Revolt against the Heavens

Attempting to conceal some weakness in his voice, Chieftain Sha Chai Ren officially opened the discussion.

"Honorable Brothers and Sisters, as you've been told already, we have pushed back against an attack devised by City Lord Sihe. Like many of our brethren, we have suffered from various raids and several of our own sons and daughters were abducted and enslaved by the Nalupu Kingdom. While City Lord Sihe is not the only one behind those raids, he surely is the most prominent slaver. Besides, his seals are a plight to our people and our survival.

And as you've been told, we stood strong and we prevailed, even against a large army and a powerful 2nd-grade Accomplished Demon. The main reason for this victory was Venerable Mo Yun also known by many as Tie Po. This name wasn't chosen by him but people took it upon themselves to compare him with that great hero. For the time being, Venerable Mo Yun is recovering in my personal quarters.

There are several reasons for this meeting, but they all revolve around the slave trade problem. City Lord Sihe will not stop after this first failure. And if they succeed in enslaving our Sand Wolves Tribe, other tribes will follow suit. If we don't unite now, there will be no hope for the future. I would like to hear your opinion on those matters."

Obviously, everyone already knew about all of that. But having a direct confirmation by Chieftain Sha Chai Ren was changing things a little. However, there were still other things to confirm before adding anything else to the conversation. Because he knew this, Chieftain Sha Chai Ren was waiting for those questions. The first one to ask them was Chieftain Feng Tian. His voice surprised everyone as they had almost forgot his presence. In fact, they were forcing themselves to remember his existence at almost all times.

"Venerable Chieftain, my Whispering Hare Tribe heard many rumors about this Mo Yun. While some are clearly nonsensical, others are at least partially based on reality. There are also various claims that seem dubious about his character. Please, do not take my questions as insults, but I would like to know more about this man."

"Brother, ask any question you wish. I won't take your words as insulting at all as I know it would never be your intention. Your tribe is well known and respected. You have nothing to fear from me."

"Thank you, Venerable Chieftain. Then I will not hold back. First of all, I would like to confirm his abilities and their extent. There are many claims about the way he can unravel any seal. Such claims range from believable to mystical. Indeed, I heard rumors about the fact that he would have released thousands of demons from the Curse of Blood and Sorrow just by looking at them. While such rumors seem preposterous, there is some basis behind them. Please, tell us how much of it is true."

The question caught the interest of everyone. Indeed, this was an extremely important information to get. As everyone was focused on Chieftain Sha Chai Ren, waiting for his answer, the old man smiled, clearly amused.

"Unfortunately, even Venerable Mo Yun has no such divine ability. That being said, he is indeed able to unravel any seal created by City Lord Sihe. During the recent battle, he freed many a slave. However, even he couldn't save everyone as some fell victim to the Curse of Blood and Sorrow, dying in horrendous agony. Honestly, I couldn't tell how far his abilities in that domain go. But I can tell you for sure that his knowledge and mastery over seals is greater than City Lord Sihe's without any doubt possible."

Patriarch Liang Lisheng seemed to be the most affected by the news. Like the others, he had heard rumors about Mo Yun's ability regarding seals. But he didn't seem happy to have a confirmation of his superiority over City Lord Sihe. This immediately caught the attention of Matriarch Ying Hua who had deep resentment toward the burly man.

"Thank you for your honest answer, Venerable Chieftain. There is another matter about Venerable Mo Yun's ability I'd like to confirm. Is it true that he set up a Heaven grade array formation during the battle that opposed you to City Lord Sihe's treachery?"

Once again, everyone was waiting for Chieftain Sha Chai Ren's answer as it was another important issue.

"Indeed. Venerable Mo Yun's knowledge doesn't just stop at seals. His mastery over array formations is also extremely impressive. Without his array formations, we would have been unable to prevail. And even if by some miracle we had, our losses would have been so many that our tribe would be extinct by now. I can affirm that his mastery is second to none in the entire Desolate Sepulcher in both regards, seals and array formations."

