Chapter 1323: Chapter 1323

The sea breeze was slightly cool, and the morning mist rose on the sea surface, spreading among the mountain ranges. The redwood trees mingled with the morning mist, their tall trunks looming and disappearing, appearing dreamlike and ethereal.

Five longships of the Kingdom were anchored by the coast outside the Redwood Tribe, setting up simple camps. The calls of kingfishers echoed among the nearby villages as the Samurai rose from their light slumber, donned their armor, and began preparing breakfast. The villagers from the Redwood Tribe were doing the same; vigilant Hunters, with newly traded Copper Spears on their backs, kindled cooking fires while watchfully observing the Southern Tribes arriving from the sea.

"Hiss! This fruit is so sour!..."

Miki the Sage yawned, took the berries passed by Zuwaro, tossed them into his mouth, chewed them, and instantly jolted as if he would jump up right on the spot.

"This? Zuwaro? These berries?..."

"Look! We traded these from the Redwood Tribe yesterday, and there are two more baskets. His Majesty said we must eat more fruits when going out to sea, to avoid any scurvy... haha! Such sour fruit should last long."

Exploration Captain Zuwaro held back a laugh, stirring the salmon, sea clams, and unknown vegetable roots cooking in the clay pot with a wooden spoon. The aroma of seafood rose from the steaming pot, making stomachs growl.

"Ahem! Zuwaro, is it ready? Can we eat?" Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs novęlfire.net

"Let it cook a bit more. The fish and clams we traded from the Redwood Tribe were likely caught two days ago, they’re not very fresh... but it’s not a big problem, as long as it’s cooked thoroughly."

Miki the Sage nodded, staring at the campfire and the heating clay pot, and asked gravely.

"Zuwaro, how much storable food did you trade from them yesterday?"

"Not much. They traded us their recent catch and game with the fleet. But as for storable smoked fish, smoked meat, beans, and corn... we got very little, probably enough for two hundred people in the fleet to last eight or nine days!"

Exploration Captain Zuwaro tugged his hair, looking toward the tribal villages in the morning mist, and sighed.

"They don’t have much salt, not enough to preserve meats, and they value storable grains highly, unwilling to trade for gemstones and cloth... we got this food only after I offered twenty Copper Spears!"

Hearing this, Miki the Sage frowned in puzzlement and asked.

"The Redwood Tribe is estimated to have a scale of three thousand people! They have fields opened by the riverside, dozens of fishing boats, and so many hunters... how could such a large tribe, farming, fishing, and hunting, possibly have no stored grain?"

"Hmm, Chief Divine as witness! They surely have stored grain, but they are very wary of outsiders, unwilling to trade with us."

Exploration Captain Zuwaro spread his hands, answering helplessly.

"Frankly, they don’t trust us... unless we agree to their request, to join in some war against the Northern Leaf Grass Tribe..."

"Zuwaro, that’s internal warfare among the Tolowa tribes, involving many tribes... the fleet is heading north for exploration, better not get involved!"

Miki the Sage shook his head lightly and responded softly.

"Chief Divine as witness! Yesterday I took Le Tian as a translator, and chatted with their Tribal Huntsman Tuowu all night... I roughly understood the situation of this tribal war..."

"Hmm? What did you find out?"

Exploration Captain Zuwaro straightened up, listening attentively. The further north the fleet traveled, the more serious the language barrier became. Finding someone to communicate with was truly a blessing from the Chief Divine!

"This coastal valley where the Tolowa people gather is about sixty miles north to south, and twenty miles east to west, a very suitable place for settlement. In the entire valley, there are a dozen or so villages of varying sizes, with a population of about ten or twenty thousand Tolowa. But currently, they are divided into two groups, north and south. The North is the Leaf Grass Great Tribe, the South is the Redwood Great Tribe. Each of the two Great Tribes leads seven or eight smaller tribes, they’ve been hostile and fighting each other for many years..."

"Ah? They only have ten or twenty thousand people, yet they’re divided into two groups, fighting for many years?"

Hearing this, the Exploration Captain paused, puzzled, and asked.

"Both sides could pull together several thousand able-bodied men, have a big battle, and decide the outcome, couldn’t they?"

"Um, how to put it?... Northern tribal fights are different from large-scale warfare on the Highland, and different from the Canine Descendants tribes’ raids..."

Miki the Sage rubbed his face, thought for a moment, and answered.

"Chief Divine as witness! Their fights are somewhat like the flower wars conducted in the past between the Mexica Alliance and the Tlaxcala Alliance, not so intense... Even though these Tolowa tribes hold deep-seated hostility towards each other, they are of the same lineage, like the Mexica and the Tlaxcala, brother tribes with a common origin..."

"Their battles aim to seize hunting and fishing grounds at the borders, and most importantly, the salt marshes... Yes, right between the two tribes lies a salt-producing marsh, their primary source of salt..."

"Every few months, both tribes come out for a fight. Generally, it’s at most a few hundred people confronting each other, shouting back and forth in intimidation! Then each side sends out a dozen or twenty or so brave warriors and hunters, either to brawl or to duel... And in the end, leaving behind a few to a dozen lives, temporarily determining the ownership of a place, until the next battle... Besides this formal fighting, when hunter groups on both sides meet, they may also challenge each other. Of course, if one side doesn’t respond and opts to leave, the other will only mock loudly and spread the word, but won’t chase them down for a kill..."

"I see... the Tolowa are really combative yet restrained! Fascinating!..."

Exploration Captain Zuwaro rubbed his chin, pondering in silence, his eyes gleaming.

In this kind of ritualistic, low-intensity fighting, should the Kingdom’s fleet get involved? Or find a way to get involved, to spread the belief in the Chief Divine, to convert these frequently battling Tribes? Or else, stoke the fire, sell weapons to both sides, and trade for their captives? But, with the language barrier and mutual distrust...

"Zuwaro, what are you contemplating?"

Miki the Sage squinted, looking deeply at Zuwaro. Zuwaro touched his nose and gave a sheepish smile.

"Uh! I’m thinking... since the Redwood Tribe doesn’t have much salt and is so vigilant, they’re probably at a disadvantage in the fights between both sides?... Ha! They surely haven’t seized that salt marsh!"

"Hmm... that’s really the case!"

Hearing this, Miki the Sage was somewhat surprised. He nodded, and said in a deep voice.

"That’s indeed true! Currently, the Southern Redwood Tribe is at a disadvantage in the battles between both sides. The Leaf Grass Tribe has gained some formidable new hunters over the past two years. They suspect the Leaf Grass Tribe has gained support from further northern mountain Tolowa tribes..."

"However, with the Chief Divine’s blessing! Whatever the case, our primary objective is to continue exploring northward! We should avoid getting involved in these Tolowa tribes’ internal wars if we can avoid it!..."