In Pendor Calendar 198, a Bloody Plague completely destroyed Kingdom of Pendor. Countless people abandoned the land and fled. In those few years, the operation of the entire Pande Continent came to a standstill.
Only the tribes north of the Misty Mountains were not affected by Red Death. Therefore, amid rumors that the south was filled with food and fertile land, the northern Misty Mountain people invaded Pendor in 1999.
Pendor was in paralysis and turmoil due to famine and plague, and Kingdom of Pendor did not have enough troops or financial resources to respond to this invasion.
But Misty Mountain people, who was the first to come to the south, already regarded Raven Territory as his home, and of course he did not want to return to the uncivilized barbarian tribes north of the Misty Mountains.
So they spontaneously launched an all-out resistance - and the descendants of Misty Mountain people became the biggest force blocking the invasion of Northern Misty Mountain people.
Without support from the south, the Count Gregory of the northern Raven Territory formed a coalition, and with the help of the Misty Mountains highlanders of Falling Bay, they defeated the northern Misty Mountain people, driving them back to the north of the Misty Mountains, and then established the Raven Kingdom.
Today, the term 'Misty Mountain people' actually no longer applies to this nation, but only to those barbarians who still live in the north of the Misty Mountains.
Northern Misty Mountain people has actually changed very little, and its population is still limited by its barren land.
In order to maintain the peace of the tribes in the Northern Misty Mountains, the leaders and shamans of the major tribes in the Misty Mountains have now changed their tactics and changed the original internal war to external plunder.
They began to systematically send young people from various tribes to the south of the Misty Mountains every year to plunder the more fertile land of the Pande Continent.
Moreover, this practice was described by shamans as the will of the mountain god 'Viyovis', and gradually formed a rule – this is Misty Mountain people's coming-of-age ceremony.
Except for the first heir of each tribe, everyone else must form or join a raiding team to go to Raven Territory when they first come of age.
In other words, the members of the plundering team are all young people who have just come of age, and the leader is usually the second-in-line heir of a certain tribe who has just come of age.
Those who can come back with a large amount of loot will have the opportunity to marry into a large tribe.
And if the leader's level of plundering is high enough and he can come back with high-quality food seeds, he will be recognized by all tribes and allowed to form a new tribe - no matter which tribe he is, in the final analysis, what he cares about is eating.
Objectively speaking, from the perspective of the people in the Northern Misty Mountains, there is no problem with this approach. The desolate and barren frozen soil cannot support so many people. It is better to send people to the south to rob them than to kill each other among the tribes.
Therefore, the Misty Mountains raiding team that comes to Raven Territory will basically be led by the son or daughter of a tribal leader, and the team members will be a joint force composed of young people from various tribes.
Since the team members come from various tribes, the leader must be responsible for the lives of the members of the plundering team. If a member of the team dies, the leader will owe a large "blood debt" to the family of the deceased when he returns.
Therefore, forming a plundering team is actually not a good job. It is like being forced to take risks with loan sharks, and the loans are the lives of other ethnic groups-this means a great risk.
Due to the limitations of Misty Mountain people's own technical level and resources, the looting team's equipment is relatively poor, and the "blood debt" of these team leaders often accumulates.
Therefore, many Misty Mountains looting team leaders may eventually have no choice but to settle down in Raven Territory and eke out a living together with some robbers.
The existence of this "blood debt" system seems to be to prevent the leader from blindly commanding and causing excessive losses, but in fact, it is a trap designed by the big tribe.
Because the leaders and members of the Misty Mountains's plundering team are young people who have just come of age. They have not seen much of the world and have little experience in the world. The quality of equipment and organization cannot compete with the army of Raven Territory. Therefore, most of the leaders cannot come back alive.
For the small number of people who come back, their spoils cannot offset the blood debt, which often results in the leader's tribe being forced to seek refuge with a larger tribe due to too much debt.
Misty Mountains's big tribe used this to kill two birds with one stone.
On the one hand, they have a stable source of loot; on the other hand, they can use this method to deprive small tribes of most of their fighting power and resources in order to annex them.
