Chapter 465: The Tribes of the Land of Semitia (Combined Chapter)

Shan, this is a large plain adjacent to the border and swamps, and it is further east of the mainland. It is located between the humid rainforest and the dry desert. There is groundwater infiltration from the swamp, and there is dry and hot wind from the vast continent, and gravel piled up into hills.

Tall trees cannot take root here, so there is no dense jungle. Instead, weeds and shrubs often grow in patches with the change of seasons, supporting many wandering tribes who make a living by grazing.

As for other people, they can't survive here.

Dawn, the morning light is coming.

At a glance, the yellow earth mounds are undulating, dotted with some green.

An old herdsman wearing a felt head, leading his grandson, driving a group of spiral-horned black sheep, following the direction of these weeds, all the way.

The black sheep also nibbled while walking, and some even didn't let go of the grass roots.

"Grandpa, have we gone too far?" Little Dibu, who had just begun to work, said worriedly, "We are already close to the border."

Although he had not been out to graze independently.

But the chaos in the border area had been emphasized to them countless times by the adults in the tribe: It is said that the cattle and sheep brought back by the envoys of the big tribes who came to collect taxes every year were not kept for themselves or added to the pasture, but were presented to the leaders of the mountain strongholds in the border areas, so that peace could be guaranteed every year.

If they angered any of the bandit strongholds.

The next year, the entire tribe would be robbed, all the women would be humiliated, and the young and strong would be either killed or taken to the mountains. As for the useless old people and children, most of them would be exposed in the wilderness, and soon they would be buried under the yellow sand and fed with green weeds.

As for meeting them in the wild, it would be even more miserable.

Without the protection of the tribe, there would be no possibility of even a trace of argument.

These things scared little Dibu just thinking about them.

"It's okay, it's still far away from us." The old man Ethan touched his grandson's head kindly, "The border is much more vast and desolate than you think, just like our Shan land, sometimes you can't meet anyone after walking for half a day, it's not so easy to meet the sand bandits."

As he said this, his eyes were extremely alert.

While swinging the whip to gather and drive the sheep, he moved as alertly as an old sheep king, constantly looking into the distance with his turbid eyes, observing possible movements.

The wind swept away the clouds, and the yellow sand covered the sky.

But it was not very clear.

He was also worried about what his grandson was worried about.

But there was nothing he could do about it.

Each tribe had its own fixed pasture, but the number was small, and they were all used to raise large animals such as wild cattle and camels. These large animals can be used as labor, and can be sold to merchants as pack animals without worrying about sales. At critical moments, they can also be given to sand bandits as collateral.

This is the most important asset of the tribe, which needs to be carefully cared for and cannot be slaughtered at will; if the pastures for raising them are destroyed or consumed too much, and a group of important herds die, the loss will be even more severe, and maybe even this year's tribute cannot be paid.

But people always have to eat.

So they still need to graze the small black sheep herd led by Ethan, but they cannot occupy the pastures around the tribe, so they can only try to expand outward. The less grass they eat, the inevitable exploration of the border of Shem.

In the tribe, there are many herders who have never returned after encountering unexpected changes.

All for life.

Fortunately, as long as the young and strong men who go out to trade come back with Kai coins, the tribe's life will be much better. During that period of time, they collectively killed sheep and ate meat, and maybe there were a few bottles of fine wine exchanged from outside. Everyone was as happy as a festival, and Ethan himself could rest for a long time.

Thinking of this, the old herder raised his head.

But he thought of his son who led the pack animals to trade in the south.

Suddenly, Ethan's pupils shrank.

A black dot was reflected in the yellow sandy sky.

The whip in his hand trembled, and he was quite nervous.

But soon, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Because the old man saw the small black dot approaching in the distance - it was just a human figure, or a man and a cow.

There was no one else around.

"Grandpa, look at that!" Little Dib realized it later and pointed at the visitor, but he was not as nervous as Ethan.

"It's okay," Ethan said, "It looks like a passing traveler."

Shem is located in the center of the entire continent. There are many drifters, rangers, merchants... or just wanderers who are simply lost and dying. They all come and go here, appearing and disappearing from time to time.

"But we still avoid it."

Even if the other party is only one person, but they don't know the details when they meet on a narrow road. There are only one old and one young on his side, and there are so many black sheep, it is hard to guarantee that they will not have bad intentions.

