Chapter 4: The Warring States Era

In the far northern autumn and winter, the scattered wildlings of the wilderness also began to return to the mountains to pass the cold months. Now was the best time to subdue the wildling tribes; otherwise, once spring came, they would disperse across thousands of kilometers of wasteland, and finding them would depend on nothing but luck.

After covering over a dozen kilometers, Priest Hugu ordered the Divine Ox to halt.

“King, once we cross this ridge, we’ll see the Mountain Tribe. Their numbers are double ours, with at least a hundred warriors.” The priest could easily comprehend numbers below ten thousand—if you asked Zhu Ba, he would have no concept of what a thousand even was.

The wildlings’ savagery and ignorance were also why Jing Ni did not look favorably upon them. Though wildlings were incredibly strong and fearless, their crafts were limited to stone axes and bone arrows. Confronted with a bronze-equipped army, they could only meet their end in vain.

“Let’s try diplomacy before force. Hugu, you go and persuade them. Tell them that if they submit to me, they will have enough to eat and wear, and even have divine weapons. If they refuse, they’ll be fed to my Divine Ox.”

“Maa…” The Divine Ox’s eyes lit up. Compared to solar or internal energy, it preferred the spiritual energy within humans.

“At your command, my King.” The old priest was filled with longing at the thought of warmth and full bellies.

It wasn’t that the priest had learned the language of Yan and Huang, but that the Heart’s Shadow had directly transmitted the message into his brainwaves.

As soon as dozens of Wind Tribe warriors appeared, over a hundred Mountain Tribe warriors assembled with their weapons. Other than the priests and chieftains, wildlings from different tribes rarely interacted; a group of armed Wind Tribe men at their gates could only spell trouble.

“Old man, are you here to die?” the Mountain Chieftain roared. If not for the fear of losing warriors, he would have attacked at once.

The ox cart stopped a few dozen meters away, and Priest Hugu dismounted and approached.

When he was twenty meters away, the old priest called out, “Chieftain of the Mountain Tribe, our people have submitted to Lin the King, the Lord of the Divine Ox. The King orders you to surrender—submit, and you will have warmth and safety; refuse, and you will be destroyed.”

The Mountain Chieftain was furious. “Ha! Old fool, it seems your Wind Tribe truly seeks death! Warriors, what do you say?”

The wildlings roared in unison, “Kill them all—eat them!”

“Very well, you’ve brought this upon yourselves!” Seeing this, Hugu shook his head and withdrew.

Priests were the most revered figures among wildlings; even in war, they were rarely harmed. Moreover, the priests’ illusions and hypnotic arts were formidable.

Only after the old priest had retreated did the wildlings charge.

“Kill! Kill!” Zhu Ba roared, ready to lead his men forward.

But Lin Shu did not wish to see them slaughtered—if all the wildlings died, it would be even harder for him to level up.

“Zhu Ba, fall back. I will go first.”

“Yes, my King.” Zhu Ba and the warriors immediately withdrew.

Maa! The giant ox, thrilled and eager, launched into a furious charge.

At that moment, little Tian Yan began to cry.

Let’s hope she’s alright! Watching dozens of wooden spears soar through the air, Jing Ni shielded the child with her body.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—wooden spears shot with deadly force, reaching the Divine Ox in an instant.

Even knowing the Divine Ox’s might, the priest and Zhu Ba felt a wave of panic.

Thuds resounded as the spears all fell to the ground several meters from the giant ox, not even grazing its hide.

Excellent! Truly formidable! Jing Ni’s worries vanished.

“Divine Ox! The King! The King!” Zhu Ba shouted with excitement. Even the strongest snowland warriors would have been crippled under such a volley.

The Mountain Chieftain’s heart sank. He realized this battle would not be so easily won.

“Ah! With me!” The Mountain Tribe’s strongest commander roared, leaping forward with a stone axe weighing over a hundred pounds.

Standing two meters tall, the young commander was as swift as he was powerful, his war cry echoing like a tiger descending from the mountains.

[Commander, this one has an energy level of one thousand, but he can at best unleash only a fraction of his spiritual power in one blow.]

The snowland wildlings had no proper system of cultivation; though they possessed spiritual energy, they could barely use it. Yet, those whose bodies were fused with such energy were all incredibly tough.

Boom! With a force of two thousand pounds, the energy field was blasted apart for an instant, but almost immediately, a new field stabilized.

Even with his formidable strength, the wildling commander could only be pressed down onto the ox’s back by the field.

With a warrior now mounted upon the giant ox, the morale of the tribe’s warriors soared.

The tribe’s leader wanted to shout encouragement, but in the next moment, he found it hard to breathe.

They all watched helplessly as a giant was swallowed up within two seconds—Jing Ni broke out in cold sweat once again.

“Haha! Seeking death!” Zhu Ba was both shocked and elated.

Heavens—what is this? The Mountain Chieftain was terrified. The Divine Ox had actually devoured a man.

Seeing the despair in their commander’s eyes, the charging wildlings were struck by panic and fear.

Maa…

Thunder rumbled.

The exhilarated ox cared not for the wildlings’ terror; within moments, it had knocked several of them to the ground.

“No—no—ah!” Ten wildlings screamed in despair, feeling their life force draining rapidly.

Mountain Tribe warriors fell one after another, their cries full of hopeless agony.

They were terrified—utterly broken.

“Stop! We surrender! We surrender! Divine Ox, stop!” The Mountain Chieftain cried in anguish.

Maa—the giant ox bellowed once and halted before the chieftain.

The wildlings had lost all will to fight. They would die if they must, but none wished to be devoured, especially with their women and children watching.

“Hugu, Zhu Ba, organize them. Have them send fifty men; this afternoon we depart for the Great Tribe.” The Great Tribe to the north numbered a thousand. After subduing them, Lin Shu wouldn’t have to intervene with the smaller tribes.

“As the King commands.” Hugu and Zhu Ba quickly set about pacifying the Mountain Tribe.

…

Jing Ni now had no appetite at all; she even wondered if one day the Divine Ox cart might eat her and her daughter as well.

“Lin, after you subdue the snowland tribes, what are your plans?” She no longer doubted Lin Shu’s strength—conquering hundreds of thousands of wildlings was only a matter of time.

By the time he subjugated the wildlings across a thousand li, Lin Shu estimated he would reach level three, but the mechanical age still could not fully satisfy his needs.

“After conquering the snowlands, I’ll have them build a city. If there’s a chance, I’ll find people to teach the tribe’s children to read and speak the language of the Central Plains.”

Jing Ni couldn’t help but shake her head. “Lin, having these wildlings build a city will be extremely difficult! Besides, the snowlands are not suitable for large-scale settlement. To build a city and forge tools, you need people from the Seven Kingdoms! But the Donghu and Xiongnu will not let the snowland tribes move south!”

Hearing this, Lin Shu merely smiled and nodded. Soon, the ox cart would upgrade to a level two carriage, and then it could manufacture tools on its own.

“Hmm? The Seven Kingdoms—Donghu—Xiongnu? Jing Ni, is it Spring and Autumn or the Warring States now?” Previously, since she had been unwell, Lin Shu hadn’t asked about the current state of the Central Plains.

Jing Ni nodded, “It should be the Warring States period now—Qin, Chu, Qi, Zhao, Wei, Yan, Han. The smaller states are insignificant.”