Chapter 2161: Chapter 1564: Eat or Be Eaten? (Part 3)
The "Huan Dun" sacrificial priest of the River-side Tribe shook a single drum, sang a sacrificial song, and called upon the heavens. Zuwaro carefully observed the rituals of these Mongolian sacrificial priests, recording their dances and postures. Meanwhile, Maha Agudah rode directly to the large tree, dismounted, and strode up to the oobao. Ao Hala already had a smile on his face and respectfully bowed. Then, he held a tribal heirloom iron blade and pointed to two sheep.
"Noble Agudah! One sheep for you, one for me, shall we cut off the sheep’s heads together and offer them to the Longevity Heaven?"
"Yes!"
Maha Agudah didn’t say much, just turned around and spoke to Hu Nu.
"Hu Nu! May I borrow your long knife?"
"Here!"
Hu Nu grunted, took out a long knife from behind the horse, and tossed it to Agudah. As soon as this exquisite iron long knife appeared, Ao Hala’s eyes widened in shock.
"Tenggeri! What a fine horse-cutting blade!..."
Agudah glanced over, looked at the worn-out iron blade in Ao Hala’s hand, and smiled slightly. Then, gripping the long knife in both hands, he suddenly stepped forward and shouted loudly!
"Slash!..."
"Whoosh!..."
Bloody water splattered and shot out, a sheep’s head rolled to the ground without even a sound. Seeing this fierce slash, this forceful and sharp decapitation, Ao Hala fell silent, suddenly dropped the iron blade in his hand, and said to Agudah.
"Noble Agudah... could I borrow your knife?"
Agudah looked at Ao Hala, who also looked at him, just bowing slightly, showing respect. A few breaths later, Agudah smiled and tossed the long knife to the other party.
"It’s yours!... Don’t call me noble, call me Brother Aguda!"
"..."
Ao Hala fell silent again, nodded slightly, bent down, and picked up the long knife. Then, he took a deep breath, shouted loudly, and also slashed towards the second sheep’s head!
"Huray!..."
"Whoosh!..."
"Baa..."
Bloody water splattered again, the sheep’s head widened its eyes, uttering only half a bleat. The two chieftains were both stained with blood, looking at each other’s fierce appearances, then suddenly burst into laughter!
"Haha! Noble Agudah, thank you for your precious knife!..."
"I said, I don’t like the term noble..."
"Brother Aguda!"
"Brother Ao Hala! Haha!..."
"Come! This jug is horse milk wine offered to the Longevity Heaven atop the oobao! Let us drink together, it’s the witness of Longevity Heaven!..."
"Ton ton ton..."
Agudah drank the milk wine heartily, without a word. The two took turns drinking from the jug, and when they looked at each other again, there was no more guard, but a sense of mutual appreciation.
"Brother Ao Hala, you’ve organized such a grand scene today... surely you have some official words to tell me?"
"Brother Aguda, to not hide from you... With today’s grand ritual, I am indeed prepared to give you the response I haven’t given before..."
Ao Hala bowed, under the sacrificial oobao and large tree, among the celebrating and praying herdsmen, he spoke solemnly.
"The hundred pastoral slaves, two hundred horses, and food for three hundred people for half a year that you previously asked for..."
"Our River-side Tribe can provide fifty pastoral slaves, a hundred horses... but there is no surplus food. On the steppe, there’s never excess grain, gathering food means people will die..."
"Even by exchanging iron pots and salt, there’s no food?"
Agudah raised an eyebrow, his gaze sharp, even showing a hint of murderous intent. Ao Hala pursed his lips, meeting Agudah’s tiger-like eyes, paused for a few moments, then answered honestly.
"The River-side Tribe doesn’t have much grain stored. This winter, people will naturally die. And with your group here, consuming much of the supplies, most pastoral slaves will likely starve to death. If we gather food for three hundred people for half a year, a lot of sheep must be killed. Killing these sheep means many of our people will starve, even our core warriors will die! This is something I can’t accept... In the middle reaches of this Great River, aside from a few prosperous Great Tribes to the south, any poor tribes you find northward will give you the same answer!"
"With Longevity Heaven above! Brother Aguda, I am not deceiving you. The Ten Thousand Households Lord to the south had already gathered livestock here two years ago. All tribes haven’t recovered yet, and if you try to gather food now, you’ll have to rob other tribes and kill!"
"..."
Agudah’s eyes glinted with fierceness, staring into Ao Hala’s frank eyes. The two maintained eye contact for a long time, until the sheep’s blood had completely congealed beneath their feet, and then Agudah spoke.
"I believe you. Tell me, who shall we kill together? Whom shall we rob?"
"The Forest Tribe."
"How far?"
"Sixty li away."
"How many people?"
"About the same as our River-side Tribe, estimated around a hundred riders. But together, we can wipe them out completely, leaving nothing!"
"How shall the spoils be divided?"
"All captured horses go to you, if it’s less than two hundred, I’ll make up the difference. The strong men, women, and children are yours to choose, exceeding a hundred won’t be a problem. Then you’ll take food for three hundred people for half a year, and the remaining livestock go to me... Brother Aguda, what do you say?..."
"..."
Agudah was silent for a moment, looked at Zuwaro and Ali’s nodding expressions. A few breaths later, he pulled out a Heavy Arrow and agreed.
"I agree! This is an oath witnessed by the Tree Spirit. Whoever breaks the agreement... shall be like this arrow!"
"Snap!"
The Heavy Arrow broke into two and stuck onto the Oobao. Moments later, Ao Hala turned around and shouted to the praying tribespeople.
"Longevity Heaven manifests, Tree Spirit protects!..."
"Celebrate for two days! On the third day, set out with the noble sent by the Ten Thousand Households!..."
"As long as the expedition is successful... this winter, our people won’t starve to death!..."
"Expedition! Roar! Ahh!!..."
The herdsmen roared in unison, like a pack of wolves around the oobao, thrilled at the forthcoming "devouring." After all, in this vast beastly steppe, "devouring" always beats "being devoured!"
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