Chapter 766 — The Broken Wall Leading the tribe’s people to attack another tribe—such a thing had never even crossed the Grass Tribe’s leader’s mind. Before, no. And after being defeated by the evil and powerful Black Stone Tribe, she never dared to think about it. Because the Black Stone Tribe assaulted their tribe, she understood one thing: in war, people die, people get injured. And with these casualties, the tribe’s food supply would decrease accordingly… So when she learned about the mission to attack another tribe, the Grass Tribe leader immediately had the urge to turn around and run back with her people without looking back. Since last year, three adults in their tribe had already died, and no minors had come of age this year. If they went to attack an unknown tribe and more of their people died, life for their tribe would become even harder! But that thought remained only a thought—she didn’t dare act on it because the evil Black Stone Tribe was nearby. And not only would the ones who left be killed, but one person who stayed behind would also be killed. The long-standing oppression from the evil Black Stone Tribe, combined with these death-laden threats and warnings, made the Grass Tribe leader and the others too afraid to make any move. Although their numbers far exceeded those of the Black Stone Tribe, they dared not resist. So they had no choice but to walk forward alongside the Black Stone Tribe… In the Shu Pi Tribe, Shu Pi held a bow and looked worriedly at the fish just caught using fish traps. After several years of fishing, the nearby river had far fewer fish. Even though they now used more fish traps than before, the daily catch was much less than before. It wasn’t just fish; other game was the same. Although the tribe’s adult population had grown, and thus more hunters, and their archery skills had improved greatly, the amount of prey caught had not increased. It wasn’t due to worse skills, but because the animals around the tribe had greatly diminished. This discovery troubled Shu Pi deeply. Previously, he had led people to attack another tribe and brought those people into their tribe to live. But in just over a year, food shortage problems had already appeared. Since early spring, this worry had plagued Shu Pi. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✦𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✦𝓷𝓮𝓽 Lately, Shu Pi and some others in the tribe had been thinking of ways to solve this problem. Besides increasing the number of people getting food and extending the hunting/fishing time, some suggested abandoning the place and moving the tribe to a food-rich area. This suggestion was unanimously rejected by Shu Pi and most of his tribe. Because here stood the walls they had painstakingly built, the pens they had built to corral some animals… Those walls created a safe space for them. Before the melting snow fell, they had relied on those walls to defeat the evil tribe. If they moved, wouldn’t all that be abandoned? Rebuilding all that would take a lot of effort. Perhaps they could split the tribe, sending part of the people elsewhere to live. After all, the food shortage started only after they had taken in people from that other tribe. Shu Pi suddenly had a flash of inspiration and became very excited. Because this idea was highly feasible. By splitting off some people, they wouldn’t have to abandon the things their tribe had built with great effort. Also, their tribe would instantly become two tribes. This thought made Shu Pi feel smarter — maybe because of the time he had spent living in that other tribe. “￥%…” Shu Pi shouted excitedly. He had decided to tell everyone about this plan when they gathered to eat near dusk. While Shu Pi was excitedly thinking this, not far from Shu Pi’s tribe, a large group of people had already arrived. The long journey and lack of enough food had made them all quite tired. But the Black Stone Tribe leader was very energetic. Previously, their tribe had suffered a considerable loss here, but now he was back with more people! Let’s see if that tribe can stop them this time! The Black Stone Tribe leader held a roughly chopped and polished wooden board, tied with a rope. He was putting the rope over his neck. Once the rope was on, the heavy wooden board covered more than half of his upper body. The rest of the Black Stone Tribe members also moved the large bone pieces—previously carried on their backs, connected by ropes to wooden and stone slabs—to their fronts, securing them with ropes. After the Black Stone Tribe leader finished tying these on, he began wildly gesturing and shouting at the people he had driven from various tribes. He told them about the wealth of the tribe they were about to attack, saying that once they conquered it, there would be enough food for everyone to eat their fill. Those who came with the Black Stone Tribe were already suffering under the tribe’s heavy exploitation, and food supplies were tight. On top of that, the long journey had exhausted their food reserves, and they were already very hungry. So when they heard the Black Stone Tribe leader say that the other tribe had abundant food, each person immediately perked up. Even the Grass Tribe leader, who had been reluctant to fight other tribes, felt somewhat tempted. She looked left and right—many of her own people were nearby—and then looked behind, where the oddly dressed Black Stone Tribe warriors stood. With so many people, and with the fierce Black Stone warriors armed