As fellow orcs, the orcs of the Mountain Hunting Party sensed that the eagles and golden eagles circling their tribe were not real beasts.
It was actually a beastman in human form.
Songshan looked nervously at the orcs above him and said to his tribesmen, "Tell everyone not to come out unnecessarily."
After giving his instructions, he went to the priest's cave and told the mountain priest, Shanfeng, about what he had seen outside.
"Who cares who they are? Yamabe is already like this, how much worse can it get?"
The mountain wind felt utterly exhausted and shook its head with a sigh.
"The Mountain Tribe is now forced to fight against the Salt Tribe by the cannibals. Although the cannibals stole the salt yesterday, they didn't share any with our tribes. If we stop eating the salt, even without the cannibals or those bird-like beastmen from who-knows-where, the surrounding wolf packs can easily defeat us..."
Songshan was well aware of this principle, but he had no other choice.
The salt rocks in the mountains had long been used up; after all, there was none left after a whole winter.
They had originally planned to hunt some game in the spring and exchange it for salt stones from the Salt Tribe, but who knew that just as they had prepared the game, they were forced by the cannibals to fight against the Salt Tribe.
Disobeying means death.
Their mountain tribe was only slightly stronger than the Ze tribe, but not by much. The cannibals wiped out the Ze tribe in just one night, so wiping out their mountain tribe would only take a little longer than sunrise.
Even if you have a lot of lice, you won't be afraid of being bitten. Songshan has come to terms with it now.
They didn't care what those bird-like beastmen wanted to do; they didn't care what they did.
Although the chieftain and priests said nothing, the mountain tribe's orcs were still focused on the bird-like orcs circling in the sky.
This gave Shen Nong and his group an opportunity, and they entered the mountain stronghold more smoothly than they had expected.
The Priest's Cave is easy to find; the largest one in the tribe is definitely the Priest's Cave.
The chieftain's cave is second only to the priest's cave.
This time, the Wood Tribe had a clear objective: to kidnap the priest. So, the group, whose size was reduced by Shen Nong's shrinking spell, headed straight for the largest cave in the Mountain Tribe.
Shen Nong also discovered by chance that this shrinking spell had the effect of concealing one's aura.
Even after they reached the entrance to the mountain priest's cave, no orc sensed the orc presence of Hu Xiao and his companions.
"Why are there two people here?"
Tiger Roar looked at the two people in the cave, unsure which one was the priest.
Shen Nong observed for a moment and recognized the younger one as the priest. The man was holding a scepter, which was actually just a smooth wooden stick.
The other one had a fierce look, a tall stature, and exuded a brute force. There was also a hint of authority hidden between his brows, and he rarely smiled.
It is estimated to be the chieftain of the mountain tribe.
Shen Nong pointed at the seemingly weak young man and said, "Tie up that young and good-looking one."
Ze frowned slightly but remained silent. He set off before Tiger Roar could begin, and Shen Nong released the spell that shrunk his body the instant he moved.
Songshan felt a fierce force coming toward him. Although he sensed it, the opponent was too fast and appeared suddenly, leaving him no time to react.
The man moved incredibly fast, circling behind him. He felt a sharp pain in his neck, and then it felt as if his breath had been taken away.
He used his forearm to firmly lock the other person's neck, and with his other hand, he quickly dislocated both of the other person's arms.
With two snapping sounds, Songshan's arm was dislocated, hanging limply at his sides.
It moves so fast that it's impossible to defend against.
Matsuyama had no idea what was happening. He just saw a tall figure, and then he suddenly stopped breathing. Then his arm hurt so badly that he couldn't lift it at all, and even the slightest movement was excruciating.
To facilitate their movements, the spells on Tiger Roar, Rabbit Wind, and Cat Cloud were also lifted.
To prevent the uncontrolled priest from shouting, Shen Nong used her supernatural power to stimulate the growth of his hair. The thick hair seemed to come alive and slowly enveloped the lower half of Shan Feng's face.
The sight terrified Shanfeng, who didn't even have time to think about why so many people had suddenly appeared in the cave.
He was so startled by the sudden growth of his hair that he lost his voice. He tried to scream, but his throat felt like it was being gripped by a hand, and he couldn't make a sound until his hair completely covered the lower half of his face.
Shen Nong looked at the person being controlled by Ze. Although she guessed his identity, she still asked again to confirm, "Are you the chieftain of the Mountain Tribe?"
Songshan was in excruciating pain, his face was flushed from lack of air, and his head was buzzing. He had no time to reply.
Ze loosened his grip on Matsuyama's neck slightly, allowing Matsuyama to catch his breath and desperately inhale fresh air.
He nudged the other's arm, causing Matsuyama to feel a sharp pain that made his vision go black. "Answer."
Matsuyama gritted his teeth, but the pain was too much to make a sound, so he could only nod weakly.
Shen Nong chuckled, walked to Ze's side, and patted his arm. "Loosen your grip a little. We have something to talk about. Don't strangle him."
The obedient one relaxed a little more, leaning his body slightly towards Shen Nong to shield her from view, fearing that Song Shan might suddenly attack and injure the priest.
Shen Nong took in Ze's actions without saying a word.
After taking a deep breath, Songshan asked in a hoarse voice, "Who are you?"
