314: Chapter Three Hundred and Twelve: Own Goal 314: Chapter Three Hundred and Twelve: Own Goal Staying under the tree, Gao Yang worried he might be noticed by those who had fled, but he couldn’t bear to leave the English-speaking poacher behind.
Due to the language barrier, Gao Yang had hardly any chance to capture anyone alive.
Now that he finally had the opportunity to learn some information, he could only choose to stay under the tree temporarily and wait until he had asked all the necessary questions before leaving.
Gao Yang never stood up.
After crawling over to the poacher clutching his belly, he whispered, “Don’t move.
If I ask you something, you answer truthfully, and I might spare your life.
Otherwise, I’ll kill you on the spot.”
The poacher cried out loudly, “Don’t kill me, I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die here.”
Gao Yang growled, “If you don’t want to die, then shut up.
Now tell me, people drove away this afternoon.
Where did they go?
What were they doing?”
“They went back to their tribe.
It’s not far from here.
They planned to seek reinforcements to call in men who are specialized in fighting.”
As Gao Yang had expected, those who left in the afternoon had indeed gone for reinforcements.
He had been mentally prepared, so after getting a clear answer, he immediately asked, “Do you all come from the same tribe?
How many are there, and if they call in reinforcements, how many can they bring?”
“No, we, we come from different small tribes.
There’s a branch tribe nearby.
I don’t know how many people they can call in.”
The people from the Nuer United Front came from different tribes, but the structure of the Nuer tribes is such that one large tribe divides into several first-level branch tribes, which in turn split into more second-level subtribes, and then down to three or four levels of small tribes scattered around.
So even if they came from different tribes, they still belonged to the same large tribe.
The Nuer people are very united.
They have a strong sense of belonging to their tribe.
So after some thought, Gao Yang shouted, “You said the tribe is nearby.
How soon can they get here?”
“I don’t know.
If it wasn’t raining, I think they would have already arrived.”
The captive’s words startled Gao Yang.
If they were very close, even with the bad weather, the poachers’ reinforcements could arrive at any time, so he had to hurry up and get the answers he wanted before leaving quickly.
Thinking about what to ask next, Gao Yang recalled an important statement he had missed, so he immediately said sternly, “You just mentioned they went to call in men specialized in fighting.
What does that mean?”
“By specialized in fighting, I mean those who fight.
We usually herd or hunt, but we are only called to fight when needed.
I’m not one of the specialized fighters.
I don’t want to fight.
A missionary taught me English.
He said I could leave the grasslands to see the world.
I’m the only one in my tribe who has finished school at the church.
I want to see the outside world.
I don’t want to die.
I don’t want to die here.
Mother, save me.”
Hearing the crying of the unrecognizable captive, Gao Yang sighed and angrily said, “It never should have come to this.
If you don’t want to die, then why slaughter those innocent native tribes?
What did they do wrong?
My people do not fight with anyone.
If they encounter strangers, they will actively avoid them.
Yet, even so, you still want to kill them all like the animals here.
They are people, my people, my kin!
Do they deserve to die?”
Gao Yang started calmly, but as he continued, he turned into a roar.
He could no longer suppress his emotions because, no matter how many people he killed, his tribespeople from Akuri could not be brought back to life.
After shouting, Gao Yang realized his lapse in composure and took a deep breath before speaking sternly, “Since you’ve attended church school, you must understand what I am saying.
Now tell me, about eighty to a hundred kilometers south of here, there’s a native tribe.
Who killed the people of that tribe?
Where is he?
Any distinguishing features?”
After struggling to breathe for a few moments, the captive panted heavily and said, “It was Moimosang’s doing.
It was him.
He’s a military man, specialized in fighting.
Moimosang took three men specialized in fighting.
They kill without blinking an eye.
After discovering that native tribe, they attacked at night.
I don’t know why he would do that, but we dare not disobey his orders.
But I didn’t go.
I didn’t go there.
I only heard them talk about it.
I really didn’t take part in the slaughter.
Believe me, I really didn’t.”
Gao Yang was almost out of breath and, after fiercely wiping his face with rainwater from the ground, he said with difficulty, “Why?
Why do this?
Is it really just for fun?
Okay, now tell me, what does this Moimosang look like, and where is he now?”
“He’s dead.
You killed him in the car.
His brother too.
