi decided to stay hidden and observe first. But when he saw that the people of the Xuanyuan Tribe were actually wearing Leather Armor almost identical to that of the Huaxia Soldiers, and were able to communicate amicably with Huaxia, he could no longer hold it together. Now he was eighty or ninety percent certain that the Xuanyuan Tribe and Huaxia had formed an alliance.

If they had truly already formed an alliance, then what did it mean for him to go and seek an alliance with Xuanyuan to attack Huaxia? He had attacked Huaxia and suffered heavy losses; was there some trickery by the Xuanyuan Tribe in this, or was it a scheme by the two of them against the Suiren Clan from the start?

The more Baoxi thought about it, the more he felt a lingering fear. He couldn't help but look at the box held by a Soldier beside him, which contained the head of Wangzuo, and a vague, ominous premonition rose in his heart.

Baoxi did not show himself until the trade between Huaxia and the Xuanyuan Tribe ended, by which time it was almost evening. The Xuanyuan Tribe sent their people to Huaxia and then returned with supplies. In Baoxi's eyes, it felt like a form of alliance-style trade—I give you people, you give me food—rather than just trading for the sake of trading.

In order not to expose himself at night, Baoxi chose to retreat, withdrawing into the dense forest to set up camp; otherwise, their firelight might attract Huaxia's attention.

At night, Baoxi tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He had a feeling of being toyed with by Huaxia and the Xuanyuan Tribe. If he delivered Wangzuo's head to Baifeng tomorrow and Baifeng had no reaction, Baoxi felt he would be one hundred percent certain that everything was the Xuanyuan Tribe's doing. For now, he still held onto a sliver of hope, wishing that the Xuanyuan Tribe and Huaxia were merely conducting an ordinary trade.

The next day, not until the sun had risen high and the air had warmed up, did Baoxi give the order to advance toward Huaxia City.

To ensure Huaxia would not develop the intention to attack, they only sent a few Soldiers to pilot a Bamboo Raft across the river.

The Soldiers on the city wall saw people on the river surface. Upon looking through a Telescope, they immediately confirmed they were people from the Suiren Clan. Although they did not know what these few people crossing the river meant, for the sake of safety, they still went to notify Baifeng immediately.

The other Soldiers also immediately entered a wartime state, continuously using Telescopes to search, wanting to find out exactly how many people the Suiren Clan had brought.

However, because Baoxi had witnessed the power of Huaxia's Weapon, he did not dare to show himself rashly and could only hide in the forest, including the Soldiers he brought. This made the Huaxia Soldiers even more uneasy, because not being able to see how many enemies there were was the most terrifying thing.

Consequently, they sent more people to deliver messages. Unable to learn the number of enemies, Baifeng was stunned after receiving the first Soldier's report. No matter what, he could not figure out what the Suiren Clan was doing coming to Huaxia at this time. It couldn't be to attack the city again, could it? Were the Suiren Clan's Soldiers really so worthless that they could be used as cannon fodder at will?

Just as Baifeng was pacing and thinking, the second Soldier came to report. After listening, Baifeng decided to immediately enter an emergency wartime state, mainly having the Navy stand by, the army line up, and the Militia stop working, ready to join the battle at any time; he did not immediately enter the level of total war like last time.

Even so, it still made everyone in Huaxia feel a bit panicked.

After Baifeng donned his armor, he also quickly rushed to the city wall by ox-cart. By this time, those few Suiren Clan Soldiers had finished crossing the river, but they stood on the bank, hesitating and not daring to move forward.

The Huaxia Soldiers also remained still, waiting for orders from above.

After Baifeng climbed the city wall and saw the scene before him, he was somewhat confused. He took the Telescope again and could only see that there seemed to be people in the forest, but it did not look like there was a large army. Baifeng estimated that perhaps the Suiren Clan wanted to discuss something, so he ordered the Navy to set off immediately to blockade the river, then open the city gate to bring those few people on the bank over for questioning.

Since the last battle, the Navy had shown their prowess and were holding their heads high in the city, feeling very proud, because they had demonstrated their strength in front of everyone, proving they were not just a team that only knew how to catch fish and haul cargo. Furthermore, after replenishing their Weapon inventory, they were also on standby at all times.

Once the order was given, they did not think much; even though they were upstream, they hoisted four sails and advanced at full speed. A single Large Ship was enough to blockade the river channel. It was just that there were no enemies on the river as they had expected; it was very calm, and the opposite bank was the same—no enemies. However, while observing, they keenly saw people hiding in the forest.

Seeing the Large Ship coming, Baoxi was also very panicked, but he still restrained himself and did not continue to retreat. He did not understand why Huaxia had to make such a big display just because a few people had crossed the river.

After the Large Ship appeared in the Huaxia Soldiers' field of vision, the city gate also opened immediately. When the sound of the gate opening rang out, those Suiren Clan Soldiers were already trembling in their legs, but they could only persist and wait, hoping Huaxia would give them a chance to speak.

Fortunately, after the gate opened, it was infantry that came out, not riding oxen, which reduced their pressure significantly.

There were five of them, and ten from Huaxia came out, fully armed. After reaching them, they pointed their Weapons at them without a word and surrounded them. A person with the air of a Leader stepped out and questioned them: "You are the Suiren Clan, right? What do you want now by coming to our Huaxia territory? Do you want to start a war again?"

The few people were so scared they waved their hands repeatedly: "No, no! We are not here to attack Huaxia. We are envoys, here to pass on a message for our Tribal Chief. We need to pass a message to your King, Baifeng."

The Huaxia Soldiers looked at each other, and the encirclement split into two teams, sandwiching the few Suiren Clan Soldiers in the middle. After searching them and taking their Weapons, that Huaxia Leader said to them: "Then follow me. Our King is on the city wall."