Chapter 270 – Regretful Gasol
Zhao Hai wasn’t in a hurry after discovering Gasol, however. He started to slow down. They could catch up to Gasol after 2 hours, but it wouldn’t be nightfall by then, so it would be very bad for his attack. In any case, Gasol was a level 8 powerhouse. Without Zhao Wen and Cai-Er’s help, he wouldn’t be able to suppress him in a short amount of time.
Meanwhile, Zhao Hai was also thinking about how to deal with the Large-Horned Raging Bull Tribe’s people. Now that the tribe had lost most of its youths, this matter would definitely be a disaster for them.
If they were taken away by Gasol as they were, they would surely end up as slaves. But if Gasol didn’t care about them, their days would not be any better. Winter was about to arrive, so without the majority of their youths, there was no way they could prepare enough feeding gra.s.ses, and they had not yet migrated to a place where they could withstand the coldness of the winter. In such circ.u.mstances, it was unlikely that they would survive this winter.
Zhao Hai was sitting inside the wagon while looking at Laura with a frown, “What do you think we should do, Laura? How should we treat the Large-Horned Raging Bull Tribe’s people?”
Laura’s brows curled as she said, “They are now considered slaves. Even if we save them, their lives will not be any better. Instead, they will still become slaves if they come across other tribes. This is a really tough matter.”
Zhao Hai sighed, “As I suspected. The prairie has its own rules, but I didn’t expect that when a tribe has lost and becomes enslaved, sometimes that can be their only chance at life. What should we do with these people? Send them to Iron Mountain Castle as slaves?”
Laura was at a loss as well. Unlike the situations before where the slaves had been bought, and didn’t have any loyalty issues, the Large-Horned Raging Bull Tribe’s people were people who had been defeated in combat before being made slaves. It was hard to tell how many of them would be willing to become their slaves.
Laura looked at Zhao Hai, “Hai-bro, how about we bring them to West Wonder King’s place? If we deliver them to him, won’t they be able to safely get through this winter?”
Zhao Hai shook his head, “No. Right now, we still don’t know about his stance towards the attack on the Herculean Bull Tribe. Even if we find him, we’ll still have to observe him instead of making an immediate approach. If we bring the Large-Horned Raging Bull Tribe’s people, how will we explain where they are coming from? If we say they were seized by force, then whose hands did we seize them from? How? Besides, will West Wonder King think that we’re outside help, just like the humans hired by the Fighting Bull Tribe? The prairie has its own rules. If we just put our hands around inadvertently, it will not end well.”
Just then, Meg spoke, “What are you thinking so much about, young master? They have nowhere else to go right now, and they are considered slaves, so let them be our slaves. They won’t run away after being put into the castle, and nothing will happen if grandpa Greene keeps watch. We also have enough food to feed them, so why not?”
Zhao Hai was stunned for a bit, while Laura nodded, “That’s the best solution thus far. Gasol and his men attacked them and made them his slaves. We defeat Gasol, get his spoils, and they will become our slaves. Then, whatever we do to them is our business, and Iron Mountain Castle is an enclosed environment. It just so happens that putting them there can make them get used to life over there. There won’t be any problems as long as they don’t run away.”
Zhao Hai nodded his head. He had finally discovered something different from Earth in Ark Continent: people who had been given a slave status would be treated as merchandise and sorted at will. It was already inappropriate to view them from the angle that everyone was equal.
Zhao Hai had been thinking to release them after their rescue, but he had never thought that they had already become slaves, who were to be treated as other people willed whether they liked it or not.
If they were slaves, it wouldn’t be hard for Zhao Hai to process them. With Greene and Cai-Er’s supervision and the undead creatures guarding Iron Mountain Castle, the Large-Horned Raging Bull tribesmen would expect to leave? It would be almost impossible.
Zhao Hai nodded, “Very well then. Let’s do that. I don’t think they’ll be able to run away while grandpa Greene and the others are handling them.
Laura nodded, “We’ll have to notify them and let them make preparations. It’s more than 1000 people, after all. Preparations will be necessary.”
Zhao Hai nodded and turned to Meg. “Meg, go tell grandpa Greene about it, or else they might have their hands tied.” After that, he sent Meg into the s.p.a.ce, and from there to Iron Mountain Castle.
