Astral Gods

Chapter 131 The Green Bamboo Armor King Wants to Build a Ship

In early October, the Flame Spider merchants arrived at Elephant Banana Island by large ship.

They had just arrived in the northern part of the island to trade when they heard about the attack on the Rhinoceros Beetle tribe on their way back from the Thousand Star Islands.

Upon receiving this news, the Hundred Steps Caravan was the most worried about them. The leader of the Hundred Tribes even put aside the trade with several other tribes, sending several mountain lords to trade with those tribes on its behalf, while it itself went to the Rhinoceros Golden Turtle Tribe without stopping.

Its enthusiasm wasn't due to a good relationship with the Rhinoceros Beetle tribe; frankly, their relationship was just a normal trading one.

But if anything happens to the Rhinoceros Tortoise tribe, its trade will not go smoothly.

On the merchant ship of the Flame Spider Merchant, the tribal leaders were somewhat worried. The Rhinoceros Tortoise tribe had been attacked, and the Zerg warriors from other tribes who went to inquire about the situation were also turned away.

The rumors outside are quite exaggerated. Some say the Rhinoceros Tortoise tribe lost more than a dozen mountain lords, while others say it lost more than twenty high-level warriors, as if the Rhinoceros Tortoise tribe is about to be wiped out.

They had just arrived and didn't know the situation of the Rhinoceros Beetle tribe. Upon hearing this news, the leader of the hundred tribes was stunned, as if struck by lightning.

The Rhinoceros Beetle tribe is one of its biggest trading partners, earning it hundreds of thousands of raw gems from their claws every year.

If they suffer heavy casualties, the previously agreed-upon deal will inevitably be affected.

What worries it even more is that if any Zerg warriors who have conceived the God-given Seed as their lifeblood die, it means that the trade of God-given Force food among them will also decrease significantly.

Its biggest worry is that nothing will happen to the yew tree that nurtured the divinely bestowed seed of the red-hearted cherry, otherwise its plan to trade for the super-grade divinely bestowed food will fall through.

Even the plan to use super-grade divinely bestowed food to open the gates of some large tribes would fall apart.

It had invested so much in the Rhinoceros Tortoise tribe, and it was almost time to reap the rewards, so why did this happen? It was truly unwilling to accept it.

The merchant ship slowly entered the southern port under the jurisdiction of the Rhinoceros Tortoise Tribe. The sea breeze, carrying a salty and fishy smell, rushed towards them, making the sails embroidered with huge flame spider patterns flutter and causing the downy hair on the whiskers of the hundred tribal leaders to tremble slightly.

This is the southernmost port of Banana Island. The port is controlled by the Rhinoceros Tortoise Tribe. The Rhinoceros Tortoise Tribe does not have seagoing vessels, but the Zerg warriors from the nearby small islands attached to Banana Island will pass through here.

At the dock, Zerg warriors were busy coming and going. Some were carrying heavy raw stones to trade, while others were carrying fresh fruit and caught seafood to sell to the Zerg warriors who came to trade.

The entire trade fair lasts for nearly a month. Some poor Zerg warriors will also set up stalls here to sell ordinary fruits and meat, and can make a few hundred Originium a month, earning a little money from their hard work.

Larger tribes look down on such trades, but Zerg warriors who live independently in the wild are quite enthusiastic about them.

The Flame Spider Merchants' ship docked here, and the leader of the Hundred Tribes led his Flame Spider warriors aboard.

As soon as they landed, Zerg warriors came forward to try and sell them various foods, but they were all stopped by the Flame Spider warriors under the Hundred Tribes Leader, who politely refused.

"Leaders of the hundred tribes, you have come from afar. We apologize for not welcoming you properly." A profound spiritual message resounded.

The leader of the hundred tribes looked up and saw a huge sea god worm standing on the highest reef, its two special horns looking very domineering.

Upon seeing the other party, the leader of the hundred tribes' eyes lit up slightly. The other party was not only the mountain lord of the Rhinoceros Tortoise tribe, who was in charge of the port's defense, but also his kin.

"You're too kind, Master Haikui."

The tribal leaders, somewhat eagerly, stepped forward and asked, "Lord of Sea Anemone Mountain, where is the Green Bamboo Armor King?"

Seeing that the Hundred Tribes Caravan had arrived seven or eight days early, the Sea God Giant Beetle Warrior was somewhat surprised, but still answered the Hundred Tribes leader's question: "King Green Bamboo Armor is currently recuperating at Great Green Peak."

"Resting?" The leader of the Hundred Tribes seized upon the key phrase in the Sea Anemone Mountain Lord's words: "Isn't it monitoring the transactions in the trading square?"

"No!"

The tribal chief pressed further, "I heard that your Rhinoceros Tortoise tribe was attacked on your way back from the Thousand Star Islands. What is the current situation?"

Upon hearing this, the Lord of Sea Anemone Mountain immediately understood the purpose of their caravan's early arrival: "The Green Bamboo Armor King and his caravan did encounter some problems when they returned from the Thousand Star Islands, but fortunately, the problems are still within a controllable range."

