NOVPUB"Shi Yun, what has happened to your tribe..." At the entrance of the Stone Tribe, an elderly man covered in wounds stared at the scene inside the gates, too surprised to speak.
Shi Yun looked at the elder and spoke with a lifetime’s worth of emotion, "The world is ever-changing. An esteemed visitor has arrived at our tribe, and all of this is what they have bestowed upon us. Qin Xing, when there’s a chance, I will introduce you."
"What’s happening?" Just as Shi Yun’s voice fell, an extremely young voice rang out.
Shi Yun turned to see Lin Qian approaching and hurriedly went to greet him, "Esteemed one, these are people from the Qin Tribe, who have come to seek temporary refuge and to inform us of the need to evacuate."
"Evacuate?" Lin Qian frowned as he looked over at the Qin Tribe members mentioned by Shi Yun.
Standing at the gate of the Stone Tribe, the Qin Tribe members were, like the original Stone Tribe members, clothed in filthy hemp garments. Furthermore, the bodies of their younger, stronger men were stained with blood.
As for the women, children, and the elderly, their faces bore only exhaustion and a look of unsettled terror.
The Qin Tribe members present numbered barely over eight hundred. Lin Qian remembered Shi Niu mentioning that the original Qin Tribe he sought help from had been in a slightly better state than the Stone Tribe, boasting over three thousand members.
Now, there were only eight hundred left. The events that had occurred must have been somehow tied to the initial cries of the Giant Ghost Clan.
"Shi Yun, he is..." Upon seeing the young Lin Qian, Qin Xing looked towards Shi Yun with confusion.
Seeing Qin Xing’s puzzlement, Shi Yun quickly explained, "This is our savior of the Stone Tribe, the honorable Lin Qian."
Right after Shi Yun’s introduction, Lin Qian abruptly raised his hand, and house after house, constructed from ironwood, descended from the sky, settling down onto an empty space.
Following that, Lin Qian waved his hand towards the ground, and food, clothing, and utensils like water buckets appeared.
"Shi Niu, Shi Meng, help arrange accommodations for the people of the Qin Tribe. Everything must be done according to rules and order. If anyone dares to cause trouble or to steal, kill them on the spot!" Lin Qian looked at the Qin Tribe members with an icy demeanor. "They are all wounded, hungry, and tired, and they are no match for the two of you."
Seeing the series of actions performed by Lin Qian, Qin Xing was amazed beyond words and quickly spoke up, "Please, rest assured, esteemed one. My people will definitely not cause any chaos."
Lin Qian nodded silently. His intervention came because he had the power, and because the Human Clan of this Small World was truly in a pitiable state.
However, Lin Qian knew all too well that there are always black sheep in any community, and he wasn’t a fool who would blindly devote himself to helping others. If they were to receive his aid, then they must follow his rules.
Seeing that the Qin Tribe members were as orderly as Clan Leader Qin Xing had assured, forming neat lines by family units to receive items and heading to their assigned dwellings, Lin Qian also withdrew his gaze.
"What has the Qin Tribe encountered, for it to come to this? Has the Giant Ghost Clan really arrived?" Lin Qian turned to Qin Xing, asking question after question.
Qin Xing sighed deeply, clenched his fists tightly, and said through gritted teeth, "The Giant Ghost Clan... has moved south!"
Hearing Qin Xing’s words, Shi Yun’s face also drastically changed, "How could this happen? Wasn’t there a war just a century ago? Why would the Giant Ghost Clan suddenly move south? Our Human Clan has finally seen hope, is it to be extinguished so soon?"
Lin Qian looked at Shi Yun and asked, "What does it mean for the Giant Ghost Clan to head south?"
"Elder, whether it is the Giant Ghost Clan moving south or the Dwarf Ghost Clan, it signifies that the two clans are about to wage war again. And before that war, they will come south to capture us, the Human Clan, as their war provisions," Shi Yun sighed upon hearing Lin Qian’s inquiry.
"Because the Dwarf Ghost Clan and the Giant Ghost Clan have discovered that by consuming our people alive, they can quickly restore their strength. So, before every war, they come to capture us."
"In the past, the Dwarf Ghost Clan and the Giant Ghost Clan would start a war almost every three to four hundred years. Before the war, it is a nightmare for our Human Clan. No matter how desperately we resist, it is futile."
"After their wars, our Human Clan would recuperate and breed. Once we became prosperous and the population reached a certain level again, they would break out in war once more and come to plunder us, to take us away."
"In the eyes of the Dwarf Ghost Clan and the Giant Ghost Clan, we are merely livestock bred in captivity. Every time before the war begins, it is time for the slaughter and harvest!" Shi Yun spoke with fervent emotion, tears of old age streaking down his face, filled with anger, unwillingness, and despair.
At this point, Shi Yun looked at Lin Qian, "Elder, I also know your strength is formidable. But even a hero cannot withstand the attacks from all sides, the Dwarf Ghost Clan and the Giant Ghost Clan have too many people, and their power is extraordinarily great."
"What are you trying to say?" Lin Qian looked at Shi Yun, asking with an expressionless face.
"Elder, run away, leave this place."
"Escape?" Lin Qian frowned and asked Shi Yun, "Then what about you?"
"Once the Dwarf Ghost Clan and the Giant Ghost Clan move south, all tribes of our Human Clan will come together to jointly resist the two clans, to make our final stand." Qin Xing spoke up, his expression resolute, "Throughout the long span of years, we have always done so."
Lin Qian was silent, he had not expected such an answer.
He had originally thought that the people here would try to hide away, buying themselves time to live longer. But unexpectedly, they chose to rise and resist.
Even in the face of death, even if the outcome was long predetermined, the people of the Human Clan in this Small World would still rise to fight back. 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓅𝓊𝓫.𝒸ℴ𝓶
Even through humiliation, even if enslaved, this spirit of resistance has always been passed down, never vanishing.
Never give up!
"This is our Human Clan!" A proud smile appeared on Lin Qian’s face as he inwardly roared.
"However, speaking of it, the southward move of these Giant Ghost Clan seems a bit strange." It was at this moment that Qin Xing’s eyes filled with puzzlement.
Hearing Qin Xing’s words, Shi Yun also nodded silently, "Indeed, it is very strange. The Giant Ghost Clan prefers to consume the older members of the Human Clan. Those who managed to escape from the Giant Ghost Clan in the past were rarely old, almost all were captured. But it seems there are quite a number of elderly in your tribe."
Qin Xing nodded, saying to Shi Yun and Lin Qian, "This time, the Giant Ghost Clan seems to be targeting people carrying Soul Power within them, especially warriors of the tribe who possess Soul Power."
"That is strange, it doesn’t align at all with the Giant Ghost Clan’s usual preferences," Shi Yun spoke in a puzzled tone after hearing Qin Xing’s words, "Could it be that the Giant Ghost Clan has suddenly changed their habits?"
However, a spark of realization flashed through Lin Qian’s mind, "I see, if you think about it that way, it explains why this Giant Ghost Clan’s preference in whom they capture has changed from before."
Both Qin Xing and Shi Yun turned to look at Lin Qian, waiting for him to articulate and clear up their confusion.