Through these plundering teams, there has been no large-scale war among the tribes in the North Misty Mountains for more than a hundred years, but the annexation of small tribes is happening all the time.
The 'Cat Claw' tribe led by Andongjia's father is a small tribe with only three hundred people.
But Misty Mountain people who died in Noldo Forest was not the plundering team led by Andongjia. These were all warriors of the 'Bear Claw' tribe, a large tribe with three thousand people - such a number was already a powerful force north of the Misty Mountains.
As the daughter of the leader of a small tribe, Andongjia brought a plundering team of more than 200 people to Raven Territory, with team members from various tribes.
This is a routine and an errand that cannot be refused.
Originally, the progress of this plundering team was going very smoothly.
Andongjia is not the kind of idiot who only thinks about muscles. She never provokes Raven Territory's patrol team and the big lord. Instead, she led the team to successfully rob several noble farms in relatively remote locations and obtained a lot of loot.
But then, she met this team of the Bear Claw tribe near Odenburg, and the shaman of the Bear Claw tribe expressed his intention to join forces with her.
At first she thought this was a good thing - being from the same Misty Mountains tribe, it was indeed safer to be able to support each other in Raven Territory.
The shaman of the Bear Claw tribe suggested that they work together to attack Belbrook Village in Count Stephen. This village has a large amount of food.
There were more than 500 people on both sides, which was more than enough to capture a village, and there was no need to attack the city. This originally seemed like a reasonable plan.
But after Andongjia invaded the village, Bear Claw Tribe's people retreated directly.
Subsequently, a large number of Count Stephen's troops appeared outside the village, surrounding Andongjia's plundering team...
Under the rain of arrows from Raven Territory Rangers, Andongjia experienced a disastrous defeat and the entire army was wiped out.
She finally escaped from the battlefield - in fact, she was able to escape entirely because she was wearing a leather robe and carrying a Raven Territory sword. She looked more like Raven Territory than Misty Mountain Savages.
After losing all her troops, she returned to the tribe, but she owed a huge blood debt that she could not repay at all.
Not long after that, people from the Bear Claw Tribe came to collect debts.
All the blood debts Andongjia owed to other tribes were transferred to the Bear Claw Tribe!
Obviously, Andongjia was ambushed deliberately by the Bear Claw Tribe, just to make her bear a huge blood debt that she could not repay.
So her father expelled him from the tribe to prevent the Cat's Claw from inheriting a huge debt - which would lead to the Cat's Claw being annexed.
Andongjia did not expect that people from the Misty Mountains tribe, Bear Claw Tribe, could be so sinister.
But she could only accept this fate. She shouldered a large debt and returned to the south of the Misty Mountains alone.
However, from now on, she is no longer the innocent young person she was originally. People who have been trapped by such a conspiracy will naturally grow up rapidly.
She began to look for the Bear Claw Tribe's people in Raven Territory. She knew that Bear Claw Tribe would use the same method to harm other small tribes. If the shaman's troops haven't returned yet, they must still be in Raven Territory.
Andongjia does not hate Count Stephen who led to the annihilation of her entire army. She thinks it is natural for the owner of the village to kill the looters to protect his property - in fact, no matter what the reason is, as long as he kills his opponent in an upright manner, he is not considered an enemy to Misty Mountain people.
But she hates Bear Claw Tribe people.
She wants revenge.
It didn't take long for her to find it, still near Odenburg.
This time, Andongjia put a mark on his face, and told Bear Claw Tribe's shaman that he was about to marry leader of the 'Bear Claw' tribe as his concubine, and the Cat Claw tribe had also been merged into the Bear Claw Tribe.
This statement is actually very credible, because the shaman knows that leader of the 'Bear Claw' tribe originally planned to do this.
The paw prints on Andongjia's face are indeed a sign of engagement - North Misty Mountain people is relatively barbaric and has always implemented a bride-robbing system. Girls without marks on their faces are likely to be raped.
Of course, many tough women will also rob young men.
And having a tribal mark painted on the face means that she is the wife and concubine of the tribal leader, and if she dares to rob her, she will be hunted down by a tribe.
Andongjia The marks on his face can be said to be cat claws or bear claws. Anyway, they look like this when applied on the face...
