No obstacles were encountered. The commanders of both the Tiger Clan and the Lion Clan guarding the important passages, after carefully examining the communication documents delivered by the Rangers in advance, ordered the guards on duty to remove the obstacles and release the heavily armed team.

There is no need to think about supplies, and the checkpoints and walled cities along the way will provide food for free. The quality of the food can only be described as average, but it guarantees a considerable amount of meat, as well as salt, which is considered invaluable to many remote city residents.

"This is a rule that the United Tribal Congress has been in place for many years. All clan members are required to provide food free of charge to military personnel who travel to or from Suolong Pass. In the event of a large-scale attack by white Southerners, the food standard was raised to the highest level. ”

Halfway through, Liao Qiu gulped down a piece of thick dough cake with meat. This is the territory of the lion tribe, and the wheat flour of the cake has very little ingredients, most of it is cornmeal and potato flour, and it tastes very rough.

"The highest food grade?" Tianhao heard this statement for the first time and was very interested.

"The soldiers who go to war must be fed so that they can have strength." Liao Qiu picked up the leather bag with water at his feet, poured a big mouthful, and wiped the corners of his mouth with the back of his hand: "This is part of the wartime standard, and the other is fat and meat, which must account for half of the food supplied, and in addition to this, there must be salt, if you really can't get it, you can also use honey instead." ”

A hint of surprise flashed in the depths of Tianhao's calm eyes.

It's a truly nutritious meal that ensures calories. The structure of military food in the era of civilization is much more complex than this, but in terms of basic theory and composition, there is not much difference between the two.

Combined with the current situation, Tianhao slowly shook his head, frowned and asked, "Can it really be done to this extent?" Fifty percent of the fat and meat...... What if a village happens to be on the marching route, with only a few hundred inhabitants and thousands of soldiers, and the supply cannot meet the demand in any case? ”

"They must give!" Liao Qiu replied categorically: "Even if everyone in the stockade is killed, they must come up with food that satisfies the army first." ”

Tianhao was a little skeptical: "Will you really do this?" ”

"There has been a precedent before." Liao Qiu opened his mouth and took a big bite of the cake, and replied vaguely: "I haven't seen it with my own eyes many years ago, and I've heard others talk about it. It seems that it is a certain village of the Tiger Clan or the Lion Clan, in order to provide food for the Eagle Clan who reinforce the Dragon Pass, the leader of the stockade killed everyone, and finally he committed suicide in public. Since then, the kings of the tribes have changed their regulations and drawn a fixed route of march within their realms. There were no small villages along the way, only cities with a population of more than 10,000, and the army heading to Suolong Pass had to send someone in advance to get in touch with the local city lord to get them ready. ”

Tianhao bowed slightly.

It is not for nothing that barbarians can survive tenaciously and gather in groups on this vast land.

Although they are ignorant, they know how to make trade-offs and are willing to make sacrifices for the sake of the overall situation.

He suddenly couldn't wait to see the legendary pass.

……

At night, the "Obsidian" finally sailed into the southern seas.

In this era, there was no "high sea" in the true sense of the word, and the definition of the south and the north in the sea area was also very vague, far less obvious than that of Suolongguan. Both whites and barbarians knew how to use the compass, but in terms of navigation and shipbuilding technology, the whites had long left the northern barbarians far behind.

The flotilla of two ships, one large and one small, began to slow down in the morning and sailed until dusk, when Zhengjiang ordered a "temporary stay" in this strange sea area in the language of the flag. This caused a flurry on the Obsidian, and the sailors speculated whether it was a barbarian or something new. Bob and Stewart hurriedly made a soothing personal comment in the crowd————I think they just wanted to bring the goods and supplies over, nothing more."

They are hidden among the sailors, and they will not easily reveal their identities until the critical moment. Bonnard and Elizabeth were currently public enemies in the eyes of all sailors, and it was known that they were very close to the northern barbarians. Elizabeth, in particular, even became the pet of the Giant Lord.

The night is getting deeper.

On the pitch-black sea, the huge "Great Viper" began to move closer to the "Obsidian". Cables were thrown through the air, two ships were tied together, and temporary passages were built with iron locks and planks, and the atmosphere was solemn in the darkness and silence.

