Butterfly Wings Flutter

Just as Yang Jie was putting on a dramatic performance before Wendy, Xia Rong quietly raised her trembling right hand...

"Alright, that's enough... no need to say more..."

"I have some wheelbarrows as well. I can give you two hundred, but that's my absolute limit—no more..."

Xia Rong's voice quivered slightly; the pain of parting with her possessions was hard to bear, for these were nearly all she had left.

"Ah, my friend, how can you say such things? We could never..."

"Chieftain!"

"You must understand, we have far too few craftsmen in our tribe. At most, we can produce ten wheelbarrows a day. Perhaps I could..."

Old Sha saw his chance to play his part and coordinated seamlessly with Yang Jie.

"Alas," Yang Jie sighed deeply, shaking his head in distress. "My friend, you see the situation for yourself. As the saying goes, a gentleman does not covet another's treasure, but we have no other choice..."

According to the scouts’ reports from the front, Xia Rong’s tribe of lizardfolk had roughly five hundred wheelbarrows. Offering two hundred was truly their limit.

After nearly an hour of haggling and feigned reluctance, the two tribes finally reached a strategic alliance.

The treaty was named "Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Assistance between the Andean Ratfolk and the Grassland Lizardfolk."

Its main points were as follows:

1. Territory: The Andean Ratfolk formally accepted the Grassland Lizardfolk into the Northsen Plain, designating a five-hundred-square-kilometer area in the southern part for their autonomous rule.

2. Resources: The Grassland Lizardfolk would pay a one-time tribute of 100,000 units of grain to the Andean Ratfolk, and thereafter provide 10% of their total monthly resource output as an activity tax, along with a one-time free donation of 200 wheelbarrows.

3. Technology: The Grassland Lizardfolk would send technical experts to assist the Andean Ratfolk in learning fisheries and aquaculture, and would share all other technologies they possessed.

4. Trade: The Andean Ratfolk could freely enter the Lizardfolk camp for foreign trade, while the Lizardfolk would require a permit and registration to enter Horseshoe Mountain.

5. Administration: Each month, the Lizardfolk must send officials to Horseshoe Mountain to report to the highest leader of the Andean Ratfolk. The Andean Council had the right to intervene in certain Lizardfolk internal affairs, with final authority resting with the Andean Field Rats.

6. Military: The highest command of the Lizardfolk army belonged to the Andean Ratfolk, and certain officials could directly mobilize their units. Any movement into the central Northsen Plain required approval from the highest Andean leader.

These six clauses spanned politics, military, technology, commerce, and agriculture.

Thus, Xia Rong’s tribe formally established itself in the southern Northsen Plain, entering a semi-colonial and semi-primitive society.

After both parties signed the treaty on parchment, a grand welcoming ceremony followed, lasting deep into the night. Wearing a forced smile, Xia Rong endured the festivities, then led her followers back to camp. Glancing back at the towering Horseshoe Mountain, nearly fifty meters high, she felt not the slightest desire to linger a moment longer.

She did not resent Yang Jie; her tribe's weakness left her with neither the courage nor the thought of resistance.

The phrase "a weak nation has no diplomacy" was now etched deeply in her mind.

The only solace was the knowledge that, in the future, all these efforts would prove worthwhile.

Thus, Yang Jie established a "natural barrier" between the Northsen Plain and the Chacarc Steppe—without shedding a single drop of blood.

...

At the same time, on the northern reaches of the Chacarc Steppe, sixty kilometers from the border with the Northsen Plain, the night was ablaze with light. Over ten thousand torches illuminated the steppe as if it were daylight.

Two massive groups faced each other across the vast grasslands, aligned east and west.

To the west stood a force of seven thousand warriors from the "Western Alliance of the Chacarc Steppe," composed of various steppe civilizations. At the center stepped forth a chieftain of the centaurs, towering five meters tall and radiating formidable strength. Behind him gathered five hundred robust centaurs, their mere presence intimidating from afar.

Qian Hao, the centaur tribal leader, was conferring with other lords of the steppe, strategizing for the coming battle.

Two hundred meters ahead, the eastern formation assembled—six thousand elite warriors drawn from the "Eastern Alliance: Steppe Avengers," elite fighters selected from various tribes.

Wei Xiong, chief of the Eastern Alliance, sat astride a giant wolf nearly four meters long, poised at the forefront. Behind him gathered the wolf cavalry—his ace unit: Special Operations—Steppe Wolf Cavalry.

Each wolf rider was the pride of their tribe, battle-hardened and fiercely determined, the secret behind Wei Xiong’s dominance in the east.

On this day, the Chacarc Steppe would witness the first clash between the eastern and western alliances.

"Warriors of the Western Alliance, charge with me!" Qian Hao commanded, and seven thousand warriors surged forward.

"Let us see what these grass-eaters are made of! Forward, brothers!" came the cry from the east.

With a shout from Wei Jie, the leader of the Eastern Alliance, low roars erupted from their phalanx.

Thus began the era of warlords and rival powers on the Chacarc Steppe, bordering the southern Northsen Plain.

...

Some two thousand kilometers from Horseshoe Mountain, in a human encampment, Bell Shilin finally opened his eyes after two days of unconsciousness.

"Mmm..." His body ached, his head throbbed; the adrenaline from his battle with the raptor had dulled the pain, but now, as the effects faded, every wound stung, and weakness washed over him like heartbreak in the dead of night, suffocating and raw.

Bell had succumbed to exhaustion and emotion, collapsing into a three-day-and-night slumber.

"You're awake?"

By his side, Lv Haomin had watched over him these past days. Gazing at the young brontosaurus, her weary face broke into a rare smile.

"Susan, fetch Calvin—it’s awake!"

"Yes, chieftain!" the maid replied, hurrying out.

Turning back, Lv Haomin gazed tenderly at the helpless Bell. Words were unnecessary in this moment.

During these short days with Bell, every night the young dinosaur mumbled in his sleep, tears sometimes streaking his cheeks.

Though Lv Haomin could not truly share his pain, this vulnerable child stirred in her an overwhelming urge to protect.

Bell whimpered, haunted by memories too painful to bear, tormenting his young heart.

Lv Haomin said nothing, but cradled Bell’s head in her arms.

"From now on, child, I’ll be your mother."