Eagle Tribe

Chapter 41: The Eagle Tribe

The Grey Goose envoy, having eaten and drunk his fill, departed from the Galloping Horse camp.

"We must make haste," the envoy said to his subordinates.

"Big Brother, we'll reach the Eagle Tribe soon enough. Is there any need to be this anxious?"

"No, that Galloping Horse tribe back there was extremely wrong!"

"What do you mean, Big Brother?"

"I can't put my finger on it, but it just feels off. There were too many tents in their camp, and it was too clean. That leader didn't look like a chieftain of the grasslands at all; he looked more like a noble lord from a castle."

The envoy sensed danger, and Landen had found his opportunity.

Inside Landen's tent, Raul rushed over to report the news from lunch as soon as he had seen the Grey Goose envoy off.

"So, the Grey Goose front line must have 230 cavalrymen now?"

"Yes. At such a scale, I fear even the Count would struggle to hold them off."

As the two chatted, Albert lifted the tent flap and stepped inside. He was about to ask why Landen hadn't simply eliminated the Grey Goose envoy when he overheard their conversation.

"They even sent people to the tribe at the iron mine?"

"Yes, the Brown Bear tribe. According to the envoy, the Brown Bear are even more powerful than the Grey Goose, but they are very low-key. The Grey Goose leader doesn't expect the Brown Bear to send any men."

"It seems the Grey Goose tribe is waiting for our reinforcements," Landen said with a mocking tone. "In that case, let us gather the warriors from every tribe and go south together to assist the Grey Goose leader."

"Landen... you..." Albert knew Landen certainly didn't intend to help the Grey Goose, but he dared not imagine what the man was planning to do.

"Neil! Greyhound! Fang!" Landen shouted, calling his subordinates inside.

"Chieftain," "Lord," "My Lord."

"Greyhound, take a few cavalrymen and stick to that envoy. Just keep your eyes on them. See which camps they visit, and especially find me their salt mine."

"Understood, my Lord."

"Fang, follow your father for now. Act as the liaison in the middle. Find the Eagle Tribe first; your task is to return and report to me once they have located the Eagle Tribe."

"Understood, my Lord."

"Neil, take some men and make a banner exactly like the one the Grey Goose envoy has. The Grey Goose leader is fighting in the south and needs the various tribes of the Gallop Plains to support him. We are going to unite the other tribes now and march south together. Whoever refuses me is going against both the Galloping Horse tribe and the Grey Goose tribe." A smile spread across Landen's face.

"Ah, we're going to swallow the Eagle Tribe while flying the Grey Goose's flag?" Neil had grown up on the grasslands and had never seen such a scheme of using someone else's banner to intimidate others.

"Of course. As long as our cavalry carries the Grey Goose flag and follows the Grey Goose envoy to visit the Eagle Tribe, do you think they will still suspect we are there to attack?"

"But the Eagle Tribe should have fewer than 30 cavalrymen right now. If we go openly, they won't be caught off guard."

"I'm not afraid of them discovering us; I'm afraid of them running away!"

Forty kilometers east of Landen, on a hill, sat an impressive Barbarian camp. There were over 30 tents of various sizes, mostly Bedouin Tents, with a few round felt tents in the center. At the highest point stood a particularly tall and large main Bedouin tent, 8 meters high and 30 meters long, looking from a distance like a piece of white rock on the hillside. Behind the tall tent stood a 35-meter-tall dark wooden pillar, less than half a meter in diameter. The bottom third was secured to the surrounding ground by numerous ropes, decorated with strips of cloth and animal tails. This was the tribe's Divine Pillar. At the very top of the pillar sat a golden statue of an eagle with its wings spread; the eagle's eyes were inlaid with gemstones, every feather on its body was rendered in exquisite detail, and there was a magic circle on the eagle's belly.

With Diyang at its zenith, the twin suns cast their scorching light upon the plains. Although it was October, the grasslands were still hot at noon, yet turned bitterly cold at night. At this moment, in the Eagle Tribe, the battle priest Kansa Eagle was performing a ritual at the altar beneath the Divine Pillar. Standing nearly 3 meters tall, Kansa wore a leather garment covered in colorful feathers, his sleeves draped with the plumes of large birds. He wore a massive feathered headdress and a golden mask shaped like an eagle's face. The front of the mask featured a long eagle beak, and the eagle eyes were inlaid with two gemstones, just like the statue on the pillar.

The battle priest danced a unique ritual dance in the open space beneath the Divine Pillar. He spread his arms, imitating an eagle soaring with wings outstretched, leaping and running beneath the pillar. All the Barbarians and Mana-Less in the camp knelt outside the priest's dancing area, each waiting in awe and fear for the priest's dance to conclude.

