[Thank you for the July monthly ticket of Little Soldier Ant and Star Fall!] This month's update goal is 18W words, two changes a day, I hope you can accompany me to support!]

By the time the sky dawned in the east, Zero had already woken up. Pushing the door out, the whole Asak village was filled with the smell of busyness. Some female Asaks were cooking food, while men brought in a lot of ready-made wood from outside the village for fire. Their lives are still very primitive and they do not use special tools. The food was thrown into several large pots, and the bottom was a stove made of stones.

But Zero clearly remembered that the crossbow used by Goge was not primitive at all. The rate of fire and piercing power that caught the blade hunter off his head were something that could only be achieved by using a special system. It stands to reason that the Asaks lived long past the life of such primitive tribes.

"Are you interested in our lives?" said Gog as he emerged from the house and saw Zero looking at the village under the trees.

Zero smiled: "Knowing the life of an ethnic group is conducive to understanding its habits, so that you can make better communication." I think so. ”

Gao Ge showed a thoughtful expression: "You have a very reasonable point, you can indeed see many habits and traces of a group from the living habits. It's just that there aren't many humans like you who are willing to communicate with us now, otherwise, there wouldn't be so many wars. ”

Zero nodded in agreement, and the dispute between humans and aliens may have originated from a lack of resources. But this will not be the only fuse, but more from the mutual resistance and distrust between the two different life forms, and finally the outbreak of war.

"They'll be bringing food soon, so if you want to know more, come with me. Gog beckoned, inviting Zero into his house.

In addition to Gao Ge in the tree house, there is another Asak woman, who is supposed to be Gao Ge's wife. To be honest, Zero has not been able to distinguish the men and women of Asak until now. In terms of appearance alone, there is not much difference between them, and women are shorter than men, but their external characteristics are almost the same. Gog said something to his wife in her own tribal language, and the woman nodded and exited the treehouse.

A moment later, she came in with a wooden tray with some cooked steaks on top. After putting the plate down, Gog's wife left again, and there were only two people left in the house.

Gog picked up a slice of steak and put it in his mouth: "Eat." ”

Zero looked at the plate, and there were no other tools for eating on it except for the meat steak. And judging by the color of the steak, it doesn't even have any condiments, it's just cooked. He picked a small piece and brought it to his mouth to chew. I feel that the meat is rough and the fiber is coarse, and it is difficult to swallow. In addition, there is no seasoning, not to mention the aroma of meat, and there is even a bitterness that melts in the mouth.

Just out of politeness, Zero still ate the steak. Seeing this, Gao Ge smiled: "You humans must not be used to eating our food, let alone you, even the other clans, especially the Amanda, are very puzzled by our maintenance of such a tradition. ”

The Assak patriarch grimaced and said, "But they have forgotten how hard we survived on this land after the cataclysm, and what price we paid to get to this scale. The too comfortable days have made them forget their true nature, especially the special blood of the Amanda people, and their habits and lives have gradually moved closer to the human side. ”

After a pause, he added, "Of course, I'm not saying that such a change is necessarily bad. It's just out of our own habits that the Asaks maintain a primitive life, so as to warn the people not to relax their vigilance against this worldly realm. ”

Gog stood up and retrieved a leather bag from a chest in the room, the only thing in the entire cabin that could be used to store things. The bag was tied with a rope made of straw, and Gog threw it to Zero and said, "This is Bajin, the patriarch of the Amanda people." The gift I was given the last time we met, and it was a natural miracle that makes food delicious. I haven't been able to use it, so I'll use it for you. ”

Zero opens, and inside is some salt-like powder. They were slightly sprinkled on one of the steaks, and the powder quickly seeped into the meat. When Zero took another bite, the meat became less coarse, and with a salty taste and a faint licorice flavor, the food tasted much more delicious.

At this moment, the sound of birds flapping their wings sounded outside the house. Gog walked out, and Zero saw the pitch-black falcon that was not small fall into Gog's hands. The falcon chirped, and Zero noticed that there was some pattern to its call. After shouting three times in a row, Gog waved his hand and it flew away. The Assak patriarch looked at Zero and said, "There is news from the Holy Temple, they have agreed to let you participate in the gladiatorial battle of the Hundred Warriors!"

Zero One Sign, things went a little unexpectedly.

At the same time, at the foot of Mount Montenegro, two figures walked next to each other. When they reached the shores of the Great Lake, one of the short figures stopped, and the man lifted the hat of his cloak to reveal the face of a young man. Another tall man stepped forward, pressed his head and said, "What are you thinking, Girutan?"

"Father, that ......" Girutan raised his head, "Why do you want to go to the Black Owl in person, he is the elder of the Shadow Clan, and he is also the strongest warrior in the entire Shadow Clan." Is he just going to beat Zero?"

