Chapter 227

Chapter 227: Gufya Grassland (Part Three)

That night, after staying in a warm and spacious tent with Nia, Lolan Hill slept well, easing the fatigue from her travels over the past few days. The next morning, as the sun rose high, she slowly got up from the woolen blanket wearing only her sleeping clothes.

Rubbing her eyes and smoothing out her stray hair, she then heard the conversation outside the tent.

“Uncle Kule, I saw everyone driving the herd back yesterday. Did something happen?”

Nia’s voice came from outside, followed by a deep voice.

“Recently, the conflict between the White Wolf Clan and the Black Wolf Clan has intensified. Not long ago, the leader of the Black Wolf Clan led his people to storm the wedding site, kidnapping the bride of the White Wolf Clan’s heir. After being humiliated, the White Wolf Clan has been retaliating fiercely. Just two days ago, thousands of people from both sides faced off at the Sheumu River. Though there wasn’t a large-scale battle, each side lost dozens of people.”

“The situation is getting worse. Both clans are huge tribes with tens of thousands of members. If they were to fight full-scale, we could easily get caught in the crossfire,” said the deep-voiced uncle with great concern.

“Weren’t the shamans trying to mediate?” asked Nia.

“At the beginning of the month, the Snow Leopard Clan’s Shaman Jianke acted as a mediator, but it’s said that the two sides nearly came to blows inside the mediation tent. In the end, Shaman Jianke couldn’t do anything and had to let them resolve it themselves.”

“It’s mainly because the old Wolf King passed away so suddenly while hunting the Fire God Falcon, dying in an accident. Without the pressure of Sequence 7, his sons now have different ambitions. The once mighty Wolf Ear Clan is now divided into six factions.”

“Though the leaders of the White Wolf Clan and the Black Wolf Clan are brothers, they’ve never gotten along well. It’s said that when the Black Wolf Clan’s leader was young, he was even cuckolded by the handsome leader of the White Wolf Clan, which he considers a great humiliation. Now that he has risen to power, he naturally wants to take revenge.”

“I see,” Nia sighed.

“For our Goat Horn Clan, any of these clans is a formidable force that we can’t afford to provoke. So, for now, we can only retreat to avoid being caught up in their conflicts.”

“If they really come and take or kill us, we can only say we were mistaken, that it was accidental. We wouldn’t be able to argue, and we’d just have to accept our fate.”

“Keep going, Nia. The future of your clan depends on you.”

Looking at you. The old clan leader has already said that after your graduation, he will step down directly and let you take over.”

When Lolan Hill was dressed and walked out of the tent, she saw only Nia standing outside, seemingly lost in thought.

“Awake, Lolan.” Nia greeted her when she saw Lolan Hill come out.

“Mm. Good morning, Nia.”

“It’s not early anymore, Lolan. It’s almost noon,” Nia said with a smile, then pulled Lolan to have breakfast.

Breakfast consisted of grilled pancakes and slices of roasted sausages, washed down with goat milk tea. Although the Goat-Horned Clan wasn’t wealthy, the food provided for guests was sufficient, especially since the guest was Nia’s classmate and a noble from Emanas.

After resting for a day at Nia’s home, Lolan Hill and she set out again on their journey towards their destination, the region where the stone red demon boar lived.

They exchanged several good horses within the tribe, traveling faster than before. Riding across the vast wilderness, following the rolling clouds in the sky, the sunlight appeared and disappeared intermittently, causing the earth to slowly shift between brightness and dimness.

As they continued westward, they encountered more and more orcs on the road. Various groups, some with 4-5 people, some with 20-30, and even some with over 100 people. They wore leather coats and hemp clothes, which were much more colorful than those seen when first entering the ancient Gufya grassland.

Red, blue, black, yellow, white—both males and females could be seen, with some young women even wearing silver ornaments.

Seeing Lolan Hill’s curiosity, Nia explained, “They are going to the Fire Harvest Festival.”

So that’s it, Lolan Hill thought, recalling the information she had seen in Emanas. The orcs’ worship of fire could be traced back to very ancient times, and it was said this tradition even originated during the time of the Giant King’s court.

According to the murals discovered by archaeologists, the giant emperor sat high on the throne, with a huge sun behind him. The sun’s rays spread like feathers, enveloping the world, while a wisp of flame burned in the giant’s heart.

It was said that this was the first wisp of flame to descend to the mortal world, the first light and warmth.

The source of all fires, the fire of fires.

The king of the giants sprinkled flames upon the earth, and from these flames, various human forms were born. These were the ancestors of all human-like intelligent beings.

But this claim was not acknowledged by the Elves, who believed that they were the first to be born from the fruits of the World Tree, transforming into human form upon landing.

The mythology of the Eastern Continent speaks of dragons creating the world, with the Creator Dragon forming the world by biting its own tail in the void. Humans are said to have been transformed from the tears of the Creator Dragon.

There are various accounts; some say humans are descendants of angels who lost their wings, while a few even believe humans are the secret offspring of demons, abandoned by their parents. However, in truth, angels and demons only appeared much later in this world.

Regardless of these myths and legends, the Beastmen still retain the tradition of worshipping fire. During the Fire Festival, each tribe sends representatives to gather fire at the grand assembly, then bringing it back to their clans, which is believed to bring good fortune and honor.

Shamans also meet during festivals to discuss matters together, and occasionally, after reaching a consensus, they would issue regulations applicable to all Beastman tribes.

It is through these few traditional festivals and rituals that Shamans barely maintain cohesion among the tribes, preventing them from abandoning the Beastman identity and becoming unrelated races.

After the fall of the Fangtooth Empire, many tribes scattered far and wide, disappearing from history, such as the strong Crocodile Tail clan, the Golden-winged Roc Wing clan, and the Snake-headed Chicken clan with their magical eyes.

After the Chaos War, each race suffered heavy losses, but humans quickly recovered, reclaiming every corner of the continent with their strong adaptability. The Beastmen could only survive by banding together on the grasslands.

If not for the rapid rise of the Verdant Empire, the Knights of the West Wind would have directly charged into the grasslands, continuing their conquest. Those Fox-eared Beastmen serving in and living within the West Wind had profound knowledge about these Beastman kin.

Although individually powerful, they lack discipline and unity, like loose stones, unable to achieve greatness.

During Roland’s reign, the Western Wind Kingdom flew long swallow-tail banners, resembling an ocean. Knights marched into battle following the horns, spears and halberds like forests. Under the banner of glory and mission, the Knights were invincible, winning every battle.

Thank you, Ye Ling OwO. Quickly check on you, Noel desu, Purple Bamboo Star Cloud xzr, Devouring Solar Eclipse, Emperor Nameless, Couch Potato Otaku, Tang Dynasty Government, Book Reader 20170429170938990, Sword Questioning Heart, Dream Shattered, and the 11 patrons.

(End of Chapter)