Chapter 4

Nearin the ambush spot the deerles ran like it was on fire, suddenly Red shows up and the deerles shook looking other way to run ,and Red's Charge was So fierce that he looks like Flaming red train raming the deerles with his Tusk AND BAM!

Red's tusk Goes through his right abdomen and the deerles Swing his Huge antler at Red's but its too late the damage is done,although it sent Red's flying several meters.

when trying to look for a way out Suddenly THUD! my spear lodged itself directly piercing the Heart, it collapsed hitting the ground. lifeless.

as i get close to it i called Red to check if he was fine,and indeed he was snorting HOGHOGHOG ! come here Red ,Hog hog

i placed the deerles carcass above Red and i called it a day . its good enough for me. time to went back home and smoked it . if only we could get some salt here that would be nice ,Red's looking confused trying to fathom what i mean

At home i placed all my rations and spear near the water and washed all the blood,i placed my spear on my rack after washing it.

i went to the back to get some wood and started making a fire to smoke it. finally i started dressing and prepping the Dear , i put on some grounded puga spices on it ,it does taste salty and have some umami on it perhaps because its a mixed of seaweed.

i placed it on a stick and spread it , Stuck it to the smoke ,and said to Red ,You wait here Red later on when its cooked ill give you some.

After its cooked its a Must for a hunter to give half of its prey,as the tribe is a community that depends on each other. i cut the head and toss it directly to Red here's yours have fun ,Red's replied HogHog happily, i carried the other half to the storeroom after giving it to the Keeper ,i returned back to the home and on the way back i see the other kakunas grouping and talking it seems like the new ones are hunting together.

Karluk and the other boys are bragging to the the others saying that hes the greatest hunter in the kakunas, i just ignored him and walk back i met lola on the way back shes bringing few rabchik (rabbit+chicken) and i could see a bow being slinged at her back.

Hi lola hows your hunt? she nods and i could see some blood spots near her stomach, You're injured?what happened? hi Sion, i got a few wounds while hunting this rabchik, suddenly out of nowhere a tigerclaw(Tiger+Raven) swoops in and snatched , in the proccess i got nicked by its claw .

i guess im quite lucky because while it was gorging the meat, i ran like hell away from it and here i am, still alive

Be careful lola you should try group hunting like the other kakunas. you should get that fixed .yes im planning to got the shaman after this. ill catch you later sion ,take care lola see you.

I got back and i see Red's rolling around the dirt ,he seems full though , i see dad's Boarbug near the house door looking agitated.

inside the house i see dad being patched by my mom, and i asked what happened? its an attack son by the Raigo village, they attacked our outpost it seems that this is going to be a big one , i've noticed our chief about this , you should stay far away from the northeast of the jungle

we were ambushed over there. Raigo village Rear a Wolfango(wolf+pangolin) its bite are powerful,its shell are very resilient

I've got a really bad feeling seeing lola hurt and my dad ambushed

good things comes in pair

bad things always comes in three they said.

in the Village hall.

The elders and the chief are having a meeting

Muru , the raigo are getting more aggresive each day

A Calm elder with an ice cold face with scars between his nose

yes elder Mogu they attacked our outpost today they're trying to expand their territories i guess,

Muru I WANT AN ANSWER FOR THIS! does the raigo think we of the karoka village are weak? Elder Saroba shouted he have a bright red hair, hes quite short around 170cm and but super muscular and bulky .

Yes elders i will ask the chief of the raigo what does this attack means?if they want war we will give them war, Karoka doesnt back down! meanwhile i will prepare the hunter and doubled the outpost scouting.

Tomorrow i will go with 'Tusk" to raigo village and see what their chief wants

Muru answers calm the elders .

In early morning i see a commotion in the village and i asked around what happen?it seems chief muru is going to raigo village to meet their chieftain with few elders and demanding and answer.

Raigo Village

Chief Jago ,what do you think of the karoka will do? says a muscular man with crooked nose .

i suppose theyre going to demand an answer very soon Emissary toruk.

the way of the Savanna khan is to conquer first and talk later. we were very happy of the raigo submitting to the Khan orders, i believe you are capable of conquering the riverlands for us chief?

I Will present the riverlands to the khan's feet emissary no worries just leave it to me .

very well then chief Jago i will go back and wait for your good news, your proposal have already been received by the Great Khan. you will rule the riverlands under the khan if you manage to conquer all the village here.

Back in karoka village

this gonna be a quite a long trip it takes two weeks getting to karoka and here

Lets depart now , this morning Elder saroba decides thats hes going to come and meet the raigo chieftain too

and Jiga insisted to know why was they attacking the outpost.

Koko the right hand of the chief and abel are the on in charge of the village.

Lets GO!

the Boarbug started galloping Clip-clop clip clop.

Hey sion, said lola your father is injured yesterday i heard? yes he is but hes stubborn ,my mom and i tried persuading him already but he still insisted that he goes .

