I am a Primitive Man
Chapter 903: Delivering Heads on a Silver Platter
Because the chiefs of these two tribes, as well as some of their stronger members, wore nose rings or ear rings threaded with some unknown vine, for convenience of description, the two tribes were referred to as the Nose Ring Tribe and the Ear Ring Tribe, respectively.
Led by three people who were drenched in sweat and dripping all over, the two tribes hurried forward. After passing the spot where the spider had been trampled to death and walking a bit farther, a piercing sound—something they had never heard before—suddenly rang out ahead.
The abrupt noise startled the excited members of the Ear Ring and Nose Ring tribes.
“#￥45!”
They panicked and quickly scanned their surroundings. Then someone spotted several people who had just jumped down from a large rock ahead.
These people were running swiftly while using a stick-like object to strike hard at another object they were carrying.
This very action produced that loud, unfamiliar sound.
Once they saw this, the two tribes—who had been frightened by the sudden noise—immediately relaxed.
Many of them even burst out laughing.
To them, the behavior of those few people was no different from prey fleeing in panic after encountering hunters from their tribe.
It was a sign of fear.
This realization boosted their confidence even further.
Without even waiting for their chiefs to give the order, some people couldn’t help but chase after those fleeing figures with weapons in hand. Others hurled stones viciously at the cowards.
“@#4%!”
“@#4%!”
The chiefs of the Nose Ring and Ear Ring tribes shouted, ordering their people to charge after the fleeing figures and capture or kill them outright.
As they shouted, both chiefs began running as well, trying to catch up to those strange-looking people.
Spurred on by them, the rest of the tribe members howled and surged forward.
Watching those oddly dressed people fleeing desperately under their pursuit and roars, the members of the Nose Ring and Ear Ring tribes couldn’t help but feel exhilarated.
These people were so cowardly—there was no way they could resist their ferocity!
The frantic retreat of the Green Sparrow Tribe’s scouts completely ignited the bloodlust of these people, whose minds were already filled with thoughts of prey and primitive women.
Fortunately, the people Han Cheng had chosen as scouts were all excellent runners.
Coupled with their strict adherence to Han Cheng’s instructions—to strike the bronze gong the moment they saw these people, jump down from the rock, and sprint away at full speed—the members of the two tribes were unable to catch up with them.
Still, the sight of a few people sprinting madly ahead while a large group chased after them, shouting, with stones, sticks, and bones raining down in the space between, was quite spectacular.
Although they couldn’t catch up, the Nose Ring and Ear Ring tribes grew even more excited.
Because the sensation of chasing someone down and attacking them was intoxicating.
Moreover, as long as they followed the direction those people were running, they would surely find their cave and the large stockpile of prey.
However, as they ran wildly forward, shouting with excitement, they failed to notice that within the trees lining the passage-like path they had just passed, someone quietly raised their head, watching the direction they were heading—equally unable to contain their excitement…
“Quickly! Cover up the remaining ones and get back with your tools immediately!”
At Han Cheng’s position, upon hearing the distant sound of the bronze gong, he raised his voice and shouted to those still setting traps.
Hearing him, the people hurriedly covered up the traps they had just dug and hadn’t yet concealed. After making them as complete as possible, they grabbed their tools and rushed back to the already established formation.
The people returning to the formation reacted differently.
The slaves mostly set down their weapons and went to fetch the many ropes that had been placed behind them.
Each person took at least three ropes.
As for the minors, the older ones—those close to adulthood—picked up their assigned weapons: bows, long halberds, or slings. The younger ones held on to the tools they had been using to dig.
Copper shovels and copper mattocks were meant for digging, yes—but used on people, they were just as deadly.
This was the first time most of these minors had experienced such an event in the wild, and they appeared nervous and uneasy.
Yet some children looked calm, even expectant.
On one hand, this was the result of the Green Sparrow Tribe—under Han Cheng’s guidance—constantly promoting the idea of righteous defensive warfare and bestowing supreme honor upon those brave enough to protect the tribe and fight enemies.
On the other hand, these minors had already experienced combat before. When the Flying Snake Tribe attacked their tribe, they stood on the walls.
After most people had returned to the formation, the three men who had been running wildly while carrying the bronze gong also came into view.
They didn’t run straight toward Han Cheng’s group. Instead, once they reached the open ground, they immediately split to the sides, detouring behind the already formed battle line.
This had been planned.
When they were a little over halfway around, the howling pursuers also appeared before the well-prepared Green Sparrow Tribe.
Seeing the large number of Green Sparrow Tribe members, the charging attackers grew even more excited.
Some of them had previously worried that people with so much prey might flee too far. But now, after following those few cowardly people who made terrifying noises, they had reencountered them in no time—how could that not be exciting?
As for not seeing the prey, many of them didn’t give it much thought.
Those three messengers wouldn’t lie. If they said they had seen a large amount of prey, then there must have been a significant amount.
If it wasn’t visible now, it must have been hidden by these people.