"I don't think it's that simple. The patriarch of the Amanda people, Ba Jin, simply sat down, uncovered his hat, scratched his head, and said, "That guy from the black owl has always been a gloomy person, and he is rarely seen doing anything with people. It's always a little strange to be so positive now. However, in the time since you left, there have been some unconfirmed rumors from ShadowClan. ”

Girutan said: "What rumors?"

"ShadowClan is almost finished. Ba Jin said softly.

But this sentence swept through Girutan's ears like thunder: "Why, how can this be?"

"I don't know if it's true or not?, it seems to say that he was abandoned by the Dark God, and now most of the ShadowClan people can't afford to be sick, and only the Black Owl is still acting as usual. Ba Jin picked up a stone and threw it into the lake: "There is a saying in human beings that the wind comes from nothing, and it may not be without a cause. It's not surprising that ShadowClan has such rumors, one is that in the last two years, except for the Black Lord, no other ShadowClan people have moved, although their number is not large, and the second is that since the human girl you brought used the seeds of that year, in the past two years, the ShadowClan has not given us seeds, let alone holy medicine. ”

Girutan's eyes widened, and he whispered, "If the rumors are true, then once the ShadowClan falls, ......"

"The temple is finished. Ba Jin spoke for his son: "I think the black owl can't wait to go out on his own this time, I'm afraid it's not as simple as defeating your human friend." It's just that what he's thinking, it's not something I can figure out. ”

Girutan closed his eyes, and after a moment he said, "Father, go back and have a coming-of-age ceremony for me." ”

"What?"

Ba Jin didn't believe his ears, he looked at his son and said, "You finally ......"

"The current situation seems to be very complicated for both humans and us. Anyway, I'm part of the Amanda people. Maybe ......" Girutan looked into the water, and from the waters of the holy lake, he seemed to be able to see the silver-haired figure. But a wind blew, and soon the shadow of the man in the lake was blown away: "Perhaps, it's time for me to grow up." ”

It was already afternoon, and Zero could see that a simple ring had been set up in the center of the village. After receiving the news of the temple this morning, Gog ordered his people to build a ring. When they heard that a gladiatorial tournament of warriors was going to be held, the Asaks, who admired courage and strength, were very excited. The man poured into the woods, brought down the towering tree, cut it into pieces and dragged it back, and then used the wood and straw rope to build the hexagonal ring in a time of ascent.

The two totem poles placed on the altar were also moved to the southeast corner of the ring, and the totem poles were inserted into the ground and then pressed and fixed with stones. When these were done, the Asaks burst into cries of excitement.

Gog nodded towards Zero, signaling that it was time to begin.

Zero took off his disguised tactical suit, and even changed his tactical suit to wear an Asak's fur vest and short coat, and Gog's wife personally dressed Zero in shoes made of straw rope, and then painted a circular totem on Zero's forehead with sap and lime. Gog tells Zero that for every Asak warrior defeated, he will have one more totem on him. When his whole body is covered with a hundred totems, he is the warrior of a hundred battles that the entire black land must recognize.

Zero speechless, the totem on the dare to love also plays a role in scoring.

Follow Gog down the treehouse and into the village. The ring is already full of Asak men, and they can go to the ring at any time to challenge Zero. As for the women, they stayed in the treehouse like Gog's wife, silently watching the event.

Zero is a human, and the Asaks have no affection for humans. But they revere the warriors, and regardless of whether Zero will eventually become a warrior of a hundred battles, the courage to dare to come to the village of the Asaks alone and stand in the ring has earned their respect.

Gog and Zero stood in the ring together, and he raised Zero's hand and yelled a few times in the tribal language before saying to Zero, "It's time to start." ”

The ritual is outrageously simple, which must also have something to do with the simplicity of the Asaks. Zero follows the local customs and nods in agreement. Gao Ge said quietly: "If you can defeat the 99 people, then I will personally go down to fight you." ”

"Won't keep you waiting. Zero said.

The resignation of Goge means that the gladiatorial fight can begin. What makes Zero laugh and cry is that the Asaks are vying to take the stage and compete with themselves. But the tradition of the warriors of a hundred battles is that only one person can be challenged at a time, so in order to fight over who will be the first to take the stage, the Asaks almost fought themselves. Eventually, Gog stopped them, and then a priestly dressed figure brought out a cauldron filled with skulls of various creatures. Zero glanced at it and saw that most of them were animal bones, and a few were the skulls of Asaks. The skulls are painted with black pigment with some symbols, but more often than not.

At the priest's shout, the Asaks gathered around the cauldron and grabbed a skull with their hands. Those who caught the symbols on the skulls yelled excitedly, and those who did not have symbols hung their heads in frustration.

Zero was relieved, it turned out that they were drawing lots.