Kaz Khan, the leader of the Redstone tribe in his youth, touched the amulet hanging from his chest before striding into the stone hall made of dirt.

At this time, the (former) kings, (former) lords and khans were all spitting out their big tongues in a rage, all of them were more than twice their age.

The sandfolk are very similar to the people who evolved directly from reptiles (in fact, they are mammals) to intelligent creatures that walk upright, and they are all scales so they have no sweat glands, and many times they can only stick out their big tongues to dissipate heat, so there is really no such thing as sweating profusely. But if it weren't for the fact that the Great Elder had been sitting quietly at the top, I was afraid that he would be full of big men.

Yes, the sandfolk whose own civilization has just evolved into the era of classical city-states are indeed in a state of irritability with abundant martial virtues. Some of them are former nomadic tribal leaders, and some are rulers of city-states who regard themselves as kings, and no one will obey anyone.

It's just that the elder elder is not only the spiritual and religious leader of the ordinary sand people, but also the real number one master of the sand people. Don't look at his kind old man's appearance, it's not once or twice that he gets angry and directly pinched the chief and the "king" to death.

Kazhan, as the junior among the leaders, bowed slightly to the chief elder, and then found a corner position, and before he could sit down, he heard a loud and heroic voice speak: "Wait, too long, to fight, fight, fight!" ”

It was the Grand Chief of the Red Lake tribe, Moduo, who spoke. The chieftain, who wielded the most powerful nomadic tribe in all the Sand People, was a little older, and although he was still brave, his mind was already dull, and he was not yet very proficient in the "Sand People's Language".

Oh, and by the way, the lingua franca of the Sand People is the spiritual leader of everyone, and the Great Elder Hesson combined various Sand languages and spent ten years compiling it. He has always felt that language unification can unify races, and at the same time, it can better integrate with the advanced civilizations in the universe.

Admittedly, the Great Elder was still very far-sighted.

Sadly, however, the simple early glyphs of the Sandfolk simply cannot handle the amount of information in the Great Cosmic Age. The so-called "lingua franca" is already mixed with a large number of transliterations and text variants of the languages of the Empire, the Alliance, and even the Earth.

It's sad, but that's not the point.

"It's not time yet, our goal is always to force the earthlings to negotiate with us!" The answer was Hanrat, the king of the city-state of Montenegro. He has a city, a territory, and a throne, and has always had an inexplicable relationship with the Governor's Palace.

"Even if you want to fight, you have to wait for those cannons to be set up, and you can destroy Tulon's protective shield. They will definitely surrender. "Another city lord.

"Yes, we ask for dividends from the sale of spices and ores, and we can't always bargain with them! Oh yes, and allow the Sandfolk to travel to Tulon, ah no, to live in the galaxy itself! An old and dignified lord was so authentic that it immediately attracted the nods and approvals of everyone.

But isn't this our home? Why do so many of us come together, just for that? Is there a difference between lying on the ground begging for food and sitting on the ground begging? Kazhan couldn't help but think so.

In fact, most of the "kings" and "lords" of the city-states had this virtue. The governor's palace and merchants had to "hire" cheap labor through them to obtain cheap spices and ores, and naturally lived a good life. The city-state lords now live in domed villas with their own climate reconciliation and greenhouse gardens, drink imperial wine and watch the League's hit dramas, and live the happy life of modern rich otaku. Slaves were still confined to more than 15 hours a day in mines where they could not stand and in plantations where they could shed their scales, and it was still difficult to ensure the basic food and clothing of their families.

"Rats!" One of the chiefs jumped up and yelled.

"Lizards in the sand!" Another chief slapped the table and yelled.

"Vampire worms in the cave!" An old Shaman chieftain who looked like he had suddenly become twenty years younger, roared hysterically, and made the loudest noise since the quarrel, and frightened all the Kazhan around him.

"We have millions of soldiers in our hands, why should we look at other people's eyes? When will those things be set up? A slightly younger chief said. His "lingua franca" is much more fluent.

"Great Elder, let's fight!" He also asked for sincere instructions to Grand Elder Husson, his face full of excitement and bravery, and he was a son who could dig out his heart and disembowel his heart at any time, and let his sincere blood spray your face.

"But it's not time yet...... Our forces are not fully deployed, we do not have a complete offensive plan, we do not have cover with heavy weapons! Why not wait until the agreed heavy artillery positions are built, and wait for all the weapons and troops to be in place? Kazhan felt that this guy was like an umbrella lizard that had spread its skin folds and so on, so he wanted to get up and say a few words, but at this time, the Great Elder, who had been silent, nodded expressionlessly and said lukewarmly: "Do you all want to fight?" ”

"Fight! Battle! "Moduo was almost on the verge of an awkward war dance with his feet.