The priest's dancing area was about 50 square meters, surrounded by four priest apprentices dressed similarly to him, wearing wooden masks painted with bird faces. These four girls were carefully selected by Kansa, serving as both his apprentices and his servants. As Kansa danced with wild, clawing movements, the four apprentices circled the area counter-clockwise, dancing as well.

Every day after noon, the Eagle Tribe's battle priest held a ritual to the Eagle God. Whether they were Mana-Wielders or Mana-Less, every Barbarian in the camp had to kneel outside the priest's dancing area to await the favor of the Eagle God. Almost every month, while dancing, the priest would randomly select a Barbarian to be offered to the Eagle God. The process of human sacrifice was extremely cruel, and the victim could be either a Mana-Wielder or a Mana-Less.

Once someone was designated as a sacrifice, the priest would use brute force to drag the person directly beneath the Divine Pillar for the offering. Every Barbarian in the camp believed that their terrifying priest was someone favored by the Eagle God. Ironically, to generate income for the entire camp, all captured human Mana-Wielders were kept in other tents and never had the "fortune" of being offered to the Eagle God.

Today's ritual passed without incident; no one was sacrificed. Everyone stood up cautiously and left the area around the priest's tent. The battle priest returned to his massive tent, while the four apprentices were responsible for cleaning the scene and slaughtering the daily food for the eagles and falcons kept by the camp.

"Sigh... finally over." The moment Kansa returned to his tent, he set down a handful of magic crystals. This time every day was a rare moment of solitude for Kansa, allowing him to remove his mask. Sweat had soaked through his heavy leather garment and headdress. He had one hour to dry his clothes and hat, and he had to use this time to eat as much dried meat as possible. The dance just now was entirely meaningless, yet it consumed a great deal of stamina. He had to eat while no one was watching, then project an air of mystery in front of others, acting as if he had little need for food.

This year marked Kansa's tenth year as chieftain. The previous Eagle chieftain was Kansa's biological father, who, on his deathbed, told Kansa the secret of their Eagle Tribe.

The Eagle Tribe was once a descendant of the Eagle God tribe among the orcs. The strongest in this tribe were the Favored of the Eagle God, born with downy feathers like a fledgling eagle; as they grew, the down turned into short feathers, and they walked like the wind. In battle, the Favored could transform into giant eagles and soar into the high sky.

The Eagle Tribe's bloodline of the Eagle God was now thin, but they could communicate with raptors like eagles, falcons, hawks, and vultures. After sacrificing a life to the Eagle God, they could share the vision of the most powerful eagle in the tribe.

Such a powerful ability as shared vision did not come for free; it required the priest to offer his own vitality. Each time, exchanging for about half an hour of shared vision required the priest to rest for at least a month. No amount of vitality could withstand such consumption, so before Kansa, no Eagle chieftain had lived past the age of 35.

Kansa did not want to be as short-lived as the previous chieftains, so he took advantage of the chaos eight years ago, when many tribes were scattered after the Barbarian invasion of the dragons, to reorganize the Eagle Tribe, leaving the tribal elders who knew the secret of the Eagle chieftain in human territory.

From that year on, the Divine Pillar was erected in the tribe. Although that pillar had nothing to do with the Eagle God, the golden statue at the top contained a Mage's Eye magic circle. Kansa had spent a fortune to have a magus carve this circle. By using a mask and consuming magic crystals, he could see everything within a 30-kilometer radius. From then on, the Eagle Tribe's battle priest no longer needed to rest for a month after one use; he could observe the surrounding situation at any time. To enhance his mystery, Kansa also self-directed the daily noon ritual, finding excuses to purge those Barbarians who might discover his secret, thereby increasing his sanctity.

The only drawback was that such activities consumed too many magic crystals. Linking to the Mage's Eye pillar required crystals, and maintaining combat power also required crystals. Indeed, Kansa's ability to slay other Barbarian Mana-Wielders also relied on consuming magic crystals. Kansa's "priest robe" also possessed power-enhancing properties; the principle was very similar to the magic-patterned armor of the Wandering Badger tribe—consuming magic crystals to increase the wearer's strength. Or rather, it was simply a piece of leather armor covered in feather decorations.

Kansa finally found a moment to rest and put on the mask that allowed him to see 30 kilometers around. It was also a golden mask, featuring several runes, protruding eye sections, and a pedestal on the forehead specifically for consuming magic crystals.

As Kansa lay on his animal-skin bed and put on the mask, he saw yet another cavalry troop approaching his tribe. The leader of the cavalry troop held a banner, and on the pole was the flag of the Grey Goose.