CHAPTER 452: CHAPTER 330: THE GREAT MIGRATION

"Then let’s set off immediately!" Budocaribas looked up at the warm sun just rising over the horizon and waved his hand, saying, "The Nix people are still waiting for us in Snowdonia!"

His nephew Brady Prolos couldn’t help but ask, "Uncle, aren’t Leader Xisaites and the others going to travel with us today?"

"After being forced to move here from the eastern hills, the tribes under Xisaites have not had good places to settle. They’ve had to live scattered across the mountains, with some tribes located quite remotely. Gathering all their tribesmen together will take more time, so they’ll depart tomorrow." Budocaribas took a deep breath and said aloud, "We’ll go ahead and act as scouts for them. Alright, let’s move out!"

"Move out!" Brady Prolos shouted in the loudest voice.

"Move out!!!..." Thousands of voices echoed the command, ringing through the heavens. Soon, similar cries arose from the rear, then further back again... the sound repeated nine times in succession, like an unending echo, bidding farewell to the past and announcing the future.

The massive migration of northern Alde tribes, however, failed to draw much attention from other tribal communities. Along the banks of the Murenica and Kolana Rivers to the south, all was still and quiet. Perhaps due to the cold weather, residents were still asleep in their homes.

Budocaribas led his tribesmen on their journey.

The cold and dry weather in recent days had hardened the soil, and the roads were fairly smooth. Even with a large number of people and heavy carriages, the journey went relatively well.

Traversing the flat land between two marshes, they reached the banks of the Kolana River. The significantly reduced winter water flow made crossing easy—even children could wade across without difficulty. The carriages, though, posed a challenge. Yet, thanks to the tribesmen’s concerted efforts, more than twenty carriages successfully made it across the river.

Traveling north along the riverbank, they soon changed direction to head east along the banks of the Kupa River.

The land here was no longer as barren and desolate as the places they had previously passed. People could be seen busying themselves by the roadside—some guiding oxen as they plowed fields, some dragging hoes over the ground to loosen the soil, others carrying buckets of manure to fertilize the land. By the fields, armed soldiers supervised the workers, while Nix clerks kept recording tasks on wooden boards without pause.

As they progressed, the fields on the right side of the road grew increasingly expansive, the workers in the fields increased in number, and the supervising soldiers also multiplied...

Looking at the bustling activity, Budocaribas felt both eager and anxious. Ever since the proposal to relocate to the banks of the Sava River was passed in the tribal council, he had wanted to lead the entire tribe to start their new lives immediately. However, delays caused by the funeral of the previous Great Chief and the inauguration of the new Great Chief had postponed their departure for ten days. Now, the Nix people had already begun employing captives to plow and sow, while Budocaribas and his tribesmen had yet to reach their new residence. There would also be time needed to organize once they arrived—he hoped this would not jeopardize next spring’s planting season!

The Nix people seemed to have been notified in advance. Seeing so many people approaching from the west, they neither showed alarm nor dispatched patrols to block the way. Instead, they only cast curious glances at Budocaribas’s convoy before returning to their tasks.

As they neared Snowdonia Village, a much larger convoy appeared ahead—a group consisting of men, women, elderly, children, dozens of carriages, and hundreds of heavily armed soldiers, completely blocking the road.

Budocaribas called for his convoy to halt and advanced alone.

A group of figures emerged from the opposing convoy, heading toward him. The foremost among them waved and shouted, "Elder Budocaribas, welcome to our Nix people along with your tribesmen!"

"I’m so sorry—we’re a bit late!"

"You’re not late, not at all. We’ve just come out ourselves." Pigeris spoke with a respectful tone, tilting his body slightly and gesturing to the right side. "Allow me to introduce someone—this is Nexia, the wife of Leader Maximus!"

Budocaribas had already noticed the woman standing beside Pigeris. Her face was striking, her bearing regal, and she exuded an aura of authority. He had already guessed her identity and quickly stepped forward to pay his respects and greet her.

"Elder Budocaribas," Nexia said warmly with a smile, "Leader Maximus has often mentioned your name to me. He spoke of the tremendous help you’ve given our Nix people, calling you one of our tribe’s greatest benefactors!"

"Leader Maximus has given us far too much credit—he generously provided land for our tribe, which makes him our greatest benefactor!" Budocaribas responded sincerely.

"This is wonderful. Now, with our two tribes able to help each other and live together by the Sava River, I’m sure we’ll be able to forge an even stronger friendship," Nexia said with a smile, following the flow of conversation.