"Then let's fight." The Great Elder nodded.

"Great Elder, you can't fight ......" The lords jumped up to dissuade them, but were scolded back by the Great Elder: "Or are you going to personally convince those hungry warriors?" ”

The lords had nothing to say but dispersed, and the chiefs got the answers they wanted, and rushed away. The only unhappy Kazhan left the stone hall with a heavy heart, and he could already see the end of the warriors, and he almost burst into tears...... Well, in fact, the sandmen don't have tear ducts, and the way they express their extreme grief actually shakes the periosteum and makes a very sad long tremor, which sounds like a whale song, but it's actually very pleasant.

Kazhan was disappointed, disappointed in everything, disappointed in the lords, disappointed in the chiefs, and even more disappointed in the great elders of the spiritual leader, so he wanted to leave with his subordinates, but at this time, someone came and greeted him covertly.

"The teacher wants to see you. Chief of the Qaz Khan. ”

The person who came to lead the way was one of the proud disciples of the Great Elder, and he was also a psionic person named "Wind Fist".

Young Kazhan was led through the back door by the young Wind Fist into the Stone Hall, which was also the private residence of the Great Elder. But as soon as he entered the house, he was so smoked by the smell of medicine that he wanted to run away on the spot.

Looking at the corner of the stone hall, there was a female sand man with beautiful azure scales dispensing medicine, and when she saw Kaz enter, she grinned at the latter and showed her fangs and tongue, revealing a sweet smile (in the eyes of the sand people).

Her name is Ya Xun, and she is also another proud disciple of the Great Elder who has awakened his spiritual energy.

Kazhan was about to respond with a polite smile to the famous beauty of the sand people, but the Great Elder had already said bluntly: "You can leave with your clansmen, but when you go back, remember to pack up your salutes, say goodbye to them, and arrange the follow-up." ”

Kazhan was stunned on the spot.

"I have already negotiated with our collaborators to select a group of young and promising people to study abroad. All kinds of universities and even military schools are fine, but you have to take the exam yourself, so you can only start with a preparatory school. From now on, you're going to have to learn the lingua franca of the alliance seriously. The Great Elder thought for a moment, then took out a bracelet-style information terminal and handed it over: "There is a Union language dictionary and a set of junior college textbooks in it, find free time and start previewing." ”

With a bewildered face, Kaz Khan took over this technological product that was incompatible with the surrounding environment, and mechanically listened to the elder's earnest teachings: "Yes, the restrictions on this aspect are still very strict on the Empire's side, so I can only go to the Alliance side to learn. However, you still have to remember to be a man with shrunken scales. Many of you hate humanity...... I can't tell you the difference between the ball and the guy, but in the league, your every move represents the image of the sandman. You have to lead those young people, you have to lead by example and discipline them! ”

The young chief finally came back to his senses: "But, Elder, I ......"

"Victory or defeat, this is destined to be a grinding wheel of flesh and blood. Gifted young people should not be allowed to waste their lives here. The Great Elder interrupted the young chief with a shake of his head.

Kaz Khan was very moved, but still raised his doubts: "But why did you agree to the proposal of the Great Khan of Modor? You know, that's a lot of nonsense......"

"Even if I don't agree, won't they do it themselves? I am just a great elder, not their king. They are all chiefs of nomadic tribes, and they don't have much to do with the Human Governor's Palace, but this time they participated in the war, really to liberate their fellow sand people and fight for honor? Or is it to storm that city, burn, kill and loot? If killing and plundering were their purpose, how could they wait until the city-state lords had everything ready? Kazhan, you are also a nomadic chieftain, you should understand, right? ”

The young chief was speechless.

"In that case, it is better to let them test the situation of the earthlings. At the very least, we will be prepared when the heavy artillery positions are ready for a real full-scale attack. ”

Kazhan had to admit that the Great Elder had a point, but it was because it made sense that he felt even more heavy and sad.

"I'm old, and if I can make the earthlings give in with this big battle, I will be satisfied. Yes, Kazhan, Hanrath is right, we don't actually have the ability to drive the earthlings away completely...... But you are different, Kazhan, you are young, strong, hot-blooded, sincere, and calm and composed, which is rare for your age. You have countless possibilities, you have a future, so you have to take on greater responsibility! ”

"We can't just go extinct, young man, and that's why I've used all my influence to gather so many warriors who are willing to die. Let this battle be the first cry of our sand people in this universe! As for the later ones, I'll leave them to you. ”

Kazhan looked at the old leader of the sandmen, his heart full of thousands of words, but he couldn't say anything.

The Great Elder's body was no longer straight, his scales had begun to turn gray, his eyes were a little blurry, and he even needed to take medicine all year round to recuperate. However, he was still stronger than ever, more than he had ever been, and he had been younger than he had ever been.