BXBX NOVEL Book 4: Near Blood - 185: Annex
The guards of this city, the Droughthammer Tribe, might not possess the formidable might of their ancestors anymore, but by relying on the Black Gold Mine, they could at least live comfortable lives — for the most part, at least.
However, the good days were about to come to an end.
Outside of Black Gold City, Bamito angrily stared at Kubrick, who was sitting on top of a Terror Rhinoceros’s back.
“Sir Kubrick, what is the meaning of this?”
“Our meaning is quite clear,” Kubrick replied. “The Beast Wave is headed for Gullan Castle, and our country is currently in danger. As per imperial decree, all tribes need to go forth and defend Gullan Castle. The Gravel Lizard Tribe is doing so, and the Droughthammer Tribe will not be an exception.”
“What the Droughthammer Tribe does is not the Gravel Lizard Tribe’s business!” Bamito said angrily.
Kubrick shook his head. “I’m afraid that that’s not the case.”
He waved his hand. A streak of light alighted on his hand, and it illuminated Ravager inscriptions, manifesting a forceful will.
“An Inferno Imperial Summons?” Bamito was stunned. “How do you have one of those?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Our Head Chieftain requested it from His Majesty. Under his orders, we have the right to conscript all tribes to resist the Beasts. Is the Droughthammer Tribe still planning on resisting?”
After the former Head Chieftain died, Danba had assumed the position of Head Chieftain in his place. As such, he was no longer called the Young Chieftain.
Bamito searched Kubrick’s eyes for answers. “So that’s how it is. You want to use that madman, Anubi’s, hand to swallow up the other tribes?”
Kubrick’s expression sank. “You dare to disrespect His Majesty!”
“What about you? Kubrick, between you and your chieftain Danba, does either one of you actually take that crazed emperor of ours seriously? We are Ravagers, fearless and bold. The Inferno Tribe has no authority over us; they can only invite us politely. If Anubi does not give us the respect we deserve, we refuse to be his dogs! And it goes without saying that we refuse to be your dogs,” Bamito replied.
“Then that’s a shame. Head Chieftain Danba once said that unless you are the strongest existence in this universe, you will always be someone’s dog. The same goes for me, you, him, and even for Anubi. Although I don’t really understand what he meant, I believe that his words make sense...... He is always the smartest one,” Kubrick replied with a smile.
He stared at Bamito and continued, saying, “Head Chieftain also said that Bamito is a stubborn bastard and that it’ll be very difficult to convince him through just words. That’s the reason why he didn’t come talk to you personally. If he felt that there was any chance to convince you through words, then he would have come. But since he didn’t, he sent me instead...... Along with a large group of soldiers.”
Bamito’s expression soured, and waves of killing intent began to roll off of the old Ravager’s body. “You dare to come to blows with us?”
“Why not? I’ve come with an army and an imperial edict, so I have both the justifications and the might to back it up. We were never here to negotiate anyways,” Kubrick said faintly. “I just came to tell you that if you don’t surrender, you will die. So you can die now.”
He waved his arm.
A signal arrow was shot high into the sky.
“ROAR!”
A wave of wild howls seemed to resound from everywhere all at once, and the Gravel Lizard Tribe surged into action.
They all leapt into battle without any hesitation.
Bamito thought that he could make Danba hesitate, but he was completely wrong.
Just as Kubrick said, they had come with both the justifications and the might to back themselves up. Danba had no reason to waste time...... He needed to quickly finish off this tribe to get to the next battlefield.
Time is equivalent to money. Efficiency is equivalent to life. Speed is equivalent to success!
Half an hour later, the battle had concluded.
The Droughthammer Tribe had been dealt with in a single battle. Bamito had died in battle, along with another thousand or so tribe members. The rest had quickly surrendered afterwards.
Conflicts between tribes were extremely common amongst the Ravagers. Since they were all Ravagers, changing tribes was like changing houses; there wasn’t really anything earth-shattering about that.
The Ravagers were mainly nomads that relied on plundering and looting others to survive, unlike the more traditional agricultural races. Tribes were not organized territorially amongst the Ravagers, but were rather centered around a single powerful individual.
For instance, the Thunder Edge Tribe had been established after Dalich the Slaughter Axe had claimed Thunder Canyon and bestowed the surname Thunder Edge upon Bulano, who had then taken the lead to enter the canyon. This eventually resulted in the formation of a new tribe.
The Slaughter Axe, Redeagle, Ironbone, Bloodhand, Droughthammer, Hurricane, Ironking, and Nuyan Tribe had all been created in a similar way.
Tribes were created because of powerful experts, and they would also decline when they lost these powerful experts.
As such, tribes being restructured was quite common amongst the Ravager Tribes.
The Droughthammer Tribe had fallen, so that tribe would disappear. Of course, not every Droughthammer Tribe individual was willing to be swallowed up. A few of them might try to escape, rebel, or quietly bide their time. If someday they grew strong enough, they could try to reestablish the former glory of their tribe.
These kinds of stories were a common occurrence across the entirety of Ravager history.
Danba didn’t know if there were any Droughthammer Tribe members that would behave like that, but he also didn’t care.
All he needed to focus on right now was the present.
Within the army’s main tent, Danba was carefully reading over the combat reports when he heard a soldier reporting spoils of war.
“1024 opponents were killed and 8432 surrendered. We lost 106 soldiers, and 300 or so were injured. Our spoils of war were sixty trunks of fur, 3600 pieces of ore......”
“How many resources did you manage to take from Bamito’s residence?” Danba suddenly asked.
The reporting Ravager soldier was taken aback. “What?”
Shaluo, who was standing off to the side, said, “We checked the place, but Bamito was pretty poor, and we weren’t able to find much.”
“Then shift some resources into his coffers. I would prefer it if the Head Chieftain that we killed was not so upright and honest.”
Shaluo nodded. “Yes, sir!”
“Also, let the soldiers rest for a day as we’ll move out to Black River after.”
“You’re planning on taking over the Black River Tribe too?” Shaluo was obviously badly startled. “They won’t be easy to handle!”
“Don’t worry. I’ve already convinced Hatch. We won’t be fighting with them; they’ll be making an alliance with us.”
“That’s great to hear!” Shaluo said excitedly.
Danba’s expression, however, was not particularly cheerful. He had paid quite a high price to obtain the Black River Tribe’s support.
At that moment, another soldier came into the tent and saluted. “Reporting to Head Chieftain, Buller has returned.”
“Buller!?” Danba shot to his feet.
Shaluo was also taken aback. “Buller? Didn’t he go off with Su Chen? Could it be......”
“Su Chen must have really done it,” Danba said.
“Is Head Chieftain sure?” Shaluo was also growing excited. “Isn’t it possible that Su Chen failed instead?”
Danba replied, “If he failed, then Buller wouldn’t have returned so quickly. In fact, he might never have returned at all.”