Chapter 1421: Chapter 8: Pacifying the Furious Spirit (Part 8)

The banquets of the Great Wilderness are quite simple—in fact, the feasts of the Wenduo Tribe are very simple.

This is because the leaders of the Hed Tribes occasionally, to display their power, create many elaborate rituals just like their distant relatives.

However, the Wenduo Tribe’s feasts are more back to basics: they eat when meat is served, drink when wine is poured, add more if not enough, and finish when full.

Nevertheless, when looking at the content of the meals, the Wenduo Tribe’s banquets, like other aspects of the community, are inevitably influenced by its leaders:

The drinks offered, besides the traditional koumiss, include light beer;

The meats, in addition to beef, lamb, goose, and rabbit, also include chicken, duck, donkey, and pork;

The side dishes, apart from wild mushrooms and berries, include vegetables and fruits from the fields;

In terms of seasonings, besides salt and sauces, they also use fish sauce from Vineta and expensive spices from the Far East;

On the Wenduo Tribe’s dining table, there’s also a plate of pastries made with ample honey, butter, and sugar, very fragrant and sweet.

This was obviously intentional.

The Herders typically eat some demon-grain and oats to fill their stomachs, but wheat is hard to come by unless plundered from neighbors, not to mention such delicious pastries.

That’s why, compared to the meat, the plate of pastries is emptied first.

Pierre didn’t notice this initially because nothing on the table was unavailable to him.

But when he saw one of the subordinates secretly and carefully pocketing the overly sweet pastries, he understood why the Centurion said, “‘Managing a feast’ is a very important task”:

In this harsh and desolate land, what you eat determines who you are, and what you can offer others proves what you have.

Moreover, by carefully observing how the guests eat, one can see the disparities within the Herders’ society.

Some Herders put bones back on the plate while still covered with meat, signaling a servant to take them out of the tent;

Some Herders kept sucking bones even if the cartilage had been gnawed clean, still not satisfied.

As he watched the varied scenes of the banquet inside the tent, a voice in Pierre’s heart grew stronger.

This voice germinated while visiting various sub-camps and strengthened as he understood the old and new commoners, becoming especially clear at this grand feast:

There exists a society in the Great Wilderness as complex as the settlers’ states;

Rudely summarizing every individual within it as “barbarians” is both ignorant and arrogant;

If one merely regards this society as an enemy, perhaps this understanding suffices, and might even carry some advantage;

However, if those from outside the wilderness want to rule over it, holding only such a superficial understanding will lead to dire consequences.

Pierre increasingly regretted not having earlier thought to learn Heder;

Thinking of this, Pierre lost his appetite even more, his mind occupied with how to subdue the new commoners and win over the old, so he only mechanically chewed and swallowed, with no leisure to enjoy the meal.

Just when Pierre was about half full, the Blood Wolf turned and asked, “Are you full?”

Jerked back to reality, Pierre immediately put down his food: “I’m full.”

“Really full?”

“Really full.”

The Blood Wolf smiled slightly and gestured, and the banquet immediately moved to the next stage.

The Herders dining in the tent sharply sensed the change in atmosphere—or rather, the well-fed Herders were waiting for this moment to come.

Though some continued to sip wine from leather flasks and gnaw on bones not fully cleaned, no one was whispering or making sounds with plates or dishes.

The tent door opened, and two Herders walked in one after the other.

The one entering last quickly walked a few steps after entering the tent, catching up with the one entering first, and stood beside him without conceding, yet keeping a considerable distance.

The two Herders, without looking at each other, stiff-necked, came before the Blood Wolf.

Even though Pierre knew nothing about these two Herders, he could tell they were likely at odds.

Sure enough, after forcefully saluting like in a competition, the latter was the first to speak, loudly blurting out a long string of words.

As the one who came in later spoke, the expression of the one in front grew more displeased, so when it was his turn to speak, he used an even louder voice, causing an echo in the tent.

Unfortunately, Pierre couldn’t understand a word from the two Herders, but he did notice the Centurion nodding slowly and solemnly while listening.

The two Herders finished speaking angrily, once again bowing forcefully like they were competing, then stood still under the tent, waiting for a verdict.

This was already the umpteenth time that Pierre felt frustrated today for not understanding the Herd language.

However, the language barrier was soon resolved in an unexpected way.

Blood Wolf turned his head to translate and explain for Pierre: “The two commoners under the tent are named ‘White Sparrow’ and ‘Willow Grove’. White Sparrow’s colt went missing earlier and was later found among Willow Grove’s herd…”

The Wenduo people inside the tent were shocked to see Batu, a lord of their region, actually seeking the opinion of the young descendant beside him.

