116: Chapter 116 Tribal Expansion

Three days after the Beast Tide receded, Guangming Village slowly awakened in the morning light.

Last night, Wang Sheng had battled Xuner for three hundred rounds again; the clothes scattered all over the room spoke volumes.

The surface of the Lingxi River in the morning sun looked like a wound stitched together with golden threads. The water remained clear, but the claw marks left by the Beast Tide on the riverbank resembled gashes torn into the earth. The soil, mixed with the blood of Savage Beasts, had turned into a dark brown sludge, emitting a pungent, sweet scent in the morning light.

There were three breaches in the western section of the defensive wall caused by the Savage Beasts. Rune Forgemaster Xu Mohan's rune repairs flickered with a pale blue light at the breaches, like stitches tightening one by one over a wound. Frost Mage Lin Shiyun's frost reinforcement covered the repaired wall surface with a thin layer of frost, like the most precise splint, re-securing the shattered bones.

In the spirit field area, the medicinal herbs and spiritual food crops trampled by the Savage Beasts lay flattened. However, the Power of Nature that Su Mengyao channeled from the center of the spirit field was like a verdant green tide, washing over every inch of the trampled soil. The Spiritual Vine, like the toughest roots beneath the soil, re-wove the framework of the spirit field, while the thorns of the moonlight rose stood up again at the edge of the field, like the most loyal guards.

Hua Jieyu's medical area was permeated with the faint, bitter fragrance of hundred-herb medicine; the last batch of critically injured patients had recovered this morning.

A look of genuine relaxation, the first in days, finally appeared on the Hundred Herb Medical Immortal's gentle face. Those apricot eyes, always filled with a gentle smile, were like flower petals opened by the spring breeze in the morning light, and the two shallow dimples at the corners of her mouth were like two of the gentlest crescent moons.

She finished changing the bandages for the last wounded person. Her slender, fair fingers tied a knot on the Savage Beast hide bandage as nimbly as a butterfly dancing among flowers. Then, she let out a long breath, as if the first hint of spring's sweetness had finally mingled with the bitter fragrance of the hundred-herb medicine.

Wang Sheng stood on the second floor of the Chiefs Tent and pushed open the window. The morning light reflected his Barbarian General First Rank spiritual energy, making it look like a golden river flowing slowly within his body.

He watched as Guangming Village stood up inch by inch from the ruins of the Beast Tide. The breaches in the defensive wall were now even sturdier than before the Beast Tide, thanks to the cooperation between Rune Forgemaster Xu Mohan and Frost Mage Lin Shiyun. The spirit field had regained its verdant vitality under Su Mengyao's Power of Nature, and the last patient in the medical area could be discharged today.

Although the Beast Tide had left behind widespread wreckage and scars, Guangming Village was like iron tempered by the fires of war; every crack became tougher during the repairs.

Murong Xue's left shoulder wound had scabbed over under the dual treatment of Wang Sheng's Light Healing Technique and Hua Jieyu's hundred-herb medicine. After the Shadow Residue was completely purified, only a faint pink scar remained, like the tiniest scratch on silver armor.

Yet she insisted on training in the drill ground every morning. In the morning light, she rode her Barbarian Horned Horse like a streak of silver lightning across the drill ground, her new silver armor shimmering in the sunlight like a flowing silver mirror.

The upgraded silver armor that Rune Forgemaster Xu Mohan had rushed to craft overnight fit her body even better than the old one. A spiritual power circuit with affinity for Holy Knights was added to the Dark Iron Rune Array, and the Holy Light Resonance rune glowed faintly in the sunlight, like a silver galaxy flowing over her.

She gripped her Holy Light Spear, her brown ponytail tied high. Her resolute face wore a confidence never seen before; it was as if the silver armor, recast after being shattered, was now harder and brighter than before it had broken.

On the drill ground, she thrust her spear out. Silver holy light burned at the tip, like a silver dragon rushing out from the spear, and the four hooves of the Barbarian Horned Horse kicked up an arc of gravel on the drill ground.

Her body moved in rhythm with the Barbarian Horned Horse. The new silver armor clung to every curve of her body, as if cast from flowing silver water into the most exquisite armor. The broader shoulder plates accentuated her upright shoulder line, like silver peaks standing tall in the morning light. The curve of the breastplate fit precisely, highlighting her full and upright silhouette like silver mountains undulating in the morning sun. The waist armor narrowed, accentuating her slender waist like a silver willow branch bending in the morning breeze into the most elegant curve. The leg armor clung to her long, powerful legs, every curve resembling the most perfect line on meticulously carved silver ivory.

When she charged on the Barbarian Horned Horse, the silver armor looked like flowing silver in the speed. Her body was like a silver bowstring, bending and releasing on the back of the Barbarian Horned Horse. Her fit and powerful waist, wrapped in the silver armor, was coiled with strength, like a silver spring containing the most violent explosion in every bend. Her long, powerful legs clamped onto the Barbarian Horned Horse's abdomen like silver iron pincers, controlling the horse as if it were an extension of her own body.

She was the most beautiful war god of Guangming Village, and also its firmest shield. When she charged on the drill ground, her silver armor shattered the wild morning light into ten thousand golden stars, like flowing silver.

At noon on the third day after the Beast Tide receded, people arrived outside the North Gate of Guangming Village. Wang Sheng received a message from the patrolling Xiao Yuqing in the meeting hall on the first floor of the Chiefs Tent.

