Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

"...Huh?" Flying Eagle was greatly puzzled, indicating that he did not understand.

What kind of question is this? Why do people wear clothes? There's no rule that says you have to wear clothes, so you can go without them. Go take a walk around downstairs without clothes and see what happens.

But seeing his father's silent gaze, he knew that if he couldn't answer the question, his father definitely wouldn't push the conversation any further. Based on Flying Eagle's experience, he'd probably just wave him away, signaling him to go back and end the conversation. Climbing a tree in the dead of night was incredibly difficult; he could only rack his brains for something to say.

“I…I was chatting with some merchants outside the tall tree before, and they mentioned…when their god created man, it was in a garden, and there was a very tall tree with fruit on it. When men and women ate the fruit, they felt ashamed and thought it was embarrassing to be naked, so they started to wear clothes…that’s how it is.”

“Heh…” Shan laughed for no apparent reason.

"Isn't that ridiculous?" Flying Eagle said irritably. "If they really didn't want them to eat this fruit, why didn't their god move the tree to a place they could never reach in their entire lives?"

“That’s not important. What’s important is that you thought about it, even if it was superficial,” Shan murmured. “The current High Tree tribe has about five hundred locals. Are you familiar with all five hundred of them?”

"I wouldn't say we're close, but I at least know them all," Flying Eagle recalled. "I can call them by name whenever I see them."

“Okay. But if you include the other tribes, there will be nearly two thousand people in total. Who is who among these two thousand people, what kind of past and story lies behind each face, how to address them when you meet them... Can you be as familiar with these things as you are with the local tribes of Gaoshu?”

"..." Flying Eagle fell silent.

"In the 'civilized world' outside, there are as many as 5000 million people. Walking down the street, who can recognize whom?"

“My child, you must remember that, apart from a few special individuals, such as the ‘new friend’ that Silverfrost invited… people are not that different from each other physically.”

“Our clothing is an indirect and straightforward way to tell others where we stand in this large group. Even strangers can immediately judge how to communicate with each other based on information such as clothing, jewelry, hairstyle, and scent. This is human instinct.”

The eagle's eyes widened involuntarily, a hint of admiration rising within them.

My father always started with words that were hard to understand, but as he talked, they made perfect sense to me.

"People in the civilized world pay too much attention to these external 'appearances'—rings, pocket watches, suits, belts, leather shoes... They are obsessed with judging how much resources the other person has in society, and whether they have more or less compared to themselves. They often overlook the more important things."

He suddenly changed the subject and asked, "What did I say when I taught you how to hunt?"

"Don't look, feel." Flying Eagle almost immediately followed up with this.

"That's right, feel it. Similarly, when you meet anyone for the first time, you will form an initial 'feeling'... their eyes, expressions, actions, pauses in their speech, your instincts will help you make choices."

"Now, based on all of this, I'll ask you one more time."

"Is he a good person or a bad person?"

----

This time, Flying Eagle didn't answer immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes and pulled the still fresh memories out of his mind.

The candlelight flickered dimly, silent, as if even breathing and heartbeat had stopped, all to create an absolutely quiet environment for his son to think.

……

"He is a good person."

“Very good.” Flash nodded. “This answer is enough to resolve all your doubts.”

“But…” Eagle looked troubled. “A good person doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll support me… I mean…”

"What if he's a particularly kind and benevolent person? What if, like the hummingbird, he thinks that war will not end well and that many, many people will die, and then he puts the land, the sunlight, the trees... everything we have now on the negotiating table, Father? What should I do then?"

"The tall tree is our home, Father. We have lived here for generations. I am willing to shed my last drop of blood for it!"

A fleeting smile appeared on Shan Cangmai's face.

“I can’t promise you anything, my son, but I can only tell you one thing…”

"He has never been a merciful person when it comes to enemies, not in the past, and he will never be in the future."

"So..." Eagle's expression changed again, "He'll be on my side?"

"..." He glanced at the night outside the window, but did not answer his question. "Go get some sleep, Flying Eagle."

"In four hours, when the sky begins to lighten, the hummingbirds will return."