"You’re absolutely right. We’ve always been allies, and living together will make us even closer—like family!" Budocaribas quickly responded.

Nexia glanced over the convoy behind Budocaribas and asked, "I heard from Pigeris that you’d be bringing ten tribes of people with you today. Are they all here now?"

"They’re all following behind us."

"Then, let’s not waste any more time. Let’s get moving. Given the large numbers, we should aim to reach Todreduo before dusk today."

"You’re right. I’ll urge the tribesmen in the rear to pick up the pace."

Watching Nexia and Pigeris turn and head back toward their convoy, Budocaribas couldn’t help but feel a hint of admiration: Maximus’s wife was no ordinary woman. Despite her ever-present smile and gentle voice, she had maintained complete control of the conversation at all times...

Though Maximus had also married Genian Daphra, the granddaughter of Cleobrotas, Budocaribas, knowing Genian Daphra and akin to Alistacas, had hoped that she would leverage the powerful Alde Tribe to secure benefits for their people. But after meeting Nexia, a sudden wariness crept into his heart—Genian Daphra might not be able to rival this formidable First Lady of the Nix Tribe...

Nexia returned to her convoy and, with concern, asked Florist Luscia, "Are you sure you don’t want to ride in a carriage?"

Florist Luscia instinctively touched her still-flat stomach and said firmly, "I can walk."

Nexia did not press further; she understood that though Florist Luscia appeared delicate, once she made up her mind, her resolve would not waver easily.

"Actually, we could ride horses—it would get us to Ophelia a day sooner," Genian Daphra suggested softly from the side.

"We are the leader’s wives. The whole convoy follows us as an example. If we abandon them and leave on horseback alone, it wouldn’t be proper!"

Nexia’s gently firm words caused Genian Daphra to purse her lips, and recalling the beating she received the other day, she no longer dared openly oppose Nexia. She silently refrained from speaking further.

Under Nexia’s command, the Nix convoy set out.

This convoy was far larger than the migrating Alde tribes, numbering over ten thousand people. The majority were families of the Third Legion’s team officers and soldiers, primarily wives and their children.

Some of the children were not the tribesmen’s own biological offspring but had been brought over by their wives. More than half of these wives were Segestica women, whose former husbands perished in battles with the Nix people, leaving them as captives. For survival, they chose to marry Nix soldiers. A smaller portion were Alde women whose husbands had died in wars with Segestica. After struggling to live with their children, they chose to work for the Nix Tribe following a friendly alliance agreement, eventually falling in love with their employers and marrying them.

Among the children were also infants born within the past few months. Many soldiers applied for leave from the Legion Commander to care for their young ones, joining the convoy to relocate as families to their new homes by the Sava River. This naturally made the convoy even larger.

Maximus’s family members and the households of the nine departmental officers formed another significant element of the Nix convoy. Although their numbers were small, they were of great importance, and 200 or so well-armed guards were designated to ensure their safety.

The Nix Tribe had mobilized every carriage in its transport fleet to help relocate the tribesmen’s belongings—household goods, that is, not grain.

This year’s abundant harvest had left every official tribe member of the Nix people with storehouses brimming with grain. Relocating thousands of official tribe members from regions like Snowdonia and Westeni presented a colossal logistical challenge, as the sheer volume of grain to be transported was enormous. Given the current transport capacities, it would take at least ten days to move it all. Additionally, the journey from Kupa River to Sava River required one to three days, during which a considerable amount of grain would be consumed...

To address this, Gaius devised a solution: the Finance Department would weigh the grain in households slated for relocation by the Kupa River, record the exact quantities, and issue vouchers in the name of the tribe. Once the families had settled, they could use the vouchers at the Finance Department in Ophelia to claim grain in the exact amounts they had recorded.

When Gaius presented this idea, Maximus praised it widely. Not only did he help ensure its approval by the Political Affairs Hall, but he also repeatedly instructed all departments to fully cooperate with the Finance Department in implementing this measure, guaranteeing that every relocating tribesman would ultimately reclaim their rightful share of grain!

Departmental officers assumed Leader Maximus’s prioritization of this initiative stemmed from concern for the relocating tribesmen. However, Maximus, having come from a modern society, had bigger ambitions. He envisioned this as a stepping stone toward introducing concepts of banking and currency, ensuring the successful start of an endeavor that could plant the seeds of interregional transactions and currency exchange in the minds of his people.

As he watched the massive convoy stretch into the distance, the newly-appointed Snowdonia Administrator Xie Pangbo exhaled deeply, finally feeling a sense of relief.