Even their own tribes, when acting separately and encountering potentially great danger, would hide their prey.
Having just conquered another tribe and riding a surge of confidence, they naturally regarded themselves as a perilous force to these people.
Still, some noticed something odd.
For example, the three men, soaked with sweat, felt something strange when they saw the people gathered ahead, holding peculiar weapons.
It wasn’t their strange formation that felt off—it was the fact that there seemed to be more of them than before.
Although they were still fewer than the combined numbers of the two tribes, at a glance, they didn’t seem to be lacking by much.
But this doubt only flashed through their minds, and they didn’t think any deeper about it.
The Nose Ring Tribe chief noticed this as well.
At that moment, he wanted to stop and halt the others.
But the thought remained only in his mind; he didn’t voice it.
Everyone was extremely excited, howling as they charged forward.
If he spoke up to stop them, he would surely be seen as timid and cowardly—just like the three people they had mocked earlier for fleeing in panic without even daring to look back.
Moreover, even if he shouted, in such chaos, few would hear him or obey.
Thus, amid his hesitation, he was swept forward by the roaring crowd.
As they drew closer and closer to the people with abundant prey, some attackers even began hurling their weapons with full force.
Yet the closer they got, the more uneasy the Nose Ring Tribe chief became, because he noticed how strange these people were.
Not only were their clothes and weapons strange, but their behavior was strange as well.
Facing the onrushing attackers, they just stood there, making no extra movements.
The Nose Ring Tribe chief didn’t think, like the others did, that these people were frozen in fear by the sudden charge and ferocious momentum.
Because he saw no trace of fear on their faces.
On the contrary, many of them were smiling—or looked excited.
Just like when they had earlier heard those people’s account.
Or like when they had learned not long ago that the One-Eye Tribe’s chief and many of its strong warriors had died.
The Nose Ring Tribe chief had no time to think further, because as one of those running at the front, swept along by the crowd, he suddenly felt the ground vanish beneath his feet.
A sense of weightlessness hit him, and his body pitched forward uncontrollably.
In his panic, he dropped his weapon and reached for someone beside him, trying to steady himself.
At that moment, he did grab someone.
But he still couldn’t avoid falling.
Because the moment he grabbed that person, the damned fellow also pitched headlong forward.
As he fell, the Nose Ring Tribe chief saw several others collapse suddenly just like him.
The Ear Ring Tribe chief, who had been running even slightly ahead of him, was among them.
Strangely, seeing this scene, the Nose Ring Tribe chief actually felt a vague sense of relief he couldn’t quite explain.
His fall was heavy; his head spun.
That wasn’t the worst part.
The worst was the intense pain that erupted from his leg.
The pain made him scream in agony, his face turning deathly pale.
Part of it was pain—but more of it was fear.
In past hunts, people in his tribe had broken their legs.
Those people were then killed and eaten.
Experience had taught them that someone with a broken leg would only become a burden, useless for anything else.
And if they waited too long, the injured person would grow thin and lose meat.
So they dealt with such people swiftly.
Back then, the Nose Ring Tribe chief hadn’t thought much of it—he had even received the best piece of meat.
But now that it was happening to him, terror overwhelmed him.
In the tribe, strength was supreme. A man with a broken leg was clearly unfit to be chief.
Nor would anyone tolerate a cripple remaining as a burden.
Pale-faced, the Nose Ring Tribe chief shook his head violently and struggled to prop himself up, intending to check his injured leg.
But before he could even turn his head, he was smashed down hard by something!
Before the two tribes’ people could even reach the Green Sparrow Tribe, more than a dozen of them fell headlong without warning.
Some quickly scrambled back to their feet.
Others were unlucky—wooden spikes hastily planted in the traps pierced their legs and feet, making them scream like pigs being slaughtered.
“Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong…”
Han Cheng struck the already prepared war drum with all his strength.
The drumskin vibrated violently, and the booming sound rolled outward in all directions like muffled thunder.
Standing not far away, the primitive woman from the tribe—her mouth agape as she watched the Ear Ring and Nose Ring tribes collapsing ahead—was so startled by the explosion of sound beside her that her body jerked violently, and the child in her arms fell to the ground.
Only when the baby wailed did she react. She hurriedly bent down, grabbed the baby by an arm and a leg, lifted it, held it to her chest, and flipped open the animal hide on her body to reveal the baby-soothing tool, then fed it.
The baby, momentarily dropped by its mother, was silenced after a couple of small whimpers once its mouth was occupied. But the primitive woman’s mouth still hung open.
When she had seen the actual number of these people and how easily they dug the earth, she had believed they could defeat the Nose Ring and Ear Ring tribes.
But even if they could win, she had expected there would be clashes—fighting and brawling before victory.
Reality, however, shocked her deeply.
The Ear Ring and Nose Ring tribes—utterly unstoppable in her tribe’s eyes—had suffered heavy losses without even touching the edge of this strange tribe!
And these strange people hadn’t even used the sharp, peculiar weapons they were holding yet!
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