"You'll find out when the time comes."

Chapter 655: No one who gets into our gang is easy.

Being in a different place, I already have very light sleep, and I wake up at the slightest sound.

With a long, drawn-out horn blast, Zhang Renfeng immediately threw off the covers and sat up. Mike reacted similarly; both of them were seasoned veterans of the martial world. Arriving in an unfamiliar environment, they hadn't even changed their clothes, precisely so they could react quickly in case of an emergency.

In contrast, Xiaomei seemed a bit slow. She dawdled in her room for ages, her clothes a mess, even the direction of the gun muzzle on her belt was reversed. She was only fifteen years old, the age when her body was still developing, so naturally she was more prone to sleeping than adults.

"What's going on?" Zhang Renfeng listened intently. After the horn sounded, the entire camp seemed to be awakened from a dream, and all sorts of sounds began to swirl around.

"The rule here in Gaoshu is to regularly send people to patrol the nearby territories. A horn signal the return of the night patrol. The locals are used to this horn sound, and normally no one would pay any attention to it. But now that there's going to be a war, everyone is especially nervous."

Yinshuang naturally woke up early. Her constitution was different from ordinary people. She hadn't slept much all night, but she was still full of energy and had a strong voice.

"By the way, two bugle calls mean foreign invasion. When the enemy actually breaks into Gaoshu from the outside, someone will blow the bugle, and the scene will be terrifying."

"Three blasts of the horn..."

Silver Frost paused, her eyes becoming somewhat vacant. She didn't elaborate on what the three horn calls meant. Seeing that the three had adjusted their state, she began to get down to business, "I heard that among the members of this night patrol is someone named 'Hummingbird.' You'd better keep an eye on him. Right now, the one truly challenging Flying Eagle in the High Tree is this person."

"A hummingbird?" Zhang Renfeng raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, he's the leader of one of the tribes. He's been away for several years and everyone had almost forgotten about him. I don't know who he's been hanging out with lately, but he suddenly made a fortune and brought back $2. He says he's going to negotiate with the government to buy this land in Gaoshu."

"As a result, he had only been back for a few days when he suddenly encountered this matter. His views were very different from those of the Flying Eagle faction. The people in their thirties and forties in the camp generally supported his opinions and were irreconcilable with those young people, to the point that they almost argued every time they met. If it weren't for the rules within the High Tree tribe, they might have directly resorted to violence."

"Today too, judging from the commotion, who knows how it might develop."

……

The three looked at each other for a long time before Zhang Renfeng sighed.

“I knew it…” He gave a helpless smile, seemingly complaining, but his tone still carried a hint of pride. “No one who can get into our gang is easy.”

----

Nestled among the longhouses made of bark, directly beneath the tall trees, lies a crescent-shaped clearing. This is where those of some standing in the tribe settle disputes and other matters. Currently, the war is the tribe's most important affair, and even before dawn, the area is already packed with people. Zhang Renfeng and his group arrived late and could only squeeze in little by little from the outermost layer.

Upon seeing the chief, Zhang Renfeng's mind went blank for a moment; he couldn't match the chief's face with the clothes he was wearing.

While in the gang, the chief always gave him the impression of being unassuming and low-key; he was never seen arguing with anyone. He usually did the more mundane tasks, such as hunting and maintaining the horses, making him essentially the gang's support staff.

But when it comes to taking action, he's ruthless. Concealment, infiltration, and tracking, especially in the wild, are his forte. On the front lines, he won't use a bow and arrow; instead, he'll unleash slingshots, and grenades will rain down like a human bomber. Whatever orders he's given, he'll complete the mission flawlessly.

Such subordinates are like the cornerstone of a gang, ensuring its minimum standards. They might seem unremarkable, but the Red Center Gang is incredibly corrupt, with one extraordinary person after another; if you're not careful, the chief's contributions can be overlooked. But with people like these, Zhang Renfeng felt very secure using them.

This morning, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, Zhang Renfeng saw a completely new chieftain.

