"Witness the Chief Divine! Rest for an hour, the samurai will bake bread and eat. Do not disperse, do not enter the houses!"
The hoarse shout sounded like the roar of a tiger, shaking all the samurai, militia, and tribespeople, making them involuntarily tremble. The First Level Military rit Nobility, Warrior Captain Luo Tolei squinted his eyes and coldly ordered loudly. He turned his one intact right ear to the side, looked dangerously at the "simple" tribal flag team, and hoarsely shouted once more.
"You, who is the leader?…"
"Ah! Praise the Chief Divine! Praise Your Majesty! I am the leader of the flag team, Luo Tongfu…"
"Praise Your Majesty!! Your surna is Luo? From the Imperial Guard Legion?…"
"No, I am not, I was not chosen for the Imperial Guard… I followed the Black Wolf Leader before, fought in the Eastern Campaign of Tlaxcala!"
"Louder! I can't hear!… Oh, so you are an old soldier of the Eastern Campaign, enfeoffed here."
On hearing this, Warrior Captain Luo Tolei's expression slightly softened, and he slowly nodded. His eyes were sowhat cloudy, mixed with a beast-like ferocity and fanaticism. He only had an intact right ear, his left ear was half missing, and his left face bore a large grim burn scar. Upon closer inspection, his right hand tightly gripped a bronze axe, his left hand had only three fingers remaining, and just standing there, he emanated an aura of fierce lethality as if he had climbed out from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
Two steps away, the flag team leader Luo Tongfu pursed his lips, and his expression beca more solemn. He respectfully bowed his head, saluted the Warrior Captain, and then softly inquired.
"Chief Divine bless! Are you… an elite warrior from the Imperial Guard Legion?…"
"Hmm! I am Your Majesty's guard, from the throwing Vanguard Camp! I'm leading this li transport mission!"
Warrior Captain Luo Tolei's voice was loud, each sentence seed like a roar. He could only hear with one ear, the other ear was deafened when hurling "Divine Power Globes" while attacking cities in Totonac tribes during the Eastern Campaign, losing half an ear, two fingers, with half his face burned as well.
The priest responsible for treatnt said he was lucky, not only picked up a life from the pile of corpses during the siege, overca fever, and didn't lose limbs. As for missing two fingers, it was nothing, he could still continue to fight in the legion!… But what the priest said sounded like mosquito buzzing to his ear. This was troubleso, as he was half-deaf, couldn't clearly hear military orders, and naturally couldn't stay in the Imperial Guard anymore.
Luckily, when the army captured the city, there were military rits and rewards to be distributed. Commander Ata reported his vanguard military rit, and he was exceptionally promoted to First Level Military rit Nobility, thoroughly breaking the difficult barrier from samurai to nobility! Then, he was granted title by military rit, enfeoffed around Apa County. He not only had eight hundred acres of land, forty agricultural slaves, but also married five or six wives, welcod dozens of relatives into his clan, and finally served as the town's security Warrior Captain.
This desperate struggle, from joining the Kingdom in the Southern Expedition, as a Vanguard Camp for the Black Wolf Marshal during the Eastern Campaign of Tlaxcala, to surviving countless brushes with death, being selected into the Imperial Guard Legion, rising to beco a Veteran Warrior. Then taking life-risking assaults, hurling "Thunderbolt" as Vanguard, and finally becoming a Military rit Nobility!… This seven or eight years of piling corpses and blood-soaked battlegrounds, he killed countless enemies, and countless comrades died, finally bringing incredible rewards, it was ti to retire in advance and enjoy a peaceful life…
Yet at night, in his dreams, he would still dream of the battles and shouts of the Eastern Campaign, dream of those repeated hurls and thunderbolts! He was like a fierce beast trapped in a maid body, the past imprints were too deep, he couldn't forget the taste of blood and fire, nor could he ever relax completely.
"Oh, Chief Divine! You are the chosen Vanguard of the throwing camp?! Ah, you are also a warrior of the battleground who advanced to Military rit Nobility!!…"
Hearing the identity of the Warrior Captain, flag team leader Luo Tongfu exclaid in surprise, bowed his head in salute once more. At this mont, deep reverence appeared on his face, this was reverence for the siege warriors, and also respect for reaching the pinnacle of the samurai's path!
These Imperial Guard Vanguards in throwing thunderbolts, were almost the most fanatically devout and bravely fearless elite warriors in the entire Kingdom of the Lake, revered by both sides as "Chosen Vanguards"!
These vanguards must undergo harsh selection, possessing extrely strong physical qualities, able to carry a fuming "Divine Power Globes," sprint hundreds of ters, climb ladders amidst arrows and stones, then accurately throw the impending explosive "Thunderbolt" into the crowd on the city walls, creating the most horrifying explosive casualties!
There is no doubt, in all the army corps of the kingdom, the throwing Vanguard Camp is the fastest to advance, and also the camp with the highest casualty rate. As long as one can survive during sieges, one stands a great chance of advancing to nobility, altering one's fate and class completely!
"Hmm! Chief Divine bless!…"
Warrior Captain Luo Tolei nodded, his scarred terrifying face revealed a sowhat frightening smile. He turned around, first pointing to a few hundred militia, then pointed to the hundreds of peddlers behind, and issued concise and powerful instructions.