Ethan touched the iron dart inserted in his waist.

Of course, even if a conflict breaks out, an old herdsman like him who has been working hard all his life still has self-defense methods. Many people who don't have eyes have lost their lives in this way.

Little Dib took the whip obediently and drove the black sheep that were still grazing peacefully. Some black sheep seemed to have noticed something and raised their heads, curiously looking at the uninvited guests on the sand.

As the figure of the person approached.

Ethan's attention was attracted by the wild bull under him:

"This man... actually raised a beast king."

As an old herdsman, he saw at a glance that the wild bull had an abnormal body shape. In a wild herd, it was basically the leader of the "elderly period". It is said that people become more intelligent as they age, and so are animals. With a beast king leading them, it is basically difficult for the animal's tribe to die out in the wild.

Of course, if it is domesticated.

It is no longer the actual beast king, but people in the tribe are still used to calling it that.

If someone can tame a beast king, not only will he be proud, but everyone will admire him. In a small tribe like Ethan's, maybe that person can take this opportunity to become a tribal elder or even a strong candidate for the next chief.

Ethan has lived to such an old age.

He has only seen one or two beast kings with camels in those large tribes, and he has never seen a beast king tamed by humans among animals with violent temperaments like wild bulls.

That's why he was amazed.

"It's possible that he bought it. I think he spent a lot of money." The old man thought to himself, "The other party doesn't look like a herdsman, how can he have such ability... But if he is willing to sell the beast king, then the owner is a spendthrift."

I don't know why.

Since ancient times, the wandering tribes in the area of ​​Shan have been born with an ability. They have an affinity with the animals they tame that is beyond ordinary people - some even claim that they can talk to animals, but this is purely a legend.

Taming a beast king is a small matter in itself.

More importantly, it can be used to manage the entire herd under its command, which can save a lot of effort and is less troublesome than a dozen herdsmen grazing together.

When Ethan was young, he was ignorant of the world and had such ambitions. He secretly went to the wild herd to find the beast king and wanted to subdue it, but he always ended up in failure. Until one time he almost lost his life, he finally settled down.

And if the beast king is sold.

The new owner didn't have the skills of the herdsmen of the Shem tribe, so he only got an ordinary wild bull with a strong body, slightly stronger strength, and thicker meat.

As he thought so, his grandson had already driven the flock away.

And the man and the bull had no intention of approaching this side. They passed by them almost parallel to each other at a long distance, and gradually went farther and farther.

Ethan put down his hand touching the iron dart and had the leisure to look at the man on the back of the bull.

He was wearing a hat, which blocked the scorching sun and left a shadow on his face. A long scarf was covered around his mouth, nose and chin to block the wind and sand. He looked like he was used to trekking in the desert, which further confirmed the old man's initial judgment.

The other party didn't look at this side, and Ethan couldn't see his face clearly. He only noticed that there was a bunch of untrimmed white hair behind his head, which was simply tied up with a straw rope and hung on his shoulders.

"Cornelius!"

Just as the old herder was thinking about continuing to graze, he heard little Dib scream and then ran past him.

Ethan grabbed his grandson: "What are you doing!"

"It's Connie! Connie ran over!" There was a hint of crying in little Dib's voice, quite anxious.

The old herder only then realized.

A little black sheep jumped out of his flock and rushed straight towards the passerby. It was agile and fast. It had already rushed halfway and it was too late to catch it.

It was the "Cornelius" mentioned by little Dib.

In order to cultivate the tribe's animal taming skills and increase their affinity with animals, adults would arrange a ceremony similar to the "Zhuazhou" for children, allowing them to choose an animal cub to raise from an early age and grow up together.

Generally speaking, the elders of the tribe prepared small bone dogs.

In this way, when they grow up, they can also serve as a capable partner of the herders.

On the day when Little Dib performed the ceremony, a calf somehow managed to push open the door of the sheepfold, jumped out, and rushed into the tent.

As a result, amid the adults' exclamations, the calf panicked and knocked over the puppy in front of him, and directly crashed into Little Dib's arms, making the young boy laugh.

In order to respect tradition, and because the lamb seemed to be really smart, the adults did not catch it and let Little Dib keep it.