I went back to my house and i didnt meet my mom i guess she went to work already at the puga farms. as yesterday i started preparing my equipmen for hunting.

I cut a few strips of the smoked meat as jerky and take it in my bag finally i called Red's and jumped at his back.

Hmm ill just do as dad say i wont go northeast

ill just try going the other way then

on the way we met some rabbichik and manage to hunt some. i can feel my body's still growing and brimming with power after eating meat everyday and hunting.

if only i got to know how much gene are needed and what more gene do i have it would be good

but for now i 'll just keep on eating. i patted Red's head and give his belly a scrub.

Well of course you too Red youre still in the growing phase havent you.

i decided to go back and smoked the meat finally storing it half to the keeper.

its been awhile seen i see Nala at the river, we should go there Red's.

finally i got to the river, hmm she usually plays around here i tried shouting

NALAAAAAAAA for awhile

i sat while snacking on the jerky and some puga leaves. after few minutes Nala showed up but she doesnt seem too good. i jumped at the river trying to take a look what happened to her, i give her head a pat. and finally see that her paws have some biting marks.

Huh you've been to a fight eh Nala? she nods and gives a low roar she doesnt seems happy about it.

was curious about asking what attacked her here ,shes a rivergod offspring

then it comes to my mind it must be that Scrub sharkcroc who attacked me too.

i asked her to come near shore and i draw her the picture of an sharkcroc and asked her

did this guy attacked you too?? she gives a roar and started pawing at the image, i see

this fish bit me in the leg when i was kid too (although technically im still a kid but i come with a set of memories from way back at planet E)

Nala looked at me like shes asking me to help her, you wanna have a go at this fish again? i asked her and she nods.

Well do you know where its hangout?we should give it a good beating this time.

I spit two of my teeth to the river, let me catch my breath for a sec, i see nala and red coming towards the tree. we could see the sharkcroc spine and at its dying breath it still keeps trying to bit everything that got close to it.

Red's curious eyes kept looking at the sharkcroc i wonders what he thinks about it, while Nala is kept giving a small roar like saying serves you right for biting me last time.

i look at its eye and say , remember me? I Thrust my spear through its skull crushing the brain i could see the savagery shown up at its eye and its still in denial not accepting that few weakling could killed itself.

finally the light died down at its eye ,i pull at my spear and thrust it again,better safe than sorry.

I begin dressing it and splitting it to several parts. Nala and Red doesnt even wait for it to be cooked they just devoured it meat. i prep it myself and cook it bbq style in a open fire

while eating its meat i could feel myself getting stronger and to my surprise i wasnt breathing through my nose but still through my skin by diffusion.

it seems that this way of breathing are more practical on every use,i started getting used to it.

Meanwhile at Raigo border..

Chief,were at the raigo territories now, we should be wary of any ambush, Elder saroba said let them come them ill Reap them all up .different than the others this elder uses a scythe it shows a cold gleam and a few blood patches could be seen.

Chief muru started thinking, its impossible for the raigo to this alone without any backup attacking our outpost without any provocation ,im worried that theres someone backing them up.

all the others hunter looked at their chief, finally elder saroba said,how bout we make some preparation incase things get worse? the other turn to their chief and their chief nods .

okay prepare some traps incase they chase us.

Nearing the village Bridge the chief shouted I AM MURU OF THE KAROKA VILLAGE!

I DEMAND AN ANSWER !

The Raigo village looks like a fortress and they have a huge Drawbridge

the gate started opening and they could see Chief jago riding its wolfango it scales gleam a silver shine reflecting the sun,

Jago replied, Hello Muru ,you should come first i wanted to give you a proposition ill give you my word that you wont be harmed. You have 30seconds to respond !

Chief muru: elder saroba you and the others should wait here , are you sure muru?this could be an ambush i feel something fishy , Maybe we should ask to meet them outside their village,we cant afford losing our leader muru. okay elder your suggestion sounds good.

FUCK NO JAGO! hell if i know you aint got any trap over there waiting for me,

Hehe Our brave and valiant chief muru ,very well then ill go over there just give me some time to prepare we will meet when Our Shadow is right beneath us!

Whatever you want jago as long as its outside of your village . Ill be waiting !.

(raigo village is placed between the riverlands and the savanna.The savanna is ruled under one ruler the Great Khan.

They tame and herd the Horseking beast,its a mix type of horse that could mixed between the other beast. The emissary rode a mixed Horseking Horse+ibex it could travel freely between the rough terrain)

At noon the gate of the Raigo village started opening and few People come out of it including the chief and few elders of the raigo village.

they pass the huge drawbridge connecting the village

Chief muru welcomed them at their makeshift Tent ,Jago started speaking here's the deal muru, The great khan is going on a conquest to united all of us including the riverlands the attack on your outpost is just a probe to get a taste of the great khan power.they have started supplying us at the raigo village to conquer and as in return they will let the raigo to rule on their behalf on riverlands.