So the shaman had no doubts. In his opinion, Andongjia could only face this fate.
Moreover, Andongjia said very cleverly that she had not forgotten the incident of this shaman causing her to fall into a trap. If she did not want to be troubled by her blowing pillows when she went back, it was best to do herself a favor, otherwise she would make him look good sooner or later.
The shaman really believed it - Andongjia's lies and threats were all in line with the shaman's inner expectations.
Although the shaman has a high status in the tribe, leader of the 'Bear Claw' tribe is quite powerful, and with the identity of Andongjia, it is indeed very likely that he will become a favorite concubine... This shaman will definitely not have a good life by then.
Andongjia told the shaman that Cat Claw Tribe once hid a lot of property and leather in the Eastern Misty Mountains. She wanted to get these properties back so that her father and brother could be freed.
Her father and brother are tribal leaders, and it is really not appropriate for them to become servants after being annexed. She wants to get back their property to help them redeem their lives. This seems to be a very normal way of thinking, and it is also in line with the concept of redeeming blood debts.
Eastern Misty Mountains is the big snow mountain to the east of Gatu Grasslands and Noldo Forest, but this snow mountain is different from the north Misty Mountains. The side of the grassland and forest here has become an insurmountable iceberg due to the influence of warm air, which is basically impossible to climb over.
But Cat Claw Tribe did originally develop from the other side of the Eastern Misty Mountains.
It is indeed possible for a tribal leader who developed from here to hide something in an iceberg that no one can climb - the environment on an iceberg is generally relatively stable, there are no birds and animals, and things will not rot all year round, so it is indeed a good place to hide treasures.
Even if it's fake, it's just a wasted trip... Anyway, Bear Claw Tribe's shaman has recently robbed a lot of Raven Territory's villages, and he originally planned to avoid the limelight.
So the shaman asked Andongjia about the specific location, and then decided to take her to find the property together.
Of course, this shaman definitely has no good intentions - but just as it happens, Andongjia doesn't have any good intentions either...
She led Bear Claw Tribe's people to the south of Gatu Grasslands, at the junction with Noldo Forest - this place was extremely dangerous, but it fit her lie perfectly, because Eastern Misty Mountains could already be seen to the east.
This place has Jatu in the north, Noldor in the south, Brave Shield Fortress in the west, and the highest iceberg in the entire continent in the east. It can be called the most dangerous place in the Pande Continent. There is nowhere to run if any situation arises.
Andongjia, who lived in the Eastern Misty Mountains, brought Bear Claw Tribe here on purpose.
Andongjia just wanted to lead Bear Claw Tribe's people to a place of death in the same way that the shaman framed her, to retaliate in kind.
She was burdened with countless blood debts and was kicked out of her home. She didn't want to live in the first place.
However, Andongjia's revenge plan was only half successful here.
The first person Bear Claw Tribe encountered was Gatu people, and they were also the troops of 'Destroyer' Zhu Da.
But just when Bear Claw Tribe and Gatu people met, a group of Ebony Gauntlet Knights people came out of Noldo Forest...
A hundred or so Ebony Hammer Wielder.
These Ebony Hammer Wielder originally wanted to lure Lord Aldarian to Gatu Grasslands. In fact, they also sent people from the mercenary group to attract Jatu troops, so Zhuda's team appeared here.
But when they saw Bear Claw Tribe, the Ebony Hammer Wielder people had a bit of a misunderstanding - they thought these Misty Mountain people were 'friendly forces' sent to attract Zhu Da...
These Bear Claw Tribe people had indeed snatched a lot of equipment before and were wearing patchwork clothing. From a distance, they did look like a mercenary group with poor equipment.
As a result, the Ebony Hammer Wielders planned to join the "friendly forces"...
As they approached, the Misty Mountains shaman naturally misunderstood. He thought that the warhammer troops were going to attack them - but the two sides ended up fighting each other in confusion.
At this time, Lord Aldarian also rushed out with more than hundreds of Noldor warriors - Gatu people and Noldorna had a blood feud. The warlord Zhu Da had a special hatred for Noldo Elves. When he saw Noldo Elves, he immediately launched an attack.
