Chapter 812 - It Is Not A Migration (1/2)

Mu Fa rested on a boulder among the grass, a few Longboat tribesmen had just returned from scouting the path ahead.

The rest of the Flaming Horn convoy and Longboats were at the back. Mu Fa and his scouts first scouted the path ahead since they were familiar with the area and could predict the situation based on every detail. They mainly wanted to check if the slave masters and aristocrats had taken any action.

Based on the shortest route, they must pass through the area near Chao Qiu City so the Longboat tribe visited them the most.

As one of the six main cities, Chao Qiu City was also the farthest from King City. They received news the slowest too so if Chao Qiu City knew that the Flaming Horns were coming, the rest would too.

However, the scouts told Mu Fa that there was nothing different with Chao Qiu City and this worried him. If Chao Qiu City did not know about their arrival, would they attack the Flaming Horn’s convoy when they met?

Mu Fa’s brows knitted with thought when he suddenly looked ahead, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

Everyone looked over cautiously.

There were many robbers in the area, the Longboats encountered people like that every time they came. All thirty Longboat tribesmen’s eyes fixated on the commotion ahead.

They picked up a scent. A scent they hated most.

“Black Mackerels,” said one of them in a low voice with a disgusted expression like he smelled faeces.

“Mm.” Mu Fa maintained his sitting posture on the rock, his eyes staring ahead.

The Black Mackerels were a younger organisation, only a decade old. They were strong swimmers, good with ships, risk-takers and very aggressive.

In the past, they only frequented the rivers and occasionally the ocean. Being at sea was dangerous and there were not many targets so they focused on the rivers inland. They traded, transported both people and goods, robbed other groups and everything else. Of course, if they only did this, they would just be a negligible bunch amongst so many groups. After the disaster, when both continents grew closer, the Black Mackerels capitalised on the opportunity and expanded their operations into the ocean. They charged high prices to bring people over to the other side. These two years, they recruited at least two thousand new members, a portion staying on land to further their business while the rest expanded their coastal territory.

The Black Mackerels also thought about buying boats from the Longboat tribe since they were good at it. Every ship could withstand many voyages and was large enough- much better than the ones the Black Mackerels owned. The reason why they still had not truly set foot on the other continent was that their current ships could only smuggle some people or goods over, though unfit for marine warfare and transporting precious goods.

Unfortunately, the Longboats refused to sell their boats. No matter how the Black Mackerels intimidated, threatened and enticed them, they still refused.

When the Longboat tribe was conquering their own territory, Black Mackerel had worked with two other groups to harass the Longboats. That was why the Longboats always looked disgusted whenever the ‘Black Mackerels’ were mentioned.

Very soon, a group of people appeared within Mu Fa’s field of vision. It was a group of two hundred, very loud and had no intentions of hiding themselves. That was why Mu Fa and the rest noticed them so quickly.

“Ah, and I was wondering who it was! So it’s you.” The leader of the group was clad in grey clothing not made from land animals but from marine beasts. Half of his outfit was made of sharkskin, a favourite amongst the Black Mackerels. A necklace of maroon beads shone on his neck. They were made from bones and rocks from the ocean.

This person’s name was Sea Sand, chief of the Black Mackerels.

Mu Fa looked at the people behind Sea Sand. There were five large bow-horned bulls pulling wagons filled with goods. They must be returning from business at Chao Qiu City.

The five bulls were too noisy, they would not be able to hide if they wanted to.

Bow-horned bulls were animals used to pull wagons, larger than other bulls. The horns on their head resembled bows, longer than other bulls. They were easy to tame, more placid than other bulls though they looked intimidating.

Looking at the goods, this must have been a successful haul. That was why they were in a good mood.

Sea Sand was privately surprised to see Mu Fa unresponsive. IN the past, the Longboats would give them looks of disgust, even if they did not fight or speak, they would even give a scoff. Right now, they did not seem to even want to look at them.

But that was fine. Seeing as there were so few Longboats here, a cunning sneer crept unto Sea Sand’s face. He turned to the people around and exchanged a look. They all wanted to teach these Longboats a lesson today.

Sea Sand’s actions were not subtle, he knew the Longboats were watching. He wanted to see them fume but when he turned, he noticed a strange expression on their faces. They were not worried at all- in fact, they seemed to be mocking Sea Sand.

Shock registered for a second in his eyes as Sea Sand’s face fell.

Something was wrong.

Sea Sand must obviously be an observant person to become the leader of the Black Macherels, helping their entire organisation thrive. He gestured to the people behind, implying for them not to move.

Why were the Longboats so calm in the face of their deliberate mockery? Where was their confidence coming from?!

As he tried to figure out the reason, he saw a few birds in the sky.

“Mooo—-”

The five bulls scraped the ground with their hooves, mooing anxiously.

Chests tightened.

“Remain vigilant!”

“Someone’s coming!”

Sea Sand’s sneer disappeared completely. He looked up at the trees behind Mu Fa’s group.

Approaching footsteps. Sea Sand’s ear twitched, he could tell that there were predator beast footsteps too, and this beast was not small.

Who?

Who is it?!

Crack crack crack—