Chapter 905: Not the Shennong

Both sides could be considered as sharing the same plight, so they just went through the motions for the time being; although it was not explicitly stated, everyone did it this way because there was no other choice. The Shennong Clan did not have enough food, and their manpower was actually not that sufficient either.

With nearly two thousand Soldiers, they only had an equal number of logistical support personnel, yet the prey they could capture and the food they could gather were few and far between.

As for the Tribal Alliance, life was slightly better; after all, they were backed by their base camp, making it easier to find food, and their supply lines would not be stretched so thin, making everything relatively easier. Moreover, they had more Soldiers, so if the Shennong Clan wanted to charge with all their might, they would have absolutely no chance.

This was because the main force of the Shennong Clan, which was the troop led by Xingtian, had chosen to go and attack other small tribes this year. Linkui had adopted this opinion under Xingtian's suggestion.

First, attack those small tribes that had not united, needing only one all-out strike to resolve the small troubles, and then concentrate their energy to confront the big trouble that was this Tribal Alliance.

This gave the Tribal Alliance a chance to catch their breath, but what was meant to come would come eventually. The troop they were currently facing had to make a decision before Winter arrived: to fight a battle, even if it meant heavy casualties, just to fulfill their duty to the Shennong Clan and secure a good outcome for their tribesmen, or to flee the Shennong Clan and become independent, or perhaps join this Tribal Alliance?

It was hard to choose either way, because their tribesmen were not here; otherwise, they would have fled the Shennong Clan long ago.

Meanwhile, the Alliance was still anxiously waiting for news from their envoys. The envoys sent out last year had not brought back any news even now; they should have returned even if it was Winter.

Otherwise, either the Xuanyuan Tribe had killed the envoys, or they had already united with the Shennong Clan, or the envoys had all died on the road.

But the first possibility was not very high; envoys would not be killed casually, and they had not received news of the Xuanyuan Tribe uniting with the Shennong Clan. Furthermore, a tribe like the Xuanyuan Clan would not go so far as to unite with the Shennong Clan, so they attributed all possibilities to the road being too dangerous.

Thus, they were already preparing to send envoys again, and this time the envoys even included a Tribal Chief of a small tribe. If this time did not work, they would have no other opportunities and could only fight the Shennong Clan to the death until their tribe was destroyed.

The envoys led Qibo and his group through the most dangerous stretch of the road, and by the time they reached the banks of the Dahe, it was much safer. The Dahe also gave these envoys a sense of safety and familiarity, because it meant they were not very far from their tribe.

Qibo and his group could also catch their breath a little. The dangers along the way were too many; he himself had been bitten by various insects many times, and there was still a very obvious black mark on his lower leg, as if bitten by some kind of insect.

There had been no opportunity on the road; only now could he find useful medicinal herbs on the spot, crush them, and apply them to his wound to neutralize the poison.

They had not walked along the Dahe for even two days when, along these flat riverbanks, they clearly saw a troop of people coming from the opposite side. The people on the opposite side seemed to have seen them too, as they stood still, somewhat on guard.

Both sides were observing, and both kept a sufficiently far distance, not daring to enter the other's attack range.

Qibo considered the current situation of the Shennong Clan and felt that they had to be the ones to come forward first to ease the situation, because no matter if the people on the opposite side were from the Tribal Alliance, the Shennong Clan, or even wild men, as long as they knew his identity, they would definitely not attack proactively.

Thus, Qibo had a Soldier with a loud voice go out to shout: "We are envoys from the Xuanyuan Tribe; who are you?"

The envoys on the opposite side were immediately excited to hear that they were actually from the Xuanyuan Tribe. They had met halfway without having traveled long; this was too lucky. But they also considered that they did not know what this Xuanyuan Tribe had come for, so they had to bring up their own awkward identity that they were already planning to discard.

"We are envoys of the Shennong Clan!"

However, upon hearing this, the most nervous ones were Qibo's side—those envoys from the Tribal Alliance. They were very surprised; how could the Shennong Clan send envoys, and this place was very far from Changyang Mountain. If the Shennong Clan were to send envoys out, they should not be traveling here.

Qibo understood their worries and gave them a look, signaling them not to speak and to let him handle it. Thus, the few envoys obediently walked to the middle of the troop and hid.

Having clarified each other's identities, they dared to continue forward, stopping only when they were a few steps apart.

Qing'e, the envoy of the Tribal Alliance, asked first: "Envoys of the Xuanyuan Tribe, I do not know what you have come to our Shennong Clan for?"

It was originally just a simple probe, but the envoy hiding in the middle of the Xuanyuan troop recognized Qing'e, because there was a large patch of blue on his forehead, which was also a very important reason why he could become a Tribal Chief.

That envoy jumped out from the troop in surprise and immediately shouted: "Tribal Chief Qing'e!"

Qing'e looked and felt he looked a bit familiar, but had forgotten his name. After being puzzled for a long time, the envoy spoke first: "I am the one sent to the Xuanyuan Tribe last year; we have only just returned now."

The other envoys also hurriedly stood out. Qing'e took a look and, good heavens, he actually recognized a few of them. This was great; there was no need to probe anymore. He already knew what the Xuanyuan Tribe's envoys had come for, while only Qibo was puzzled for a moment before reacting.

Qing'e also hurriedly explained: "Envoys from the Xuanyuan Tribe, we are actually a tribe that was originally part of the Shennong Clan, but now we have started to oppose the Shennong Clan again. Because we didn't know what you had come for just now, we said we were people of the Shennong Clan."

Qibo also smiled and forgave them: "That is correct, it does not matter; this is actually a good thing now. But why are you here now?"

Qing'e pointed at the envoys still in the Xuanyuan troop: "Because they had been at the Xuanyuan Tribe for too long and had not returned until now. We thought they might have died on the road, so the tribe sent us to the Xuanyuan Tribe again to ask for help; otherwise, our tribe would be finished."

Looking at Qing'e's somewhat puzzled expression, Qibo also explained for these envoys: "Last year, our Tribal Chief was not in the tribe; he went to a very far place and did not return until this Spring.

After knowing your request, he sent us over to negotiate with you in detail and also to see the true situation of the Shennong Clan now."