103. The Road of Adventure (Part One)

With the Bear tribe chieftain's promise secured, the elder led his Ox-head tribesmen out of Stormwind City. They needed to return and discuss the matter with their people first, for what they alone said could not decide the fate of the entire tribe. After all, this feud had persisted for nearly a century—could it truly be settled with a few words? They would all have to find a way past this hurdle themselves.

Mofei watched the elder leave, his heart heavy with concerns, and knew that this hurdle was something the Ox-head tribe would have to cross on their own—no one else could help them with it. As things stood, wanting to destroy the Bear tribe, their sworn enemy, and reclaim everything that had once been theirs was clearly impossible. With the balance of power shifting as it was, how could they ever walk this path that stretched beyond the horizon?

Turning around and seeing Ailin's small face also clouded with worry, Mofei couldn't help but say with concern, "Ailin, there's nothing we can do about this. You saw it too—if it weren't for the fact that we fought the Bear tribe once before, and that the Bear tribe's young chieftain had just taken the seat of power while his elders weren't cooperating with him, leaving him with too many concerns weighing on his mind, we really might have had to swim back to that other continent. Look at their elite troops, and then look at our army."

Mofei sighed. "It's not that I don't want to help them. Our warriors are unquestionably far more formidable than the Bear tribe's, but they can afford to trade ten, twenty, or even more of their soldiers for one of ours. Can we afford that? They're all my brothers, and their parents are my parents too. When I led them out here, I made a promise to bring them back. Last time in the Tianlong Empire, I nearly fell apart. From the moment I set foot on this road, I'd never had to face so many of my brothers falling forever in a single battle. But I had to force myself to stand strong in front of the others. My heart was bleeding at that moment, you know? We can't bear that kind of cost again. Do you understand?"

"Brother, I understand. I do." Ailin sobbed and threw her arms around Mofei tightly.

At the corner of the city wall, Kaine and Elder Ouf, who had overheard Mofei's words, also had tears streaming down their faces. They looked at each other, wiped away their tears, and turned back down from the ramparts.

"Let's head back." Mofei looked at the sobbing Ailin with tender affection. "We've reached an agreement with the Bear tribe. Our Stormwind City won't face any major military threat in the short term, at least. Elder Ouf can slowly perfect the parts of the construction that aren't finished yet. When the time comes, we'll just station an elite infantry unit to take over the defense. With our interests aligned for now, the Bear tribe won't go so far as to tear up the agreement and start a full-scale fight with us."

"And what about later?"

"Who knows what the future holds? Why worry so far ahead? As long as we hold this base, and if we truly can't hold it, we'll return to the Empire. This isn't our territory anyway. My original purpose in building this city and stationing troops here was to keep the Bear tribe in check—to stop them from getting restless ideas and crossing over to burn things down in our lands again. Now, though, there's an added purpose."

"Is it to protect the Ox-head tribe?" Ailin asked.

"Mm." Mofei smiled. "Not entirely to protect them—it's more about overseeing their agreement and promises. I told the elder that we'd set aside a section of the city for his people to settle in. Mind you, this city of ours needs the Ox-head warriors to help defend it before we can truly hold it."

Mofei's words weren't an exaggeration. Without the local people joining the army, relying solely on troops sent from the Empire, the only way to hold the city to the maximum extent would be to keep everyone from this continent out of it. But the city had to operate—you couldn't ship everything over from another continent—which meant it had to be open to the people of this land. And on this continent, Mofei hadn't yet found a way to screen everyone who came in, to make sure no Bear tribe warriors slipped in with ill intentions.

"So the elder and his people will have a place to settle down. With their help, our Stormwind City will definitely be safe."

"Of course it will."

Mofei wrapped his arm around Ailin and walked off the city wall. Perhaps tomorrow, they would set out. Where would the next destination be? Would they truly go to an entirely new continent? He hadn't even seen that much of this one yet. Still, Mofei, who had always harbored a natural longing for battle, made his decision: he would cooperate with the Bear tribe chieftain Udos Naping and go see that war-torn continent—to look upon that diamond and platinum that seemed to stir some faint echo of memory within him.

Udos Naping had successfully diverted Mofei's attention outward, and this continent would have no major military operations for the time being. In a sense, both men had achieved their goals. For Mofei, his purpose was to contain, even dismantle, the Bear tribe's ability to invade his own continent again. For the Bear tribe, having just undergone a non-peaceful transfer of power within their ranks, they needed all the time they could get to soothe the pain that such a transition brought. By redirecting everyone's attention outward, both men had gained precious time. As for what would happen later—who could say?

Udos Naping acted with decisiveness and speed. After he returned, the Bear tribe's army slowly began to move out, heading to who knew where. But at the very least, no force around Stormwind City could threaten it any longer.

And after the army had decamped, Udos Naping came to Mofei's temporary residence.

"I've temporarily moved the army to the port city of Kamuha. When we set out, we'll depart from that port."

"It's 'I' who will set out, not 'we'." Mofei smiled. "You don't seem fit for a long journey right now, do you?"

No kidding—the Bear tribe had only just stabilized, and the reconciliation with the Ox-head tribe still depended on him. If he went to that other continent and something happened to him, this continent would descend into chaos in no time.