"Venerable Chieftain's words confirm the information I had received. As much as having such an ally is a cause for celebration, there are troubling matters surrounding Venerable Mo Yun. Is Venerable Chieftain aware that this Tie Po is also the head of Blazing Swallow, a company that is actively working with Boss Gui, the most cruel and renown slaver?"

Suddenly, the excitement in the chieftains' eyes turned back into tension. They had all heard the same rumors but didn't have time to confirm or deny them as of yet. After all, they were all rather far from any city so it was obvious that it would take time. Watching at Chieftain Sha Chai Ren's face, the answer to these accusations was obvious.

"Indeed, he is the very same man. I won't pretend to know for sure what his intentions are, but I can tell you that he means our people no harm. He literally put his life on the line for us. Given his strength, he didn't need to go this far if his goal was simply to obtain benefits from us. I sincerely believe he is opposed to the tyranny of the Nalupu Kingdom as it is crushing us right now."

"With all due respect, Chieftain, this is quite apparent to me and to anyone with a sound mind, that this Mo Yun is simply working for Boss Gui. The only reason he's helped your tribe was to thwart City Lord Sihe's plan. Most likely, he means to enslave you all himself. Considering how specific Boss Gui is, he was probably looking for the best warriors among your tribe in order to enslave them."

Patriarch Liang Lisheng's tone was rude and domineering. What was apparent to all was that the respect he had for Chieftain Sha Chai Ren was quite limited indeed. Still, he wasn't ready to cross any permanent line yet.

"Ha ha... Little Patriarch, you accuse him of working for Boss Gui against City Lord Sihe, but aren't you just looking for your own interests?"

"What?!"

Matriarch Ying Hua's cold voice resounded through the tent. In her tone, there were many attacks directed toward the Sun Scorpion Clan's Patriarch. Unlike him, she wasn't holding back at all. In fact, she was quite proud to just how little she was respecting him. On the other hand, Patriarch Liang Lisheng couldn't let his anger explode. As soon as his raised his voice, he sensed Chieftain Sha Chai Ren, General Sha Lang Hu and even Chieftain Hong Yanxu's intents focus on him. If he made a wrong move, they would all attack him instantly. This wasn't the time for a physical confrontation, only words could be used today.

"My poor Liang, you don't seem to realize that everyone knows. If you thought your involvement with City Lord Sihe was a secret, think again!"

"Baseless rumors! How dare you defame me?!"

"There are indeed many rumors about Patriarch Liang Lisheng dealing with City Lord Sihe. Although nothing has been confirmed yet, those rumors are probably not baseless at all. However, knowing to which extent those two are working together is difficult to assess."

With a very calm voice, as if oblivious to the tension around him, Chieftain Feng Tian spoke. The Whispering Hare Tribe was know for their accurate information. Even Patriarch Liang Lisheng knew it was useless to debate them. Besides, he didn't have the means to do so.

"Venerable Brothers and Sisters, what is baseless is my involvement with the slave trade! Of course, I have some business relations within the Nalupu Kingdom, like all of us. But it doesn't mean that we are servant of Lord Wanghuo. City Lord Sihe is a powerful and influential member of the Xinian Confederation. I am sure that you are all indirectly involved with some of his operations. Unlike you, I'm just more open about it. In fact, if we can show him that we are more beneficial than his slave trade, we might get it to stop. After all, the Empyrean Asura Theocracy won't wage war forever and the revenue from the slave trade will diminish with time."

"Poor little Patriarch... No one believes the lies you spew. Your very words are like poison in the air. The Lotus Tribe unfortunately paid for opposing your venom when you turned your violence against my sisters and daughters."

"Matriarch! You go too far! I understand that you despise me for attacking your clan, but I would have never betrayed the Lotus Tribe for outsiders. If I wanted to resolve my grudge with them, I would have attacked them directly!"

"But then, there wouldn't have been any benefit for you, right?"

