Pulikas had no mind to admire such a beautiful scene. It was only at this mont that he led his n to row with all their might, steering the boat into a river port on the left bank.
Many boats were already in the port, and it took Pulikas quite so effort to dock his boat at the pier.
The young Ankasus had already fallen asleep, and Pulikas carried him ashore.
Not far away was a village where so Segestica citizens who had fled by boat were gathering at the entrance. At the entrance, a dozen or so strong youths holding wooden clubs blocked their path.
The leader shouted loudly, "Our leader said no outsiders are allowed in the village, or else the sticks in our hands won’t recognize people! But considering we are all tribesn, we’ll provide you with so food. Take the food and leave as soon as you can; don’t stay here for long, understand?..."
The refugees began to curse discontentedly. These young people were quite able to keep calm and did not retort, but if anyone dared to rush forward, they would indeed beat them with their clubs.
"It’s Chief Pulikas!"
"Chief Pulikas is here!"
"Chief Pulikas, they are treating us like enemies, this is really too much!"
....
Everyone eagerly complained to Pulikas while making way for him.
Pulikas, with a livid face, walked up to the group and said in a deep voice, "I am Pulikas, I want to see your tribal leader Iberus!"
The youths, of course, knew who Pulikas was. The leader imdiately said, "Chief Pulikas, please wait a mont, I will report to our leader!" With that, he quickly ran into the fort.
Shortly after, he ran back, "Chief Pulikas, our leader invites you in!"
The youths made way for a narrow passage. Pulikas looked back at his followers, cradled Ankasus, and led the way into the village, with his followers close behind. The other citizens also wanted to follow, but the youths firmly blocked them again.
"Chief Pulikas!..." the fleeing citizens cried out to Pulikas for help.
"Let them in as well," Pulikas said.
The youths looked at the one who delivered the ssage earlier, but he shook his head.
So they remained unmoved.
Pulikas had no choice, his face growing darker, as he walked on sulkily. He suddenly stopped in his tracks when he reached the square in front of the main lodge because quite a few tents were set up on the square. People were living in the tents, and so were sitting between them, most looking haggard and expressionless. Even when they saw Pulikas and his entourage arriving, no one approached him to greet.
In front of the main lodge stood a man with grey hair and beard, but his figure was still agile, and his complexion was rosy, making it difficult to determine his real age. This man was the village leader Iberus.
Seeing Pulikas, he greeted him with a heavy expression and said in a low voice, "I really didn’t want to see you here, so the East Village is gone too?"
Pulikas nodded slightly.
Iberus glanced at Ankasus on his back, then at his followers, and said, "Let’s go inside and talk."
"Is there any food? We’re all starving," Pulikas said in a low voice.
"I’ll arrange it right away."
The group entered the main lodge, found a place for Ankasus to sleep, and Pulikas followed Iberus to the living room to briefly recount the fall of the East Village.
"Has the Segestica Tribe been cursed?!" Iberus sighed long and hard after hearing it, "Since last year, Andres fought with those Nix people, suffering multiple defeats, and ended up losing his life... This year, the tribal alliance assembled a large army, and I originally thought the Nix were done for. Unexpectedly, such a grand allied army suffered a disastrous defeat in no ti, and the Nix took this opportunity to invade our territory, capturing the entire main camp in just two days. Ah! Segestica—our tribe seems to be dood!"
Pulikas imdiately felt displeased and reprimanded, "What kind of talk is that? Our tribe now is just temporarily facing difficulties, but as long as we can rally ourselves and call on the tribal alliance for reinforcents, we can surely reclaim our lost territory soon!"
"Cabdes used to think the sa, but now?!" Iberus spread his hands with a wry smile.
"Cabdes was a coward, a deserter! If not for him, we wouldn’t have suffered such a miserable defeat!" At the ntion of Cabdes, Pulikas imdiately flared up.
"But even Andres, who was good at fighting, t a pitiful defeat! Cabdes, for all his faults, managed to tidy up the ss Andres left behind and brought a year of stability to everyone." Iberus said regretfully, "But he also died in battle... At this critical mont, there might be no one to rally the remaining tribes, to inspire courage among the fleeing tribesn to fight against the powerful Nix!"
