Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

Without warning, the sound of a flash came from behind.

The corner he stood in was secluded enough, but his father could appear in an even more secluded corner, completely silent. Thinking about it carefully, such an omnipresent clan leader was truly frightening.

“Hummingbird is a seasoned hunter; this shouldn’t have been the outcome of a competition like this. I know Red’s abilities; their delayed return must mean they encountered some unforeseen situation on the way,” Peregrine said in a deep voice. “The problem is…”

"Was this unexpected situation within your expectations?"

Flash did not give a clear answer, but left him in silence.

Fortunately, for the peregrine falcon, silence is enough.

----

"Look, they're back!"

"What's going on? There's nothing on the saddle!"

"This, this isn't right..."

……

When Zhang Renfeng and the chieftain returned on horseback, it caused quite a stir. Everyone had assumed that the hummingbird was simply getting old and not as agile as before. But they were sure that catching prey wouldn't be a problem. Who would have thought that they would actually return empty-handed?

Flying Eagle saw this and seemed to realize something. Instead of joining the young people's celebration, he frowned and pondered silently.

“You always do too much and think too little”—my father’s sharp comment was still ringing in my ears last night.

He began to think about the bigger picture, about everything that was about to happen, and his place in it.

Is it really meaningful to compete with your own kind in a hunting contest for a moment's victory or defeat?

……

Regardless, amidst the murmurs of the crowd, both groups returned to their starting point—the clearing beneath the tall trees. Flash, acting as the referee, began inspecting the spoils brought back by both sides. The Flying Eagles team had hunted down an adult bison. The hide, meat, bones, tendons, horns, stomach… everything useful was neatly categorized and arranged.

The young men who accompanied the hunters all wore expressions of delight, believing that victory was already theirs.

The eagle was still deep in thought.

"Hmm, not bad." Flash flipped through them one by one, offering only a brief evaluation before turning to the chieftain. "Hummingbird, what did you gain from this trip?"

"...No, Shan, we haven't seen a single bison on the path we've been tracking." The chief took a deep breath, trying his best to suppress the sorrow in his voice, "They've all been shot dead by those outside!"

Everyone was taken aback.

But they were surprised too soon.

Then, the chief raised his voice and recounted their experiences in great detail. He included everything Zhang Renfeng had extracted from the hunters, word for word. Before he could finish, the audience erupted in a frenzy, with waves of indignant shouts rising higher and higher. Mike and Xiaomei were also astonished by the enemy's ruthlessness and cruelty; these soldiers were capable of such a feat.

Even the King of the Tall Trees had to tap the ground several times with his wooden staff before he could finally quiet everyone down.

The chief's confession continued.

“There were eight poachers in total. Zhang and I killed them all, and it took some time to dispose of the bodies. The bison herds in the direction we chose had been heavily shot and scattered, so we came up empty-handed…” the chief said in a deep voice. “The Grass Ceremony is over. In any case, I did not hunt a single bison, so according to the rules, you win.”

"I'm willing to accept the outcome of this bet."

After revealing this shocking fact, the chief frankly admitted his defeat and, instead, tossed the ball back to the Eagle. All eyes turned to him once more, eagerly awaiting the young leader's response.

"..."

The eagle fell silent for a moment.

He instinctively looked at his father, wanting to ask for help, but saw behind the mask a pair of calm, still eyes, like a still lake.

Then he suddenly realized that all the necessary hints had actually been given the night before.

"Is Zhang Renfeng a good person or a bad person?"—The answer to this question is enough to resolve all his current doubts.

"Hummingbird, to be honest, I... I don't feel like I beat you in this game."

Flying Eagle paused, organizing his thoughts, and slowly said, "I only hunted one bison, but your actions may have protected ten, fifty, a hundred, or even more bison. In the long run, your contribution to the tribe is naturally greater than mine."

The chief looked at him with some surprise.

"The enemy not only wants our land, but also wants our tribe to disappear completely from history. Their vicious intentions were already foreseeable... I have reflected on my past thoughts, and indeed, there are still many immature aspects. The situation is urgent, and as the weaker party, we have no time to fight amongst ourselves, much less the right to nitpick at our allies."

"Your handling of the poachers has dispelled all the rumors about your stance. If you didn't care about your homeland, you wouldn't be so indignant... Killing those poachers is protecting the bison and the tribe. The contribution you made on this trip far exceeds what I could have made."

He extended his hand to the chief, "I am willing to follow your advice and discuss strategies to repel the enemy with you, of course..."

"That also includes those 'friends' you invited. Right now, what the Gaoshu tribe lacks most is friends from the outside world."

