*Rustle rustle rustle…*
Inside the forest, a team of people was advancing quickly, their forms constantly brushing against the surrounding trees, making rustling sounds.
The sound of their rapid movement formed a stark contrast with the calls of the beasts within the forest.
"Hurry up. Quickly move forward!" Kai had been leading the way at the front.
Indeed, this group of people in the forest was from the Giant Bear Tribe, and they had set out with plenty of dried meat.
This group consisted of over sixty people, half of whom were Totem Warriors and half were Warrior Trainees.
The Chieftain of the Giant Bear Tribe had already agreed to the Flame Dragon Tribe’s request, so they had brought out Sweet Grain and dried meat to exchange with the Flame Dragon Tribe.
"Is it really ahead? It feels like there’s no path ahead," Kuang asked suspiciously.
He was a Mid-Stage Totem Warrior from the Giant Bear Tribe, a Demi-Human, part bear, with a height of about 1.9m, and a very robust build. His lower body was covered in dark brown bear hide, and around his neck hung many Beast Bone necklaces, seven or eight in total.
The expression on his face looked quite fierce, with thick eyebrows pressing tightly above his eyes, his square face paired with short brown hair looked particularly ferocious.
He also wore several Beast Bone bracelets on his arms which made crisp sounds as he walked.
"It’s just ahead, we made markings, so we remember." Kai stated confidently.
When they were returning from the Flame Dragon Tribe, they had been making markings along the way, precisely because they were afraid of not finding their way back. Or, if they got lost in the forest and could not get out, they could try and return. After all, the forest was so vast that getting lost was a common occurrence.
"How much longer do we need to walk? The sky is getting dark." Kuang asked, looking up at the sky.
"Probably about two more days. If we move quickly, a day and a half will do." Li said calmly.
She had come along mainly to guide the way and to visit the Flame Dragon Tribe once more.
Since returning to the Giant Bear Tribe, she had been constantly thinking about the Flame Dragon Tribe, whether it was the environment or the food.
"A day and a half if we move quickly?" Kuang raised his eyebrows slightly, nodding thoughtfully before continuing, "Then let’s move quickly, that way we can shorten the time by half a day."
He did not want to spend too much time travelling; if time could be shortened, then shorten it, so that time could be used for other important matters.
"Alright," Li nodded.
The sixty-plus people in the forest continued to advance rapidly, much faster than their usual steady pace. Despite the rugged terrain throughout the forest, with mud and rocks everywhere making it impossible to walk properly.
But the speed of these sixty-plus people was not slow at all, and no one dared to waste time or lag behind.
Four hours later, the sky began to darken, and night enveloped the entire forest.
Various animal sounds echoed throughout the forest, some particularly loud.
From time to time, there were also the screams of beasts and the sounds of beasts running, filling the entire forest with an eerie, dangerous atmosphere.
"Let’s stop and rest. We’ll continue early tomorrow morning." Kuang ordered, raising his hand.
"Yes." The others from the Giant Bear Tribe immediately responded.
The sixty-plus people took off their Animal Hide Bags, some setting up Teepees, some collecting firewood, and others going out hunting.
Everyone was working according to their roles. Luo felt more at ease seeing this; otherwise, being in constant fear like before was really too exhausting.
This time, with the Tribe’s Totem Warriors present, they would protect everyone, so he definitely felt more secure.
"Tonight, we’ll definitely eat our fill." Luo began to anticipate, rubbing his round, plump belly.
"You think about eating every day, think more about how to talk to the people of the Flame Dragon Tribe." Lan rolled her eyes.
"What’s there to think about? With Uncle Kuang here, we don’t need to worry about these things, we just need to guide the way and leave everything to him." Luo waved his hand dismissively.
All four of them had come along, all for the purpose of guiding the way, otherwise relying on just one or two people could easily lead to problems.
With all four people, there was a guarantee. After the four people unified their opinions, they would move forward, making it less likely to make mistakes.
"You! You! Hmph! I don’t even want to talk to you anymore!" Lan didn’t want to waste her breath, as conversations with him always ended up .
"I wonder how the Flame Dragon Tribe is doing after we’ve been away for so long?" Luo said, looking up at the sky.
The chubby boy somewhat missed the delicacies of the Flame Dragon Tribe. At that time, it was the rainy season, so they had not eaten a variety of foods. So, he was wondering if the Flame Dragon Tribe would have different food when it was not the rainy season? If so, that would be wonderful.
Although they had stayed in the Flame Dragon Tribe for a few days after the rainy season ended, they had not eaten anything different.
"I only care about how much ceramics we can exchange for the things we brought out, that’s the most important thing." Lan was not concerned about how the Flame Dragon Tribe had changed. She was looking forward to the ceramics, even wondering if she could own one herself.
"That’s none of our business, the ceramics won’t be ours anyway." Luo continued to wave his hand dismissively.
"Who can say for certain? What if we really do get some?" Lan said. She was still hopeful. To her, people should have something to look forward to, otherwise what was the point of living each day?
"I only care about food, the food at the Flame Dragon Tribe is the best after all," Luo began to drool a little.
"I seriously can’t be bothered with you…" Lan rolled her eyes.