Broken Tooth had adapted to the rocking and bumpy life on the deck, and he tapped his finger lightly on the shoulder of the second officer of the "Obsidian" and said English with a thick local accent: "Let everyone go up to the deck to carry things, move quickly." ”

The moon kept moving through the depths of the dark clouds, and the light was bright or dark, obscuring the two faces. This thoughtful man showed flattery on his face, facing the broken teeth standing in front of him like a mountain, he buried his hatred and killing intent deep in his heart, promised on his lips, and at the same time nodded and asked, "I'll let people inform them...... My lord, the cargo hold on the ship is full, what else do you want to move? ”

"Furs, gold, and precious stones." Broken Tooth grinned widely, and he held his stomach in both hands, his expression of kindness was natural. He has maintained this friendly attitude since he went to sea: "This is the goods that the lord has given to Elizabeth, and it is also a compensation for you. ”

The second mate was stunned for a few seconds, and then asked uncertainly, "...... Compensate? ”

"We don't have the habit of killing people casually." Broken Tooth chuckled and explained in the simplest and most convincing way: "There are so many lies in this world that you have to see with your own eyes and try for yourself to know if it's true or false." Hehe...... Let's take cannibalism as an example, after living in the village for so long, have you seen who we treat as a snack? ”

The second mate subconsciously shook his head, his expression was a little dazed———— Broken Tooth didn't lie, he really hadn't seen these barbaric giants feed on human flesh.

"Do what you have to do!" Broken Tooth smiled, and months of studying English gave him the ability to communicate with white people: "I'll have to go when I move my things." If you have a chance in the future, you are welcome to come to the north as a guest. ”

Looking at the tall back of him who turned to leave, the second mate was slightly distracted.

For the first time, he wondered if he had made the wrong decision?

Maybe things aren't as complicated as you think.

Barbarian...... In fact, you can be friends too?

The sailors soon gathered on deck, they were surrounded by dozens of tall barbarians, and many more jumped along the gang of boats, increasing in number.

Zheng Jiang approached the broken tooth standing beside him, smiled and asked in a low voice, "Are you all here?" ”

Broken Tooth had already counted the number of people, and he nodded understandingly, and the smile against the huge fangs was equally hideous: "One is not less." ”

The Obsidian was enveloped by an oppressive atmosphere, and humanity did have a mysterious sense of potential danger, and although it was not clear, the sailors could see some clues in the eyes of these unkind giants. Fear spread through the crowd, and they began to whisper and panic.

The second mate felt that his heart was beating hard, he took a step forward with courage, looked at the broken tooth with expectant and frightened eyes, and asked expectantly, "...... My lord...... As you commanded, the rest of the people are here, except for the helmsman and lookout. ”

Bob is the helmsman and Stuart is the lookout, which is an important position on the ship, especially when the two ships are docked, and must be manned.

Broken Tooth slowly pulled out the long-handled battle axe that was stuck diagonally in his back, and let out a hearty laugh: "Very good, I will cut off your head as soon as possible, so that you can die without pain." ”

He said this in English and pronounced it accurately.

Suddenly, all the sailors were in confusion at once.

"What, he's going to kill us?"

"No, that's not true. I want to go home...... I don't want to die, I want to go home! ”

"Oh my God, we've been deceived."

"Jump into the sea, it's safer there than on the boat!"

The sharp tomahawk slashed diagonally from the air, with a scalp-numbing whistle, and directly sliced the two pairs into two disconnected pieces. Broken Tooth proved himself to be an honest and trustworthy man, and he did die without pain, at most with some fear, and this terrible feeling penetrated the soul of the deceased and could never be erased.

Masae strode into the crowd, reached out and grabbed the shoulder of a sailor who had fled with his back to him, and the steel knife in his right hand avoided the hard bone part and stabbed the opponent's flank, the tip of the knife piercing through the slightly lower part of the chest.

A very reactive sailor quickly rushed to the side of the ship and plunged into the sea, where night and the sea were indeed the best cover, but he was not protected by the god of luck and could not escape the barbarian archers standing on the "Viper". They had already chosen their targets with their crossbows, and two arrows fired from different positions whistled and pierced through the sailor's body in the air, and he screamed and suddenly changed his posture and jumped out, like a bird shot by a hunter, and rolled in the air, falling heavily into the sea, splashing countless bloody waves.