Chapter 664: Here we go again?!

This is probably the best outcome we can achieve right now: the Eagles will still be in charge, but the Chief's faction can also participate in the discussions and has not been completely excluded.

Zhang Renfeng breathed a sigh of relief. At first, he thought Feiying was the kind of stubborn and inflexible hothead, but now it seems that he is quite capable.

"What's next?" Mike prompted from the side. "They've all gone to the treehouse to devise a battle plan. Shouldn't we follow suit?"

"If you're even a step too late in this kind of thing, they'll have a reason to keep you out..."

"Do you know where we can get horns?" Zhang Renfeng suddenly asked a completely unrelated question.

"A horn?" Xiaomei looked confused. "Is it the kind... that makes a sound when you blow it?"

“They’ll use bison horns for processing. Didn’t they blow one this morning? That sound was really powerful; you could hear it all over the house,” Zhang Renfeng insisted. “I need that; it’s useful!”

Someone handed him a horn.

"Thank you... Wow!" Zhang Renfeng took it and had just casually said thank you when he was startled.

Flash stood silently behind him.

Was he too focused? A grown man had somehow gotten behind him, less than three inches away, and he hadn't even noticed. Judging from the expressions of the others, they all felt the same way; before Flashguard handed him the horn and made his move, no one had even noticed him there!

"Mentor, please don't scare them." Yinshuang was obviously used to it and complained, "They're all family here, why are you doing this? You'll give yourself a heart attack sooner or later."

"The tribe thanks you for your contributions," Flash said calmly. "However, there is one more thing..."

"Did you find out the name of the officer who hired the poachers?"

“I asked him, but he didn’t know either. He just said ‘notebook,’ which is a nickname.” The chief’s tone became somber when he mentioned this. “Under these circumstances, he couldn’t possibly be lying.”

"Hmm... okay." Flash nodded, speaking in an uncertain tone, "It's a bit troublesome, but it's alright."

"Um, may I ask what you need?" Xiaomei was actually a little scared, but her curiosity still compelled her to ask.

“I want him dead,” Flash said casually.

These words, spoken lightly, carried a chilling killing intent.

Despite being thousands of miles apart, Shan said it as if it were all perfectly natural and self-evident.

Yinshuang shivered. She knew all too well that her mentor, most of the time, was like a block of wood, rarely showing his likes or dislikes. And once he said that, it was basically a final verdict, with no room for change.

He was a man who did what he said he would do—a trait that seemed to match her impression of Zhang Renfeng.

“Um… Your Majesty?” Mike hesitated for a long time, unsure of the most appropriate form of address. Since he was the King of the Tall Trees, he would use the word “King” for now. “Excuse my bluntness, but at a time like this, it’s not worth going out of your way to assassinate him just for this one person. Once we win the war, we can capture him and deal with him however we want.”

"Rest assured, everyone, I will use my magic to deal with him. He wants to exterminate my race and destroy the foundation of the High Tree tribe. He is wicked and deserves to be killed by everyone. How can I let him off lightly?" Shan said. "He will taste... the most painful and desperate way to die in this world."

"Lingchi?" Zhang Renfeng couldn't help but ask curiously, "Or dismemberment by chariot?"

"In a short while, he will turn into pus and blood." He turned away, leaving only a faint sentence: "His tendons and bones will be destroyed, his spirit and form will be annihilated, and he will never be reborn."

He hadn't walked more than a few steps before his figure quickly blended into the crowd, while the tribe members in the tall trees continued talking and doing their own things, as if they hadn't seen him at all.

Even though his clothes, appearance, and even the mask on his face remained unchanged, he disappeared into the crowd like an ordinary old man.

Zhang Renfeng kept staring at his back, but for a moment, his eyes went unfocused.

Then, no trace of Flash could be found.

“I’ve heard that the Native American tribes around Tall Tree are particularly skilled in voodoo, basically cursing anyone who is cursed to die.” Mike said in a deep voice, “From the stories I’ve heard, there are indeed a few powerful figures who died from Tall Tree’s curse, it’s quite eerie.”

"Isn't that a bit contradictory?" Xiaomei muttered skeptically. "If cursing someone really means they'll die, why not just kill Jaworth directly? Wouldn't that be more convenient?"

……

"He just said that someone will come to take his place and take care of that notebook," Zhang Renfeng murmured, as if talking to himself. "Who could that person be?"

----

The west side of the tall tree.

In the temporary military camp.

"Haha, he can catch bullets? Really?"