----

“A force of 800 men was transferred from the north. They were fully equipped with weapons, including brand-new firearms and ammunition, and they were transported with the train. We infiltrated the enemy's lines and roughly assessed their numbers.”

There was no table, so the chief simply picked up a twig from the ground and scribbled on it, marking three big X's. "Here, here, and here, these are all their garrison points. The east, south, and west sides of Tall Tree are all surrounded. They are building temporary defensive bunkers and trenches. I saw it, and they are moving very fast."

"Totaling all the people together, the number is about 1000, which is quite a lot for an army."

A thousand people.

This number was like a bombshell dropped into the crowd, quickly sparking a cacophony of different voices that nearly drowned out the chief's voice.

In fact, for a long time, most people in the tribe only knew that someone had attacked. They didn't know how many people came, what weapons they used, the scale of the attack, or their tactics. It wasn't until the chief revealed these details that many people realized for the first time that the situation was far worse than they had imagined.

The Gaoshu tribe appears to have over two thousand members, but after removing the elderly, weak, women, and children, the actual number of people capable of fighting is less than half.

To put it bluntly, they don't even have enough weapons to arm these able-bodied young men. When they actually get to the battlefield, they'll have to use short spears and bows and arrows to fight against the enemy's rifles and revolvers.

Many tribes had fled thousands of miles to seek refuge in Gaoshu because their own tribes had been wiped out and their homes destroyed. Hearing this, he felt as if history was repeating itself, and his face immediately turned pale.

When annihilating an ordinary tribe, if military forces are involved, at most only one or two battalions would be dispatched, forming a temporary battalion-level unit of about 200 to 300 men. But this time, more than a thousand soldiers have participated, and they are positioned to surround the tribe from all sides.

The disparity in numbers and equipment had already caused many to consider giving up before the battle even began.

……

Eagle's expression was serious and calm. He stood opposite the chief, his lips pressed tightly together, trying to turn this information into something useful.

"What's worse is that those merchants who used to have dealings with the Hightree Camp and exchanged daily necessities with us have now been arrested by Jarworth's army. Lang is one of them."

Mike's pupils dilated slightly.

The chief's tone was heavy. "They are being held in temporary fortifications west of Tall Tree and are facing severe torture. The army seems to know that Lang was invited to visit the Tall Tree camp... so they want to extract information about the Tall Tree camp from them."

The crowd's voices rose instantly, some panicked, some worried, and some angry.

"As it stands, they haven't revealed anything yet, but if things continue like this, they can't hold out for long."

“In times of emergency, we must act expediently. They have suffered this undeserved calamity because of us.” He looked at Flying Eagle and said in a deep voice, “In my tribe, there are a few skilled young men who are also very capable… I want to take them on a trip to get these unfortunate fellows out of trouble.”

Chapter 656: The money for licking shoes doesn't come so easily.

"Hahaha, as expected of you, Hummingbird. Have you been out there too long? Have they messed up your brain?"

A mocking voice came from the other side of the crowd, and people instinctively parted to make way for the young leader. Judging from his attire, the chief's appearance was more akin to that of a cowboy or a wandering gunslinger—a three-piece suit of a shirt, vest, and jacket, topped with a hat.

The young man who arrived surrounded by admirers was the complete opposite of him—he dyed his faded deerskin robe ochre, adorned the collar with grizzly bear fur, and sewed wave patterns onto the cuffs with indigo-dyed porcupine quills.

The tanned bison leather belt was fastened with copper rings, from which hung a flint dagger, a small ox horn tube for gunpowder, and a faded red cloth strip to mark the enemies he had killed.

Her black hair was braided into a single braid, with an eagle feather and a copper bell tied to the end. A string of red-dyed deer teeth adorned her forehead, jingling softly with her movements.

Two powerful short guns hung at his waist, an elm longbow was slung diagonally behind him, and a quiver of eagle-feathered arrows was inserted. In addition, a short-handled axe with snakeskin wrapped around its handle was also attached to his belt.

Judging from his attire, he was not a local of Gaoshu, but rather a member of another tribe who had fled there.

