Chapter 89
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Chapter 89: Barbarian Bear Tribe
Early the next morning, Luo Jin returned to the tribal camp, covered in wind and snow, bringing back news that left Luo Ji with mixed feelings.
“Tribe Leader, it’s the Barbarian Bear Tribe!”
“Barbarian Bear Tribe?”
“Before the blizzard several months ago, the Barbarian Bear Tribe was the strongest tribe in that entire region. Their population reached over three hundred people!”
Upon hearing this number, Luo Ji frowned instantly.
If this was true, then the Barbarian Bear Tribe was likely the first large tribe he had encountered so far.
Its population was even greater than the combined total of his Mirror Tribe and the Black Rock Tribe!
Even with his advantage in weapons and equipment, fighting such a large, populous tribe would likely not be an easy victory.
The greatest possibility was that it would directly turn into a prolonged war, with them relying on combat power while the opponent relied on numbers.
This was quite similar to the “human wave tactics” versus “elite troop tactics” in a game, two different styles of combat, each with its own advantages.
It was truly hard to say who would win or lose.
“For some unknown reason, the Barbarian Bear Tribe also seems to have left their original settlement.”
“The barbarians who appeared outside our tribe earlier were probably sent by them to scout.”
Upon hearing this, Luo Ji’s brows furrowed even deeper, almost twisting into a knot.
“Compared to our tribe, how strong is this Barbarian Bear Tribe?”
Luo Ji originally thought Luo Jin would confidently say that they had a higher chance of winning.
Unexpectedly, this question made Luo Jin fall into deep thought.
After carefully considering for several minutes, he finally spoke with a frown.
“It’s hard to say.”
This truly surprised Luo Ji.
As an important member of the tribe, Luo Jin should know their tribe’s strength.
Yet, under this premise, Luo Jin’s answer was “hard to say?!”
As one of the first people he encountered after coming to this other world, he understood Luo Jin.
Luo Jin was the kind of person who based every judgment on certain evidence.
Without evidence, he would not speak casually.
And just now, for him to give the answer “hard to say,” it could only mean that the Barbarian Bear Tribe was indeed very strong, making it difficult for him to judge who would win when comparing the strengths of the two sides.
Realizing this, a solemn expression immediately appeared on Luo Ji’s face.
Then he looked at the map spread between them.
“So, this Barbarian Bear Tribe has set up camp at this location?”
As he spoke, Luo Ji pointed to a mark on the map and cast a questioning gaze at Luo Jin.
Luo Jin nodded.
“Yes, the camp has been set up.”
“However, the distance between them and our tribe is actually quite safe.”
“It would take more than half a day to travel one-way from the Mirror Tribe to their newly established camp.”
“It’s likely that the Barbarian Bear Tribe’s scouts discovered the hyena pack in this area and did not want to get entangled with them, so they deliberately retreated a distance.”
“Based on my judgment, they should avoid our tribe’s area for a short period.”
Luo Jin’s analysis was largely consistent with his own judgment.
He had not expected that the hyena pack, which had been acting like ruffians outside their tribe, would unexpectedly help them a little.
Of course, this was not enough to change Luo Ji’s desire to only see them in animal specimen and fossil museums.
In any case, the novice protection period was nearing its end.
According to his original plan, he would concentrate on preparing for battle for the remaining month or so.
The number of stone projectiles and arrows, which were consumables, was still insufficient and needed to be stockpiled.
Leather armor also needed to be produced faster, striving to equip every warrior in the tribe within a month.
He had too many things to do and truly had no desire to go to war with a Barbarian Bear Tribe whose population was even larger than theirs.
What if the novice protection period ended, and the war between the two tribes had not concluded?
When invading players entered, would he not be caught between two fires?
Thinking of this, Luo Ji immediately made a decision.
“For now, don’t worry about the Barbarian Bear Tribe.”
“Go to the training camp and the hunting team and tell everyone to remain vigilant during patrols and hunts.”
“If you encounter people from the Barbarian Bear Tribe, as long as they don’t actively provoke us, then let’s not ask for trouble.”
“Try to retreat as much as possible.”
Luo Ji’s decision was quite decisive, and its meaning was evident.
No matter what, everything could wait until he survived the upcoming challenge a month later.
Before that, he did not want to find any more trouble or add unstable factors.
Perhaps the heavens saw that his bad luck had cleared up for a while and decided to give him a break, or perhaps the notorious ancient ruffians were simply too intimidating.
In the following period, the people of the Barbarian Bear Tribe, as Luo Jin analyzed, deliberately avoided the area where hyena packs might be active, showing no intention of approaching.
This allowed Luo Ji to enjoy a relatively peaceful farming period.
As the end of the novice protection period drew closer, Luo Ji, who had been relatively calm, gradually began to feel some tension, experiencing a sense of pre-war anxiety.
After all, he knew nothing about the player enemies who might invade.
To further increase his confidence, he used “meritorious service in hunting hyenas” as a reason to award the five newly made wolf bone masks to Black Jackal and four other tribal warriors who were very skilled and good at charging into battle.
With this, excluding himself, the number of wolf warriors under Luo Ji reached twelve.
Then, after equipping them with sturdy leather armor, Luo Ji’s confidence immediately grew significantly.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Gao Su, as the senior who had brought Luo Ji into the game, was clearly quite concerned about his future ally.
He calculated the time and, one week before the end of the novice protection period, sent a message asking about Luo Ji’s situation.
“How’s the development coming along? Are you confident?”
“Five archers, five slingers, nineteen melee warriors, plus a city wall.”
Luo Ji did not hide his current troop configuration, since it was not a secret that needed to be kept.
At this moment, Gao Su, who was in the real world, choked on the coffee he had just drunk the moment he saw this message.
A hint of disbelief flashed in his eyes.
“A city wall?”
“You built a city wall in six months?!”
This message conveyed disbelief in every word, leaving Luo Ji unsure how to respond.
“To be precise, it was built more than a month ago. The system notification called it an ancient city wall.”
“…”
Seeing the new message, Gao Su extravagantly sent an ellipsis, and then, there was nothing more.
Damn it, he worried about this beast for nothing!
