Levi wasn’t surprised that the Feder Remnants had married their people into the various tribes of the Kas Mountain Range. Without this kind of arrangement, how could these locals have allowed a group of outsiders to live here for over a century?

The Lord gravely sized up the contingent, which had halted over one hundred and fifty paces from the wall.

Although Baisitina wasn’t entirely certain they knew Witchcraft, he believed it.

He had once seen a so-called magic performance on the streets of Kolon. It wasn’t some cheap street trick, but a wanderer who had conjured an ice crystal from thin air right there on the street.

Unfortunately, its power was mediocre—at best, it could pierce a layer of cloth.

Levi reckoned he could kill a hundred such Mages without breaking a sweat.

But anything related to Magic or Witchcraft warranted serious attention.

Who knew if some form of Witchcraft existed in the Wilderness that could place a Curse on someone with just a single strand of hair? Especially since these people from the Evil Fang Tribe were covered in strange, painted patterns, looking unnervingly mystical.

"Do you know what kind of Witchcraft they use?"

Operating on the principle of "know thyself, know thy enemy," the Lord tried to get more information from Baisitina.

"They guard their secrets well. My ancestor only knew that their Shaman has passed down some form of Witchcraft through the generations," Baisitina said, shaking her head.

This put Levi in a difficult position. If the enemy truly had Mastered some unknown form of Witchcraft, his side would inevitably suffer a great loss in a fight.

However, just as Levi was pondering how to deal with the Evil Fang Tribe, the enemy unexpectedly sent two men to approach the wall, clearly intending to parley.

"Are they here to help you too?" Levi asked.

Baisitina simply shook her head, her face filled with confusion.

Although one of her ancestors had married into the Evil Fang Tribe, their relationship was limited to a mutual non-aggression pact; it was nowhere near the level of a military alliance.

"State your purpose!"

When the two were thirty paces from the wall, Levi sternly shouted at them to halt and gave a wave of his hand.

The Federation Archers raised their bows, staring down menacingly at the two men below the wall.

The Lord had quite naturally taken command of the Feder Remnants.

With the entire upper echelon dead, the siblings Mier and Baisitina held the highest status among all the Feder Remnants.

Mier saw nothing wrong with his actions, and Baisitina also deferred to his leadership.

And so, as a matter of course, he became the new Lord of the Feder Remnants.

"The most powerfully built man down there is the Clan Leader of the Evil Fang Tribe. The Evil Fang Tribe has a custom: whenever a warrior single-handedly kills a powerful beast, he collects its teeth to wear around his neck."

"That Clan Leader has three whole loops of beast teeth around his neck. He is, without a doubt, an exceptionally formidable Warrior," Baisitina explained from the side.

Levi looked down, sizing him up.

The Northern Barbarian in the lead was at least two ’ren’ tall. His bare torso was a tapestry of scars, proof that he was a Warrior who had survived countless life-or-death battles.

Regardless of anything else, their courage was worthy of admiration. They had dared to walk right up to the wall under the threat of nearly a hundred Archers, and without even wearing Iron Armor.

This courage was worthy of admiration.

"Upon learning you discovered an iron mine and failed to inform your friends in the Evil Fang Tribe, our Shaman became very angry. However, in consideration of our past relationship, the Shaman has still decided to help his Feder friends fend off the Jackal Wolves."

"And to bring our two tribes closer, the Shaman has decided to graciously condescend to take your Clan Leader as his Ah Xianu."

The Northern Barbarian Clan Leader looked down imperiously at the Feder Remnants on the wall, while the man he’d brought along spoke fluent Common Tongue with a swaggering arrogance.

Levi had learned from Baisitina that most of these barbarians could speak the Common Tongue. The Evil Fang Tribe’s Clan Leader obviously felt it was beneath his station to speak himself, so he had brought a designated mouthpiece.

’Not much skill, but more airs and graces than a genuine nobleman of Debei like me.’

The Lord took back his previous words.

These two clowns daring to walk up to the wall had absolutely nothing to do with courage. They were simply certain the Feder Remnants wouldn’t dare to fight them.

Levi didn’t know if this confidence came from their secretive, skulking Shaman, or from the Feder Remnants’ history of marrying off their women in exchange for peace, which made them seem weak and easily bullied. Or perhaps it was something else entirely.

But at the very least, Levi couldn’t hold back a laugh.

Although he hadn’t yet met this Shaman from the Evil Fang Tribe, there was an unwritten rule for becoming a Shaman in the Wilderness.

Besides practicing Witchcraft, every Shaman had to be the most knowledgeable and experienced person in their Tribe.

In the largely illiterate Wilderness, knowledge and experience could only be accumulated with age. This meant that every Shaman was, as a rule, quite old.

’That ugly old fossil sure has some beautiful dreams!’

On the surface, the old fossil wanted to marry Baisitina, but his real goal was to completely absorb the Feder Remnants into the Evil Fang Tribe and pocket the iron mine as well.

Killing three birds with one stone.

Levi gave Zat a kick, telling the big lug to speak for him.

After all, it was general against general, grunt against grunt.

"You want to marry our Clan Leader, but you don’t even dare show your face! Who knows if you’re a man or a ghost? What if you’re some pig-faced freak? Does our Clan Leader still have to marry you then?"

At Levi’s direction, Zat bellowed his response, laughing and jeering.

The men from the Evil Fang Tribe hadn’t expected the speaker to be a Green-skinned Orc with a mouth full of tusks. They couldn’t understand where the Feder Remnants had found these Barbarians.

However, their surprise was fleeting, and they quickly began to confer.

Before long, they seemed to have reached a decision. Four burly Evil Fang Tribe warriors emerged from the parting crowd, carrying a simple wooden palanquin.

They stopped one hundred paces from the wall, a distance they likely considered safe, as it was beyond the range of a normal bow.

The two curtains, made of banana leaves, were drawn aside. The first to emerge were two curvaceous female Northern Barbarians wearing animal-hide skirts and tube tops. Their exposed skin was also painted with strange patterns.

Soon, a short old man emerged from within. He wore a Shaman’s robe, with two different-colored bird feathers stuck in his hair for decoration, and held a staff made of some unknown wood.

Sam looked smugly toward the distant wall. ’With three hundred of the tribe’s Warriors here in person, the Feder Remnants must have suffered heavy losses in yesterday’s battle. They’ll be exhausted in body and spirit, too afraid to make an enemy of the Evil Fang Tribe.’

’Now I’m giving them the chance to form an alliance. Unless they’re complete idiots, they won’t pass up this opportunity.’

’Then, not only will I marry the beautiful Clan Leader of the Feder Remnants, but I’ll also absorb her people and seize the iron mine.’

Sam could already see it: in the near future, the Evil Fang Tribe would grow mighty under his leadership, becoming the overlord of the entire Wilderness. The corners of his mouth crept into a slight smile.

’But... what is that?’

Sam squinted, carefully observing the black line that was rapidly growing larger in his field of vision.

"Gods of the Wilderness! Is that an Arrow fired from a Bed Crossbow? How could the Feder Tribe possibly have a Bed Crossbow?!?"

He let out a terrified shriek, collapsing to the ground and scrambling back toward the palanquin, soiling himself in his haste.