This time, it was Chieftain Hong Yanxu who spoke. Against her, even Patriarch Liang Lisheng didn't dare to be too arrogant or to raise his voice.

"It is indeed odd that the Lotus Tribe, as small as it was, was completely eradicated. In fact, it is also odd that City Lord Sihe seems to know where our settlements are with that much precision. I firmly believe that he did get his information regarding the Sand Wolves Tribe from our own brethren. This is quite troubling. In fact, City Lord Sihe almost found our own settlements. Thankfully, the information they used was outdated and they lost themselves in the desert. The Desolate Dune Desert took care of those for us."

Chieftain Feng Tian's voice was still very calm and he tried to stay as factual as possible.

"Are you going to accuse me of everything that's going wrong for us?! I also lost clansmen to slavery!"

"But your clansmen were never enslaved by anyone related to City Lord Sihe. In fact, you've fallen victim to Boss Gui more often than not. She indeed bought most of your slaves. After all, they are already great warriors so they served her well. That could explain your resentment toward Mo Yun. You were right when you said that we are all involved in various businesses with the Nalupu Kingdom despite the slave trade. We do need them to survive after all. So there is no reason to hold Mo Yun to a higher standard. From our information, he never actively took part in slavery. In fact, he even freed slaves, both through force and legally."

"All of this is a way to gain our favors. There is no doubt that he would benefit from City Lord Sihe's demise. This Mo Yun might not be a slaver himself, but he is just using us to get rid of his friend's competitor!"

"I do think, Patriarch Liang Lisheng is correct." A new voice echoed in the tent, Chieftain Bing Mosha's voice from the Freezing Sand Tribe. "We can't assume that Mo Yun will help us out of the kindness of his heart. He is clearly looking for some kind of benefit. Although it might not be directly related to Boss Gui, I do think he is using us for another purpose. However, we have no reason to involve ourselves with him. Although the slave trade is a huge problem, we can't confront the Nalupu Kingdom directly. If we cause too much problem, Lord Wanghuo could intervene in person. And then, we would all be wiped out."

"I do not think it would be wise for the Nalupu Kingdom to completely annihilate us. After all, they do need us as much as we need them. Without our tribes and our knowledge of the desert, the Nalupu Kingdom would ultimately crumble. Even the trade with the Empyrean Asura Theocracy will eventually end. That being said, it is possible for Lord Wanghuo to punish us with extreme cruelty. As long as he profits from the situation, he won't involve himself in politics. But if our actions cause him any trouble, he might indeed react harshly. Thus, I have to agree with Chieftain Bing Mosha. Our best course of action is to keep using the Desolate Dune Desert to hid from our tormentors. And that means that we must weed out any traitor."

Chieftain Hong Yanxu's last words were directed at Patriarch Liang Lisheng. She in fact made no attempt at concealing it. Before he could answer anything, Matriarch Ying Hua followed.

"While I agree about Lord Wanghuo's nature, I disagree with my sister's conclusions. Instead of directly attacking the Nalupu Kingdom, we could instead focus our efforts on City Lord Sihe alone. His seals are making the slave trade so much simpler and easier for them. With him out of the picture, the slave trade won't disappear but it would clearly slow down. At the same time, we could also try and negotiate with the Sisters of the Abyss. Tie Po is gaining a lot of influence, we could use it. Instead of staying outsiders, we could try and get a real place among the Nalupu Kingdom. Technically, City Lord Sihe is violating the law as forced slavery is forbidden by both the Nalupu Kingdom and the Sisters of the Abyss."

"Humph! Matriarch Ying is too optimistic!"

"You simply don't want to take down your best friend, silly Patriarch..."

"This Mo Yun is just using us all! He is ready to sacrifice every last one of us to kill City Lord Sihe and help his dear friend Boss Gui! That is the truth!"

"Enough!" Chieftain Sha Chai Ren stopped the argument before it turned violent. "I heard you all. Now hear me out."