"Didn't we agree to go together?" Udos Naping said urgently. "You're not thinking of leaving us Bear tribesmen behind and going alone, are you?"

"Of course not." Mofei smiled. "I want you to assign me ten high-level mages. Other than that, I won't need anything else."

He had no idea how the Bear tribe rated their mages, but the attack their mages had unleashed last time had left a deep impression on Mofei's mind. For this expedition, relying solely on his own cavalry escort would be a bit lacking in strength. With these ten high-level mages added to the mix, there shouldn't be any problems.

"I know I'm not really in a position to go with you right now, but truly, I really, really want to go see..." Udos Naping's face was full of longing.

"As long as you know it's not appropriate, that's fine. Didn't we agree that all the profits from this expedition would be split fifty-fifty? Surely you're not afraid I'll keep it all for myself?"

"It's not that I'm afraid you'll hog it all. It's just that I usually learn about everything beyond this continent through my tribesmen. Last time I went to your lands, it was only because my father was ill that I led the delegation in his place. That was also the first time I ever set foot outside this continent."

"And I'd never left my continent either until you people came to us. If it hadn't been for your invasion, I'd still be back there enjoying the scenery. I never would have ended up in your lands."

"Haha!" The two men laughed together.

"Alright, I know what you're worried about. I won't go. I'll handle the affairs of our two continents as quickly as I can, and I'll also issue the order for reconciliation with the Ox-head tribe. As of yesterday, all Bear tribe units that received the order have stopped attacking the Ox-head people. I hope they'll accept our Bear tribe's goodwill. This war has gone on for nearly a hundred years—we should all sit down and talk things through properly."

"That's good to hear, truly good to hear. The fact that you can think this way is a great fortune for both the Bear tribe and the Ox-head tribe." Mofei stood up abruptly. "You should know, had we chosen to add fuel to the fire and stir the pot, to throw your two tribes into even greater chaos, we could have profited as the fisherman who catches the fish while the cranes fight. If you hadn't reconciled, the things we didn't do this time wouldn't necessarily remain undone by someone else. But now that you're reconciling, none of that will ever come to pass."

Hearing Mofei's words, Udos Naping broke out in a cold sweat all over. If Mofei had truly harbored such intentions back then, the Bear tribe would have been in serious trouble.

"I'll see to this matter promptly. You also need to inform your continent as soon as possible that they should open up their resources to us Bear tribesmen. We can trade with things you lack, or we can trade according to your customs. I hope our two continents can coexist peacefully in the days ahead, united against outside threats."

"Indeed—united against outside threats. In a few days, once your mages arrive, we'll go blaze the trail. If there's anything good to be had over there, I'll be sure to invite you along. Rest assured on that." He paused briefly. "You do have people who've been there, right?"

"Not exactly..."

"Ah..."

"It happened when some of our people were lost at sea during a voyage and rescued several people from that continent. That's how we heard about it."

Mofei felt his head spin.

"But don't worry—from our port, heading due south, they said it only takes about ten days' sail to reach their continent."

At least there was a direction to go in; otherwise, who knew how far they'd have to travel. Though even a long distance didn't matter much to Mofei. Once they reached their destination, he could set up a magic circle and use spatial magic to teleport people there—that was his specialty. Wherever he went, he could bring people along with him. What was there to worry about?

"That ten days must be a fractionalized estimate, right?" Mofei said with some frustration. "Your continent to ours is also said to be ten days' sail, but my warship took over twenty days."

"That's because you didn't catch favorable winds, and you didn't pick the shortest route. Twenty-some days is actually considered fast." As he spoke, Udos Naping suddenly remembered—was Mofei taking his own ship, or did he need the Bear tribe to arrange one? "For this sea voyage, you..."

"I've already sent for two warships from our side. Yours are too small—uncomfortable to ride in. Our great ships are far more comfortable."

At this, Udos Naping's face also fell. He remembered how Mofei, with just seven warships, had beaten his entire fleet until they couldn't even fight back, and those two thousand elite mages nearly all perished—those who didn't sink to the bottom had their fill of seawater.

Seeing his expression, Mofei knew the man was thinking of that old defeat again. He thought to himself, I'll make sure to have him see me off at the port and show him Elder Ouf's new warship—it wouldn't hurt to give him a bit of a scare.

With that plan settled in his mind, Mofei said, "We'll have our warships dock at your port city of Kamuha. We still have a few days yet—hurry and get your people organized, and we'll head to that port ahead of time to wait."

"I've already embedded them in the army. Let's go over together. Since I can't go along, I'll at least see you off." It was rare for him to get out, and Udos had no intention of rushing back. He might as well take a spin around before returning.

Seeing that his purpose had been achieved, Mofei said no more. He just had to wait for Kaine to finish the preparations, and then he could set out. This time, Kaine wouldn't be going along either—there was too much going on, too many troop movements scattered all over. Getting everyone reassigned would keep him busy for quite a while. There was no way he could leave.

Looking at the eighty men before him, the cream of the crop, chosen one from a thousand, Kaine's face was iron-gray as he said, "You keep a good watch over the young master. If anything happens to him, I'll hold every one of you personally responsible."

"Chieftain, rest assured. Anyone who wants to harm the young master will have to step over our dead bodies first." said the squad leader at the front.

In a few days, they would set sail with the young master, the man they regarded as a god....