Most of the northern border barbarians who were captured were adult men and women. All of them were injured, accounting for more than 70% of the total. All of them looked like they were carved from the same mold. The men's muscles were bulging and their thick shoulders were more than a meter wide. When they stood, their posture was similar to that of a ferocious giant bear.
The women were slightly shorter, but they were also more than 230 centimeters in height. Their bodies were also muscular, with only their papaya-like breasts that were tightly wrapped by animal skin strips hanging in front of their chests, giving them some feminine characteristics.
The underage barbarians, who accounted for 30% of the captives, were also burly. The height of the children was also similar to that of ordinary mainlanders in their prime. The strange thing was that there were only three to four barbarian elders who were very thin. Their bodies were hunched and they looked malnourished. The ribs hidden under the tattered and dirty animal skin could be faintly seen.
As a god who was a part-time biologist, Zhang Lisheng naturally understood what this abnormal age structure meant to a biological population.
His gaze swept across the young barbarians who were glaring at him but did not forget to struggle. In the end, he looked at the calmest and wisest among the barbarian elders and suddenly said in the northern border barbarian language, "Old man, looks like the livelihood of your tribe is not very rich."
"Your Majesty, in the Hardstone Highlands, even a large tribe with more than 100,000 people can't claim to be rich. We often have to starve in winter, let alone a small tribe like ours with only a few hundred people.
As soon as your army arrived, it razed our home … "When the old man reached here, a hint of hatred flashed across his eyes. Then, like a humble mainlander, he bowed down." I see that there are also short barbarians who look completely different from the 'flatlanders' under your command. They're wearing animal skin with bird feathers on their heads. You must be an enlightened monarch.
The Geguda Tribe is willing to serve a wise king like you. Please accept our loyalty. "
To the barbarians, the Hellfire tribesmen called the humans living in the Green Leaf Mainland 'mainlanders' while the Hardstone tribesmen called the humans in the mainland's civilized countries' flatlanders'. The two terms were different, but the target was the same.
To the mainland's civilized people, even though the Hellfire tribesmen and the Hardstone tribesmen were both barbarians, their meanings were completely different.
The Hellfire barbarians who were isolated and confined by the vast sea were like volcanoes. They might be peaceful for thousands of years without causing any harm to the mainland. Instead, they could provide many unique luxury specialties for the mainlanders.
However, once a powerful spiritual monster or headman appeared in the Hellfire Archipelago to unify several islands and point the spearhead at the mainland, the erupting volcano would cause a terrible loss to the civilized world in a very short time.
The Hardstone people living in the barren highlands were like a flood. Every time there was a disaster, they would form a coalition army and invade the mainland to plunder resources. In normal times, there would be barbarian tribes, either alone or in small groups, who would plunder the villages and towns of the inland countries. The harm they caused could be said to be endless, and it was impossible to guard against them.
Due to the different characteristics of these two barbarians, no matter how powerful the mainland civilized country was in history, none of them had ever incorporated an organized Hellfire army. On the other hand, there were many legends of the Hardstone people serving the powerful inland monarch for various reasons. Unfortunately, all of them ended in betrayal.
"It's no wonder that the people at the borders of the continent say that the barbarians of the Northern Borders are violent and fearless wolves.
The small tribes are the cunning and forbearing highland yellow foxes. " When Zhang Lisheng thought of this, he could not help but chuckle. "Are all of you willing to work for me because you're planning to chop off my head on the battlefield?"
"Everything we're doing is for the continuation of our tribe's legacy and for our ancestors to continue worshiping us. Naturally, we won't betray you at the risk of our tribe being exterminated. Besides, the great kings who have left their names in the annals of history are never afraid of betrayal, aren't they, Your Majesty?" The old man from the Barbarian Tribe was stunned for a moment before he said cunningly.
"You're right, but unfortunately, I'm not a king." Zhang Lisheng shook his head with a smile.
"Why would you lie to an old barbarian who is about to die? Your Majesty, if you weren't the king, the generals and soldiers here wouldn't be so respectful," said the old barbarian confidently.
"I didn't lie to you." Zhang Lisheng smiled at the old man and said faintly, "The reason why they're treating me so respectfully is not because I'm a king, but because I'm a god. For this reason, I don't need your loyalty. I only need your devout faith."
"God …" The barbarian old man's body froze. He raised his head and looked at the young man carefully. His expression gradually calmed down as he said with a smile, "You're really a bold 'non-believer'. Although the gods have not given any oracle to the mortal world for many years, who knows when they'll be resurrected …"
"As long as I'm here, they can never be resurrected! Never …" Zhang Lisheng interrupted the old man's words. His strong body slowly grew taller as yellow, blue, and red scales began to grow on his body. Both of his legs swelled up and merged together to form a huge snake tail. Looking down at the barbarian captives in front of him who were so shocked that they almost fainted, he said in a desolate and cold voice.