"Within a controllable range?" The leader of the hundred tribes wondered. "Were there any Rhinoceros Tortoise warriors injured or killed?"

Why does this sound like they're dead? The Sea Anemone Mountain Lord said, "No insects died, but many of our tribe's warriors were indeed injured, and some of them are even unable to recover by normal means."

"Chief of the Hundred Tribes, you've come at the perfect time! I reckon the Green Bamboo Armor King is also waiting for your arrival!"

"."

"7

Upon hearing what the Sea God Giant Hercules Warrior said, the leader of the Hundred Tribes immediately understood.

Since the insects have suffered injuries that are difficult to heal by normal means, and are now eagerly waiting for it to pass by, these rhinoceros beetles must want to buy various divinely bestowed primal force foods that enhance vitality.

Since no Rhinoceros Tortoise warriors died, it meant that their transactions would not be affected, and there was even a possibility that the transaction amount could be increased. The leaders of the Hundred Tribes were relieved.

However, having already arrived here, they naturally could not leave empty-handed. The leader of the Hundred Tribes led his traveling merchants leisurely toward Daqingfeng, the core territory of the Rhinoceros Golden Turtle Tribe.

Meanwhile, the Sea God Hercules sent its warriors to inform the Green Bamboo Armor King and the others of the arrival of the Hundred Tribes Caravan.

The caravan of a hundred tribes set off from the southern port of Xiangjiao Island, crossed numerous mountains, and arrived near Daqingfeng, the core territory of the Rhinoceros Tortoise tribe.

The leader of the hundred tribes felt more and more at ease as it traveled. Along the way, it saw the warriors of the Rhinoceros Tortoise tribe flying around, either trading with their own kind or carrying food made of primal force to the trading square. Everything was as peaceful as in previous years.

This shows that the Rhinoceros Tortoise tribe did not take the recent attack seriously. At the very least, the attack did not have a significant impact on them. Otherwise, they would be sealing off the tribe and prohibiting other warriors from moving around, instead of being so peaceful and quiet.

When they arrived at Daqing Peak, Qingzhu Shenwang and the others, who had been notified in advance, also sent out Qingmang Lord to greet them.

Upon arriving here, the leader of the Hundred Tribes was no longer in a hurry. It followed Lord Qingmang up the lush and green Great Green Peak and arrived at the trading square halfway up the mountain, where King Qingzhujia had been waiting for it for a long time.

"Azure Bamboo Armor King." The leader of the Hundred Tribes scanned the Azure Bamboo Armor King with his spiritual sense, but found no injuries on its body.

He knew in his heart that the insectoid warriors in the northern part of Xiangjiao Island had spread some rumors, saying that the Green Bamboo Armor King was seriously injured and that more than twenty Rhinoceros Tortoise warriors had been lost, which were all exaggerations.

"Leaders of the hundred tribes, was your journey smooth?"

Upon meeting, the two sides exchanged a few pleasantries, and then King Qingzhu invited the leaders of the hundred tribes to rest in the hall near the square.

After both sides took their seats, a double-forked rhinoceros tortoise warrior caught a two-meter-long sea fish and placed it on a large metal platter specially used to entertain distinguished guests. Meanwhile, the Green Bamboo Armor King also arranged many delicious fruits on his side.

As they ate and chatted, the tribal leaders were quite patient and didn't inquire about King Qingzhu's return from the Thousand Star Islands. However, King Qingzhu Shen became somewhat impatient and spoke up, "Tribal leaders, are you aware of the attack our tribe suffered on our return from the Thousand Star Islands?"

The leader of the hundred tribes said calmly, "I've heard a little bit about it, but most of it is just hearsay."

They said the Rhinoceros Beetle tribe lost twenty or thirty Zerg warriors, but that can't be true, can it?

King Qingzhu was slightly speechless; these guys were really good at spreading rumors.

"There weren't any major losses, but quite a few Rhinoceros Tortoise Warriors were injured. Some had cracked shells, some had ruptured membranous wings, and some even had missing limbs."

During this period, our tribe spent a considerable amount of money to invite Zerg warriors with life-based healing abilities to treat our warriors. Some basic injuries have been largely healed, but there are still some rather troublesome issues.

Warriors with cracked shells and broken limbs not only face difficulties in living a normal life, but their chances of successfully evolving have also been greatly reduced.

I'd like to ask, since the Zerg warriors on the Thousand Star Islands have been fighting the Sea Beast warriors for years, similar incidents must have happened quite a few times.

"You Flame Spider Merchants travel to the Thousand Star Islands every year to trade. I wonder if you have any divinely bestowed Force foods that reduce the risk of evolutionary failure under such circumstances?"

"Yes," the leader of the hundred tribes said without any pretense, "but I don't have any in my possession. I'll have to get them from other caravans, and the price is a bit high."

"Let's buy some!" In this situation, even knowing they'd be ripped off, there was nothing they could do.

