Chapter 670 Check For The Dog Before Hitting The Owner (2/2)

The group consisted of approximately three hundred people. In the middle was a wooden wagon with large wooden crates tied to it. Those were the goods they received at the trading point, including fearsome beast hide, dried fearsome beast meat, fearsome beast horns and bone weapons etc. This was why they were willing to travel so far to the trading point.

Their tribe was situated in a place with cold winters. The insulation properties of regular animal fur were limited. Totemic warriors could make do even with thin fur but their children could not. The young often fell sick during winter. While the adults in the tribe, both men and women, were all muscular and fit, their children were still very weak. Child mortality spiked during their cold winters and even the shaman could not do anything other than saying it was a test for the children.

After some time, they found that fearsome beast hide was effective in keeping out the cold and therefore started to collect it. However, most of the fearsome beasts were found in the mountainous Fearsome Beast Forest region. The central plains barely had any, and other places had even fewer unless the tribes reared their own.

Yet how could they risk going to the Fearsome Beast Forest? First, it was far away. Second, it was risky. The chief did not agree to let them take such risks.

When the Flaming Horns were at the forest, they did not bring a lot of hides out to trade. Situated far from everyone else, no one knew much about them until the establishment of the trading point. As more and more fearsome beast hides were traded by the tribesmen within the central plains, news of the place spread. However, the prices were high so they only came during warmer seasons as they heard that the hides would be cheaper.

They were extremely satisfied with their haul from today, discussing their return next year. Although they wanted to visit more often, they were too far away and it took too long to come. There were also more robbers these days and they had to risk injuries every visit.

As they spoke, the person in front suddenly halted. Everyone stopped talking and grew alert.

Only the sound of birds chirping could be heard.

The winds blowing from the front brought with it a hint of blood. The people at the back looked in front to see that about a hundred metres ahead of the group was a person sitting on a boulder by the road.

This person was alone but they could sense that this was a dangerous person. He was larger than two of them. If he stood up, his height would be enough to intimidate anyone.

Not just that, they saw strange totemic patterns all over his greenish-grey skin. His clenched fish was larger than their faces and there was dried blood on it. At his feet were about ten dead bodies strewn on the ground. They were all dead but not from a sharp weapon. All he used was his fist.

Before they approached, they could sense the killing intent radiating from his body. The person looked up with a glare as fierce and sharp as an axe, as if he was about to kill someone in the next second. Many in the group clenched their muscles.

Even the vultures attracted by the corpses rested in the trees nearby and did not approach.

The group did not stop or change direction because of this. They sent a portion of people to test the waters but the man remained silent, not even looking at them.

They were not upset by this, instead heaving a small sigh of relief. They met all kinds of people when they travelled. There were many friendly-looking chatty people who were actually snakes- they would rather meet this sort of silent, ‘I-don’t-want-to-talk-to-you’ person. This sort of person would not do anything as long as you did not provoke them first.

They were a large group and confident enough to defeat him. However, a conflict would definitely result in unnecessary injuries and deaths. They must avoid this whenever possible.

Based on their experience, the corpses looked like the kind of robbers who ambushed their victims.

Sigh, didn’t they know how to read the room? To know what sort of people they mustn't touch? If you don’t even know that, why did you become a robber? That’s just looking for death. Therefore they got what they deserved.

The leader of the group retracted his gaze and gestured for everyone to hurry along the path. While they remained vigilant, until they travelled far away, the other guy did not even look at them. After everyone passed, the man crushed a body’s head with his foot.

The trading party hurried on.

When the group disappeared from view and no sound could be heard from them, the murderous glare suddenly turned from a sharp axe to its soft wooden handle.

The person got up from the rock. His back bent, he looked into the forest and said respectfully, “Master, they’re gone!”

There was a rustling and a person stepped out from the bushes. This person was clad in grey clothing. He was of average stature and did not look very strong. He elegantly patted away the bits of grass on his clothing. Compared to the muscle next to him, he looked like a child.

After he left the forest, he bent four fingers as his thumb touched the inner joints of each finger, as if counting. “We’ll arrive in five days.”

When he was about to leave, his eyes darted at the bodies. If he had come alone, he would have died a long time ago. Thank goodness he had his slave!

The aristocrats had a saying: check for the dog before hitting the owner!

If you can’t beat the dog, are you sure you want to provoke the owner?