Da Qing and the other four followed behind the Jackalmen. After more than twenty minutes, the Jackalmen tribe finally came into view.
Before them stood a Sky-Piercing Giant Tree more than five meters in diameter. Its trunk was forty or fifty meters tall, and its crown spread like a gigantic canopy, blotting out the sky.
Gray-white roots dangled from the crown, swaying gently in the breeze.
"What a huge tree!"
Seeing the awe-inspiring Sky-Piercing Giant Tree in the distance, Da Qing and the others couldn't help but marvel.
The art design was absolutely incredible!
Around the trunk stood tent after tent made of animal hides, with Jackalmen coming and going.
Da Qing and the others stopped more than a hundred meters away, lying in the grass as they studied the distant Jackalmen tribe.
More than a dozen Jackalmen carried a gigantic saber-toothed tiger into the tribe. Cheers rang out, and Jackalmen came pouring out of their tents to gather around and watch.
The five of them carefully counted the Jackalmen in sight.
"There are humans!"
Su Ziye spotted something and spoke in a low voice.
There were more than just Jackalmen in the tribe. Several people in tattered clothes were also visible, carrying the saber-toothed tiger's carcass aside under the Jackalmen's orders and beginning to process it.
One person was a little too slow, and a Jackalman beside him kicked him to the ground and beat him viciously.
Clearly, these humans were treated like slaves in the Jackalmen tribe.
Besides humans, there were also several tall, thin creatures who seemed to be Jackalmen slaves as well.
They appeared to be about three meters tall, but their waists were only half as wide as a human's, making them look like long, slender bamboo poles.
Their legs and arms were just as thin and long as bamboo poles, and their arms dangled all the way down to their calves.
Their skin was wrinkled, like dried tree bark.
"What kind of creature is that?"
Su Ziye asked curiously, eyes wide.
"I don't know." Da Qing shook his head. "Maybe they're one of the races in the Savage World."
According to the world background described on the official website, the Savage World was home to countless races, so it wasn't strange for all kinds of bizarre ones to appear.
"Do you think those human slaves might be from our tribe?"
Shooting A Bit Like Kobe suddenly asked.
"Very possible!"
Da Qing nodded.
The chief had said that the tribe had been attacked by the Jackalmen, forcing them to migrate to Gourd Valley.
Apart from the chief and the five children, everyone else had died while protecting them as they fled.
But perhaps some of them hadn't died. Maybe the Jackalmen had captured them and made them slaves.
The five of them watched from the grass for a long while and managed to estimate the Jackalmen's numbers.
There were about sixty or seventy adult Jackalmen, and more than a dozen young ones.
Of course, they couldn't rule out the possibility that some Jackalmen were still inside the tents, but there probably weren't many.
Besides them, there were six human slaves and five Bamboo Pole People slaves.
"Let's go!"
Having gathered information on the Jackalmen tribe, the five of them quietly withdrew and returned to their own tribe.
They made it back to the valley shortly before dusk and reported their findings to Lin Feng.
"At least sixty or seventy adult Jackalmen..."
After hearing the report, Lin Feng furrowed his brow.
There were far more Jackalmen than he'd expected.
He'd thought this group that had migrated from elsewhere would have at most thirty or forty members.
Generally speaking, most races wouldn't leave the regions where they lived and migrate elsewhere without good reason.
Most migrations happened out of desperation.
Perhaps they faced shortages of food and water, or perhaps they'd encountered a powerful enemy...
Fangzhang Island was fairly rich in resources, with freshwater lakes of all sizes scattered across it. Generally, there shouldn't be any shortage of food or water.
As for encountering a powerful enemy...
A tribe of sixty or seventy Jackalmen would be a formidable force anywhere on the island. What powerful enemy could have forced them to migrate?
The tribe only had thirty players. To wipe out the Jackalmen tribe, each player would have to take on at least two Jackalmen!
That wouldn't be easy.
