Chapter 235: Chapter 231: The Lord’s Request
When the people of the Wild Mane Tribe walked through the corridor that felt stifling to them and entered Perfikot’s laboratory, they were shocked by Perfikot’s youth.
After all, for the indigenous people, female leaders are not uncommon. Many of the shamans within the tribe are women, which poses no problem.
But being this young was quite problematic, as the indigenous tribes still simply believe that the experience of older people is more abundant, and young people still need to learn.
Usually, the chieftain of a tribe may not be the most skilled in combat, but at least must be the most respected.
This is mainly because indigenous tribes still use a selection system to decide who is the chieftain of the tribe, not reaching the point where the position of chieftain can be inherited.
Even the chieftain’s son cannot become the new chieftain if he is not respected.
Moreover, they do not have such customs; the chieftain’s son at most can get some preferential treatment, but nothing special.
So for the Wild Mane Tribe to imagine someone as young as Perfikot, who is even younger than the daughter of Hetton, Lili, becoming a chieftain is hard for them to conceive.
But Hetton and the others knew that the habits of the white people were different from theirs, so they didn’t show any particular emotions or have any disdain for Perfikot, but rather greeted her very politely.
In a way, Hetton and the others thought that having a young girl as the white people’s chieftain might not be a bad thing. At least in their impression, young girls tend to have kinder hearts, which might allow the Wild Mane Tribe to negotiate better terms.
"Greetings, young lord. We are the Ancestor Warriors of the Wild Mane Tribe." Hetton, as a representative, introduced himself and his party to Perfikot: "We met your warriors in the wild yesterday and wanted to come over to see if you encountered any trouble."
Perfikot examined them for a moment, then spoke: "Please have a seat, warriors of the Wild Mane Tribe. Since you come with goodwill, I will also treat you with a friendly attitude."
Upon hearing this, Hetton and his companions felt considerably more at ease, at least for the moment, they didn’t have to worry about potential conflicts.
Nonetheless, Hetton proactively said to Perfikot: "Thank you for your kindness. The Wild Mane Tribe is also willing to treat every friend kindly, but if they are enemies, the Wild Mane Tribe will fight to the end."
Although both sides displayed friendliness, the Wild Mane Tribe and Perfikot each demonstrated a degree of caution.
"Could you introduce your tribe to me?" Perfikot appropriately initiated a topic, simultaneously revealing part of her curiosity: "The name Wild Mane Tribe makes me think you might be related to horses.
I’ve learned some of your legends before. It’s said that each tribe worships its own Ancestral Spirit, which usually takes the form of animals. So, is your tribe related to horses?"
"Yes, our Ancestral Spirit is a horse, which has protected our tribe for many generations." Hetton found no reason not to share this and warmly displayed the mane they wore to Perfikot: "This is an ornament that everyone in our Wild Mane Tribe has, symbolizing that our spirits are under the protection of the Ancestral Spirit."
Looking at the horse mane, a green light flashed in Perfikot’s right eye, and she then nodded with a knowing expression: "Indeed, it’s vastly different from the old world’s customs, very interesting."
In the vision of the Eye of Omniscience, these horse manes have a special appraisal.
"Protection of the Ancestor · Wild Mane"
"Material: Excellent"
"Craftsmanship: Outstanding"
"Effect: Animal hair hosting the Ancestral Spirit, providing minor protection and blessings, can bring good luck"
"Appraisal: The product of indigenous tribes’ ancestor beliefs, combining animal spirits and ancestor worship into a primitive totem, although crafted with basic techniques, it has its unique charm."
Receiving the unique appraisal from the Jade Record, this item is already quite remarkable.
This also gave Perfikot a bit of inspiration. In the cold apocalypse environment, might this item with some protective effect play a role in resisting the cold?
It doesn’t need to be very strong; as long as it works, that’s enough.
Coupled with measures to keep warm or generate heat, perhaps it could ensure that people don’t freeze to death even at temperatures below tens of degrees.
"Lord, forgive my presumptuousness, but we want to know your purpose for coming to the Northern Territory. After all, at this time last year, this was still a natural wilderness." After the pleasantries and courtesy exchanges, Hetton asked the topic he cared most about.
For this question, Perfikot touched her chin, revealing a bit of mixed contemplation and realization.
She then nodded and said: "This indeed should be explained to you, as it is closely related to you."
Among the expectant and anxious gazes of the Wild Mane Tribe’s party, Perfikot explained to them: "Originally, I was only exploring with a survey team towards the ice fields further north, but when some rare resources were discovered here, the Empire decided to develop this land.
I was appointed as the Lord of the Northern Territory; theoretically, the whole Northern Territory is under my rule.
And if you don’t want to oppose the Empire, you can also be regarded as my subjects, governed by me."
Perfikot noticed the change in expressions on the faces of the Wild Mane Tribe people after she said this but didn’t mind it and simply posed a military deterrent: "As the Lord, I am not cruel, so I have no demands on you, as long as you acknowledge my rule, don’t oppose the Empire, you can continue your past lifestyle.
Though I, as the Lord, will collect some symbolic taxes, overall, apart from ceremonially offering tributes to me, nothing else will differ from your previous life.
If you want to trade and acquire better weapons and more goods, I can promise to set up trade caravans to engage in trade with you.
All this is contingent upon you acknowledging me as your Lord, not seeing me as your enemy who has come to occupy your home."
Although Perfikot doesn’t mind using ironclad methods at times, sometimes appropriate tenderness can reduce a lot of unnecessary trouble.
Faced with Perfikot’s attitude, which can be described as benevolent and friendly, along with the favorable conditions she proposed, the Ancestor Warriors of the Wild Mane Tribe merely exchanged glances.
It wasn’t that they couldn’t comprehend Perfikot’s words, but rather they couldn’t decide this matter, nor did they expect to confront such a situation.