Chapter 564
A Sign
The seven green-faced fanged beasts were already receiving the best treatment from the Flaming Horn tribe. It was rare for the Flaming Horn tribe to pay so much attention and care to beasts.
Recently, Shao Xuan had also extracted some blood, but then one day, after the beasts had finished their meals, they continued to remain in hibernation so Shao Xuan stopped extracting blood and let them enter hibernation mode. He could feel that it would take a long time until the next time these beasts wake up.
The second batch of green bronzes was finally created. Naturally, the chiefs and leaders with higher status and merit received these weapons first. The minor chiefs and leaders had about twenty people and there weren’t enough weapons for all of them, so the chiefs and leaders who received their weapons passed down their previous weapons to the rest of them so they could use them first.
Among these weapons, many were forged by Gongjia Heng. Although they were not as good as Shaoxuan’s sword, they were better than most of the bronzes. The minor chiefs were alright with using these weapons, knowing that there wasn’t enough green bronze at the moment. It was already nice enough that they had weapons. The soldiers outside were all staring with admiration.
They had already resolved the two problems at hand: the casting of bronzes and the breeding of green-faced fanged beasts. But now there is another very serious problem-the weather!
Yes, there was no snow piling higher than houses, and people could not freeze when they got out. Instead, they were facing the other extreme.
The weather now was even hotter compared to the time when Shao Xuan and his group came back from the forest. As soon as a bird’s egg fell to the ground and cracked, the egg could be cooked directly. And that was on dry, grassy ground!
The grass was still green in the early winter could nb longer bear the drought. Each patch of grass slowly withered and died away. The tribesmen cut and tied them up in bundles they could use as fuel for fires.
However, in this dry weather, fires must be avoided. This was the forest. One spark in this weather could result in great losses for the tribe. Thus, Shao Xuan made a suggestion to strengthen their fire prevention management, especially for those who were living within the forest. All of them had been warned.
According to the soldiers who went out, the battle outside had grown even more intense. Previously, only some small tribes were fighting. Now, even some large and medium-sized tribes had joined the fight. It was a rule in the forest. The strong would have more resources while the weak could only stand by and watch, praying that the strong would spare them some spoils.
The Lu tribe sent some people over a few days ago and sought to trade with the Flaming Horn tribe. They were willing to trade more than thirty Dumb Birds for water and some other supplies.
Because the weather was too hot, the beasts raised by the Lu tribe were not in the best condition. However, the chiefs of the Lu tribe made very wise decisions this year. At the very beginning of the year, they already sold many of their larger beasts and kept only the relatively younger ones. Nearly half of the beasts were sold to and eaten by the Flaming Horn tribe, and the other half was split between some of the medium-sized tribes. Therefore, even though the weather became hotter each day after winter began, the Lu tribe could still maintain a normal life. What’s more, they had their own water source, a pool of fresh groundwater that wouldn’t dry out.
The people of the Lu tribe were always prudent and had their own ways to deal with disasters. The leaders were also very smart, acting decisively and not wasting any time on their hands, so even if they encountered any natural disasters, they could smoothly deal with it. Most of the larger tribes knew about this.
However, the Lu tribe did not anticipate the weather this year to be as bad as this. They thought that even if it was hot, it wouldn’t get as hot as it did the previous year, but this was unfortunately not the case. These people were all too naive.
The hot sun scorched the earth every day, causing many plants that could not adapt to the heat to die. They had all died from the drought, and a whole batch had already been eliminated the previous year. This year, even more were eliminated. Only those plants and animals that could adapt and tolerate the hot temperature remained.
“Dangerous indeed!”
The person who transported the birds was Yan Jiu, whom Shao Xuan was familiar with. After he reached the Flaming Horn tribe, he immediately gulped down mouthfuls of water.
He hadn’t gotten to guzzle water like this for a few days already.
“Didn’t you guys have a pool of groundwater? How are you still lacking water?” Duo Kang asked from the side.
If people from other tribes asked this question, Yan Jiu might not have told the truth,
But the Flaming Horns were different. After numerous encounters, Yan Jiu already knew enough about the Flaming Horn tribe to know that they were merely curious. They had no intention to find out any secrets about the tribes.