The boy was thin, and a scar running across his face had permanently closed his left eye.

Only his right eye remained open, sweeping across the entire area with a menacing aura, like a fearless and rebellious demon king. This menacing aura was mainly directed at the chieftain, but anyone caught in his gaze would inevitably be turned away.

When the chief saw him, his expression darkened, and he took a deep breath without making a sound.

"What kind of time is this? The white army is already outside, and you're still thinking about your white friends?"

“One-Eyed, I don’t understand this,” the chief said in a deep voice. “How could they be ‘my’ friends? They used to do business with the tribe and have now been convicted and suffered this unexpected disaster. That’s a fact, isn’t it? Moreover, from a rational point of view, the sooner we rescue them, the less chance there will be of information leaks. For both reason and emotion, we shouldn’t sit idly by.”

One-Eyed shook his head with a cold laugh, gritting his teeth, a venomous glint flashing in his remaining pupil. "Nobody held a gun to him and forced him to do business with us. Didn't we pay him with fur?"

"Those greedy white-skinned unscrupulous merchants, who cares about the rubbish they sell! They chose this path themselves, and what does it have to do with us that it has turned out this way? Why should we expend manpower to bail them out?"

……

The crowd began to murmur.

Most of the people here have a deep-seated, unforgettable blood feud, so stirring up their emotions is incredibly easy.

"To say this now is probably biased." The chief's gaze was steady and powerful. He seemed to be speaking to him, but he raised his voice so that everyone could hear.

"Iron pots, Bowie's knives, sewing needles, steel stirrups, rein buckles, horseshoes—these are all considered household items. Nowadays, if you go and lift the lid of any tent, which household doesn't use these things?"

"Let's not talk about cigarettes and alcohol for now. I know many people are buying them secretly, and they've always sold very well. Have you ever counted how many lives those quinine and acrylonitrile pills have saved for our tribesmen? Where do these drugs come from? You don't think they grow from some tree, do you?"

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

"Besides these, there are also tin cups, tin kettles, fishhooks, copper wire, mirrors... and similar small tools have long been integrated into our lives and cannot be separated."

"If we don't rescue them and let them be tortured and abused, even if we manage to resolve this matter without bloodshed, how will we live our lives afterwards?"

……

One-Eyed scratched the wound on his left eye, then suddenly grinned and let out a cold laugh. He covered his face as he laughed, shaking his head as if he had heard the most ridiculous joke, his state somewhat deranged.

Flying Eagle remained silent.

"Hummingbird, may I ask one more question? What do you mean by 'a bloodless way'? It's come to this, those white guys have surrounded Tall Tree, they have men and guns, are you planning to just talk them away?"

"...That depends on the situation." The chief squinted, showing no fear of the coldness in his eyes, and took a step forward.

"what's the situation?"

"Was it you who attacked the train and kidnapped Ryan Childer?" The chief stared intently into his eyes, then pointed into the distance and said, word by word, "Now, the one leading the troops outside is Jarvis Childer, Ryan's son. Whatever the motives of those who did this—whether they wanted a ransom or simply wanted to vent their anger—we were not in the right; we gave them a reason to send troops!"

"Today, in front of everyone, let's just be straightforward."

At this point, he was no longer just targeting One-Eye; he turned around and shouted to the crowd, "If Ryan is already dead, then I have nothing to say, but I have to consider the worst-case scenario."

"But if he's still alive, then whoever did this should at least bring him here. He's alive, and whether we negotiate, exert pressure, or even take him hostage, he can still have some effect!"

He turned to the eagle—when the King of the High Trees was not present, he was the de facto supreme ruler of the tribe. "If that's the case," he said, "I'm willing to risk it all and give it a try."

“I’ve met some really powerful friends out there… As many of you know, I brought back a sum of money this time. The money was originally intended to buy this land, but given the current situation, I guess we won’t be able to buy it now. So I’ll just use this money to ask my friends to help us sort this out.”

His tone was incredibly sincere, his gaze sweeping over everyone as he said in a deep voice, "I just hope that we can resolve this matter with the fewest possible casualties."