If you like this book, add it to your bookshelf so you can find it again next time.
With the players' current strength, it was simply out of the question.
They'd have to wait until the players' average level reached at least 3 before they had a chance.
Take Strength Class players, for example. At level 3, they had a Strength Value of 13, and 8 points in every other attribute.
They would have a clear advantage over the Jackalmen in terms of attributes.
Of course, Intelligence Class players were at a disadvantage.
He still didn't know what the Intelligence attribute did.
Did it make people smarter?
"Chief, what are those Bamboo Pole People?"
Su Ziye's curious voice interrupted Lin Feng's thoughts.
"The Bamboo Pole People..."
Lin Feng smiled at the mention of them.
"I know the giant tree you mentioned. We call the race that lives beneath it the Wood Race. They're the Bamboo Pole People you saw."
"I didn't expect them to have been attacked by the Jackalmen too. The Jackalmen have even turned their tribe into a stronghold."
The Wood Race was a general term.
On the Barbaric Continent, the Wood Race had many branches, with all kinds of strange appearances.
But they all shared one trait: their bodies were made of wood, and most of them were afraid of fire.
They say the Wood Race was a considerable force on the Barbaric Continent, holding its own among the many powerful races.
But this Wood Race tribe in the eastern part of the island was very weak.
The entire tribe had just over twenty members. They were strong, but moved slowly, making it hard for them to hit their enemies.
Even ordinary members of the Human Race could toy with them by relying on their agility.
Never mind the Jackalmen.
Most of their people had probably already been burned as firewood by the Jackalmen.
At dinner, Lin Feng took the opportunity to tell everyone about the Jackalmen tribe while the players were gathered together.
When the players heard about the Jackalmen tribe, none of them seemed afraid. Instead, they all started rubbing their hands together eagerly.
"Let's kick their asses!"
"Onward to the Jackalmen!"
"Our tribe will prevail!"
I Shoot You Innocent, whose throat had been bitten open during the Jackalmen attack, had already revived. He was the loudest of them all.
He'd sworn he would personally take down at least three Jackalmen to wash away the humiliation of being the server's first player to die.
Lin Feng pressed both hands down, quieting the fired-up players.
"I'm glad to see your courage in facing a powerful enemy. But with the tribe's current strength, we're still no match for the Jackalmen."
"Over the next few days, I want you to work hard to improve your strength. When we're strong enough to defeat those Jackalmen, I'll lead you myself to flatten their tribe and make those beasts pay for their crimes!"
Lin Feng raised his fist as he spoke.
The Jackalmen tribe had to be wiped out as soon as possible!
And not just for the sake of the quest.
According to the information Da Qing and the other four had brought back, there were still several living human captives in the Jackalmen tribe.
Those captives were very likely the tribe's warriors who had protected them during their escape!
He'd lived in the tribe for three years, and he had deep feelings for every one of its people.
He had to rescue them from the Jackalmen as soon as possible!
Over the next few days, the tribe began to consolidate and develop steadily.
Some players went out hunting, some gathered wild fruit, and others cut wood to stockpile lumber for the tribe...
Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.
The players' levels kept rising. Most had already reached level 2, while some of the top players, including Da Qing, had even reached level 3.
After logging off, the players furiously promoted the game. The number of reservations on the official website had reached 277, and players kept leaving messages on the forum asking for more closed-beta slots.
Although most of those who'd signed up didn't believe that a virtual reality game with one-hundred-percent realism really existed, they'd heard their friends with closed-beta access bragging about how incredible it was, and wanted to log in and try it for themselves.
They didn't need it to be one-hundred-percent realistic. They'd be satisfied if it was even ten percent as fun as the closed-beta players claimed.
Just as everything was moving in a good direction, an unexpected message broke the calm.
"Chief, we spotted a group of Jackalmen outside the valley. There are more than a dozen!"
A player named Chi Tao Tao Hao Liang Liang hurried over to Lin Feng, panting as he reported.
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