Outside Trout Fish Village, Black Wolf erged from hundreds of his trusted aides. He looked across at the samurai leader, surprised as he asked.
"Chief Divine’s blessings! Huitu Puapu, so it’s you! How co you are here?!"
Huitu Puapu, with a surprised and suspicious expression, looked at the suddenly appearing Black Wolf General. He had been banished to the kingdom’s southernmost boundary, assigned not only to guard the kingdom’s sole rivermouth but also to build camps, construct houses, and store so timber and food. These tasks were impossible for one person to complete. Therefore, the king had given him three hundred newly surrendered southern samurais to suppress the Tekos along the banks of the river and to collect tribute from the villages and conscript local strongn.
"Chief Divine’s blessings! His Majesty posted to guard the rivermouth of the Tarsas River, and I just arrived not long ago."
Huitu Puapu responded cautiously with a smile. Speaking of which, he and so old Militia had once snatched a leading man’s head from Black Wolf’s hands; now being here, he couldn’t afford to offend him.
"Honored Black Wolf Legion Commander, why do you co from the west? Kimari, the Great Chief, is at war with the Kingdom, and I guard day and night here. I thought it was the Tekos Alliance sending troops to retaliate when I heard that a large army was coming..."
"Haha! Kimari is finished! I ca over seven hundred miles from the west and set fire to Hand Snake City, taking food supplies along the way. His army, having nothing to eat, will soon scatter!"
Black Wolf laughed heartily, speaking freely.
"Ah! Burned Hand Snake City? Travelled seven hundred miles? That’s indeed the peerless Black Wolf General!"
Huitu was extrely shocked. Such a bold strategy could only co from Black Wolf.
Upon hearing this, Black Wolf was full of confidence and quite pleased with himself. Then, his eyes sparkled, and he again felt a burst of combativeness.
"Huitu, where is your Qinchongcan camp? I have three thousand warriors, and with your two thousand samurais, we could even take down Sea Woman City to the southeast!"
"Ah!... I, I no longer... control the Qinchongcan camp..."
Huitu’s expression beca sowhat awkward as he replied in a low voice.
"Guramo assassinated His Majesty, I had once accepted his bribes, and failed to capture him to apologize..."
"Hmm?!"
Angered, Black Wolf abruptly drew his Bronze Sword, swiftly positioning it at Huitu’s neck.
"The Zicao Family tried to assassinate His Lordship, I’ve heard as much. I didn’t expect you to be involved as well!"
"Ah... No, no, no that’s not..."
Huitu’s face turned pale as he protested repeatedly, not daring to make a move. He had barely escaped with his life from the king’s hands; if he were to be killed here by Black Wolf, it would be too unjust.
"Honored Black Wolf Legion Commander, I was not involved! I have been utterly loyal to His Majesty, he is my only king. Chief Divine witness, it was I who personally burned down the Zicao Family’s manor!..."
"Hmm... I suppose you wouldn’t have the courage!"
Black Wolf glared intensely, studying Huitu for a mont before finally lowering his Bronze Sword.
"Your army was conscripted by . How many n and boats do you have now?"
"...Three hundred samurais, seventy canoes."
Huitu pursed his lips, answering with his head lowered.
"That’s too few!"
Black Wolf furrowed his brows. Taking over thirty thousand to attack Sea Woman City was a bit risky, mainly because the opposing forces were unknown, their military strength unclear, and the terrain unfamiliar... He pondered for a mont, then sighed.
"Never mind, we’ll spare them for now."
"..mander Black Wolf, are you planning to return to the Kingdom?"
"Yes. But before I return to the Kingdom, there’s one more thing I must do."
Black Wolf’s lips curled into a smile.
"Go to the nearby Divine Mountain to inscribe a monunt to our achievents!"
"The Divine Mountain west of Trout Fish Village?"
Huitu was sowhat surprised. He had heard about that place from the southern samurai under his command.