Bear Claw Tribe More than 300 people and Ebony Hammer Wielder were fighting in a melee. Of course, Zhu Da ignored them.
And it just so happened that Lord Aldarian happened to be a Noldor lord who hated Gatu people extremely. He thought Gatu people was ambushing him...
As a result, Nuoduo and Gatu people fought together.
Ebony Hammer Wielder originally planned to run away immediately after discovering something was wrong, but Andongjia incited him. "These people look very rich, and their equipment is also very valuable! And they only have so many people..."
As a result, Bear Claw Tribe's people chased Ebony Hammer Wielder and beat him up, chasing him several miles away.
The Ebony Hammer Wielders were small in number and had no fighting spirit. In addition, Misty Mountain people was really good at hand-to-hand combat. Most of them were killed quickly, leaving only a few alive.
Then, the shaman of the Bear Claw tribe learned from Ebony Hammer Wielder that an army of thousands of mercenaries was attacking Noldo Forest.
This is a good opportunity to fish in troubled waters. Misty Mountain people, who has been plundering for a long time, likes to take advantage of the chaos...
Everyone knows that Noldo Forest is full of valuable things, whether it is weapons and equipment, horses, or Noldo Elves themselves, getting anything is much greater than robbing the village!
So the greedy shaman was moved. In addition, he got a lot of Ebony Gauntlet Knights equipment, and Misty Mountain people's morale greatly increased. Seeing that Gatu people and Noldo Elves were fighting inextricably, the greedy shaman led his troops to ambush Lord Aldarian from behind.
Speaking of which, this shaman is actually very smart. He knows that this approach will allow Gatu people to fight alongside him - Gatu people also makes a living by robbing, so they should also be able to fish in troubled waters!
In this way, the opportunities will be much greater!
Lord Aldarian didn't expect that Misty Mountain people would go and come back. He had the upper hand, but Misty Mountain people suddenly appeared behind him and rushed into the archers' formation.
Being attacked from both sides and fighting into hand-to-hand combat, Lord Aldarian had no choice but to retreat as a whole.
During this retreat, Misty Mountain people got a lot of trophies of Noldor equipment, and felt that he could still take advantage of it, so he chased them forward.
Zhu Da's troops received assistance from Misty Mountain people inexplicably, so they did not attack Misty Mountain people. Instead, they chased him in. Even Misty Mountain people dared to chase into the forest. Of course, Zhu Da's Gatu people also had to chase in.
Because Zhu Da was an extremely cruel warlord. If anyone in his troops dared to show cowardice, he would shoot the cowardly person directly from behind.
Therefore, this Jatu army can only advance but not retreat on the battlefield!
But after entering the forest, it is actually very difficult to retreat - after chasing after each other, the large army dispersed in the forest, and Zhu Da could not give them orders.
In such a large area of virgin forest, it is inevitable to lose your way. Even if you have modern equipment, you may not be able to get out...
These Misty Mountain people couldn't find their way in the forest, and many people were lost, but after wandering around for two days, they discovered this horse farm.
Three to four hundred Gatu people who got separated from the main force also followed them here.
In fact, until Li Ang arrived, Gatu people and Misty Mountain people had no effective communication - they did not understand the language.
But they have been in a very strange situation of emboldening each other these past two days...
Gatu people thinks that since Misty Mountain people dares to attack Noldor, then of course they are not vain.
Misty Mountain people feels that since Gatu people dares to invade Noldo Forest on a large scale, it means that what Ebony Hammer Wielder said must be true. Thousands of troops from the south must have invaded Noldo Forest. If everyone dares to invade, then of course they can fish in troubled waters and make some profits.
Moreover, they assisted Gatu people, and these Gatu people did not attack them at all, which 'shows' that everyone's goal is to rob Noldo Forest...
Later, they discovered that Noldo Elves was transferring the property here - a large group of Elf Horse and a large amount of supplies.
Of course those Gatu people got excited all of a sudden... They all dreamed of getting Noldo Elven Horse!
The Shaman of the Bear Claw tribe also became excited. He found that the number of Noldo Elves here was very small, but the property they were transferring seemed to be very large!