Moimosang and one of his brothers both died in the car,” the captive said.
Learning that his greatest enemy had been killed, Gao Yang felt no joy.
Without hesitation, he declared, “Apart from Moimosang, who else took part in the slaughter?
Tell me their names.
I won’t kill you.
I promise.”
“There’s another one called Moimuri, he’s also a fighter, from the same tribe as Moimosang.
Apart from those four who specialize in fighting, I don’t know who else was with them.
There were more than twenty of them when they left, and since I come from a different tribe, I’m not very familiar with them.
Now only Moimuri, who specializes in fighting, is left here, but he’s left to call for more people to come.”
Gao Yang pondered for a moment, then asked gravely, “What does this Moimuri you mentioned look like?”
“Moimuri doesn’t have any distinctive features.
Oh, he’s missing a front tooth, that’s it, nothing else distinctive about him.”
Gao Yang nodded, remembering the name and features of this direct murderer named Moimuri.
He then asked in a deep voice, “How long have you been here?
How much longer will you stay, and how long is this hunting expedition supposed to last?”
“We’ve been hunting for over forty days now.
We’ve set up traps in many places and collect our catch every day.
After we gather the animals with the truck, someone comes to pick them up.
But I don’t know when we’ll leave, no one except Moimosang knows.
We’re going to fight the Dingka People soon; we’ll start the war shortly but we’re still lacking weapons.
Our great Chieftain trades animals for weapons and someone will come to trade directly with the Chieftain.”
In his mind, Gao Yang quickly calculated what he should do next.
The main culprit named Moimosang had already been killed, but Moimuri, the other man, was still alive, and there were likely still others among the twenty or more who had escaped.
The Nuer people had recently started poaching wildlife on a large scale because they were going to war with the Dinka People.
However, according to Morgan and Kolm, the Nuer and Dinka People had already started clashing, although on a small scale.
But since the fighting had already begun, the Nuer people’s poaching activities were likely to come to a halt soon.
Gao Yang felt he needed to act fast.
He had to ensure that all those directly responsible for the killing of Akuri’s tribe were caught, without letting a single one slip away.
To carry out retribution thoroughly, he couldn’t let any of these poachers leave.
According to the Nuer customs, if they had an unfinished vendetta, they would not give it up unless they truly had no chance of revenge.
So all Gao Yang needed to do was to stay in the area and show himself from time to time, to keep all the direct murderers in the vicinity.
What Gao Yang couldn’t gauge was the combat effectiveness of those so-called fighters.
The poachers posed no threat to him, but if soldiers arrived, even if not specially trained, they would undoubtedly pose a much greater threat, especially if they had weapons like machine guns with long range.
After thinking for a short while, Gao Yang quickly made up his mind.
He felt that he had already wasted enough time and had to leave immediately—at least he couldn’t continue hiding under this big tree.
“You’ve been cooperative, so I won’t kill you.
I have one last question for you.
Apart from this Moimuri, there should be another person who took part in the massacre still alive.
Who is he, what’s his name, and does he have any distinguishing features?”
“I don’t know the name of the fighter, and he’s already left.
He was hit by a poisoned arrow and might die, so he had to return to our tribe.
Maybe he’s already dead, I don’t know.”
A jolt of realization struck Gao Yang, and he exclaimed in shock, “What did you say?
The remaining person was hit by a poisoned arrow?
Are you sure he was hit by a poisoned arrow?”
“Yes, both Moimosang and Moimuri said so.
When they attacked that primitive tribe, one of them was hit by a poisoned arrow and was likely to die.
Our shaman couldn’t cure it.”
Gao Yang urgently asked, “Are you saying they encountered resistance, but the primitive tribe didn’t use guns, just arrows?
Did you hear how many people they killed in total, do you know?”
“I heard them mentioning thirteen people—five men, four women, and several children.
They…
they did things to those women, um, they mentioned, thirteen people.”
Gao Yang was so agitated that he stumbled over his words as he asked, “They killed thirteen people, and they encountered resistance, but the primitive tribe only used arrows and not guns, right?”
“Yes, how could the people of a primitive tribe have guns?
But their poisoned arrows are very deadly; almost certainly fatal if hit.”
At this moment, Gao Yang didn’t know what to say.
He was excited and astonished to discover that he might have made a huge mistake, a colossal blunder.
(To be continued.
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