Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 1580 - 42: Pillage

Chapter 1580: Chapter 42: Pillage

"If you can’t hold it in, go find your rich, white, and beautiful alumni!" Li Xinlan asked about the incident with Bai Guo before Tang Zheng left, not expecting the explosive information from the naturally naive ones.

"A moment of folly!" Tang Zheng a forehead broke out in Niagara Falls sweat, hastily made his stance clear, that even if the married woman was considerate, he would never sincerely let him find another woman to spend the night, he still had this sense of propriety.

The young married woman gave Tang Zheng a glare but skipped over this topic to spare him the embarrassment.

Three Hellfire units hung outside the gathering area, not only intimidating the insignificant weaklings but also allowing Tang Zheng’s team to sleep a sweet dream.

Early in the morning, Li Xinlan went door to door, calling the natives and newbies to get up.

"We’re going on a trip to hunt this time, we’ll only bring food and shelter, everything else gets left behind," Tang Zheng stood in front of the stone house giving instructions.

The natives, already tired of being displaced and adrift, immediately became restless, showing signs of rebellion.

Seeing the excited black giants, the female newbies felt weak in the knees; these guys had an average height of over one-ninety, and they were truly frightening when they got angry.

The strong women tried to soothe them, but to no avail.

Tang Zheng pulled with one hand, launching the gravity field, and dragged the most vociferous one in front of him, giving him a violent kick.

This unlucky ghost was suspended in mid-air, unable to resist, coughing blood mouthful after mouthful, which was frightening.

"Whoever talks nonsense, just goes to die!" Tang Zheng waved his hand, and the unlucky ghost smashed against the wall, wailing and unable to get up.

"I will urge them," offered the strong female native sycophantically, "The disobedient slaves deserve beating; killing a few makes no difference."

After half an hour of fuss, they finally got on track, and following Tang Zheng’s command, the migrating fleet set off.

"Group Leader, what exactly do you want to do? I think we should choose a base, settle down securely, open up territory, that’s how to avoid future troubles," said Bai Xia, taking the initiative to offer her ideas, trying to prove her worth as a girl.

"I didn’t realize you had some brains," Tang Zheng glanced at Bai Xia a few times, and the girl puffed out her chest, although shy, she endured it.

The harsh environment really is a true test of character; Bai Xia had begun to adapt and found the correct way. Here, no one considers your feelings; if you don’t grit your teeth, shed that shyness, and fight for survival, you’ll die sooner or later.

"I’ve thought about it all night!" Bai Xia was proud.

"Have you thought about the distance? Even if we conquer the nearest tribe, it takes half a day’s journey. I take them down, bring the efforts back, and all the time is consumed on the road. What we lack the most is exactly time," Tang Zheng didn’t mind giving some guidance.

Bai Guo fell silent.

"And who to leave behind is also a problem, you saw it yesterday, a Conqueror with Hellfire is a big threat; without the Powerful Party to stabilize it, the base would be directly overrun," Xu Biyun interjected, she and the newbies were sitting in the war chariot, quite comfortable, as for the Natives, children and women were on horseback, and the adults had to walk.

"I was negligent," Bai Xia’s expression turned dim.

"Do you know the tactics of the Mongolians?" Tang Zheng took out a bottle of mineral water, took a sip, and handed it to Bai Xia.

"Capture a place, then draft all the strong men into service, annihilate and empty nine out of ten households, and then go and conquer another place?" Bai Xia, after all a university student, knew a bit of history.

"Well, refugee would be an apt description. We coerce the Natives to keep fighting, like locusts, leaving a trail of devastation wherever we go," Tang Zheng couldn’t help but laugh, "After this mission, the Natives are really in for it."

"What can we do then?" Bai Guo looked at those innocent Natives chasing after the Fleet, feeling concerned.

"We can’t worry too much about that now. Fortunately, they are still at the simplest hunting stage, not even engaging in the most basic intensive farming. Otherwise, with some land, this tactic would indeed be less effective," Tang Zheng sighed, "Xin Lan, Bai Xia, please bother yourselves to pick out a few smart native women and teach them slash-and-burn agriculture and small crafts like pottery making as a way to compensate for their losses."

The Natives were desperately poor; primitive tools and crude hunting methods only yielded so much, leaving them in a state of semi-starvation. Besides dried meat and animal skins, there was nothing else to spare, otherwise, the fleet’s speed would have to slow down.

The strong female Native was undoubtedly smart; after entering the war chariot, initially cautious, but then her eyes lit up more and more as she listened to the course taught by Li Xinlan, like Napoleon discovering a new continent.

At this moment, the young married woman opened a door of the unknown for her, and the female Native knelt down sincerely on the ground. This time it was not out of fear of death, but out of reverence for a prophet.

Unknown to Tang Zheng, this impromptu idea, inspired by guilt, would have their story inscribed on pottery pots from the Stone Age.

Because of learning slash-and-burn agriculture, the tribe led by the female Native gradually prospered and thrived, marking the beginning of the matriarchal clan era. She told the knowledge taught by the Chieftain to her descendants, and the descendants engraved these teachings on the pottery they produced and on the walls of caves and stone houses.