The sailors were defenseless.

The friendly conversation between Broken Tooth and the second mate made them let their guard down, no one carried a weapon with them, and everyone was fascinated by the imaginary valuable goods. Fur, gold, precious stones...... These intoxicating words sound so good. Elizabeth deserves to die, but no one will refuse to fill her pockets with shiny gold coins before she cuts off her head and asks the local nobles for credit.

Anyway, the savage giants always have to leave, and not far in front of them is the maritime cordon of the white kingdom, where there is a huge fleet patrolling, and even if the "Great Viper" has strong protection capabilities, it will not be able to stop the salvo of up to hundreds of guns.

We are safe.

We're almost home.

Zhengjiang slashed off the head of a sailor with his backhand, and laughed fiercely in the blood splattered like a spring: "Kill them all, and leave no one behind!" ”

This carnage could not be considered a battle at all, and the barbarians all had the upper hand regardless of height or physique.

The "Obsidian" had to be manned to get to this position, and for the barbarians, the white ships of the South were too small, like an adult playing with a baby toy that would break if he was not careful, so the sailors had to be kept for the time being and let them play their last worth.

They must die.

Anyone other than Bonnard, Bob and Stewart, who were implanted with spores, could leak secrets.

The killing did not last long, and for the battle-hardened barbarian elite, this task was not difficult.

Soon, the deck was littered with corpses.

Masae bent down to grab a dying sailor from the ground, stared at each other up close in the cold moonlight, he ignored the sailor's cries and pleadings, dragged him to the side of the ship, pushed his upper body out, pressed the sailor's back with his left hand, slashed down with the steel knife in his right hand, and the cry stopped abruptly, and the head separated from his neck fell to the sea.

The cleanup was simple, and as the bodies were thrown into the sea, the sharks were drawn to the smell of blood. These hungry creatures swirled around the ships and tore at each other, Broken Tooth and Masae commanding their men to beat the sea water with wooden barrels and wash away the blood on the deck.

Leaving ten barbarian sailors behind, Masae led the rest back to the "Great Viper", loosened the iron locks and cables, and gradually separated the distance between the two ships.

Operating a sea vessel in a short time, there are certainly no problems with controlling the "Obsidian". The sea is calm, and there is still some distance from the naval blockade of the white kingdom. Broken Tooth commanded the group to change course and sail west.

In the second half of the night, I faintly saw the outline of the land.

This is a secret bay recorded in the diary of the former captain of the Obsidian. There is no reef nearby, so you can easily drive the boat in according to the charts drawn in the diary. Importantly, this place is far from Suolong Pass, and has penetrated deep into the hinterland of the white kingdom.

Elizabeth walked out of the cabin with Bonnard in her company. Although she hadn't witnessed the previous killings, she heard shouts of slaughter outside and smelled the blood remaining on the deck.

Broken Tooth walked up to her and said seriously, "We've got to the place." According to the lord's orders, everything that needs to be done has been done, and then, everything is up to you. ”

The girl pursed her lips, revealing the arrogance and indifference peculiar to the nobility.

"Help me to return to my lordship, and I will faithfully carry out his every command. I'm going to do well and I'm going to be a proud man of him. ”

……

More than a month later, the team arrived at Suolong Pass.

A huge pass is set in the middle of two mountain ranges. The steep mountains stretch for thousands of miles from east to west. The abrupt terrain suddenly rose up, like straight steps, forming a terrible obstacle in the middle of the surface. Huge rocks towered over the ground, stabbing into the sky like steel knives. There was no sign of plant growth, and even the top of the mountain was bare, full of hard, black volcanic rock.

This is a truly barren land, a scar left on the surface of the earth by drastic changes in the earth's crust. Huge tectonic plates pushed up the mountains, and the cooled magma caused the terrain to slope from north to south, forming this absolute advantage of unilaterally favoring the northern barbarians and facilitating defense.

These volcanic rocks are so hard that knives and axes can only leave minor scratches on the surface.