In fact, the Green Bamboo Armor King was waiting for the Flame Spider Merchants to come because he had something to discuss with them. Buying the divinely bestowed food that would increase the success rate of evolution was just one of the things he wanted to do.

Then, King Qingzhujia said somewhat dejectedly, "Leaders of the Hundred Tribes, the reason we suffered this attack is that the ocean is not our home ground, and we have no support at sea."

I'd like to ask how your tribe builds its merchant ships? We'd also like to build one to travel between the Thousand Star Islands and Elephant Banana Island.

"Build merchant ships?" The Rhinoceros Tortoise tribe, having suffered such a great loss, has finally learned its lesson.

The leader of the hundred tribes said, "That depends on what kind of ship you want to build. We know of ironclad ships and wooden ships. Our kingdom can build all of these ships. As long as you provide the raw materials, we can build them and deliver them to you immediately."

King Qingzhujia was speechless. These unscrupulous merchants were trying to fleece them again, but when they heard about the ironclad ships, they were also very tempted.

If they had ironclad ships, their Rhinoceros Tortoise warriors would essentially have a mobile fortress at sea, at least they wouldn't be in a situation where they were attacked from one side like last time: "I heard that your kingdom built a ship for the Blackflipper tribe. I wonder how many Originium it cost?"

"Really? Those might be commissioned from other caravans; it depends on the size and specifications."

Just as King Qingzhujia and the leaders of the Hundred Tribes were discussing various matters concerning the future direction of their tribes, the brothers Zi'ai and Zishan also arrived at Daqing Peak.

They were somewhat surprised to see the Flame Spider Merchant arrive so early, as the Flame Spider Merchant wouldn't normally arrive this early. But it didn't matter, since they weren't buying Force Food this year anyway. Zi Ai handed over the Force Food produced in her territory to Lord Zizhu Mountain and the others to register and exchange for Spider King Tokens.

Yew strolled around the square. With the arrival of the Flame Spider Merchant, the square became more lively.

Because they arrived early, the tribe hadn't finished collecting all the various Force foods, so the Flame Spider Merchants were quite idle.

Lord Qingmang designated an area in the plaza for them, where they planted their only life seed. Then they lay down beside their life seed and chatted and boasted with some other bored rhinoceros tortoise warriors.

Upon seeing the familiar figure, Zishan rushed forward. In a corner of the square, Lord Zehui Mountain and Luoshi were resting.

Zishan stepped forward to greet them: "Teacher Zehui, Luoshi, and Shewen, hello everyone, it's been a long time."

Upon hearing the insects calling to them, several flame spider merchants opened their enormous eyes and looked up.

"Yew." Several insects greeted it, some calmly and some happily.

"Zishu, did you bring us food from the Force?" Zishan approached and chatted enthusiastically with Luoshi, who was lying under its own life seed.

Years have passed, and Luo Shi and She Wen have both advanced to the level of advanced warriors, while Ze Hui Mountain Lord seems to have remained unchanged, still hovering at the Mountain Lord level.

"I've only recently advanced to the advanced stage. Last year, I spent my time nurturing the trees, and this year they've only just started to flower and bear fruit. The fruit on the trees isn't ripe yet, so it'll probably be next year or the year after before there's any actual production."

"Oh, so are you here to have fun or to assist with tribal trade?"

"I'm here to talk to you about something."

"What is it?" the mountain lord of Zehui asked.

"It's like this, Teacher Zehui, the three of us brothers have quite a large territory, and we have a lot of things to do, so we're a bit overwhelmed."

I'm looking for a queen bee or queen ant to help us manage our territory and produce our offspring.

If you encounter a suitable queen bee or queen ant during your travels, could you please send one to me? The price is negotiable.

"Raising a queen bee is quite expensive. Is it your tribe that's paying for it, or you, an insect,?" Some tribes raise a queen bee or queen ant to help manage their territory, and it didn't think there was anything wrong with that.

Logically speaking, if a tribe were to adopt a child, it should be the tribal leader or the Green Bamboo King who should take the lead. If it were to raise an insect, it would be a bit difficult.

"I plan to raise one myself."

"Raise them yourself? You should know that queen bees and queen ants consume a lot of resources. They also have assistant queens and a large army under their command. The resources they consume may be more than your own growth."

Speaking of which, there is a superb, divinely bestowed yew tree; if one were to actually raise a queen bee, it wouldn't be unaffordable.

"The three of us brothers have discussed it and decided to raise one, either a queen bee or a queen ant will do."

"We should be able to afford to support them with our financial resources. It should be even easier once we're promoted to the rank of Mountain Lord."

"Alright, do you want a vegetarian queen bee or a carnivorous queen bee? I'll keep an eye out for them on the trading route."

"We don't really care about that. We have more than we can eat all kinds of fruit from the forest, and there's plenty of meat on the ocean."

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"I've got it. I'll arrange it for you then. Is there anything else?"

"That's all." After finishing their business, Zishan wandered around for a while. Once Zi Ai got the Spider King's Scroll, they immediately went back to guard the Azure Soul Kiwi Seed again.