So i would like to propose to you Men of the karoka village would you be willing to join me to conquer the other village in riverlands? I know that your village is one of the top three village that have the power and means to fight in large scale combat considering your chief is so powerful but as they say two hands cannot defeat four hands although i believe the khan counts more than just a few pair hands.

Muru and the others started getting angry hearing the threats, On the other hand Elder saroba looks quite composed . then Chief muru replied , What do they intend to do anyway Jago? The riverlands should be united and fight against the great khan for what its worth ,why are you like this jago? Have you got no shame to your rivergod?and your pride as a man of Raigo of the riverlands? We used to go way back and we never harm each other.

You have no idea what the Great khan is capable of muru,His legion are vast their horseking beasts are more specialized for combat than what we have here. I have seen it and felt it myself. We used to get by by paying tributes to the khan unlike you who lived at the central of the riverlands. A few month ago i was the same as you ,until a we see the power of the Khan Horseking army

We were trying to get a feel on how much stronger the khan forces are ,we eventually get caught when we watch them clashing against the firelands Empire. They were riding their Eagox (eagle +fox) By air and Their Scorpis (scorpion mantis) brigade by land.

they were in conquest of gaining more farmlands because the Firelands is a desert so few plants could be farmed.

First we could see the mid scale tribe resisting against their invader. They were barely clinging to their lives could you imagine being attacked by air and land? We counted at least there were 500 eagox and 1000 Scorpis. The chief of this tribe is quite smart he immediately sent words to the khan asking for help,we were watching from afar.

They resisted for a few hours finally help arrived we could see 500 Horseking Warrior being led by A Stallion General, they were using Curved blades. They started Ascending to the air ,(these horseking species are a mixed of Horse+Swallow ) Above they split into two formations.the commander only took 100 of their cavalry.

They charged Directly into the scorpis formations. We saw the commander Unsheating his Dual Crescent blade he mowed them down like it was hay!

With only 500 Army he Repelled the invader! Do you think you can persist ? if the khan intends to assault your village?. Be smart muru i will give you A week to think about it considering we werent enemy.

I cant decide it myself Jago, I will let you know of the answer,jago replied although i attacked your outpost we didnt kill anyone right.consider that your one and only warning muru.

I expect you to be smart and make the right decision for it Dont be a fool and try to resist the khan.

Chief muru and elder saroba was shaken hearing the story that was being told in front of them ,and said we have to talk about this first Jago,Muru we should return now to the village and talk about this matter with the other elders.

Yes elder we should.

Okay Jago , im going back now ill give you your answer in a week's time about the answer.

On the way back to the village , the karoka village kept rushing nonstopp from raigo village you could but notice that theres a gloom a feeling between The chief and the others.

They arrive at the village and immediately Called for a Meeting, At the village gate...

'tell no others about this news we dont want panic to be spread' said Their Chief

'chief do you think well have a chance fighting them?' Jiga asked curiously

Maybe we have some chance if its the Raigo, but if the khan sent his troop..

I dont think we could fight them in the air although some of our boarbug are capable of flight plus the raigo are accustomed to fight in this terrain. for now just return to your houses , Rest and we'll have a meet in 5 hours.

its around noon when they reach the village.

'Yes chief' they all replied and jiga noddin while not saying anything.

He arrived at his hut feeling down. and seeing his son and wife it doing their regular chore doesnt make it better especially the parts when he gotta stay silent about the whole thing .

'Welcome Dad! , Hi Dear' Greeted by Sion and Kaui.

Jiga just nods and go inside the room to rest they've just gone back from What should be a three day trip instead it only took 1 day , fatigue hits him but the anxiousness keeps him awake he decided to just sit and watch the river current from the room.

Sion could see that his dad is looking different,

Something must've happened at Raigo village i never see dad looking like this.

At the room .. whats going on Dear? said Kaui

'Its nothing wife im just tired' Jiga tried giving an honest smile .

sion decided going at the village center to know whats going on maybe theres some news about this trip to raigo village he asked around to the Senior Hunter and The kakunas but it seem the news was kept a lid on by the Chief and the others who went to Raigo village.

' well no use worrying its better if i train with

red more' said sion

he went back at his house and called Red ,he goes to his room and took only his spear with him.

they went to the riverbed and they could see Nala there but she wasnt alone.

she was being teased by Karluk and the others they threw some fruits at her.

seeing that they wasnt planning to leave anytime soon , mischief got the best of me.

i told red to wait here and stay silent i leave my spear with him

i ran as fast as i could to the tree where we hang the sharkcroc carcasses i took with me and clean it superfast ,i took some roots as rope and tied it around my back .

this looks like a good spot, i took a dive and tried mimicking the sharkcroc as good as i remember.

Silently lurking underwater i imagine myself