Chapter 30: The Shaman of the Mammoths

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Chapter 30: The Shaman Ma

Li Hongshen led all the first-tier warriors, climbing up the ropes, while the rest stayed behind to guard them. This was the backup plan Li Hongshen had left for himself.

Upon reaching the summit, Li Hongshen finally understood why Li Zhong had not been discovered during his previous exploration. The top of the mountain formed a platform that overlooked a recessed valley below.

The valley was extremely narrow, surrounded on all sides so that nothing inside could be seen from the outside. Within the valley stood several low bamboo huts, with clusters of bamboo poles tied together, supporting bamboo planks as platforms. Everything was covered with bamboo leaves, making it unclear whether these were watch posts or residences.

Such a scene could only be detected by looking down from above; otherwise, one would notice nothing. This was the brilliance of the tribe—using the dense bamboo forest and the terrain to conceal their camp.

In the endless wilderness, it was not only beasts, wild creatures, and remnants that had to be guarded against, but even more so other tribes—especially the indigenous ones.

Beyond the settlements founded by students like Li Hongshen, there were countless native tribes in the endless wilderness. Each main world’s Moon Education Department would randomly scatter altar blueprints of varying tiers across the land.

These blueprints were acquired by the native tribes, who then built altars to awaken and advance, just as Li Li and his companions did.

Those tribes without altars were known as wild tribes. Once a tribe obtained an altar and received a name, it would be classified as small, medium, or large according to its size—corresponding to the first, second, and third tiers.

This arrangement both increased the challenge for new lords and provided them with high-tier followers.

Ultimately, the school only gave these new lords blueprints for zero-tier altars. To upgrade their altars, they inevitably clashed with native tribes, seizing high-tier altars from them to upgrade their own.

Higher-tier altars possessed larger pools of spiritual energy, faster recovery rates, could awaken more people at once, and sometimes provided special attribute bonuses.

This was the carefully crafted environment of the Education Department in the endless wilderness: forcing new lords to battle the elements, ferocious beasts, and indigenous tribes.

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Thus, disputes were ever-present among the tribes of the endless wilderness. New lords might exercise restraint, cooperating more often than fighting and forming alliances to support each other.

But conflicts between native tribes were far more brutal. If one side lost, the women and children would be taken away, while warriors and elders would either be killed, enslaved, or even used as food by some tribes.

The settlements founded by new lords like Li Hongshen fared little better. Though they adhered to a veneer of civility and refrained from cannibalism, they would typically take women and children, or else capture them as slaves after a battle.

If Li Hongshen lacked the absolute loyalty talent as a lord, he would have chosen to surround the bamboo forest, advancing slowly, cutting down the bamboo until he could crush the tribe with overwhelming force.

Instead, he opted for a stealthy rear assault, striving to subdue the tribe as intact as possible—for these people could all be put to use in his hands.

Li Hongshen observed from above for a while, confirming the situation.

“Let’s go down. We’ll approach directly from the rear. No need for aggressive actions—be a little friendlier.

But remember to keep your shields ready and weapons prepared. Watch those people on the raised bamboo platforms; you know what to do if necessary.”

Li Hongshen and his followers descended from the mountain top on a cluster of old bamboo poles. Now they were a hundred meters behind the bamboo tribe, near the rock face. Unlike the front, there were no bamboo platforms built here—perhaps the tribe felt confident no one could approach from behind.

In the open space of the tribe, some children played, older boys running around naked, while women gathered to weave baskets and other items from bamboo strips.

The arrival of Li Hongshen and his men disrupted the atmosphere—his group approached from the rear, and soon someone noticed them. Shouts of surprise and alarm spread throughout the camp.

Li Hongshen’s group moved slowly, deliberately lingering. As they entered the tribe, several warriors descended from the bamboo platforms, armed with stone spears and bamboo spears.

Li Hongshen noticed that the bamboo spears had been charred by fire—a carbonizing process to harden them, a very effective method.

The strongest warriors stood at the front, blocking Li Hongshen’s path. Their tense muscles and fierce eyes showed that, if not for the numbers behind Li Hongshen, they would have already torn him apart.

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“Is there anyone here who understands the common tongue? Is there anyone here who understands the common tongue? Is there anyone here who understands the common tongue?”

Li Hongshen’s voice echoed across the camp, his repeated question stirring unrest among the crowd. Eventually, the crowd parted, and someone emerged, surprising even Li Hongshen.

It was an old man, his hair snow-white. In the endless wilderness, there was no such thing as reverence for the elderly or care for the young, so supporting an elder in a wild tribe was almost unheard of.

Within such tribes, elders who could no longer work were cut off from food supplies and would often leave the tribe to await death, sometimes driven out to do so.

Thus, seeing an old man step forward astonished Li Hongshen, though only for an instant. The endless wilderness was vast—anything could happen.

“Greetings, lord. My name is Ma. I am the shaman of this tribe. You may call me Shaman Ma. May I ask what brings you here?”

Hearing these words, Li Hongshen was visibly taken aback. This small tribe had surprised him several times in quick succession—the old man turned out to be the tribe’s shaman.

In their terminology, a shaman was akin to a spellcaster. Moreover, he could immediately recognize Li Hongshen as a lord—a feat not easily accomplished.

The endless wilderness was so immense that many natives died without ever seeing a lord. Only those who lived long and saw much could distinguish one.

Yet this tribe clearly lacked an altar—it was a wild tribe. Where did their spellcaster come from? If this old man wasn’t a shaman, he could never have held such authority here.

Li Hongshen’s thoughts whirled for a moment before his expression quickly returned to normal. Whether this elder was a seasoned spellcaster or a deceiver, Li Hongshen had already made up his mind. Meat within arm’s reach would never be left untouched.

Though his thoughts ran this way, Li Hongshen spoke differently.

(End of chapter)