Chapter 489 - 30: Infiltration
When the ancient sun sank into the other end of the sea, darkness ascended the throne and became the new emperor of the Archipelago.
The sound of the tides never ceases, day and night.
The wind rustled the leaves in the dense forest, carrying the smell of fish and shrimp, the smoke of embers, through the center of the tribe.
Beside the humble hut, the unburned logs in the bonfire flickered with a red glow.
From within the house, which was covered with a few broad leaves, the sound of snoring had already emerged.
There were no lamps, no ample food; for the natives, when night falls, the whole world should rest.
Sleep can let them forget pain, forget hunger, forget fatigue.
When the sun rises tomorrow, life must go on.
...
The old priest disappeared, and the Great Tribe asked for Spain’s help. After the search team sent out also vanished, the Leader’s close relationship with the Spaniards gradually broke down.
As a result, the Great Tribe’s annexation and expansion also gradually slowed down, and even came to a stop.
The once high-spirited Leader became increasingly irritable after that, beating and scolding became the norm, and he would even kill wantonly over trivial things.
He became infatuated with a fragrant liquid given to him by the Spaniards.
After drinking those waters, occasionally the Leader would lie in bed and sleep for a whole day.
But more often, he would become more irritable and ferocious than ever—
At least a dozen people in the tribe died due to the Leader’s madness after drinking those waters.
The natives often carefully discussed in private whether the absence of divine protection after the old priest left led to these events in the tribe.
Some brave individuals sought help from the new priest, hoping he could communicate with the divine to see if the Leader could be restored to his former self.
The next day, that person was tied to a stake and skinned alive.
When the Leader gouged out the person’s heart and sent it to his mouth, the new priest stood by the stake, head bowed, without saying a word.
Thus, even the dullest people understood that the new priest and Leader were in collusion.
Now the entire tribe was run by the Leader’s will alone; the Leader’s confidants wielded knives made of metal and all ate their fill.
In this territory, no one was a match for those warriors.
After learning from past events, no one tried to change the Leader anymore, though some tormented natives secretly fled.
...
Unlike the Big Island, this small island tightly grouped in a sea area, relatively close to one another, when the weather is fine, the scene across the shallow sea can be seen.
Cross-island warfare is a weak point for the natives, especially when paddling their canoe to assault the beach; before reaching the shore, they would be killed en masse by the enemy’s bow and arrow or wooden spear.
Even when the tribe was vigorously expanding, the Leader never assembled warriors to attack other islands.
Likewise, tribes from other islands never attacked the tribe, after all, everyone knew this kind of battle was hard to fight.
Those at the bottom rung, constantly hungry, bearing life-threatening risks, in desperation, someone would muster courage, with an empty stomach, take the plunge and leap into the water to swim to the other side.
Some were discovered, and while still in the water, the Leader commanded warriors to shoot them dead, their blood dyed the sea red.
Some were not discovered but due to lack of strength sank midway into the sea, and a day or two later, people would find their corpses along the shore.
Only a few lucky ones managed to reach the other side, but whether awaiting them was a better life or a new layer of Hell, no one knew.
Most still couldn’t muster the courage or thought to resist, they could only work day after day, starve day after day, struggling to survive.
...
As the people in the tribe fell into sleep, Sunday and his two companions had already dropped anchor, stopping not far from the shore.
To avoid any native guards on the island from noticing, Sunday earlier turned off the light of the "Divine Light Stick," and together with Kosu and Kulu, they put on the Night Vision Goggles.
Even though they had used the Night Vision Goggles during previous training, as the three put on these oddly shaped objects, they couldn’t help but marvel—
How there could be such a magical thing in the world.
Once the Night Vision Goggles were on, the pitch-black world became illuminated.
Though the light was icy cold, not allowing one to feel the colorful world, it certainly allowed people to see everything clearly.
Besides "God’s might," Kosu and Kulu could think of no other explanation; for these unknown yet powerful things, they could only express awe and worship.
...
The night tide was very calm, the anchored ship subtly swaying.
The three had just finished eating, replenished their strength, now silently assembling their weapons in the cabin.
While Kosu and Kulu were assembling and testing the American Hunting Recurve Bow, Sunday was checking his rifle and bullets.
Pushing the golden bullets into the rifle’s chamber, picking up his backpack, seeing Kosu and Kulu had already skillfully assembled their weapons, he hung the Long Saber onto his belt, waved his hand, signaling the two to start moving.
...
Where the sailboat dropped anchor, the seawater was approximately waist-deep.
The rifle feared water, so when Sunday landed, he held the gun high over his head to prevent the seawater from splashing onto the gun body, affecting its performance.
Though the Recurve Bow had no such concern, Kosu and Kulu also raised their hands—
The weapons granted by the Leader were extremely precious, they didn’t wish them to be damaged.
Moreover, the natives were experts in using bows and arrows, being able to possess such excellent bows and arrows was something they dared only dream about; even acting from a hunter’s instinct, they had to keep their weapons safe.
...
The combat uniform immersed in the seawater, the excellent waterproof fabric temporarily repelled the sea’s intrusion.