Chapter 1332: Chapter 1332

The autumn sun spread clear and bright, with fine sand pure white, the beach is very wide, the waves rolling at the rivermouth. The vast Pacific Ocean and the turbulent Columbia River both collide and converge here, causing the surrounding river and marsh water to display ever-changing hues.

Scholar Miki crouched by the riverbank, behind him the low tribal village, in front the wide great river, to the right the docked longships, and to the left, Zuwaro sitting cross-legged.

"Zuwaro, what should we do?"

"Hmm? What do you mean what should we do?"

"Chief Divine bear witness! This Krasop tribe thought we were pursuing enemies. To protect their tribespeople, they surrendered to us..."

Scholar Miki held his chin, gazing at the flowing river water, a look of shattered dreams on his face.

"But I thought they’d been divinely inspired to convert voluntarily! Or maybe I... ahem! We even gathered the fleet’s priests to hold a collective conversion ceremony for them! ... I wondered why they kept crying with excitement, turns out it was the sorrow of their tribe’s destruction... and even more absurdly, it took us seven days to understand what had really happened through laborious communication!"

"Ha! Miki, what are you worrying about? The Jaguar has already swallowed the rabbit, do you expect it to spit it out?"

Exploration Captain Zuwaro chuckled, looking nonchalant.

"Isn’t it fine this way? This tribe of over a hundred people has voluntarily joined us and converted to the Chief Divine. Such a divine-inspired miracle can even be recorded into our epic, shrouding our exploration in divine glory! ... And with their village, the Kingdom now has a ready-made port camp. These people are all skilled at building small huts, in eight or nine days they’ve constructed over a dozen small cabins..."

"Oh! Tomorrow, continue as planned, from the fifty people we plan to leave behind, select about ten, and arrange marriages with all the unmarried women in this tribe, hold a wedding... Oh! Remember to have that old Grandmother Rivermouth attend as the female representative..."

"Preaching, intermarriage, establishing a tribe... this complete set means the Kingdom will establish a foothold here! Moreover, with the protection of the Kingdom’s Warriors, there’s no need to worry about potential enemies of these swamp tribes... And when this tribe is mostly assimilated, then we look for another small tribe to swallow! ... I’ve been pondering, you know, this forced annexation is also a method!..."

"Zuwaro! The situation along this great river is quite different than other places! We need to be more cautious!..." This update ıs available on novel⸺fire.net

Scholar Miki’s expression turned serious, speaking solemnly.

"This Krasop tribe’s swamp section was easily subdued by us because they migrated from upstream, engaged in battles with hostile tribes, suffering heavy casualties and exhaustion! Their fighting spirit was worn out by migration and losses. Fleeing all the way to the coast, they had nowhere else to escape... Such coincidental opportunities are hard to come by again..."

"Ha! Miki, think carefully why they migrated? Is it not because there appeared belligerent, invasive great tribes upstream? And these great tribes fighting each other, like several wolves vying for Wolf King, driving deer, rabbits, birds, all over the place!..."

Exploration Captain Zuwaro stroked his chin, eyes gleaming with cleverness. To him, the chaotic situation was like a Short-tailed Cat catching the scent of fish, eager to pounce at once.

"Chief Divine bless us! This kind of chaotic situation is precisely the opportunity for our Kingdom’s Warriors to display their formidable martial power! With our strength, we can totally, under the name of protecting the Krasop various tribes, gather up all the hundreds or thousands of tribespeople here!..."

"Kingdom’s strength? Zuwaro, we only have two hundred people and four ships right now! How many do you plan to leave here? If we encounter a truly large-scale enemy, a battle will cause how many casualties? You know, several great tribes in the upstream valley can probably mobilize hundreds to thousands of warriors!..."

Scholar Miki furrowed his brow, asking in a deep voice.

"What’s more... We’ve already learned the location of the ’Bay of a Hundred Lakes’ from the old Grandmother Rivermouth! That vast bay full of lakes is truly an unprecedented great maritime port, and surely the place prophesied by Your Majesty! And it’s just northeast of us, land and rivers can convey news, even tribes have migrated from there. According to my estimate, it should be between north latitude 47-48 degrees, and we are already at north latitude 46 degrees!..."

"Hmm... the Bay of a Hundred Lakes, the great gulf in Your Majesty’s prophecy, is indeed within sight now!... Then the number of people left here..."

Hearing this, Zuwaro pursed his lips tightly, rubbing his face in vexation. After a while, he suppressed his colonization impulse, prioritizing the exploration task.

"Alright! Miki, then we leave two longships and a hundred people here. This North Port is entrusted to First Level Preaching Priest and the brothers Tu Shan and Tu He! With their cooperation, I feel more at ease. Then, we will take the remaining two longships and continue to the great maritime port in the prophecy!"

"Huh? Leave two ships, two Preaching Priests?"

Hearing this, Scholar Miki looked shocked. When the Kingdom Fleet first embarked, each longship had one Preaching Priest. And leaving half of the remaining four longships here means...

"Zuwaro! You intend to manage this place as the most important port north of West Mountain Port? Are you not planning to establish a port at the great maritime port in Your Majesty’s prophecy?"

"Hmm... Chief Divine witness! When we reach the bay, the fleet will also find a port where a supply station will be set up. That Cedar Shaman even told us there’s a rather powerful Rock River Great Tribe in the bay..."

Exploration Captain Zuwaro smiled, patiently explaining.

"Miki, you’ve also heard the news of the ’Bay of a Hundred Lakes’, the climate there is relatively warm, and the fish harvest is abundant, making it a place many fishing and hunting tribes fight over! ... Regarding that place, I’m uncertain of the situation and dare not rashly establish the main port there... because, after all, the Kingdom’s strength in the Northern Land is still insufficient! Leaving a hundred people there is very difficult to deter surrounding great tribes..."

"As for the rivermouth right now, it’s something tangible! These Krasop people’s tribes are small in scale, very scattered, without any stubborn beliefs, can be easily dev-... oh, integrated! So, it’s better to prioritize the North Port here! ... Moreover, we need to delineate territory first, subdue enough power. This way, even if the various upstream tribes annex each other and determine a true strongman, they won’t be able to extend their claws here!..."

"Moreover, it’s already early October. This year’s exploration will probably conclude when we reach the Bay. After that, it’s getting familiar with the Northern Land’s climate and accumulating more experience... After all, we’ve come from the Yaolem Great Tribe at north latitude 26 degrees, the Kingdom’s Reagan Town, to this Great River at north latitude 46 degrees, establishing the Kingdom’s North Port!... An entire 20 degrees of northern exploration and colonization... it’s time to properly adapt to the Northern Land’s cold... And by the time the Kingdom’s subsequent support arrives, after stockpiling enough power, we will then consider the expansion of the Bay of a Hundred Lakes!"

The Great River surged westward, the mountain forest vast and lush. Scholar Miki listened to Zuwaro’s plan, looked out over the grand river and mountain of the Northern Land, contemplated for a long time, and finally nodded heavily.

"Chief Divine bless the fleet! Good!..."