When Leo and his group walked down the hill and arrived outside the village, quite a few people had already gathered outside the village entrance. Apparently some wild hunters hiding in the dark had informed the village in advance. Leading the group was an old man wearing a deer antler crown and a colorful feather cloak. The dark skin on his face and exposed chest was covered with dense battle scars. With the spread of imperial culture, tattoos have gradually been regarded as a custom of barbarians, and people in the North rarely get tattoos on conspicuous places such as the head, face, and back of the hands. Even some northern nobles who follow tradition will only tattoo their family battle emblems on their backs or chests, but more of them, like the southerners, tattoo them on their robes and flags. If it weren't for the remaining soul of the original owner, Leo, just looking at the wrinkles on the old man's face and gray hair, Leo would definitely think he was in his seventies or eighties. But the original owner's experience told him that such an old man was actually only in his fifties. Just like Uliyang, an old man who picks his feet, his real age is actually not even 40 years old. But in the wilderness, fifty years old is already a respectable age. It not only means that he has a respected status and can guarantee his survival when he is old, but also means that he was strong enough when he was young and did not have any serious injuries after countless battles.
Apart from him, most of the people who welcomed Leo and his party were a group of elderly, weak, women and children. On the roofs, stone walls, watchtowers and other commanding heights of the village, wild hunters holding longbows were standing scattered far away. These wild hunters are tall, strong and sturdy, with beards, thick and curly body hair, and mud paint on their faces. They wore wolf-head helmets or bear-head helmets, thick fur armor, and used animal bones, sharp teeth and claws as ornaments. Fully armed, they exuded an aura of toughness, warlikeness, and wildness. Leo heard from Urian that many wild tribes still follow the ancient coming-of-age rite of the North and drive their newly-adult children into the wilderness. These savages eat raw meat and drink blood, and live like wild beasts. Only when they have completely adapted to the wilderness and hunted down strong enough beasts to demonstrate their bravery, will they be qualified to return home. Every adult wild hunter is an outstanding warrior who has been tempered in the cruel wilderness. Even in a one-on-one close-range battle, Leo couldn't say that he would win. If it were a jungle guerrilla operation, he would probably be shot into a sieve in minutes. The original owner, Leo, had also practiced archery, but the bows he usually used were homemade soft bows weighing dozens of pounds, with a short range and weak power, and could only be used to hunt rabbits and deer. As for wolves and bears, the former will become alert before they come into range, and the latter have thick skin and flesh, and a small hunting bow cannot seriously injure them at all. It's not that he doesn't want to use a heavy hunting bow, but he doesn't have the qualified bow-making technology. He has to rely on his own trial and error. If he forcibly makes a heavy hunting bow, it will either break easily or lose its accuracy and can only be used as a toy. The yew longbows used by the wild hunters are heavy bows weighing nearly two hundred pounds and can kill brown bears from dozens of meters away. For ordinary people who have not received training, it is difficult for them to pull the bowstring, hold the longbow with one arm, or even pose! Unless it was necessary, Leo would never want to be the enemy of the wild people. "Hello, respected elder." Leo quickly walked towards the group of villagers, without any airs, and bowed first, speaking respectfully. His humble gesture stunned the old man opposite him and caught him off guard. In the minds of the savages, there is no difference between the imperial frontiers and the foreign tribes. Both of them occupy land through military conquest and expel or enslave other ethnic groups. For this meeting, he specially recalled all the hunters, just to show the tribe's military strength and warn this outsider that they are not easy to mess with. According to his expectations, the imperial envoy or spy before him would surely issue some territorial declarations in a high-handed manner, or even force the village to pay taxes or serve.
As an old man who had lived for half a century, he had witnessed the gradual growth of the imperial town of Isenbor, the gradual spread of the surplus population into the wilderness, and the establishment of pioneering knight territories one after another at the foot of the mountain. In just fifty years, at least ten new frontier territories were established on both sides of the Anzeno River west of Isenpol alone. Of course, they have resisted before. More than 20 years ago, the savages had gathered hunters from several tribes many times to loot and burn those villages, logging sites, and mines that were not yet firmly established. But the consequence was that the Freelov Family Knights came to suppress them. Led by the powerful Awakened Knights, the well-equipped and armed to the teeth elite imperial infantry and mercenary groups with rich field combat experience poured into the wilderness, destroyed the tribes of the wild people, and drove the surviving wild people deeper into the mountains and forests. Now they were hiding in this basin, with the magnificent barrier and the waterfall behind them, and they had nowhere to retreat. When the campfires at the Riverbend camp were first lit, the tribe's young wildling hunters suggested a raid to scare away these outsiders. This thought was exactly the same as when he was young, but every time the old man stood on the low peak and watched the smoke from the cooking fires getting closer and closer below the mountain, he would think that the result would probably be the same as before. Violence can solve temporary problems, but it is not a long-term solution. The old man, who believed in the druid way and became increasingly adept at thinking, thought so. "You're well, too, kid." Leo's attitude determined the old man's attitude. Seeing this, the old man also smiled kindly and responded gently. Yes, it was the first communication, at least we were greeted with a smile. Leo felt a little relieved, opened the wooden box he had been carrying, and said, "This is a gift from our leader." The leaders of northern villages and tribes are called "headmen" or "elders". Titles such as "Lord", "Knight", and "Noble Master" are customs from the South. In the ears of the wild people, they are synonymous with enemies. Calling their leader the chieftain sounds much more pleasing to the ears of the wild people. In the wooden box, there were two steel swords wrapped in grease-soaked linen. They were the ones donated by Knight Roman. This kind of steel one-handed sword made by a large workshop in the south is a century ahead of the North in terms of craftsmanship. Not to mention the wild tribes, even the blacksmiths in Isenbol may not be able to forge it. "Good sword! Good gift!" The old man picked up a steel sword, flicked the blade, and praised it, fully expressing his love for the gift. He put on a good show before letting people accept it. There is no custom in the North to refuse gifts, as there must be an appropriate return gift. The old man was worried that he could not find a suitable return gift. After exchanging a few words with Leo, the wild folk elder named Zulwan looked at Freya standing beside him. His originally kind and solemn face turned serious. He adjusted his feather cape and antler crown, then slowly bowed to Freya, performed a strange etiquette, and said respectfully: "Master Freya!"