with their weapons, the tribe they were about to attack probably couldn’t hold them off… But why were the Black Stone Tribe members carrying such strange objects in front of their bodies? Wouldn’t these heavy things tire them out when they started running? Wouldn’t they affect their speed? After puzzling over this for a while, the Grass Tribe leader picked up a large piece of Shu Pi from the ground as they passed and imitated the Black Stone Tribe members by holding it in front of her body. But because she didn’t have any rope in a hurry, she could only hold it with one hand. After walking a bit this way, she saw some loose bark on the ground and ordered her people to pick it up and, following her example, hold it in front of their bodies… Suddenly, from Shu Pi’s tribe, a sharp and panicked scream rang out. The shout came from a man standing in a big tree not far from the tribe. After shouting twice, he quickly slid down the tree and ran rapidly toward the tribe’s wall, shouting to warn everyone. This man from Shu Pi’s tribe was terrified because just moments ago, he saw many people approaching quickly, all armed! At his warning, chaos erupted immediately around Shu Pi’s tribe. Those working scattered around the tribe shouted and ran toward the courtyard to grab weapons and seek shelter behind the walls. Shu Pi himself also dashed toward the walls. When danger approached, the first response was to retreat inside the tribe and defend behind the walls—this was a strategy Shu Pi had learned from the powerful Green Sparrow Tribe. Even the practice of posting lookouts on a big tree near the tribe had been learned from Green Sparrow. The only difference was that Green Sparrow people stood on tall walls, while their tribe’s lookouts stood in trees. When the Black Stone Tribe leader drove these tribes to the edge of Shu Pi’s tribe, he saw many of the Shu Pi tribe members hastily running back into their strange caves. This surprised the Black Stone Tribe leader, who was amazed by the quick reaction. But his surprise lasted only a moment. Because this time, things were different from before! Even if this cursed tribe had those damned caves and those cursed weapons, they still couldn’t stop them! The Black Stone Tribe leader shouted, wielding a black stone weapon, and the others echoed his shouts. The tribes they had driven here started running faster toward Shu Pi’s tribe. When they reached a spot not far from Shu Pi’s walls, they began to sprint, closing in quickly. Behind the walls, Shu Pi shouted, urging those who hadn’t yet returned to run faster, and told everyone to shoot arrows. With so many people charging, even though Shu Pi trusted his bow skills and the tribe’s walls, he couldn’t help but feel nervous. Amidst the shouting, Shu Pi drew his bow and fired arrows at the rushing crowd, hitting some and causing them to fall. What worried Shu Pi most was how fast everything happened. It was already a feat for the tribe members to run back inside the walls in time, and few could shoot arrows with him now. With so few archers, they couldn’t inflict much damage on the hostile tribes. Few casualties meant these enemies would reach their tribe’s doorstep. If their walls were as tall and sturdy as those of Green Sparrow, Shu Pi wouldn’t worry about people breaching them. But their walls were nowhere near Green Sparrow’s height… In the early spring cold, Shu Pi was sweating profusely. Yet, there was no other choice but to keep shouting and shooting arrows, trying to kill as many enemies as possible before they arrived… A small twig with feathers on the end flew through a gap between people and struck the bark held in front of the Grass Tribe leader. A piercing pain shot through her, shocking her. She hastily moved the bark aside, and the feathered twig stuck in it fell away. Looking down, she saw blood flowing from her stomach. Just as she worried about her injury, another feathered twig flew, missing her but striking someone nearby. That person, unprotected in front, collapsed to the ground. The Grass Tribe leader, still worried about her wound, quickly pulled out the feathered twig from the bark and firmly put the bark back in front of her, refusing to move it, then rushed with the others toward the strange cave that was getting closer… The Black Stone Tribe leader and his people stayed at the back, with very few arrows flying at them. Only one person was hit by an arrow, but the large bone plates on his body stopped it. Even at this critical moment, seeing the effectiveness of this defense, the Black Stone Tribe leader couldn’t help but applaud his own cleverness. If he hadn’t thought of this good idea, their tribe might have suffered many deaths again, like before. Thinking this, he saw from afar that the tribes he was driving had already reached the strange cave. He no longer held back their speed. Shouting, holding his black stone weapon, he ran with the others who heard his call toward Shu Pi’s tribe… Shu Pi was sweating even more as so many enemies surged to the walls. He had dropped his bow and now held a sharpened wooden stick. Gripping the wood, he fiercely stabbed forward, hitting a person climbing the wall and pushing them down. Just as he prepared to jump down to the gate to help defend, another enemy climbed the wall. Shu Pi stabbed again with force, pushing that person down as well. At the same time, he heard the sound of wood breaking—someone had forcefully broken the gate! Shu Pi’s hands and feet instantly turned cold…