"Really! Why would I lie to you? Let me tell you, the performance at the theater that day was absolutely amazing! David took out a gun and fired at him, but the bullet was caught between his fingers! Goodness, he could also conjure up a burning brazier and a water vat from his cloak. I've never seen a magician like that before, it was absolutely incredible!"

"That magician came from a country across the sea. He's a foreigner, but he's really skilled. Apparently, he used to work for the emperor..."

"boom!"

He finished his drink and slammed it hard on the wooden table, sending foam flying.

Seeing his unpredictable expression, the soldiers chatting nearby realized something and immediately fell silent.

"Speak, keep going, why did you stop?" The notebook slowly stood up, walked to the two soldiers who had just been chatting, and stared at them with an extremely sinister look. "What's wrong with Huang Ba? Keep going, I really want to hear it."

"No...no..." the soldier said with a fawning smile, "We didn't mean that."

"Notebook, we were just chatting... that's all..."

"Oh, just chatting." The notebook nodded, pretending to leave, then suddenly grabbed a bottle and smashed it over one of the men's heads!

“Bang!!”

The bottle shattered, and shards of glass and blood gushed out together.

Even though he did this much, no one dared to make a sound. The soldiers who were beaten until their heads were bleeding just knelt on the ground, clenching their teeth, without making any move.

"Thank you all for reminding me over and over again how fucking stupid I was to be fooled by a foreigner!"

……

The deception of a single letter could only last so long. As soon as the notebook checked with Colonel Jarworth, he would immediately realize he had been fooled. He had never sent Henry any telegram, and Henry certainly wouldn't have hired a bounty hunter for him. They cleverly exploited the fear of "better safe than sorry" to deceive themselves.

This infuriated Notebook. It was always the one playing the game, but today, it had been tricked by a foreigner!

Because of this, he was scolded by Jaworth and was in no mood to be happy. These two oblivious soldiers had the audacity to mention the word "Yellow Barbarian" in front of him; it was practically suicide for them.

……

"Notebook!" another soldier rushed in to report, "Someone's at the gate."

"Who is it?" the notebook asked impatiently.

“I don’t know. There were three people. They said they had a letter of introduction from the USGS (the Geological Survey of the Ministry of the Interior, which is responsible for scientific surveys of mineral, land and other resources). They were sent by higher-ups to discuss important matters with Mr. Jarvis Cheder.”

"The leader was a yellow-skinned foreigner."

Chapter 665: I Want to Meet Him in Person

"Welcome, welcome. I've been held up by a lot of miscellaneous matters. I hope I've kept you all waiting." Notebook greeted them with a beaming smile. "Mr. Jarworth isn't here. I'm in charge of this temporary camp. You can just call me Oz."

……

Lu Aniu looked at the man before him. His life had been far too long; he had encountered countless people. He could tell at a glance that beneath the man's fawning demeanor lay malice. But he didn't say much, only nodded slightly and called out the name of the old cowboy beside him.

"Jack?"

He was very muscular, dressed in classic cowboy attire: a plaid flannel shirt, a canvas vest, a neckerchief, and old-fashioned studded jeans, topped with 4-inch slanted boots. He was wearing a Stetson wide-brimmed hat, the brim pulled down, obscuring most of his face, making it impossible to see his expression; only his lips remained pressed together, showing no emotion.

The old cowboy named Jack took the letter out of his jacket pocket and handed it to the notebook, but he didn't take it. He rubbed his hands together and looked at the three people in front of him.

"May I ask what brings the three of you to this temporary camp?"

"It has nothing to do with you, you're not qualified to know." The stranger, with two swords strapped to his back, took a step forward and said coldly, "The situation on Gao Shu's side is very complicated, involving many things. The Chaidel family didn't consult with the higher-ups before pulling this stunt, and the higher-ups are very dissatisfied. There are some things that need to be discussed with him in person, that's all."

The notebook revealed a hint of disdain, but it suppressed its anger, forcing out a smile through gritted teeth, and said coldly, "Colonel Jarworth is very busy right now. If the three of you cannot clearly state your purpose, I am but a nobody, and I'm afraid... I can't be of much help..."

"What do you mean?" The stranger asked, a hint of impatience in his expression.

“Simple.” The notebook gestured invitingly and smiled. “If you have the patience, come with me to the military camp. I’ll arrange a place for you to wait a moment. Once the colonel has finished dealing with his business, I’ll inform him and have him come to see you.”

The tug-of-war and clash over sovereignty lies in whether you go to see him or he comes to see you.

But at the moment, Lu Aniu was somewhat absent-minded. He had crossed the military camp several times and looked in the direction of the tall tree. He nodded and said, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Let's do as you say."

----