Chapter 260 – Herculean Bull Tribe’s Plight
Wales looked at his warriors who had no regrets, while his heart was very emotional. On Beastmen Prairie, if one weren’t a qualified leader, no one would follow. Beastmen too had the right to choose their own leaders.
Such a thing had happened on the prairie. A tribe’s chieftain had become incompetent, and his tribesmen had gradually left him. Eventually, the tribe disappeared from the prairie.
Wales’ current situation wasn’t too good. Gasol controlled the entire Herculean Bull Tribe, and his subordinates’ families were in Gasol’s hands. If they weren’t following him out of deep loyalty, they probably would’ve left him some time ago.
Wales was touched that these people had stayed behind. He watched them calmly and said, “Brothers, I’m sure everyone has learned of what has taken place in the tribe. Your families are still in the tribe. I am happy that you are still able to stay by my side. Our enemies are coming, and after an hour, they will appear before us. We will not retreat. Herculean Bull Tribe’s warriors will never retreat. Now, brothers, ride your bulls and raise your axes. Follow me and let our enemies know, that we are the strongest warriors of the Herculean Bull Tribe.”
Wales’s words weren’t shouted. In fact, he was speaking them very calmly, like he was simply stating a fact. But the warriors were very emotional. They heeded him with a loud call and ran to pick up their weapons, and pulled their mounts by their reins.
Wales ignored them and asked Zhao Hai, “Are you coming with us, brother? By horse or by wagon?”
Zhao Hai smiled and shook his head, “No, big brother. I’m going by something better.” With a move of his hand, Xenomorph appeared in front of him.
Wales was very curious about Xenomorph’s powerful appearance. Zhao Hai smiled and walked towards its mouth, “Come, big brother. Drink some coya with me.” He then walked into Xenomorph’s mouth.
Wales and the others followed Zhao Hai inside curiously, and they soon arrived in the space inside Xenomorph. Now, its space had gone through a major change. Laura modified this space to the point that it was like her own wagon. A few boxes had been put in there, which could be used as benches. Inside the boxes were blankets and other things, while there was also a box in the middle, which had upper and lower compartments. The bottom compartment was a refrigeration block that could be used to keep things at freezing temperatures. The top compartment contained coya and other things, while a tea set was placed on top of the box. In the middle of it was a magic burner powered by a magic crystal, used to boil water.
Wales and the others looked idly at all of this. They had never expected that there was another realm inside this undead creature’s body.
Zhao Hai smiled at them, “Sit down, big brother. Want a cup?”
Wales sat down and looked around, “Not bad. We can even see what’s outside. Teacher, I think you should sit here with little Hai. I’ll settle the matters outside.”
Yale didn’t object and just smiled, “That’s fine. It’s quite nice, sitting in here. You should go out and prepare yourself. I think Gasol and his lot will be here soon.”
Wales nodded and glanced at Zhao Hai, “Little Hai, when things get rough, don’t be polite. Just act directly.”
Zhao Hai smiled, “Relax, big brother. I won’t be kind. You should hurry. They might’ve discovered where we are.”
Wales nodded and then went out of Xenomorph. Mendez also went out, while Zhao Hai and Yale stayed inside. Laura and the others stayed next to Zhao Hai, while the food wagons outside hadn’t moved.
Zhao Hai poured a cup of coya for Yale and asked, “Mr. Yale, do you think we’ll fight? Gasol shouldn’t make a move after seeing what we have, right?”
Yale shook his head in response, “Not necessarily. Gasol is a conceited individual. He won’t give up so easily. Right now, Wales is his biggest concern. If he can kill Wales, he can gain total control of the Herculean Bull Tribe. Even though there are a lot of undead, beastmen usually don’t think of them seriously, because they believe that undead aren’t powerful. It isn’t likely that they know your undead creatures are so powerful, which is why I think Gasol might make a move.”
Zhao Hai nodded. He really didn’t want to do this. He didn’t fear the act of murder. He had killed plenty of people from Ark Continent, but right now, he was going to kill the Herculean Bull Tribe’s people.
