Chapter 1571: Chapter 77: Visitor from Afar (Prologue)

This made them the kings of the wilderness.

Among the various beings in the hominid family, they were the first subspecies to truly master the skill of walking upright.

Because of this, scholars of later generations referred to them as “Homo erectus.”

Although Homo erectus still had to live with hunger, they had already mastered an unprecedented method of killing:

“Throwing stones.”

This strong Homo erectus was already close enough to kill the prey.

His target was a large, group-moving herbivore with four hooves and long horns, which was currently gathered around the pond, sipping precious muddy water.

Killings near water sources were more frequent than anywhere else; predators preferred to attack near water sources, yet herbivores still came here.

Mostly, predators targeted the old, weak, sick, and disabled members of the herd.

Even the saber-toothed beasts with sharp fangs dared not easily challenge adult individuals among the prey.

But this Homo erectus could.

Because he was very skilled at throwing stones.

Four-hooved, long-horned animals didn’t appear every day, so this Homo erectus had to seize the chance; first he identified the largest individual in the herd, then took a deep breath, stretched his long arm, and following his instincts, he hurled a sharpened stone towards the target with all his might.

The stone flew with a sound like wind and thunder, astonishingly fast.

In an instant, a blood mist erupted from the prey’s left shoulder blade.

The next second, his prey suddenly burst into a frenzied run, and all the four-hooved, long-horned animals instinctively followed in flight.

The stone-throwing Homo erectus quickly retreated — even as the leader of the tribe, the strongest stone-thrower, he couldn’t withstand the trampling of ten thousand hooves.

In the distance, his companions quickly ran towards him.

Amidst the billowing dust, the Homo erectus stood back-to-back, tightly pressed together like rocks in the waves, unmoved by the terrifying sound of hooves.

The fleeing four-hooved, horned animals bypassed them.

The stone-thrower’s prey didn’t last long; it ran only a short distance before collapsing, twitching briefly before quickly falling silent.

When the other four-hooved animals had calmed down from their panic, the Homo erectus dispersed and approached the prey’s corpse, waving their arms and emitting low roars from their throats.

The surviving four-hooved animals silently left, leaving their companion’s corpse to the mightiest predators of the wilderness.

The Homo erectus took out tools and began to butcher the prey.

Their tools were still crafted stone tools but had become much more refined than the stones the ape-men used.

Moreover, they were sturdy enough, having been used for two million years and able to last another million.

As the leader, the stone-throwing Homo erectus was the first to taste.

He scooped out the prey’s liver and ate heartily before allowing his companions their turn.

After having a hearty meal, the hunters dismembered what was left of the prey, carrying or hauling it all away — the old, weak, women, and children of the tribe were waiting for food.

In the cave, the elderly grandmother heard the noise of the hunting offspring returning home.

She placed some dry moss into the stone pit she was tending and then leaned her hand against it.

Before long, a wisp of blue smoke rose from the pit, followed by denser black smoke, and the old mother gently blew into the pit as if nurturing a young creature.

Finally, a flame rose among the ashes at the pit’s bottom.

The young Homo erectus sitting around the pit watched the flickering flames with reverence, timidly placing dried animal dung into the pit only after receiving the old grandmother’s permission.

The fire illuminated the cave and also lit up the future of mankind.

Fire-making and stone-throwing.

Releasing energy and storing energy.

These two skills would help humankind withstand the intense sun of the eternal summer, endure the endless cold, survive the refining of time, help humans cross oceans, traverse lands, expand to every corner of this planet, and ultimately help mankind leave the cradle to sail into the boundless interstellar.

—————–

Many years passed again.

Kamet, the Land of Black Soil.

White City, the Land of Souls, home of the Creator God.

Late at night.

The heart-wrenching cries of a woman echoed within the temple of the Creator, God of Craftsmanship and Art.

Outside the heavy main gate in the rear hall, the Pharaoh was waiting.

The woman inside the hall enduring great pain due to the baby’s breech position was his Queen and his father’s eldest daughter.

But at this moment, what the Pharaoh cared about most was not his wife and sister suffering from difficult labor — there was no deep affection between the two of them, and their union was not born from love.

On the contrary, not only did the Pharaoh detest his father’s eldest daughter, but he also clearly understood the grave consequences their union might bring.

In fact, apart from his father’s eldest daughter, the Pharaoh’s harem was filled with numerous concubines, and most of the time, he preferred to spend the night with his concubines.

Yet he still married his father’s eldest daughter and mated with her.

He, his father, and the countless once mighty, now forgotten kings along the banks of the dark river; they included their sisters, daughters, even aunts and nieces, into their harems not only because no mortal was worthy of a royal daughter, but more importantly, because they needed divine power to rule.

To this end, they had to maintain the purest blood of the Heavenly God.

And the most extreme method of keeping the divine blood pure was to have two bearers of divine blood produce offspring.