The army, after a day of rest in the northwest, slowly advanced into the barbarian territories the following day. Apart from Kent, all other generals accompanied Xiao Xun westward.
West of the northwest, the journey was arduous and difficult. After the brief battle in the northwest, people failed to realize that the most perilous and challenging battle of the Jiside War had only just begun.
The barbarian lands were wild and desolate, surrounded by mountains and forests with tall, dense foliage. Miasma swirled, and venomous scorpions and insects were everywhere. The very air exuded a malevolent aura, yet within this harsh landscape, humans had settled.
Deep within the continuous, ancient mountain range, lay vast, connected encampments that stretched as far as the eye could see. The defenses of these encampments were extremely strict, with sturdy, fierce sentinels guarding all sides, their spears and swords forming a forest, and their banners obscuring the sun.
The residents of the encampments all wore peculiar clothing, with imposing and tall physiques, clearly not residents of the city-states.
These barbarian peoples lived communally in such perilous environments, their wild nature unyielding, fierce, and formidable. They formed their own armed forces based on their tribal surnames, creating hundreds or thousands of large and small tribes in this vast, desolate land. They resided either in military garrisons or in valleys, and they frequently engaged in bloody conflicts over resources.
Among these tribes, this particular one was the most populous and powerful, with countless smaller tribes attached to it. These tribes were collectively known as the Western Barbarian Tribes, and their leader was called the Barbarian King.
This Barbarian King was a force that had risen rapidly in recent years. With his immense strength, he had swiftly subdued the various tribes of the barbarian lands, virtually unifying the barbarians and becoming the most formidable tribe among them. Had Gu Jia not maintained close ties with Saint Roman, it likely would not have been spared.
Once their internal affairs were settled, they had been coveting Saint Roman, and now, an opportunity to change the landscape of the barbarian tribes had appeared.
The opportunity to change the barbarian landscape emerged within the most powerful tribe in this barbarian land. Within this great encampment, not only were foreign peoples present, but also many city-state soldiers, lending a peculiar and uncanny color to this camp filled with exotic charm.
It turned out that after the northwest rebellion was quelled, because Sain had responded to Jiside, many of Jiside's former subordinates had fled to these desolate, wild lands to seek refuge, resulting in nearly half of the entire encampment being composed of these scattered soldiers.
Therefore, the encampment seemed exceptionally lively today, with many fierce-looking foreign people moving in and out of the great camp in a continuous stream. The main tent was even more boisterous and chaotic, as if engaged in an argument, with intense debate over something.
In the center of the main tent sat a towering, iron-like strongman. This man was over ten feet tall, his entire body dark. His neck and arms were adorned with foreign rings, and his body was painted with various strange symbols, making him appear exceptionally fierce. This person was none other than Sain, the Barbarian King, famous in the barbarian lands.
His brow radiated a murderous aura. Watching the people in the tent arguing heatedly with uncertain expressions, he slammed his palm, as large as a flapper, onto the table. The clamorous great tent instantly fell silent.
Seeing the expressions of the tribal leaders, Sain was quite pleased. He stood up abruptly, exerting immense pressure on the entire tent. Everyone was momentarily stunned.
Sain's tiger-like eyes swept across everyone as he roared, "You all consider yourselves the heroes of our barbarian tribes, yet you are so useless! A mere Saint Roman Empire has scared you all into this pathetic state!"
Most of the people in the tent were leaders from various tribes in the northwest barbarian territories. Those leaders who agreed to attack Saint Roman all looked smug and loudly seconded.
Those who disagreed with attacking Saint Roman exchanged nervous glances. An elder, a middle-aged leader, said, "Barbarian King, our tribes are cursed. If we were merely robbing city-state residents for survival, it would be one thing. But now, asking us to oppose Saint Roman might invite divine punishment!"
It turned out that among the barbarian tribes, there had always been scattered ancient legends passed down orally. These interwoven ancient legends had caused the barbarians to cower in their desolate, wild lands for thousands of years, daring not to covet Saint Roman.
