At this moment, a dramatic scene unfolded.
The death of the clan leader of the tribe caused the morale of the barbarians to plummet, and panic began to spread.
This is a primitive tribe with only a few hundred people, where societal development has not yet reached agriculture and relies on fishing, hunting, and gathering for food.
Whoever can secure more game, feed the tribe members, and protect the tribe becomes the clan leader.
Like the monkey king to a troop of monkeys, the competition for the position of clan leader has always been fierce and brutal, facing countless challenges at all times. When aging and weakening, the wise step down voluntarily through "abdication" or are killed by a newer, stronger challenger.
Thus, every reigning clan leader is the strongest and most formidable warrior in the tribe.
The death of such a figure is a devastating blow to a group of barbarians with loose organizational structure and lax discipline.
...
Just as Chen Shouyi prepared to seize the opportunity and flee toward the passage entrance.
The barbarians on two dugout canoes also hurriedly picked up their poles. Several barbarians used their combined strength to push, causing the two canoes to gradually detach from the stranded beach and slowly head toward the ocean.
Chen Shouyi ran a few steps, seeing no further commotion behind him, he couldn't help but look back.
They actually ran away?
Seeing this scene before him, his mind was still in a bit of a daze, and he instinctively ran a few more steps.
Wait a minute, since that's the case, why am I still running?
Wouldn't that make me appear guilty, showing a lack of confidence?
He came to his senses and immediately turned around, heading back the way he came.
He stopped only when his feet touched the seawater.
From afar, he drew his bow and shot a few times toward the sky, venting loudly:
"Come back so I can kill you."
"I'll cut off your... uh!"
He suddenly stalled, not knowing how to say 'head,' a word he hadn't learned yet.
However, this did not affect the actual effect; the barbarians looked increasingly scared as this mysterious figure wielding a terrifying weapon continued firing attacks, and they rowed even more desperately.
Initially, the contents of the Tree God's oracle were quite vague.
As a divine creature that has not yet ignited the Divine Fire, its abilities are quite limited, and danger foresight is just a vague sense, only knowing danger exists to the north.
But the degree of danger is unclear, whether it is merely a small risk of a few followers dying or a crisis in which even it might fall.
Once the oracle was delivered, it was inevitably exaggerated by the barbarians.
This operation had assembled most of the tribe's young adults, clearly aimed at confronting a tribe-extinguishing level of danger.
Yet before even fully landing on the island, nearly half of the personnel were dead or injured, and even the strongest clan leader was killed by the enemy.
This not only proved the correctness of the oracle but also in the eyes of the barbarians, Chen Shouyi had been portrayed as a demon capable of devouring people.
...
Chen Shouyi vented for a while, watching the two dugout canoes rowing farther and farther away, and finally sat down on the ground.
He felt as if he were exhausted, with not a single ounce of strength left in his body.
He actually survived?
Survived the chase of twenty-three barbarians!
He leaned back, lying on the beach, closing his eyes, letting the rain pour down. He couldn't help but show a smile at the corners of his mouth, which grew larger and larger.
The feeling of being alive is damn good!
...
The rain became lighter, and before long, it stopped.
As the clouds dispersed, sunlight poured onto the ground.
After lying there for a good half hour, he finally stood up and walked toward the corpses.
His drenched clothes clung askew to his body, and his shoes were filled with water. With every step, they made squelching sounds, making him extremely uncomfortable.
He took off his shirt.
However, he didn't remove his shoes. This wasn't a manicured artificial beach; the sand was full of sharp gravel and shell fragments. With his uncalloused feet, he would soon cut them and bleed.
On the beach lay only two barbarians: one was the barbarian he first shot, the other was the barbarian clan leader.
He didn't need to handle those in the sea.
The plentiful small ocean creatures in the shallow sea are the best scavengers; soon these bodies would be reduced to mere bones.
He first checked the ordinary barbarian body and found that besides the animal skin on him, this barbarian was entirely devoid of belongings. As for the stinky, tattered animal skin, he couldn't even bear to glance at it.
Chen Shouyi lifted the corpse, waded through the seawater, and casually threw it, completing the task.
Then he walked toward the tall, strong barbarian clan leader.
Compared to the ordinary barbarian, this barbarian clan leader was much more affluent. Just the sleek, water-resistant animal skin around his waist seemed quite extraordinary, faintly emitting weak fluorescence.
He couldn't help but touch it, feeling a warm texture that even imparted a faint repelling force.
Clearly, this animal skin was not left by ordinary beasts.
Unfortunately, even if he thought about it, it wasn't of much use, merely interesting to look at. Was he supposed to wrap himself with animal skin or make a leather jacket?
But still, he couldn't overcome his disgust and ripped the animal skin off the corpse.
After all, it was a trophy; even as a collectible, it's not bad.
"Oh! What's this?"
Just as he tore the animal skin off the corpse, an eye-sized object, pointed on both ends like a fruit pit, rolled down.
Chen Shouyi's gaze was immediately drawn to it.
It bore mysterious patterns yet had a crystal stone-like semi-transparent nature, emanating charming radiance in the sunlight, shimmering brilliantly. It looked rather beautiful.
This meticulously crafted item seemed entirely out of place with these primitive barbarians.
If it wasn't acquired from elsewhere, it must have formed naturally.
It seemed as if it carried a kind of magical power; the more Chen Shouyi looked at it, the happier he became, his heart racing, he reached out to pick it up.
As soon as the skin on his finger touched the mysterious "fruit pit," before he could scrutinize it, an anomaly suddenly occurred.
Vaguely, a weak and gentle voice seemed to echo in his mind, as in whispers, as in murmurs, filled with temptation, urging him to listen closely.
His thoughts began to blur as if he were immersed in a dream.
Yet, although his thoughts were muddled, his subconscious instinctively resisted this.
Gradually, the voice transformed from temptation to threat, from kind to intimidation, as if countless subtle voices were questioning, reprimanding him deep in his heart.
At this moment, the mysterious whisper suddenly became fearful, seemingly frightfully shocked, screamed, and quickly withdrew.
He shuddered awake.
He felt dazed earlier, without any recollection of the previous voice.
He then looked down at the mysterious "fruit pit."
With surprise, he found it was now riddled with cracks, as if weathered, and its mystical, alluring radiance had completely dissipated. It no longer had the previous seductive appeal.
"Oh, why does my body feel so hot?"
PS: A new week, seeking recommendations!