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In a small-scale battle like this, there's never the kind of back-and-forth tussle scene like in the movies.
When life and death are at stake, both sides spare no effort. With just one brief encounter, life and death are determined immediately.
If it were the Wild Boar Men attacking a Wild Folk stronghold, it would most likely be the same.
Leo could sense the heaviness in Bjorn's words and quickly said, "If you think the Wild Boar Men are causing trouble, you might want to consider my proposal. The River Bend Territory can also pitch in."
Bjorn declined without hesitation, "Elder Zurvan has his own considerations."
Leo didn't know what else to say. Persisting further might give the impression that he was trying to stir up internal strife among the Wild Folk.
While they were chatting, the other Wild Folk Hunters were already taking the opportunity to clean up the battlefield.
The heavy weapons of the Wild Boar Men all weighed over forty pounds. Ordinary humans simply couldn't get the hang of using them, but they couldn't be left unattended either, so they were all tossed into the stream.
As for the remaining crossbows and leather armors, they were stacked up and ready to be packed and carried away.
Bjorn pointed at the one-horned wild boar at Leo's feet and remarked, "You killed this wild boar. Its carcass is yours, and you can take it."
Leo eyed the pile of crossbows and asked, "Can I trade it for these weapons?"
Bjorn glanced back at the crossbows and said, "The Basaka people don't have any use for this kind of junk. I'll give them all to you."
Wild Folk Hunters were accustomed to using yew longbows. These crossbows were both hard for them to make and keep in good repair.
All Bjorn wanted by taking them back was to recover the metal and animal tendons from them.
"Oh, that's so kind of you!" Leo rubbed his hands, grinning from ear to ear. The advantage of having a thick skin was immediately evident.
The craftsmanship of these crossbows was not complicated, and their quality was very rough. Leo estimated that their effective range was less than fifty meters. Compared with standard equipment, they were far inferior in all aspects.
What kind of high-tech could you expect from a primitive alien tribe with low intelligence?
But they also had their own advantages, that is, the draw weight was high enough, much more powerful than ordinary bows and arrows.
One shot at close range was enough to blow an enemy's head off.
If they could be mass-produced and equipped to the militia, they would still be a powerful weapon in the wilderness.
Before leaving, Bjorn dragged a one-horned wild boar and looked back and said, "Although Elder Zurvan is not willing to start a war, the Basaka people and the Wild Boar Men are sworn enemies. If you go to war with the Wild Boar Men, the Basaka people are willing to shoot their arrows."
Leo waved goodbye with a smile, "Got it."
Elder Zurvan, who believed in the druidic way of balance, had absolute dominance in the Wild Folk tribe, but that didn't mean all the Wild Folk were as far-sighted as him.
The Wild Folk Hunters who fought on the front line all year round had companions killed by the Wild Boar Men every year. It was impossible for them not to have hatred.
It's just that the number of Wild Folk was limited and couldn't afford too many casualties. So Zurvan's decision was undoubtedly the most reasonable.
But if the militia of the River Bend Territory could take the lead and allow the Wild Folk Hunters to freely rain arrows, just imagining that scene made Bjorn's heart flutter.
Of course, the Wild Folk's hostility towards the people of the empire was no less than that towards aliens. For them, the River Bend Territory was also full of threats.
To carry out joint operations, it would take some time for observation and communication to build up enough trust.
Looking at the one-horned wild boar weighing six or seven hundred pounds, Leo was a bit troubled.
But there was no way he could throw it away. River Bend Settlement Camp was extremely poor. How could Leo be willing to throw away such a large piece of meat?
He dissected it on the spot, removed the internal organs of the one - horned wild boar, and drained the pig's blood, which slightly lightened the weight. Then he cut some branches and made a simple wooden sled. Only then could he barely drag it over the mountains and return to River Bend Settlement Camp before nightfall.
Looking at the crossbows Leo brought back, Ulyan and Valery talked for a while and shook their heads. "It's difficult, very difficult."
"Hard to do."
Leo asked angrily, "Such a simple thing? Can't you even make it?"
"It's not that we can't make it, but we can't mass - produce it. It takes a carpenter ten days or half a month to make one, and it's still such a lousy thing. What a delay that is!"
"And the materials are also an issue. If the materials are not good, the crossbow will fall apart after a few shots. Then it's useless."
"When the village is built and there are enough people, we can study it then and might be able to make a batch. But definitely not now."
Bows don't work, and crossbows don't work either. Leo's dream of having sufficient firepower was shattered again.
In the following days, Leo kept roaming in the pine plain across the river. He even risked approaching the gravel hills where the Wild Boar Tribe was located to observe their numbers and activities.
And battles between the Wild Folk and the wild boars occurred from time to time. Most of the time, the powerful bows and sharp arrows of the Wild Folk gained the upper hand, but there were also scenes where Wild Folk Hunters were chased and hunted by the wild boars.
He even witnessed with his own eyes a Wild Folk Hunter who didn't have time to escape the wild boars' siege being impaled through the body with wooden stakes and placed on a hilltop where the battles between the two sides were the most frequent.
This was the reason why Leo preferred to explore alone rather than bring along the militia members.
Not all the militiamen of River Bend Territory could be like Tarzan and move nimbly in the mountains like he could.
Even Wild Folk Hunters sometimes made blunders, let alone the militiamen of River Bend Territory who were originally farmers. Once they encountered the wild boars head - on, I'm afraid not many of them could escape.
As he got more and more familiar with the terrain, a bold plan gradually took shape in his mind.
A few days later, he met Bjorn, a Wild Folk Hunter, in a river valley.
These Wild Folk Hunters knew their homeland far better than Leo, an outsider. Although the number of Wild Folk Hunters seemed small, they seemed to be scattered everywhere in the wilderness.
To some degree, this was also a deterrent to outsiders.
Bjorn brought good news. "Elder Zurvan has agreed to your proposal, but the premise is that the Basaka people will only be responsible for shooting arrows."
"That's enough." Leo nodded happily and then asked, "If we go to war with the wild boars, how many people can you send?"
Bjorn looked at Leo, remained silent for a long time, and then said, "Fifty archers, not participating in close combat."
Were there so many Wild Folk Hunters in this tribe?
Leo was secretly shocked. A small village of over a hundred people actually hid so many Wild Folk Hunters.
"How can I contact you then?"
Bjorn replied, "When the battle starts, the Basaka people will show up."
Back at the camp, Leo told Ulyan his plan.
Ulyan kept shaking his head. "Your plan doesn't seem reliable no matter how you look at it. Isn't it too risky?"
Leo got angry. "Am I the kind of unreliable person?"
"Why don't you take a piss and see for yourself?" Ulyan retorted habitually. Seeing that Leo didn't say a word, he hesitated and then asked again, "Even if you're reliable, are these wild folks reliable? Is Freya reliable?"
"You'll never know until you give it a try."