The words of this leader were echoed by most of the other leaders, who nodded in agreement. Some even cited myths: "Let's not even mention the Divine Emperor Adams from thousands of years ago. Even over four hundred years ago, wasn't Hei Yu, our tribe's once-in-a-millennium unparalleled figure, forced to retreat? How does the Barbarian King compare to Hei Yu?"
"Barbarian King, please do not bring disaster upon yourself!"
...
Suddenly, the dissenting voices grew louder. Sain's anger intensified, and he bellowed, "Enough!"
The chaotic noise once again returned to calm. The tribal leaders who were about to speak quickly swallowed their words, fearing they might anger this Barbarian King who had dominated the barbarian territories for many years.
Sain walked a few steps and stood in the center of the crowd, looking at the leaders who opposed him, and sternly said, "When did our glorious barbarian race become so weak and easily bullied? For thousands of years, have our ancestors ever been bullied like dogs? Do not forget! We are wolves! The noblest blood in the world flows in our veins! We possess a spirit that never retreats!"
His words caused all the leaders to lower their heads and fall silent again.
At this moment, a general from the northwest rebellion let out a cold laugh: "Lord Barbarian King, there's no need to praise them. Some people are dogs by nature; no matter how much luxury they enjoy, they can never change their ingrained habits!"
The words of this northwest rebel general instantly ignited the anger of these foreign tribal leaders, who began to clamor.
"What did you say!"
"If you have the guts, let's go outside and compete!"...
"Are you still not disgraced enough?"
A sinister voice, as if from a distant hell, sent shivers down the spines of everyone who heard it.
Upon hearing this voice, the noisy great tent fell silent. The sound of steady, shuffling footsteps echoed, and as people's gazes fell upon the tent entrance, they saw an old man, leaning on a cane, slowly walking in from outside. All the leaders were astonished.
"Zu An!"
No one expected Zu An, who had advised Huo De Sa, to appear here. Of course, the leaders were so surprised due to Zu An's seniority within the barbarian tribes.
Decades ago, Zu An had already been a tribal leader who roamed the barbarian lands. Later, he wisely withdrew from public life and retired behind the scenes, after which he was recruited as an elder by the temples of the barbarian lands.
The temples were undoubtedly the spiritual leaders of the entire barbarian race and lands. Although they never participated in the tribal conflicts of the barbarians, whenever the barbarians faced a life-or-death crisis, the temples would step in to manage the situation and quell the chaos.
All the barbarian tribes had no doubt that if the temples were to take charge, the barbarian tribes would unite and form a force capable of crushing all opposition. But no one understood why the temples were not intervening.
And within the temples, there were countless figures as renowned as Zu An in the barbarian lands.
Zu An's fame was not solely due to his former membership in the temples.
Yes, after entering the temples, Zu An joined the Gu Jia tribe a few years later, and soon after, news spread that Zu An had withdrawn from the temples. However, the specific reasons were unknown. The temples themselves were a mystery, and matters within them were even less known to outsiders.
This was further compounded by the many legends about Zu An in the barbarian lands. Some said his abilities were incredibly powerful. Although his name did not appear on the barbarian expert rankings, everyone believed his strength could instantly defeat any expert on the list.
Since Zu An entered the temples, he had not made a move. His abilities were like a terrifying mystery, a riddle that no one dared to touch.
At this moment, the appearance of this influential figure from the barbarian lands astonished all the leaders present.
Those who recognized him exclaimed, while those who didn't, upon hearing his reputation, couldn't help but look at him properly.
He was entirely white-haired, his body emaciated, but his eyes shone brightly like those of a newborn infant. In his hand, he held a cane around which coiled a vividly colored king cobra. At a glance, he appeared indescribably strange.
The barbarian leaders, accustomed to the company of insects and snakes, were relatively unfazed by this sight. However, those residents from the city-states felt their scalps tingle at the scene.