Zhao Hai and the others didn’t stop. They just moved slowly in Gasol’s direction. He knew that Gasol couldn’t possibly be in a hurry at night, and he would surely stop and take a rest. If Gasol stopped, Zhao Hai could attack immediately.
As the sky gradually darkened, Zhao Hai’s convoy pushed forward, while the blood hawks were still tracking Gasol’s movements in the sky. Perhaps it was due to how Gasol wanted to reach West Wonder King’s place sooner that he and his men didn’t stop at night. Instead, their wagons had lit torches placed on them.
Although this was somewhat out of Zhao Hai’s expectations, it turned out to be much easier for the blood hawks to track him down, because beastmen didn’t usually rush around at night.
As the sky turned completely back, Zhao Hai knew it was time to make his move, as there wouldn’t be any beastmen that might come and witness the fighting between him and Gasol right now. Whether or not Gasol was rus.h.i.+ng was no longer important.
Zhao Hai’s convoy increased its speed while he unleashed his undead creatures. He didn’t release undead beasts this time, because they were protecting Black Wastelands. Instead, he released the newly-acquired 1500 fighting bull and 2000 jackal cavalry.
Also not being released were the undead mercenaries. They were infantry, so their speed would never be as fast as that of cavalry. Zhao Hai put the convoy into the s.p.a.ce, while he, Laura and Nier sat inside Xenomorph’s body.
Because Wales wasn’t around them this time, all the undead creatures present besides Xenomorph were in their zombie state.
Gasol was sitting gloomily on the back of his mount while his escorts were maintaining the order of his march. Most of his convoy were the weak and elderly, so their speed wasn’t fast. Just a while ago, he had killed an elderly large-horned raging bull because he couldn’t walk any longer due to his age. This infuriated the raging bull tribesmen deeply, but they didn’t dare to voice their rage.
The large-horned raging bulls knew about the rules of the prairie. They were now Gasol’s properties, and Gasol was the one in charge of their survival. Unless they could win against him, they had no choice but to accept their slavery.
Gasol felt like he was about to go insane, and truly so. He didn’t understand why things would turn out like this. The Fighting Bull Tribe, which had been on good terms with him, had suddenly occupied his main camp. When Gasol had heard the news, he had been angered to the point of vomiting blood where he stood.
It was then that Gasol had finally understood that he had fallen into the Fighting Bull Tribe’s trap from the beginning. He knew that he was finished, and would never be able to return to the Herculean Bull Tribe, so he wanted to find West Wonder King.
West Wonder King had never been satisfied with the way the current fighting bull chieftain did things. With the support of Herculean Bull Tribe, he had broken away from the chieftain’s rule and been opposed to it ever since. Gasol hoped that he could use this to borrow some troops to fight against the Fighting Bull Tribe to the very end.
It wasn’t until now that Gasol finally had a trace of regret. He truly regretted killing his father, and he felt that he really shouldn’t have hunted Wales and Mendez down.
It had also dawned upon him now that the 1500 fighting bull cavalry which he had borrowed from the Fighting Bull Tribe would have been his killers if they hadn’t been killed killed by Wales and the others.
Gasol had been blinded by power, and his logic had been overcome by greed. When he thought about the things he had done, there was only endless regret.
Yet now, he had no face to see Wales. He just wanted to borrow some troops to launch a suicidal attack on the Fighting Bull Tribe in the hopes of making up for his crimes.
Right now, Gasol was just like a gambler who had lost his fortunes, with only his own life left. The only thing he could do was throw his life at his enemies.
The first reason was that he thought it was likely that he would be able to borrow troops while West Wonder King was at odds with the fighting bull chieftain. The second was that he wanted to weaken West Wonder King’s strength. His loss made him realize a lot of things which he hadn’t been able to before. He knew that West Wonder King wasn’t a truly dependable individual either. If West Wonder King were to be in power one day, he would likely threaten the rule of the Herculean Bull Tribe. And so, he wanted to borrow some troops in order to weaken West Wonder King’s strength.
Gasol had also thought about whether or not he could really borrow the troops, but at this point, he could only hope for the best. He thought that the chances of borrowing the troops would be high. If he didn’t put pressure on the Fighting Bull Tribe’s forces, West Wonder King wouldn’t have easier days. Certainly, West Wonder King would not risk his own life to fight against the fighting bull chieftain. He should, however, be willing to see that Gasol was raring to go against the chieftain.