Hong An's face was flushed, not from drink but from sheer excitement. "I can almost see it now. Our Hongdong Tribal Stockade will have a leader more powerful than any in its history, one who will lead us to ever greater strength!"
"The leader is right. Only the purest bloodline can produce the mightiest warriors," a warrior said, flattering him. "What's more, Sheng is going to become a Wizard. Perhaps one day he'll become a king—the king of all the witch-barbarians in the Black Rock Mountains..."
"Exactly, exactly! There's an ancient prophecy about a king who will stride through blood and fire, wield both a warrior's courage and a Wizard's power, and become the mightiest king of all. He will unite the entire Black Rock Mountains..."
Hong An was delighted. Those words had struck right at his heart. Though everyone in the Tribal Stockade shared a common ancestor, he believed his branch of the bloodline was the strongest. Otherwise, how could they have held the position of warrior leader for generations?
At that moment, he had conveniently forgotten all the schemes he had employed to ensure Sheng would succeed him as the next Warrior Chief.
For that matter, there had been no shortage of schemes when he himself had taken the position, or even when his father had...
Perhaps, if Sheng really becomes a king—even if he only absorbs a few nearby Tribal Stockades and brings our population above ten thousand—then after I die, I can become an Ancestral God...
Witch-barbarians did not fear life and death so much. They knew that life was only one part of their journey, while existence after death was another.
And if Hong An became an Ancestral God, that part of his journey would last forever.
But just as Hong An was singing his