Thousands of years later, when these Stone Age relics were unearthed, they sparked huge debates and unsolved mysteries among archaeologists and historians.

When exactly did primitive man develop civilization? Was slash-and-burn agriculture taught by divine beings, or did they comprehend it naturally over time?

These questions were no longer of concern to Tang Zheng, who was calmly observing the rising cooking smoke in front of a gathering place.

"A large tribe of nearly a thousand people, what a find," Xu Biyun gleamed, wishing she could claim it all for herself. With the loss of her slaves, her Ability was restricted, and she didn’t have much Equipment left to use.

This was only because Tang Zheng was unrestricted, with those slaves counting towards Li Xinlan and the other two, otherwise their plight would have been even more miserable.

"Group Leader Tang, may I know the purpose of your visit here?" The Agate Man charged forward in his war chariot, followed by two hundred robust tribal warriors.

"Why ask when you already know? It’s robbery, of course," Tang Zheng laughed. "Where’s your leader in charge?"

"He’s taking a nap. I advise you to leave, as conflict would be unpleasant for both sides," the Agate Man feigned calmness, presenting a strategist’s demeanor.

"No need to play coy, you want me to play the fool?" Tang Zheng called out the Agate Man’s bluff. Standing at the Main Entrance for so long, his face was already noted; they were well aware of his strength. To resolve this without confrontation meant either arrogance or the absence of their leader.

"Group Leader Tang, let’s be harmonious and prosperous. Considering we’re both Chinese, you take your Yangguan Road and I’ll cross my log bridge. How about it?" The Agate Man did not continue to use the leader to intimidate, as it would be an insult. With just one look, he could tell Tang Zheng was more cunning and not easily fooled.

"Why should I?" Tang Zheng sneered. "Don’t use any so-called fraternal righteousness to pressure me. You’re not new to the Trojan Horse Game either; you know better than me what kind of world this is."

The Agate Man’s composure faltered. The man before him was immovable, putting him in a tough spot. Darn that leader for not leaving more guards back home. Yet he knew, facing a Powerful Party like Tang Zheng, natural misfortune was the only option.

"Brother Liu, why talk nonsense with him? Let’s join forces and slaughter this guy," a burly man glared at Tang Zheng, poised for a fight. "What a piece of work, acting all high and mighty in front of us."

"Playing good cop, bad cop, you’ve got quite the strategy," Bai Xia stepped forward, blaming the Agate Man.

Tang Zheng stood alone and managed to Stabilize the situation, which impressed Bai Xia. Now that was true dominance.

"A Newbie? Step aside, this is not your place to speak!" the burly man’s face darkened. "Group Leader Tang, is this how you manage your subordinates?"

"Brother Liu, this guy is too arrogant. Let’s fight!" Six more Newbies charged out, eager to test their mettle against Tang Zheng. They had just activated their Abilities and were full of youthful vigor.

The short man had always been readying the reserves. After all, the Black Iron Seed was not a strategic resource for him. It was better to activate the Newbies’ Abilities, even if they were just Cannon Fodder to be more formidable.

"Respect your elders. When I’m speaking, it’s not your place to interrupt," Tang Zheng’s expression stiffened as he focused on a Newbie, and the Gravity reversal was launched.

Boom—the Newbie exploded, spewing Broken Flesh and blood on the others, startling them, while three of the female Newbies screamed out in fear.

The burly man no longer dared to be defiant, gaping like a dying fish out of water. Even the Agate Man couldn’t execute someone so decisively.

"Group Leader Tang, don’t go too far," the Agate Man was nearly beside himself with rage, yet he knew he was no match for Tang Zheng.

"Tsk tsk, I feel like some bandit overlord," Tang Zheng shook his head and finger. "Did you use such rhetoric when you robbed the Natives?"

Shen Jiashu and the others had gotten their full twelve hours of sleep, awakened, but they did not emerge from the carriage. Instead, they were ready to play the role of ambushing reserves and lay a Sure kill on the enemy.

Fang Zhiwen observed Tang Zheng single-handedly suppressing these brutes, feeling excited, her Cheeks flushing with pride at her choice of man.

"I’ll offer two hundred slaves to let this matter slide. How about that?" the Agate Man softened, hoping to shoo Tang Zheng away and deal with the aftermath once the leader returned.

"Are you joking with a beggar? At least five hundred," Xu Biyun took on the role of the bad guy, although she wasn’t as ruthless as Pang Meiqin might have been, who would have demanded it all.

"I can’t give you half. You might as well kill me then, but that would just result in a fight to the death, so consider your decision carefully," the Agate Man said, as he was already attempting to call his leader with the Communicator, which unfortunately had a limited Range.

"I hate being threatened the most," Tang Zheng frowning.

"Three hundred is the most I can give, otherwise I’ll kill every Native here and nobody gets anything," the Agate Man threatened.

"Heh, first off, that’s not something you can do, and even if you could, you wouldn’t. Because you’re waiting for the short guy to return so you can rob again," Tang Zheng scoffed at the Agate Man. If the fellow had some backbone, Tang Zheng wouldn’t have pressed so hard, but putting on such a disgraceful act, how could anyone respect him. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote and support it on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.)