Blazing Fire Tribe

After obtaining the desired geographical information and important hydrological maps, the caravan, led by Luda, left Tribe Number Two and continued towards the camp of the Blazing Fire Tribe.

They also tried to follow the small river they found near Tribe Number Two, but unfortunately the river changed course and the destination was not the same. The team had to continue forward and finally arrived at the camp of the Blazing Fire Tribe after four days.

After the caravan arrived at the Blazing Fire Tribe camp, someone came to greet them. This person was one of the three Legion Commander of the Blazing Fire Tribe and the nephew of the Blazing Fire Tribe chief. His name was Huo Qing. The caravan had always done business with the Blazing Fire Tribe through him, and the profits were split in half with him.

"Luda, you're leading the team this time? And there are so many people. It seems your caravan brought quite a lot of goods this time." Luda had also accompanied caravans to the Blazing Fire Tribe many times, so he naturally knew Huo Qing.

Huo Qing treated the caravan very well. Although he was greedy, he was very helpful. With his assistance, the caravan was able to do business safely in the Blazing Fire Tribe.

The Barbarian Tribes on the grasslands are very good at making money without any initial investment. Even the caravan of the Horseshoe Tribe is quite large, with at least three or four hundred people. Most of them are young and strong men who can wield swords and spears and are quite capable. Ordinary small tribes would not be able to take them down, and they might even be taken down by the caravan if they are not careful.

However, this does not include the Blazing Fire Tribe. The entire tribe has more than 20,000 people, and three major families control the entire tribe. Each family has a Thousand-man squad, plus any able-bodied men they can mobilize. Any one of them could easily devour the Horseshoe Tribe's caravan.

Huo Qing is not only one of the Legion Commander the three Thousand-man squad, but also the chief's nephew. However, without his protection, it would be difficult for caravans to do business normally in the Blazing Fire Tribe.

"Lord Huo Qing, this time we have a lot of goods, and we have also brought some rare and good items. We are sure we will not disappoint you."

After saying that, Luda tried to pull Huo Qing along to see the caravan's goods, but Huo Qing refused.

"Luda, I also have a favor to ask you. Your caravan will be heading north again this time, right? You'll probably be going to the Iron Palm Tribe to do business, won't you?"

"Yes, Lord Huo Qing, our caravan has been trading back and forth across this grassland. We visit several surrounding tribes. In business, the more customers the better. We also plan to continue north to find more tribes to do business with."

"I don't care about those things anymore. I only have one thing I want your caravan to do me a favor for: check if there have been any changes in the Iron Palm Tribe, or if its population has increased."

"That's no problem. Although our caravan is just looking to do business, Lord Huo Qing has taken good care of us all this time, so this is nothing. But if I may be so bold, the Iron Palm Tribe is much weaker than the Blazing Fire Tribe. Why are you paying so much attention to them? May I ask why?"

"There's nothing I can't say. You should know that last year in the western grasslands, the Tribal Alliance and the nobles of the Northlands had a great battle."

"We certainly know that, but a small tribe like ours would never dare to get involved in such a thing, and it's too far away. We've never joined Tribal Alliance."

"It's good that we didn't join. We did join. We originally planned to send troops to participate last year, but the chief disagreed. In the end, we only sent some livestock. Fortunately, we didn't go. The tribes that participated in that battle suffered heavy losses. Many tribes lost their armies, and their tribes were annexed. It was terrible."

"Yes, our tribe is not large. As long as we can survive, we dare not get involved in these things. In order to ensure our survival, we have been organizing caravans to do business with other tribes and nobles in the Northlands."

"Yes, Luda, it's actually quite good this way. We can do business and not fight. Isn't it great that we don't have to fight? Now the grasslands are going to be at war again."

Luda was startled by what he heard.

"Huo Qing, is the Tribal Alliance going to summon all the tribes to go south and fight against the Northern Frontier nobles again? But didn't we suffer heavy losses in last year's battle?"

"That's not how it is, Luda. In last year's battle, the Tribal Alliance suffered heavy losses. Even large tribes like Iron Hoof and Poison Scorpion fell into internal strife due to the death of their chiefs and the loss of their troops. How could they dare to go south?"

"Then what is the purpose of this war, as you said?"

"Of course it's the Iron Bone Tribe. During last year's battle, they were the first to retreat and suffered the fewest losses. After returning to the grasslands, they annexed many small and medium-sized tribes that had suffered heavy losses. However, now their appetite has grown, and their target has changed from small and medium-sized tribes to larger tribes like ours." Huo Qing sighed.

"No way, Lord Huo Qing, doesn't the Tribal Alliance forbid large tribes from arbitrarily annexing small tribes? Wouldn't Tie Gu be betraying the Tribal Alliance by doing this?"

"So what? The major tribes that were in charge of the original Tribal Alliance were all too busy to take care of themselves. Who had time to deal with the Iron Bone Tribe? We weren't on good terms with the Ironbone tribes back when we were in the Tribal Alliance. At that time, we were on good terms with the Blood Scorpion Tribe. If the Tribal Alliance hadn't been formed, we would have already annexed the Iron Palm Tribe."

"So the Iron Palm Tribe really is a branch of the Iron Bone Tribe? I thought it was just a rumor."

"That's true, but the relationship isn't that close. When Ironbone declined, many of these branch tribes abandoned them. Not to mention Iron Palm Tribe, even Iron Hoof Tribe was once a branch of the Iron Bone Tribe. It's just that after they rose to power, they stopped obeying their former patriarch tribe."

"However, the situation is different now. Ironbone is now starting to win over these branch tribes, especially the smaller ones, so that they can use this as a way to get revenge on the Barbarian Tribes they have clashed with."

"So, you think the Iron Bone Tribe will use the Iron Palm Tribe's affairs as an excuse to harm the Blazing Fire Tribe."

"We just received news from the Blood Scorpion Tribe that the Iron Bone Tribe has sent people to the Iron Palm Tribe. We don't know why, or if they intend to attack us. So we'd like to ask your caravan to investigate."

"Now that you put it that way, I understand. Don't worry, Lord Huo Qing, we will definitely investigate carefully and come back to report to you."

"Great, Luda, if you help me this time, I'll take 10% less of your profits from this transaction... oh no... let's take 20%."

Luda inwardly scoffed. He thought he'd be free after helping with this, but it turns out Huo Qing is still as greedy as ever. Just wait, he'll make Huo Qing cough up all his money in a month.

"How could we reduce your share of the profits? Without your help, our caravan wouldn't have earned a single penny. Just to repay your kindness, we will handle this matter perfectly. Just wait for our good news."