"It is said that there resides a terrifying Mountain God who can control thunder and lightning. Whenever the dry season arrives and the Mountain God receives the offering of a blood sacrifice, it falls into slumber. But as soon as the rainy season arrives and the Mountain God awakens, there will be continuous thunder and lightning striking the Divine Mountain! And once the Mountain God becos enraged, it hurls the thunder and lighting to destroy those who offend it..."
"Hmm?"
Black Wolf paused slightly and looked toward his trusted aide, Mavik. Mavik had never spoken of this matter.
A chill went down Mavik’s spine, and a devout expression surfaced on his face.
"The Chief Divine is supre, His power limitless! Leader, the Mountain God here is just an unknown Evil God! For the glory of the Chief Divine, we must destroy the priests of the Evil God and cut off their blood sacrifices!"
Black Wolf considered for a mont and then nodded affirmatively.
"Mavik, you spoke well! Let’s go and take a look!"
Then, he glanced at Huitu.
"Huitu, will you join us?"
"...Let’s go!"
The three conversed briefly before taking along two hundred Canine Warriors and heading straight to the Divine Mountain. The villagers, including Maho, looked dismayed as they watched the group depart, murmuring.
"This... The priests have said, offending the Divine Mountain and its altar will anger the Mountain God... It is good if you die from the Mountain God’s rage, but do not bring trouble to our village..."
The group, all seasoned warriors, moved swiftly and soon covered ten miles, reaching the Divine Mountain near the range.
Black Wolf narrowed his eyes and looked up the mountain. Calling it a Divine Mountain, it was actually just a hill more than a hundred ters high, hardly comparable to the peaks further north.
At the top of the Divine Mountain was an altar of Black Stone, surrounded by many marks where lightning had struck. Most of the mountain was made up of ordinary mud, with occasional reddish-brown patterned rocks that sparkled in the sunlight. From halfway up the mountain downward, the vegetation began to grow sparse, interspersed with trees that had been struck by lightning. The portions of exposed rock began to show a gray-black sheen, also carrying deep dark indigo hues. Closer to the ground, the black-indigo rocks were again covered by mud, yet the plants remained scarce.
"Is this the Divine Mountain?"
Black Wolf looked for a while, sowhat disappointed. Such a small hill seed hardly worthy of his effort to inscribe a monunt. Then, he looked around and noticed a few small wooden huts built in a sparsely wooded area at the base of the mountain.
"Leader, that is where the priests of the Divine Mountain reside!"
Mavik said in a low voice, his expression carrying a trace of inexplicable fear.
Black Wolf, seeing his deanor, raised an eyebrow and called out loudly.
"Let’s go et the priests of the Mountain God!"
The group drew their weapons and cautiously approached the small wooden huts. Unexpectedly, the doors of the huts suddenly opened, and three priests erged, along with several sturdy Mountain Guard Warriors. The leading old priest was wearing a strange black-blue ceremonial dress, with lightning painted on the back and a blurred deity with two faces on the front.
Most peculiarly, from his arms to his hands dangled many indigo stones on short strings, glittering with tallic ghostlight in the sunlight. Many of the stones appeared to be alive, sensing each other and continuously trembling slightly.
"Which tribe are you from, daring to offend the Divine Mountain!"
The lead old priest puffed out his chest and with a strange and mystical gesture, suddenly waved his arms. All the stones appeared to hear the command and suddenly began rotating, then "snap, snap" they clung together! The conjoined stones under his two arms gathered into two dark blue stone spheres.
"Noble Mountain God, please grant Divine Power..."
The old priest’s expression was commanding as he chanted strange prayers, inspiring awe. Then, he slowly raised the two gathered stone spheres and perford so mysterious motions before suddenly squeezing them together! The two spheres joined into one.
"Mountain God’s Gaze!"
Finally, he shouted loudly, releasing his hands, but the combined stone sphere did not separate—it looked like a godly eye, rcilessly staring down everyone present!
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