"Mm? A ten-day raid, crossing the peninsula to fight the invading Deer Tribe?"
Outside the Mountain Tribe's winter camp, Exploration Captain Zuwaro's eyes flickered. He vaguely sensed something, but it was not yet clear. Hunting Captain Mu Quan, however, gave him no time to think. He reached out, pulled Zuwaro along, and headed toward the ranks of the tribe's able-bodied men.
"Come! Chief of the Sea Tribe, look at the warriors of our Hot Spring Mountain Tribe. Every one of them is a fine hand at shooting and hunting! Four palms to a squad, and the tribe has a full ten squads! Whether it's the Deer Tribe coming south from the north, or the Island Tribe raiding from the south, none of them can compare to the mighty Mountain Tribe!..."
Listening to Hunting Captain Mu Quan, Zuwaro pressed his lips together and began sizing up the fighting men of the Hot Spring Mountain Tribe in earnest. He looked at those round, plump, simple faces, then at the Composite Bows on their backs, and his heart gave a slight chill.
"Main God above! Two hundred fighting men, twenty elite hunters! And looking at those Reindeer tribespeople... one fighting man for every three people. This Mountain Tribe in the hot spring mountains probably has over eight hundred people!... I never thought that in such a bitterly cold place, a northern tribe of this scale could gather together... On our whole journey here, along the far northern coast east of the island chain, we never saw a great tribe like this!..."
Exploration Captain Zuwaro wore a smile and nodded amiably as he walked past the solemn ranks. The Mountain Tribe fighting men in those ranks, meanwhile, whispered among themselves while looking curiously at the three envoys from the Sea Tribe. Faced with envoys