Garrett’s expression grew increasingly serious.
Two gods... no, the gods of two factions, bringing with them their totem gods, divine beasts, priests, and warriors, were gearing up for battle. In such a heavily charged atmosphere, he wanted to sneak past the blockade?
Garrett imagined a scene akin to the days before D-Day, with the ominous clouds hanging low.
A small team, belonging neither to the Allies nor the Axis, attempting to sneak ashore from the beaches of Normandy or any beach along the English Channel... what kind of scenario would that be...
A shiver ran down his spine, and he felt as if a giant exclamation mark had appeared on his forehead, written in bold and highlighted with the words “seeking death.”
“How is the Land of Eagles?” he cautiously inquired.
“How many people do they have? How many warriors? How powerful are their gods? What are the strengths of their gods and priests?”
“Uh...”
The first question stumped the old high shaman. Garrett suspected this was because the natives of the New World didn’t have the concept of a “population census.” He quickly changed his question:
“How many people are there in total among all your tribes here?”
“Uh...”
Still no answer. Garrett decided to break it down further and directly asked the chieftains and shamans of the Bison Tribe, the Red Hawk Tribe, the Black Panther Tribe, and others one by one:
“How many people are in your tribe? ...And yours? Yours?”
“Two to three thousand.”
“Two thousand.”
“Five thousand.”
“Over three thousand, but a plague took many lives recently, so now just under three thousand...”
After adding everything up, the total population of the tribes gathered here was around forty to fifty thousand. Garrett pondered for a mont:
“So, is the population of the Land of Eagles more or less than all of you combined?”
“Definitely more!”
“A lot more!”
“How many tis more? Twice, five tis, or ten tis?”
“...”
No answer again. Garrett sighed inwardly.
He really missed his previous life... Wanting to know the population of a country or city, just a quick search on Baidu would suffice... though the data might be a year or two old, it would still be roughly accurate...
Well, there were other ways to estimate. Garrett thought quickly and continued asking:
“Do they have a capital? How big is their capital?”
“They do have a capital!” The old high shaman nodded affirmatively:
“One of our traveling tribesn, who we call a dandelion—oh, I an, one of our tribesn who ventured out—has been to their capital. It’s a very peaceful and beautiful basin surrounded by mountains, as large as fifty Puska.”
Seeing Garrett’s puzzled look, he quickly added:
“It takes a whole day to walk from east to west, and two days from north to south.”
“Two hundred li wide, and four hundred li long.” Mr. Baronessimo, more familiar with the New World, whispered behind Garrett.
That’s a particularly large basin. Garrett took a deep breath in awe.
This area is much larger than the Sichuan Basin!
Although he couldn’t say exactly how many people the Sichuan Basin could support, it should be over a hundred million. Even with limited productivity among the natives, halving it to ten million?
“Ah, half of this basin is a lake, a particularly clear and beautiful lake called the Tears of the Mountain God. The other half is where people live.”
The old high shaman hurriedly added. Garrett nodded:
Halfing ten million gives five million, that’s okay... okay, not really! The entire Kent Kingdom has just over ten million people, definitely not twenty million!
The population of the Kent Kingdom supports the Church of the God of Nature, the Temple of the God of War, and the Spring Goddess Temple! Plus, so still believe in the Radiant Church, which was expelled only a few years ago...
Five million people providing faith to a god, no, a pair of gods—how powerful could those gods be? Their strongest priest should be at least legendary, right?
“What are the characteristics of their power?”
“Their power is very distinctive. The Eagle God’s warriors are divided into Black Eagle Warriors, White Eagle Warriors, and Golden Eagle Warriors.” The old high shaman counted on his fingers as he explained:
“Black Eagle Warriors can glide briefly using the Eagle God’s power, White Eagle Warriors can fly, and Golden Eagle Warriors can throw spears imbued with the sun’s power, which can burn through the Plague Maiden’s black mist on contact.”
Hiss... not sure how these levels are classified. If Black Eagle Warriors are equivalent to knights, White Eagles to level 10 grand knights, and Golden Eagles to level 15 sky knights... Garrett shuddered at the thought of being bombarded by a group of sky knights’ spear throws, even Cirilla wouldn’t withstand it!
“Should I go ho and call for mom and dad?”
Cirilla, a bit nervous, shuffled over and tugged on Garrett’s sleeve. Garrett firmly shook his head:
“No need. If necessary, I’ll call my teacher...”