"These militia, transporting li, give them so mixed grains to eat. You won't eat for nothing, I'll give you two axes!… Those selling goods, I've already made arrangents, they won't lower the price too much. And don't you rob!…"
"Yes! We'll all obey you!..."
Faced with such an iron-blooded veteran capable of fighting and killing, the flag team leader, Luo Tongfu, nodded in agreent, and the entire flag team had no objections. He imdiately instructed Luo Bing to fetch so grain and then respectfully asked.
"Captain, would you like to co into the village and have so warm food? We still have so deer fat, perfect for frying sweet bugs..."
"No need! Just bring so firewood, we'll eat outside. I won't eat the flag team's food in the mountains. I won't take your benefits! It's not safe either!"
Hearing this straightforward answer, Luo Tongfu was montarily stunned and silently rubbed his nose. The tactics of so tribal flag teams, especially those Canine Descendants from the wilderness, were indeed too clever. But their flag team, being Tekos, were straightforward and honest n! They would never resort to underhanded tricks if they could openly take what they needed, and certainly wouldn't resort to poisoning...
"One hour! You do your trading! When ti's up, the team moves out!..."
Warrior Captain Luo Tolei did not pay much attention. He turned and shouted twice at the traveling rchants following behind, garnering so high and low praises, which he ignored. Then he walked straight into the warrior team to start a fire and bake so flatbread.
These corn tortillas were brought from the city. While they lacked flavor, they were filling and prevented hunger. Most importantly, they were trouble-free...
This team transporting white ash originated from Apa City. By the ti they reached the Hand Snake City area, they had traveled almost three hundred miles. They had to continue another three hundred miles west until they reached the Fire River City of the Colima tribes. There, they would load the white ash and transport it back to Apa City.
The round trip was twelve hundred miles and would take almost a month, a truly arduous task! The tribal flag teams along the way were poor and rough, so excessively "pure," offering little profit and even the risk of being ambushed and injured.
For such taxing and less profitable work, as the leading Warrior Captain, Luo Tolei had to appease the warriors within the team and find acceptable benefits for them, relying only on the city's rchants.
After so negotiations, the warriors provided safe passage for mountain trade, allowing rchants to follow and trade mountain goods with flag teams along the way. In return, rchants provided support by offering a substantial amount of goods from their trade profits to the protecting warriors. Consequently, the team transporting ash transford into an actual mountain caravan. The operation was tacitly approved by the Warrior Camp Chief of Apa City, the temple's High Priest, and the priests of various flag teams. After all...
"Witnessed by the Chief Divine! Transporting white ash through the mountains is a tough task. If you follow , you are my brothers, and I will not treat you poorly!..."
Warrior Captain Luo Tolei spoke thunderously while eating the flatbread. The so-called white ash referred to "volcanic ash," a specialty of the Colima Mountain Region. Ever since its discovery as a natural building cent, nearly all the kingdom's nobility and priest class urgently needed this moldable, waterproof, sturdy, and aesthetically pleasing building material, willing to pay for its procurent!
From the palaces of nobles, temples of priests, samurai families' manors outside the city, to infrastructure projects like road and dam construction in hazardous areas, this "divinely granted white ash that can turn to stone" was in demand! The vast reserves of such white ash around the Colima volcano led the kingdom and the Colima tribes to jointly discover and establish multiple volcanic ash sites, where the extracted white ash piled up like mountains. Transporting the white ash out ant real wealth! The only constraint was the long mountain transport routes...
"Blessed by the Chief Divine! It's about ti, we should hit the road!"
"Orders from the team leader, prepare to move out! Hurry up, make sure those rchants keep up! Those who can't keep pace will remain with the mountain tribes..."
"Ah! Quick, quick! Pack up, pack up... The samurai are leaving, everyone follow!..."
"Ding-ling! Ding-ling!..."
Soon, spring breezes swept through the mountains, and the crisp sound of bells rang out again. The orderly warriors, the clamor of the militia, tightly following rchants, and the simple tribal flag teams behind them, reluctantly seeing off and trying to retain the rchants... all followed the bells westward, gradually disappearing into the undulating mountain forests.
This grey-yellow dirt road stretched westward until the towering, smoking Colima volcano appeared on the horizon, turning into a white stone path. These stone paths branched out, connecting various ash sites at the foot of the volcano and the increasingly prosperous Great City of Colima, Fire River City.
In the warm spring sun, the elderly Chief of Colima was seated on a high palanquin, heading toward the volcanic hot springs outside the city, accompanied by hundreds of warriors and personal escorts. Such journeys during early spring were an annual routine for him.
However, this ti it was notably different, a difference everyone was aware of. The elderly Chief of Colima wore a doting smile, reaching out to hold the hand of a two-year-old boy beside him. This robust, tiger-headed boy was curiously peering down at the servants carrying him with wide, round eyes. His identity was none other than Xiulote's third son, the undoubtedly determined heir of over two hundred thousand Colima tribes, Xiu Xiudun Tepeiter, of the Xiu Yanshan!
User Comments
0 comments from readers