After annexing 80% of the land of the Green Leaf Mainland, the number of the Wizard Li god's believers had soared to about 2.4 billion. At this moment, when he revealed his true form, a natural phenomenon appeared within a radius of 100 miles. The soil on the ground rolled, and the vegetation grew in a twisted manner. Even the most ordinary green grass grew to the height of a person in just a few seconds.
Clouds and mist emerged in the sky, transforming into mountains, rivers, and ferocious giant beasts that seemed to want to crush and devour everything in the world.
"Y-You're really a god …" The old barbarian looked up at the Demon God in front of him who had a human upper body and a snake lower body. His tone was no longer slippery and cunning as he said in a trembling voice. He was not afraid of death, but he could not erase the reverence that came from the depths of a mortal's soul towards a supernatural creature.
When Zhang Lisheng saw that the old man was stunned by his sudden appearance of his true body, his voice changed right away as he said softly, "Mortal, not only am I a god, but my faith has also spread throughout the entire Green Leaf Mainland.
I promise you that if you believe in me and show your piety, you'll get everything you want, a rich life, a high status, powerful strength, a long life, eternal youth … "
The reason why he had prepared such a rich bait for such an insignificant northern border barbarian tribe with only a few hundred survivors was because he had the intention of 'buying a horse's bones with a thousand gold coins'.
Under the double bewitchment of the god's power and gentle attitude displayed by the young man, the old barbarian who had always been humble did not show any sign of being tempted. Instead, it was the few northern border barbarian teenagers who appeared to be the most stubborn and constantly resisting who had their eyes widened right away, with a slightly longing look on their faces.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Lisheng could not help but feel delighted. When he was about to continue his temptation, he suddenly saw the old barbarian chewing the tip of his tongue and regaining his consciousness right away. He spat out a mouthful of blood and mumbled an incantation vaguely, summoning the figure of an old man with antlers on his head and spotted deerskin on his body, holding a huge stone axe. With a loud 'weng weng weng', the old man slowly dispersed.
As the roar resonated, all of the northern border barbarians on the city wall jolted and snapped back to reality.
The old barbarian stood firmly and took a deep breath of the night air that was still warm. There was no longer any humble expression on his face as he looked into the Wizard Li God's eyes and said, "Your Majesty, the people living in the Hardstone Plateau for tens of thousands of years have only believed in their own ancestors. There's no exception even during the 'golden age' when hundreds of gods descended.
Please forgive us for not being able to offer our faith to you. "
Upon hearing the tribal elder's words, even though the barbarians were tied up tightly, they still straightened their spines. Even the five to six teenagers who were tempted by the Wizard Li God were no exception.
In their imagination, if they refused the request of a god, they would definitely be tortured or even have their heads chopped off. However, to their surprise, the human-headed, snake-tailed demon in front of them was not angry at all. Instead, he began to mutter to himself in a daze in a strange language that they could not understand.
After a few minutes, Zhang Lisheng finally snapped back to reality and returned to his human appearance. After turning the sand under his feet into a robe to cover his body, he waved his hand with a strange expression and ordered, "Lock these northern border barbarians into the dungeon. Oh, give them enough food and water, but don't treat them harshly."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Ever since the young man revealed his true form, a chief warrior among the hundreds of believers who had been kneeling on the ground replied in awe and commanded the soldiers to bring the barbarians down the city wall.
Looking at those tall and horrifying figures slowly disappearing under the bright moonlight, Zhang Lisheng looked at the general of the Tusala Citadel who was still kneeling at his feet. "Jitim …" Without warning, a warrior wearing a biological shell who had transformed into a humanoid giant bird flapped his wings and flew up to the city wall.
"Your Majesty, there's a secret letter from High Priest Tuan," The giant bird warrior kneeled on the ground and presented a half-foot-long scroll to Zhang Lisheng with both hands before reporting.
"Tuan's secret letter? Could it be that there's news of 'that person'?" The young man muttered to himself as he grabbed the scroll and opened it. When he saw that there was only an address written on it and no other words, a joyous expression crept upon his face.
After that, he put the scroll away and pondered for a moment. In the end, he still said the words that were stuck in his throat just now, "Jitim, order the scouts to regroup and take me to the barbarian tribe where they captured the captives."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The yellow-robed middle-aged man stood up and retreated. At the same time, Zhang Lisheng leaped down the city wall and landed on the wilderness outside the city.
Gently drawing a line on his chest with his right hand, a soil platform with a length and width of more than three meters with a thickness of less than half a foot slowly appeared under the young man's feet. Then, a soil giant with a flat face, only a pair of eyes and ears was born on each of the four corners of the soil platform, and struggled to carry it on his shoulders.
Sitting cross-legged on the soil platform, Zhang Lisheng looked up at the bright moon and calculated. After waiting for a while, the solid thick stone gate of the Tusala Citadel slid open silently. Thousands of elite scouts rode their mounts and galloped out, surrounding the soil platform.
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