"High Priest, someone from Black Panther Village has arrived."
"People from Black Panther Village arriving at this time must also be here regarding the destruction of Blazing Tiger Village," the High Priest said calmly. "Tell the visitor that we will not concern ourselves with the affairs of Blazing Tiger Village, nor will we participate."
"High Priest, if we can join forces with Black Panther Village, we will be unchallenged in this region."
"Teaming up with them would only mean we have no enemies in this small area. The wilderness is vast. What use is it to be the best if we are confined to a corner?" the High Priest said calmly. "Instead of focusing our energy on these people, it would be better to think about how to cross the Ruoshui River and reach a prosperous and peaceful place."
"High Priest, the Ruoshui River is impassable even for flying birds, and nothing floats on it. There is no way to cross the river. Even if there is a rich land on the other side of the Ruoshui River, it is useless if we cannot cross it."
"We will find a way," the High Priest said with a sigh. The resources here are too scarce, and the Ruoshui River has been restless lately. Something bad is likely to happen. They need to find a way to leave as soon as possible, or they may face utter destruction. After all, this region was once submerged by the Ruoshui River.
"This... alright."
The people from Black Panther Village returned with nothing, yet they were unwilling to give up. "Send someone to scout and monitor the movements of these three villages."
"High Priest, what do we do if these three villages have only joined forces to deal with Blazing Tiger Village?"
"If they have temporarily allied to deal with Blazing Tiger Village, then they are not a threat. However, if these three villages have united into one, the danger to us increases," the High Priest of Black Panther Village said with a frown. The twelve villages had always coexisted peacefully. Only Blazing Tiger Village, that troublemaker, was constantly stirring up trouble, raiding this village one day and that village the next. Now that they have been annihilated, they deserve it!
But even though Blazing Tiger Village was at fault, these three villages jointly destroying it and breaking the balance is wrong!
"What if these three villages unite into one? What should we do then?"
"If Sun Village does not participate in this matter, then we can only unite with other villages to resist White Wolf Village," the High Priest said calmly. "However, our three villages are used to being high and mighty. I fear other villages will be too afraid of our strength to cooperate with us. If those relatively weaker villages learn from White Wolf Village's tactics and band together for warmth, our position in Black Panther Village will be precarious. Hurry and scout the situation."
"Yes."
Golden Eagle Village and Long Ape Village moved extremely quickly. By nightfall, all of them had arrived at White Wolf Village. Although they encountered some minor troubles along the way, they were quickly resolved.
"Elder Jin, Elder Yuan, we have been waiting for you," Elder Bai said, greeting them excitedly. "The residences have been arranged. Settle down first. The village has prepared a banquet to welcome you to White Wolf Village and fight alongside us."
"After we have settled down, we will certainly drink with you until we are drunk, Elder Bai."
The High Priests of Long Ape Village and Golden Eagle Village had expected that they would not receive much preferential treatment after moving to White Wolf Village, but for the sake of survival, they had no choice but to endure. However, they never expected that Elder Bai, based on their respective living habits, would choose the most suitable terrain for them, allowing them to form their own separate village without any interference.
"I was indeed thinking too narrowly," the High Priest of Golden Eagle Village sighed inwardly. He then looked at the busy villagers of White Wolf Village in the distance and immediately instructed, "Settle down quickly, and then let's go to the banquet for drinks."
"Yes, High Priest."
Long Ape Village was originally unwilling to relocate, but for the sake of resisting external enemies, they had no choice. When they saw the accommodations arranged for them by White Wolf Village, they all breathed a sigh of relief. They orderly settled their elders and children before heading to the banquet.
The children were full of curiosity about the new place. One by one, they followed their parents, their round, bright eyes scanning their surroundings. The children of White Wolf Village were particularly lively and quickly began to play with the children from the other two villages.
The three High Priests sat at the head of the table, watching the village warriors gather together, filled with emotion. "I never thought that we could sit together peacefully, drinking and eating meat like this."
"Nor did I," Elder Bai replied. "We are ultimately getting old. We are not as daring as the younger generation."
"Elder Bai, how do you plan to handle Elder Lu?" Elder Jin inquired.
"I have already let them go," Elder Bai said softly. "Even though I knew they had defected to Blazing Tiger Village, I couldn't bring myself to blame them. After all, Elk Village is weak, and they need to survive. It's understandable that they would defect to Blazing Tiger Village for survival. Who can blame them when we were too weak to be Blazing Tiger Village's match?"
"Now, no one should dare to underestimate us," Elder Yuan said, taking a large gulp of wine and smiling. "With our three villages now as one, outsiders will have to think twice before trying to move against us."
As he spoke, a dazzling azure light circle rose into the sky above the village, causing the children to run around excitedly. Elder Jin and Elder Yuan looked at Elder Bai in unison.
"What is this?"
"The Village Protection Array," Elder Bai said proudly. "This array was set up by that child Xiao Man using spirit stones and beast cores. With this array, even if all the men in our village go out, no one can harm the women and children in our village, freeing us from our worries."
"Spirit stones... Xiao Man is an outsider," Elder Jin quickly deduced.
"Yes, she is an outsider. She stays in White Wolf Village because she wants to find a way out," Elder Bai said, looking at the two. "Elder Jin, Elder Yuan, do you know how to leave the wilderness?"
Elder Yuan shook his head. "Our Long Ape clan has lived on this land for generations. The furthest we have ever gone is the bank of the Ruoshui River. How would we know the way out?"
Elder Jin fell into a brief silence before speaking. "I have heard a rumor that might be useful to her."
"What rumor?"
"It is rumored that on the other side of the Ruoshui River, there is a different world. We have no way out here, but perhaps there is one on the other side."
"The other side of the Ruoshui River?" Elder Bai frowned. Isn't that the same as having no way out? After all, the Ruoshui River is impassable for birds, and nothing floats on it. There is no way to cross the river, and therefore no way out.
"Yes, if there is a way out, it can only be on the other side of the Ruoshui River," Elder Jin sighed. "However, having a path and having no path is no different."
"If not for the obstruction of the Ruoshui River, we could have gone to other places. But this Ruoshui River is a natural barrier, forcing our ancestors and their descendants to live only on this land."
"If there is no way out, how did she get in?" Elder Yuan asked, gnawing on a pork knuckle.
Elder Jin paused. Indeed, if there was no way out, how did this person get in? Since there was a way in, there must be a way out, but they simply did not know it.