Chapter 226 226

As soon as Stone Head and the other tribe members returned from their hunt, the Chief immediately called forth for a meeting and all of them gathered in a single area

The society of Waterside Tribe is really different compared to Rezen's previous realm

Most of the time, only the top brass would talk about the important matters and they are the only ones that would decide their family/organization's course of action

However, in this small tribe, it was different. Everyone except for the kids that still don't know anything was gathered to discuss the issue the hand

Even the disabled as long as they can still think clearly were present

'Well, this kind of thing might only be possible since the tribe doesn't have thousands or even millions of members' Rezen thought

If the tribe has that many members, they definitely couldn't do something like this. A meeting where everyone participates is only possible because of the limited number of tribesmen

The Chief started the meeting by explaining what happened about how a family member of theirs was brought to near death state as a warning

When everyone heard the full story, every single one of them was furious but unfortunately, anger alone wouldn't do much

They fear the annihilation of the tribe as the enemies have superior magical might

"Everyone, I'm sorry! This was my fault!" Stone Head suddenly apologizes while kneeling and banging his head on the ground

Even if he don't explain anything, the tribesmen knew what he meant by apologizing. If he didn't kill Big Nose, the tribe would have a total of 4 Junior Mages at the present

Since the Chief and Stone Head could cast formal magic spells, they are stronger compared to normal Junior Mages. The Waterside Tribe might even be slightly stronger than the Metal Sword Tribe even though they are one Junior Mage short

Too bad that it has become 3 against 5 and no one could say who would win since the opposing side might also have a Junior Mage that could cast a magic spell

"That's enough. This is not the time for regret. What we have to do is to form a concrete plan" the Chief said sternly

The tribe doesn't have time to comfort Stone Head or whatever as there is a more pressing issue at hand

"That's right!"

"As long as you protect the tribe!"

"Just continue protecting the tribe!"

The other tribesmen agreed. While they still haven't completely forgotten Stone Head's deed since the tribe is facing a great threat, they need him more than ever

"Ivy, isn't Stone Head a heaven's blessed? Why is the Waterside Tribe suddenly facing this kind of threat?" Rezen can't help but ask

It hasn't been that long since he discovered that Stone Head is a heaven's blessed, a being that was literally blessed by the Savage Beast Realm. Since he is such a blessed person, why is his tribe facing the threat of being annexed by another tribe?

"Everyone viewed the term 'blessing' differently. For the realms, their concept of blessing is an entity that attained great power and achieved great feats. If Stone Head were to lose the majority of his family and that ignited his talent, making him stronger than usual then the realm would view it as he was blessed" Ivy responds emotionlessly and Rezen narrowed his eyes

"In other words, the realm's goal is to make the heavens' blessed stronger no matter the means. It was to the point that the heavens' blessed could lose their whole family and driven by revenge, they walked a bloody path until they became unbelievably strong"

Rezen pursed his lips. It seems like he took being a heaven's blessed too nicely. He can already imagine a cliche plot where the heavens' blessed through the 'power of friendship' suddenly possessed power far stronger than they originally had

"It seems like I have to be careful with these heavens' blessed. If I'm not careful enough, I might become a tool for their character development" Rezen thought bitterly

He chose not to steal the fortune aura of Stone Head as he planned to turn him into the tribe and his own shield. Rezen didn't expect that this shield could also attract danger

After the tribe consoled Stone Head, they proceeded to discuss what they should do from now on

"I suggest that we should avoid the area where the Metal Sword Tribe hunt. When the other Junior Mages of our tribe returned, we definitely won't lose out against them!"

"We could do that but the Metal Sword Tribe also has Junior Mages that went to earn Resonance Gems from the bigger tribe. What if their Junior Mages returned before ours does?"

"Also, even if our other Junior Mages returned, that would only make us slightly stronger than the Metal Sword Tribe. If we were to fight them head-on, the casualty would be too much!"

The discussion goes on. One idea after another was given but most of them were shut down as their ideas are not practical or doable

Even still, this situation impresses Rezen a bit. It seems like he underestimated the tribesmen too much

While these people are not too smart in many areas, when it comes to their survival, they are not bad. But thinking of it, it wasn't that much of a surprise. The humans are weaker against magic beasts and if they don't use their brains, they might not survive

Unfortunately, although they have great survival thinking, they are still not as educated as Rezen. Many ideas that they thrown were simply absurd

The only good ones that they gave but are still not enough were the idea of recalling the Junior Mages of the Tribe or asking the other nearby tribes for help

Unfortunately, the former would only put the tribe at the same level as the enemies temporarily while the latter might not work as the Metal Sword Tribe only targets the Waterside Tribe. As such, the other tribes might not lend a hand, especially considering that winter is arriving soon and they have to gather as much food as possible

"Why don't we teach the nearby tribes how to farm potatoes in exchange for their help?" The Chief suggested after listening to the suggestion of her tribesmen and after hearing her words, everyone's eyes brightened

If it was a method to obtain food without endangering themselves, the other tribes might accept helping the Waterside Tribe

Everyone seemed to be on board with that plan when Rezen raised his hand

"Chief, I don't think that is a good idea" Rezen was the only one that disagreed and all eyes immediately looked at him

Fortunately, he was the tribe's healer, if not, the tribesmen might think that he was stupid to disagree with such a good plan

"And why do you think that it's a bad idea?" The Chief asks and Rezen naturally has an answer to that

"This might sound selfish but I want our tribe to monopolize this knowledge. With the help of potato farms, we could have a safe steady source of food. As long as we have enough food, we could expand the tribe and sustain more people. The more people we have, the higher the chances of a Junior Mage appearing. Since we have the chance to nourish more Junior Mages thanks to having enough food, don't you think that the other tribes would also have the same chance if they learned about the farm? Even if we deal with the Metal Sword Tribe today, another tribe that would try to annex our tribe might appear if they give birth to more Junior Mages. In the end, we would have the same problem" Rezen explained

Rezen is aware of the importance of capable subordinates and since the first community he entered is the Waterside Tribe, it wouldn't be bad to expand the tribe's scale so that they could become his arms and legs in the future

Since his and the farm's creator's goal was to reach the peak of this world, Rezen is not arrogant that he thinks he can survive his path alone. He had read novels where the main characters are loner and that has become the reason for their demise and Rezen doesn't want to have the same fate

To achieve his goal, Rezen planned on expanding his forces even if this force cannot walk with him until he reached the peak

Even if his subordinates could only be useful while he is in the Savage Beast Realm it doesn't matter, if they could help him survive in this realm until he has enough power then all the effort that he would exert is worth it

As such, Rezen is working on the groundwork of his future plans

"You have a point but we can't worry about the future if we were to be annihilated at present" The Chief replied since they would only have the luxury to think about the future if they can survive the present threat which was the Metal Sword Tribe