"Who said no!" Pulikas imdiately retorted, "Ankasus, the son of the great Andres, bears the noblest bloodline of the Segestica Tribe! As soon as he assus the position of the new Great Chief, he can gather the tribesn again!"
Iberus dismissively curled his lip, "What influence can a child who hasn’t even grown up have? Last year, people didn’t choose him as the Great Chief, and in this special ti, it’s even more impossible. Stop tossing him around. Letting him grow up safely is the best thing."
"What do you an, Iberus!" Pulikas changed his expression, angrily said, "Andres, the Great Chief, always trusted you, gave your tribe so many benefits, making you the most powerful leader around Gonami Lake, and this is how you repay him!"
Iberus not only showed no guilt but instead responded angrily, "Andres did give my tribe a lot of benefits in the past, but that was just because he wanted to lead the other tribes around Gonami Lake to submit to him. Do you know what the tribesn here call privately? —Traitor!"
Iberus chuckled bitterly twice, self-mockingly said, "I really am a traitor. Last year, I cooperated actively when Andres twice summoned warriors to fight against the Nix people, sending many tribesn from here, but... very few returned!
This year, I was damn fooled again and convinced by Cabdes to provide a lot of food for his army, but... Ha ha, the tribesn of Gonami Lake scold , and they are absolutely right!"
Seeing the other in pain, Pulikas’s anger subsided by half, instead of advising, "Iberus, these past two years have been tough for all Segestica tribes, not just you in Gonami Lake. Compared with the east and west bank areas of the main camp, your situation here is much better. At least this ti you didn’t send your tribesn to fight with the foolish Cabdes, and you retained so strength.
The reason I chose to co here is that I hope to get your support, using Gonami Lake as a base, backed by the Brochi, to gather the fleeing tribesn—"
"Shut up! Stop it!" Iberus interrupted Pulikas harshly refused, "There’s not much farmland around Gonami Lake, and this year we paid a lot of grain to the main camp. Now, every tribe is in tight stop, and depending on fishing to subsist.
But yesterday, many tribesn fled from the north, and for the sake of kinship, we took them in, as you should have seen when you passed the square earlier, but that leaves our already inadequate food even scarcer, and the tribesn have many complaints about it. Hence, from today, we will not take in any other tribe’s people!
Of course, if you and your people want to stay, we’ll eke out a bit of food for you, however bitterly, but regarding others, hmm-"
Iberus snorted coldly, "We do not wish for them to linger around Gonami Lake, who knows if they would destroy our fields or plunder our wealth once starving!"
"Iberus!" Pulikas yelled angrily, "The ones outside the village are not robbers! Not enemies! They are Segestica people! Your kin! Your tribesn!"
"Sorry, I seem to recall that I am a Brochi mber; the area around Gonami Lake originally belonged to Brochi territory." A single statent from Iberus instantly blocked Pulikas’s fury.
The jurisdiction of the Gonami Lake region is rather complex to discuss. It indeed once belonged to Brochi territory, but after the Pannonians were conquered by the Skodisqi, the Skodisqi ruling the Segestica branch included the Gonami Lake in their jurisdiction. However, as ti went on, the Skodisqi realized the Pannonians at Gonami Lake were hard to manage. They often didn’t pay tribute on ti, and even dared to harbor so Pannonians who resisted the Skodisqi. Whenever the Skodisqi sent armies to punish them, they would escape by boat into the reeds...
Due to the special geography of Gonami Lake, to fully subdue the people there would require substantial effort and resources. The Scodisiqi Great Leader didn’t want to muster forces, so he simply detached it as a separate entity for one of his sons to govern... Later on, as the various Pannonian tribes successively rose in defiance, it was the Segestica Tribe that first defeated the Skodisqi entrenched at Gonami Lake, hence the Pannonian Tribes there naturally integrated into Segestica.
But this was in na only, as due to years of separation, the people here did not have a strong sense of belonging to Segestica. They were ambivalent about the grain tributes to the main camp and the instructions from the Great Chief. The semi-autonomous situation of the Gonami Lake region lasted several years until things began to change after Andres ascended to leadership. He, on one hand, severely punished the disobedient Gonami Lake Tribes and, on the other hand, supported the willing and obedient Iberus Tribe, eventually making the tribes of the Gonami Lake bow to his authority.
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