At that time, a big tribal animal trainer called "Faceless" happened to pass by. When he heard about this, he was very interested in it and went to see Little Dib and the lamb in person. After that, he named the lamb "Cornelius" - it is said that it is a horn symbolizing royal power in ancient language.

Little Dib didn't know why the powerful Faceless gave a sheep this name. He couldn't remember the pronunciation because it was too long, so sometimes he just called it "Cornie".

However, in the process of growing up with little Dib, Cornelius was indeed smarter than other sheep, which helped little Dib learn the ability of domestication and herding very quickly, even surpassing his peers, and the two also developed a great relationship.

However, at this moment, Ethan grabbed his grandson fiercely: "...Forget it."

Unexpectedly, at this juncture, the always smart Connie was actually disobedient.

He saw that the little black sheep was running all the way, making bleating sounds, which also attracted the attention of the passerby, so that he asked the bull to stop and turn over.

Then, before Connie hit the man with his whorls, he was picked up by him, and he was so frightened that he danced with joy and bleated.

The passerby wearing a bamboo hat took a look at the sheep.

Then he looked at the grandfather and grandson from a distance across the sand dunes.

Ethan paused, but did not ask for it.

He did not know the other person's personality and origin, so there was no need to make trouble, even if it would cost a sheep - in this world, let alone things that fell into other people's hands, how many things can be taken back? Even if it was in your own hands, you don't know when it would be snatched away by others.

Not to mention, it was a sheep in the desert.

In other words, it was a full meal and dried meat for the next few days... At a critical moment, it was equivalent to a life of a passerby.

Little Dib noticed that his grandfather's palm on his shoulder was strong, and he could only hold back his tears, watching quietly, and being sensible and silent.

Just thinking that Connie, who was like a partner, might soon become a meal of mutton for this stranger, he felt sad and his eyes became redder.

In the distance, the man looked at the sheep in his hand again, met its clear and somewhat confused eyes, hesitated for a moment, and suddenly said:

"Cornelius?"

Little Dib was startled. How did he know Connie's name?

But he reacted immediately.

I subconsciously called its name before, and it must have been heard. The other party hesitated, perhaps because he didn't expect that someone would give a sheep a name.

However, what surprised both of them was that the passerby put down "this mutton", kicked Connie's butt, and said, "Go back."

The lamb was still a little hesitant, but he saw him clapping his hands, trembling all over, and subconsciously turned around and ran back as if he had received some order.

Little Dib came forward with surprise.

He hugged Connie and blamed it at the same time.

Soon, he realized something, raised his head and shouted hard: "That... Thank you!"

The other party leaned against the wall like a bull and waved his hand.

The old herdsman Ethan narrowed his eyes.

He knew his grandson's talent for taming animals, and Connie was smart and spiritual. It was rare that he could lose control after growing up with him since childhood - and the other party's behavior just now made him even more concerned.

It was not an ordinary way to drive animals away.

It seemed like he controlled them.

Even among the tribes of all sizes in the entire Shan Land, this ability is possessed by very few people. For example, the faceless man is said to be able to shuttle among the ferocious long-necked beaked beasts without being regarded as food by them.

In this plain, beaked beasts often plunder, killing herds at the least and attacking the tribesmen and livestock at the worst.

With this ability alone, the faceless man not only helped his tribe grow several times, but also was treated as a guest of honor in other tribes. He can be said to be the most respected person in the entire Shan Land.

Could it be that this ordinary passerby was also from the Shan tribe, and even had an affinity for animals comparable to the faceless man? But as an old herder, he had never heard of it.

If it were normal times, Ethan would definitely think that he was overthinking.

After all, the example was just a lamb.

But with the beast king-level bull beside him, and such performance... it would make people suspicious.

"Old man!" A voice interrupted his thoughts, and it was the other party, "Which tribe in the east are you from?"

"This..." Ethan was alert when he suddenly spoke to him.

"I am presumptuous." Lu Meng sensed the other party's vigilance and knew that the old herdsman was unwilling to reveal his identity casually, fearing that it would cause trouble.

He didn't care, just smiled, and then said:

"I don't mean anything else, just want to remind old man: the borderland and the swampland are approaching the junction ahead - there may be some unrest recently."

"You two better hurry back to the tribe as soon as possible and remind the tribesmen that it is best to prepare for migration and avoid the limelight."