“I am a priest of the Wood Tribe. I have come to the Mountain Tribe to ask for your help, Chief.” Shen Nong did not keep you in suspense and directly stated her purpose. “I know that the Mountain Tribe does not sincerely want to help the cannibals. I have come here to give you another way to go.”
"What road?"
Shen Nong said seriously, "Of course it's thanks to our Wood Tribe, but on the surface you're still helping the cannibals."
Songshan chuckled as if he'd heard a joke. "Heh, the Wood Tribe. Entering the tribal priest's cave without making a sound, it seems there's a reason why the cannibal priest Wuming hasn't dared to use force against you."
He then changed the subject, "But why should I help you? What you're doing is no different from cannibalism."
Shen Nong gave him a "How could you say that?" look and disagreed, saying, "Of course it's different. If you follow me, you're one of our little brothers, and the big brother will protect his little brother. If the little brother needs salt, the big brother will give it to you. Can cannibals protect you or give you salt?"
Chapter 51 The Great Black Panther
If you work with the eldest brother, you'll have plenty of salt.
Songshan began to wonder if he had been strangled by the tall orc behind him, otherwise why couldn't he understand what the man was saying?
What does that mean?
Do they have rock salt?
It's true that the mountain tribe lacks salt, but he's not unaware of that either.
The small tribe, which had been different before, suddenly became different after the arrival of a priest. The cannibalistic priest, for some reason, dared not do anything to the Wood tribe.
However, this does not mean that Songshan would believe that this small tribe could produce enough salt to feed their entire mountain tribe.
That's quite a lot.
Apart from the Salt Tribe, no other tribe could do it.
Songshan scoffed, not believing it at all. "Hmph, give us salt stones? How many salt stones can you give us? One or two?"
He paused, then seemed to remember something, and let out another cold laugh.
"If I remember correctly, the chieftain of the Salt Tribe declared that no tribe is allowed to exchange salt stones with the Wood Tribe privately. Otherwise, they would be going against the Salt Tribe and would never be allowed to trade salt stones with the Salt Tribe again."
Matsuyama felt a surge of shame and anger at being tricked, and he was also angry at himself for being so useless, not even noticing that someone was approaching.
His tone was harsh, and because his neck was being choked, his voice was rough and hoarse: "Do whatever you want, don't lie to me about the salt stones."
The mountain tribe is currently lacking salt rocks the most, and Songshan dreams of having enough salt rocks.
He couldn't bear being deceived with salt, given hope, and then plunged into despair.
Just like cannibals.
Songshan always believed that the cannibals forced them to attack the Salt Department and seize the Salt Mountain in order to share the salt stones with them.
That wasn't the case.
They didn't see a single salt rock.
But they dared not say anything and could only watch helplessly as the cannibals took all the salt stones back.
Matsuyama hated his own incompetence, and he also hated the cannibals who forced them to live.
But he had no way to solve it.
We still don't know what happened, but we've angered the Wood Tribe again. Ever since they got a new priest, the Wood Tribe has become mysterious.
Moreover, their strength should not be underestimated; otherwise, when the Wood Tribe refused to help the Salt Tribe, the Salt Tribe would have already defeated them by brute force. But the Salt Tribe did not; they simply announced that no tribe was allowed to trade salt stones with the Wood Tribe.
At this moment, Songshan clearly realized that whether it was the cannibals, the Salt Tribe, or even the Wood Tribe standing in front of him.
He was no match for them.
This sense of powerlessness is despairing, like an endless darkness with no end in sight. You don't know which way to go, and you dare not take any steps.
He relaxed his body as if resigned to his fate, and whispered, "What exactly do you want...? The Mountain Tribe is just a small tribe..."
Shen Nong, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up, "I never lie."
The firm voice and serious expression left Songshan stunned for a long time.
Matsuyama snapped out of his daze and gritted his teeth, saying, "Impossible."
Shen Nong didn't want to waste his breath on this issue. He waved his finger at Hu Xiao, signaling to bring the mountain tribe priest over.
"I will have some salt stones delivered tomorrow, but your priest will have to come with me to the Wood Tribe."
Shen Nong moved slightly closer to Song Shan and looked at his angry expression. She couldn't help but sigh. "I don't want to use such methods either, but the cannibals and the Salt Tribe won't give the Wood Tribe much time. I must break the current situation as quickly as possible and fight for the Wood Tribe's final chance of survival."
You don't have much time left either; the cannibals and the Salt Tribe won't be locked in a stalemate for long.
As she spoke, Shen Nong's tone became more forceful, "Mountain Tribe Chief, I'll give you a day to think it over. But whether you agree or not, until the conflict between the cannibals and the Salt Tribe ends, your priests will stay in my Wood Tribe for a while."
Shen Nong explained everything beforehand so that Songshan would have a clear understanding.
Their visit to the mountain tribe cannot be spread so quickly; using the priest as a threat is the best course of action.
The priest is just as important to a tribe as the beast god is to the beast world.
"So, keep your mouth shut. I don't want the other tribes to know about what happened today."
After Shen Nong finished speaking, she told Ze to release the other party and prepared to leave with the mountain tribe priest.
Before leaving, Ze reattached Songshan's arm. Shen Nong walked to the cave entrance and imitated a clear bird call, a secret signal he had agreed upon with the Feather Tribe beastmen.
Upon hearing the bird's call, they withdrew from the airspace above the mountain village.