“It’s drying out.” Yan Jiu sighed depressingly.
“How is that possible?” Shao Xuan was surprised, but if you thought about it, many small rivers and streams in the forest had also dried up. Even some water sources underground dried up. It made sense that this happened to the Lu tribe.
“It isn’t just you. Even our leader never thought that things would turn out like this.” Yan Jiu’s eyes were filled with worry. When the level of water in the pool fell sharply, their leader made a decision to sell the beasts they bred. Even though selling beasts could not get them much of what they needed, it was their only choice.
Just like before, Yan Jiu was still in charge of trading with the Flaming Horn tribe. He knew that other tribes would probably hesitate at the deal, but the Flaming Horns would definitely be willing to take what they could offer. They could even exchange for water and other resources from the Flaming Horn tribe. Plus, the Flaming Horns resided in Fearsome Beast Forest! How could there possibly be a shortage of water? At least Yan
Jiu didn’t think so.
However, after hearing Shao Xuan talk about the current situation in the mountains and forests, everyone from the Lu tribe remained silent. The situation was more serious than they had expected. It was no wonder that their chief would make a decision to sell the animals at a low price. There would not even be enough water to feed the humans. How could they still afford to feed the beasts? Thus, the leader of the Lu tribe decided to keep the cubs and sell out the rest, reducing their consumption while keeping some younger beasts. This would ensure the recovery of their breeding grounds.
“By the way, I noticed your guards had doubled from the last time you came. Have there been more robberies recently?” Shao Xuan asked.
Speaking of this, Yan Jiu became even more upset. “Don’t even mention it. We encountered several waves of them. Even mere wanderers- who were not afraid of death- tried to rob us!”
Although they were forced by the troubles of life, if anything threatened their own interests, no one was willing to give up their own share for the benefit of others who were suffering. After all, the world had always been cruel. Besides your own tribesmen, everyone else was an outsider.
If they couldn’t even guarantee the lives of their own people, how could they care about the problems of other tribes? Or those who tried to rob them? Even if the Lu tribe was patient, they had no time to be entangled in this issue.
After complaining, Yan Jiu looked at Shao Xuan seriously, “You guys should also be careful. Many people are heading this way.”
Fearsome Beast Forest had plenty of water sources. At least this was what most people thought. In their imagination, the forest was mull of wet moss, flowing streams, rivers, succulent plants, and fruits. If everyone thought this way, then it must be the truth.
When forced to a certain degree, the threat of beasts in the mountains and forests became less significant in their minds. Some people even deliberately forced themselves to not think about the dangerous factors in the forests.
The Flaming Horn tribe had already strengthened their defenses and patrol, but after hearing Yan Jiu’s words, the Flaming Horn tribe decided to increase their defenses once more.
Amongst the tribes, people had never been convinced by virtue. Survival had always brought along blood and killing. It was obvious to them what was about to happen in the following months in Fearsome Beast Forest.
However, Shao Xuan was not thinking about those who would trespass into the forest in search of water. Fearsome Beast Forest was so large, and it didn’t completely belong to the Flaming Horn tribe. If they could find water by themselves, then naturally the Flaming Horn tribe would not interfere with their actions. As long as they had no intention to steal or take what belonged to the Flaming Horns, the Flaming Horns would naturally ignore them. What’s more, the Flaming Horns were too powerful in combat.
What Shao Xuan was most worried about was what all the tribes had been worried about but couldn’t really predict.
The change in climate was definitely a sign.
The more drastic a sign was, the bigger the changes in the future. It might even reach such a point where people could no longer make predictions.
Shao Xuan took out a straw rope braided with dry grass and tried to use his fortune-telling skills, but halfway through, the straw rope suddenly broke in two.
It was not tangled up in knots. It broke! The rope had turned to crumbs where it broke off.
This was the first time Shaoxuan encountered such a situation after he mastered his fortune-telling skill.
Shao Xuan was frightened and worried upon seeing this.
It was alright if the rope couldn’t predict the future, but this change had made it impossible for Shao Xuan to stay calm for a long time.
A big change was about to come, and it was approaching. Perhaps, it would arrive soon, after this climate change ended.