Fortunately, they did not understand the language from beyond the wilderness, otherwise, they would have also realized—Batu was not only seeking the young descendant’s opinion but also acting as his translator.

Pierre was equally shocked.

But what shocked Pierre was that a case significant enough to be brought to a Centurion was just about a horse dispute?

Seeing the two Herders under the tent staring daggers at each other, he thought it was at least a major lawsuit involving two lives.

If not for the language barrier, Pierre really wanted to grab each Herder by the collar and roar at them:

“Sitting in front of you is the lord of Iron Peak County, the ‘Khan’ of the Newly Reclaimed Outlands, one of the leaders of the Fourth Republic of Paratu, the Blood of the Wolf renowned across the wilderness—Winters Montagne. You’ve run to his feet, spewed so much saliva, wasted so much time, all for a horse?”

Only then did Pierre understand the meaningful smile on the Centurion’s lips at the beginning of the banquet.

He contained his temper and calmly suggested, “So let both sides present witnesses and evidence to prove who owns the horse?”

“There’s no dispute over the horse’s ownership,” Blood Wolf said, his expression serious but his words less so: “The issue is that White Sparrow’s colt was very competent. While living among Willow Grove’s herd, it mated with Willow Grove’s mares and produced six foals.”

Pierre was dumbfounded.

Blood Wolf continued: “White Sparrow believes that at least three of the six foals are his; Willow Grove believes that the foals have nothing to do with White Sparrow. That’s where their disagreement lies. What do you think?”

Pierre found it a bit amusing, but seeing the Centurion’s serious expression, he couldn’t help but take it completely seriously as well.

After contemplating for a moment, Pierre seriously answered: “First, we should clarify whether White Sparrow’s colt went missing on its own or was stolen or lured away. If it’s the latter, then hold Willow Grove accountable for horse theft; if it’s the former, then the six foals have nothing to do with White Sparrow, because the colt would naturally find its way back, whereas mares can only give birth once a year. Willow Grove has paid a far greater cost for the six foals than White Sparrow.”

Pierre saw the Centurion seemed to smile, then turned his head back.

Next, the leader of the Wenduo Tribe asked the two Herders a few questions, and they answered respectively.

Following that, Blood Wolf called out several names in succession. Each time a name was called, an elder stood up in the royal tent and responded, sometimes briefly, sometimes at length, as if expressing an opinion.

In the end, Blood Wolf delivered his verdict. The Herder who came in later was overjoyed, while the one who came in first, though displeased, had no objections.

The attendees served the two with leather jugs, and the two Herders drank a ceremonial toast in front of everyone, bowed to Batu again, and then briskly exited the royal tent.

Pierre sighed in relief.

Then, the second pair of Herders walked in…

In the following hours, Pierre’s goal of “learning more about Herder society” was rapidly achieved in an unexpected yet very effective manner.

Pierre could be said to have witnessed “the diversity of internal conflicts within Herder society” firsthand—from stealing horses to stealing people, from seizing pastures to seizing wives, encompassing both trivial economic disputes and heinous criminal cases.

The most unforgettable to him was an accusation of “bride kidnapping.”

A runaway slave had taken a female slave from a small tribe that had recently joined the Wenduo Tribe and married her.

It was no big deal; similar events happened on the Great Wilderness daily.

Being robbed only showed that the robbed tribe was incapable; being able to single-handedly rob someone demonstrated great capability.

Which side earned more respect was self-evident.

The problem was, others usually kidnapped brides from enemy tribes, while this runaway slave targeted “his own people.”

Moreover, sitting under the tent were mostly old commoners who had brought their property and joined, naturally siding with the robbed small tribe.

Thus the robbed female slave pleaded desperately for her husband, despite her pregnancy, while the royal tent was filled with cries for bloodshed, wishing to pierce the runaway slave with a thousand arrows.

The newly joined commoners, weak in numbers, were completely overwhelmed by the old commoners and didn’t dare make a sound.

The only person who stood firmly and fearlessly on the runaway slave’s side was Pierre.

To speak to those under the tent, Pierre even specially requested the Centurion to have Bell translate for him.

Ultimately, this one-against-a-hundred grand debate ended with Pierre triumphing by exposing a flaw in the accusation—that when the runaway slave took the woman, the robbed tribe was still on its way to join and had not sworn allegiance yet.

The runaway slave, named “Needle Arrow,” saved from death, knelt in tears and heavily kowtowed three times to the “arrows shot near and far by Batu,” managing to bruise his forehead on the thick felt, and then helped his wife exit the royal tent.