Rescuing Lynn, on a small scale, was his personal matter, on a larger scale, it was the council’s responsibility. Having Cirilla accompany him on such a dangerous mission was already pushing it; ensuring her safety should co first, having her parents intervene wasn’t an option.
Does the council lack legendary figures?
He stared at the old high shaman, waiting for his next description. The Eagle God’s warriors drew power from the sun, but what about the Snake God? And those priests known as “Snake Won”?
“As for the Snake God’s priests, they represent the earth and death. They grant fertility to the land, ensure abundant harvests, and aid livestock growth. Simultaneously, they guide all the dead back to the underworld, awaiting their resurrection.”
“In fact, conducting rituals, especially human sacrifices to appease the gods and serving deceased kings, has always been the duty of the Snake God’s priests. The strongest Snake Won walk the line between life and death.”
Garrett instinctively closed his eyes. No need to ask further, Lynn is definitely trapped there...
Isn’t that just the native version of necromancers? Recently promoted to level nine, full of vigor, he would definitely venture to the New World for more experience!
And now the question is:
“How strong are the Golden Eagle Warriors and Snake Won?” He looked around at the high shamans and chieftains in the square:
Golden Eagle Warriors and Snake Won are the main forces against the Plague Maiden; the natives here also wish to unite against the Plague Maiden. Their warriors and priests, or at least their totem gods, shouldn’t be too weak, right?
“How strong are their gods? Can their gods intervene directly? Can your gods intervene directly?”
The high shamans exchanged glances and their expressions relaxed a bit. The chieftain of the Bison Tribe stepped forward:
“Respected guest, your enemy is very powerful, and rescuing soone will be very dangerous. We earnestly request you to stay a few days to help protect our warriors from the plague. In return, we can offer you terrain, information, and warriors, anything you need!”
Garrett was moved. He glanced at Cirilla, then at the tense Bernard and Baronessimo, and after so thought, said:
“Your tribes’ territory should be vast, right? If I head west from here, passing through the Bison Tribe and Black Panther Tribe, treating your people along the way in exchange for information, would that work? This way, it won’t delay your matters or mine—”
“Respected guest, you don’t have to be in such a hurry.” In the slight commotion, the old high shaman of the Dandelion Tribe stepped forward to stop him:
“If your friend is in trouble, the most likely scenario is that he’s being prepared as a sacrifice. The Land of Eagles always values outsiders and usually reserves human sacrifices for the sumr solstice, when the sun’s power is at its peak—”
Garrett quickly calculated the ti. Based on Mr. Troka’s arrival, Brother Lynn’s incident happened after the sumr solstice; it’s now winter, and according to the Kent Kingdom’s calendar, it’s not yet the new year.
In other words, if Brother Lynn wasn’t killed imdiately for trespassing, he should still be safe. There’s almost half a year until the next sumr solstice.
He exhaled slightly, lowering his shoulders. The old high shaman of the Dandelion Tribe seized the opportunity:
“Respected guest, shall we return to the platform? Please treat the children of the Red Hawk Tribe. anwhile, we’ll prepare maps of the Land of Eagles and information on their strong warriors, and arrange people to scout. If needed, we can also recomnd warriors to accompany you.”
He gestured, and soone imdiately and quietly left. The old high shaman exchanged glances with the other chieftains, continuing to smile:
“If your companions are interested, they can also spar with our tribal warriors to estimate the strength of the Land of Eagles’ warriors. As for the strength of our totem gods, it requires a grand ritual to communicate with them...”
Garrett sighed inwardly and turned towards the high platform, slowly ascending with the high shamans in tow. On the highest of the four-tiered mounds, a large number of warriors had already lined up, carrying the Red Hawk Tribe’s patients towards the temple.
No getting out of this. Garrett shrugged and stepped forward to examine the patients, casting “Remove Disease,” one by one on the lightly afflicted.
Just as he finished a round, a sudden commotion arose
behind him. The ground shook with heavy footsteps. Garrett turned abruptly to see a warrior clad in hard leather armor and wearing a bull horn helt erge from the crowd, walking straight towards Bernard:
“I am Hardigg, a Bison Tribe warrior!”
He pounded his shoulder, his fist hitting the leather armor with a dull thud:
“I once fought a White Eagle Warrior from the Land of Eagles to a draw! This morning, the warrior you defeated was my brother, and I challenge you!”
Bernard silently unslung his large bone club.
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