In the pasture region north of Night-Kirin City, inside the breeding farm, under the teachers' rather surprised gazes, the old barbarian said unhurriedly, "That's just how the Gallop Plains are. They're fair to every barbarian. When you're young and strong, when you dare to fight and kill, you have to challenge the authority of the old barbarians. Seize their rights, their horses, even their women."
The old barbarian had meant to make everyone chuckle and relax a little, but instead he saw the faces of the teachers before him grow even heavier.
"When we get old and our strength declines, we also have to accept the fate of being butchered by the little barbarians. Now the tribes have been unified, life is better, and there's a place for old fellows like us to go."
When he spoke of his current life, Grey Ponytail's eyes were full of light.
"Besides, our tribe used to have over a hundred people, with only a few dozen Long-Haired Sheep and a dozen or so Black-Scaled Horses. Out on the Grassland, with the White Disaster, Black Disaster, Yellow Disaster, and Mosquito Disaster, the slightest carelessness could leave you without a single head of livestock.
The whole tribe would be counting on trading Black-Scaled Horses for grain at the alliance gathering. If we reached the season when the old grain was gone and the new had yet to ripen, we'd gather grass seeds and Earth Potatoes. Only when winter was almost here would we dare slaughter one Long-Haired Sheep to get a taste of meat. How could we possibly eat meat every day like we do now?"
The Two Suns were about to set. On the north side of the breeding area, a long line of Pack Beasts stood waiting.
The teachers and students of