If the tribe’s losses were too great, its place on Beastmen Prairie would be lowered, and that would not be a good thing for him. Nothing else mattered on Beastmen Prairie other than strength. With strength came respect. If you didn’t have great strength, then sorry. It wouldn’t matter how powerful you were in the past as a whole. People wouldn’t give you face.
No matter what, one must retaliate when struck. Not striking back wasn’t Zhao Hai’s style. He had nothing to say about that when Wales and the others had decided to strike back.
Zhao Hai sighed, “I still don’t get it. Does Gasol want the chieftain’s position that badly? If a lot of people die because of his clash against big brother, then the position of the tribe will be lowered. What good will it do him? He harmed his own father in the process of becoming the chieftain, so his reputation is surely a bad one on the prairie. He’s at a major disadvantage. Did he never think about all this?”
Yale sighed, “You don’t know Gasol. He is a prideful person, very self-absorbed, who thinks that his own power is great. To top it off, he’s a battle maniac. I can say that, if not for such a temperament, Wales wouldn’t have to fight him for the chieftain position. Because, Wales and I are very clear that once Gasol becomes the chieftain, war will be unavoidable.”
Yale sighed again and continued, “Don’t be fooled by how powerful the tribe seems right now. There are still a lot of people provoking the herculean bulls. Just the fighting bulls are vexing enough, to name a single example.”
Zhao Hai was taken aback. He knew that the fighting bulls were a major race among the bull-headed races, and that its tribe had marital ties to the herculean bulls. Why did Yale say that the Fighting Bull Tribe was provoking the Herculean Bull Tribe?
Yale clarified upon looking at Zhao Hai, “The position of every ruling tribe of a beastmen race isn’t fixed in place. If you are powerful, then you are the ruling race. On the other hand, if you are weak, you have no right to be the ruling race. Despite the previous chieftain having battled across the prairie with great results, the tribe’s strength has been spent for a great deal. Now is supposed to be the time for rest and recovery. If a battle maniac becomes chieftain now, our losses will be even greater if new wars are waged.”
Yale stopped to drink a mouthful of coya before continuing, “The fighting bulls are a powerful fighting race among the bull-headed races. They are muscular and have immense strength, especially when leading their charges. Even herculean bulls will not necessarily maintain the upper hand when facing them. They are scary in the fact that they weren’t very powerful before, but changed after their new chieftain got the position. Unlike his predecessors, he isn’t someone who is very fond of fighting. They have been resting in all these years, and thus have become more powerful than they were before. The Herculean Bull Tribe’s late chieftain saw that the position of the ruling tribe was becoming unstable, so he wedded 4 of his daughters to the Fighting Bull Tribe. He attempted to use marriage to pacify the Fighting Bull Tribe, but it obviously hasn’t been very effective. It was because of this reason that there are decreasing amount of wars fought by the Herculean Bull Tribe. However, Gasol assumed that the late chieftain lost his ambition because of his age, so he was greatly dissatisfied with the late chieftain. The late chieftain was deeply disappointed. How could he ignore the threat by his side? That was why he gave the position to Wales. Wales isn’t fond of fighting, and he is very smart. The late chieftain could be at ease that way.”
Zhao Hai didn’t think that this fight for the succession would be serious to the extent of deciding the very future of the Herculean Bull Tribe.
Yale sighed, “We don’t know how many casualties will be lost if this war is waged. The greater the death toll, the greater the herculean bulls’ loss, and the more unstable the position of the ruling race. Sadly, Gasol cannot see this. That overly arrogant fool keeps on believing that the herculean bulls are undefeatable, and he keeps treating the fighting bulls as the good guys. He has no idea that these ‘good guys’ are saving their strength to bring him to his knees.”
Yale’s face bore an expression of mockery at this point. The one he was mocking was none other than Gasol. How could the likes of him lead the herculean bulls into a bright future? It was the reason why Yale fully supported Wales.
Zhao Hai sighed at the thought. He knew a little bit more about the Herculean Bull Tribe now, but he hadn’t gotten used to seeing someone like Gasol, who had the ruthlessness of a ruler to use any means necessary to achieve his goals. However, it would only end in tragedy when such a ruler didn’t also have a ruler’s foresight.