The Rainstorm Archer's neat short hair fluttered slightly in the morning breeze. When she drew her bow, the muscle lines of her arms were as graceful as the most precise bow body, but at this moment, she did not draw her bow; instead, she walked quickly into the meeting hall like a bird returning to its nest in a storm.

"A group of people has arrived outside the North Gate, about eighty of them, in rags. The leader is a middle-aged man with graying hair; they don't look like hunters scattered by the Beast Tide."

Wang Sheng walked out of the Chiefs Tent and stood on the North Gate wall to overlook the north bank of the Lingxi River. His golden spiritual energy flowed slowly within his body like a golden river, reflecting in his eyes like two miniature suns.

Below the wall, about eighty people gathered on the grass on the north bank of the Lingxi River like fallen leaves scattered by a wild storm. Men, women, and children, all in rags, their faces full of exhaustion and panic, like a riverbed repeatedly scoured by war, where not a single grain of calm sand could be found.

The leader was a middle-aged man with graying hair. His left arm was bound with a piece of wooden splint using rough vines, clearly a hasty fix for a fracture. His clothes were covered in blood and mud, like a withered leaf trampled by a Savage Beast.

When he saw Wang Sheng standing on the wall, it was as if he had seen the only lighthouse in the wilderness, and his knees buckled as he knelt down directly.

"Chief! We are from the Xingye Tribe on the upper reaches of the Lingxi River. Chief Shi Ba, he raided our village, stole our food, and burned our houses. We have nowhere to go. We heard that the Chief of Guangming Village repelled Chief Shi Ba; please take us in!"

His voice was hoarse, like a parched riverbed finally waiting for the first rain of spring. The eighty people knelt down in unison, like a forest blown over by a storm, bending in the only direction.

There were tears in the old man's clouded eyes. Children clutched their mothers' clothes, looking timidly toward the wall. The injured young men gritted their teeth and knelt on one knee, like broken tree trunks still striving to maintain their last bit of dignity.

Wang Sheng looked at them, walked down from the wall, and passed through the North Gate.

"Enter the village." He reached out and helped the gray-haired middle-aged man kneeling on the ground to his feet.

"Guangming Village welcomes you."

The middle-aged man raised his head, the tears in his clouded eyes reflecting the last glimmer of light, just like the last thin piece of ice on the Lingxi River reflecting the morning light as it melted in spring.

He did not speak, but gripped Wang Sheng's hand tightly, like a drowning man grabbing the only piece of driftwood, his fingers trembling slightly from the force.

That same afternoon, two more groups of people arrived at the North Gate of Guangming Village one after another.

One group was made up of hunters from small tribes scattered by the Beast Tide, about thirty people. The leader was a sturdy man with a stubbly face, a Barbarian Warrior First Rank hunter. Three claw marks from a Savage Beast were bound on his arm, as if they were memories carved into him by the Beast Tide.

The other group consisted of ordinary tribespeople from Chief Shi Ba's tribe who did not want to follow him, about forty people. The leader was a taciturn middle-aged woman. There was no fear in her eyes, only a calmness forged by the fires of war, like the hardest pebble at the bottom of the Lingxi River. She said that after Chief Shi Ba fled back to the Black Stone Tribe, he brutally suppressed everyone who questioned him, and they had escaped under the cover of night.

The population of Guangming Village grew from one hundred and eight to two hundred and sixty within three days, like a sapling rooted in the wilderness that had finally welcomed the most abundant rain of spring.

That night, when Zhao Linger was reporting in the meeting hall of the Chiefs Tent, her round eyes rarely revealed excitement, like the clearest string of a Spirit Sound Master vibrating in the most cheerful melody.

She had changed into a light green Savage Beast silk short shirt. The softness of the Savage Beast silk clung to her petite body like a second layer of skin. The hem of the short shirt reached just to her waist, revealing a sliver of her waist, which was as slender as a willow branch. The waist was so thin that one hand could grasp it, but her chest and hips were rounded and full, forming an extreme contrast, just like the most exquisite craftsman drawing the most discordant yet charming geometric curves on a white canvas.

She lay on the meeting table, her legs raised behind her, looking like two of the softest willow branches swaying gently in the air. Her round, baby face was full of a serious expression, like a kitten focused on tracking prey.

"Wang Sheng, the system's population statistics have updated. Including the Xingye Tribe and the others who have sought refuge, we now have two hundred and sixty people. Moreover, two or three small tribes downstream of the Lingxi River have heard that we repelled Chief Shi Ba and are considering joining us. If they come, the population could exceed four hundred."

"Four hundred." Heavenly Strategist Shangguan Xuan pushed her nose bridge, which had no glasses on it. A gleam of light flashed in the Heavenly Strategist's wonderful eyes, like the most crucial move on the most precise chessboard finally landing in the most correct position.

"We are only one hundred short of the five-hundred population threshold for the tribe to upgrade."

She stood in front of the Savage Beast hide map in the meeting hall, her wonderful eyes scanning the location of every tribe like the sharpest eagle, as if a chess player had seen the winning move three steps ahead on the chessboard.

She wore a deep purple Savage Beast silk robe. The cut of the robe was as precise to every curve as a Heavenly Strategist's layout. A dark silver belt at her waist cinched her slender waist like the most precise pivot, and every step she took was like the most accurate placement of a chess piece on the board.

On the fifth day after the Beast Tide receded, two other small tribes downstream of the Lingxi River officially joined Guangming Village.