Chapter 5: The Giant First Step (Part Two)

TL: A_Passing_Wanderer

ED: Chrissy

Kim Gi-Wu let the atmosphere percolate for a little bit before continuing on. "There's no choice but for me to personally go. As for who will accompany me..."

"I volunteer, sir!"

"Please take me with you!"

"Even when I'm battered and bruised, I..."

Even before Kim Gi-Wu could finish, warriors got excited again and began crying out that they wanted to accompany him.

It didn't matter to them whether the purpose was to hunt or to develop a mine. No, the only thing occupying in their minds was about going on an expedition to the Big Mountain along with their Spirit Chief, who happened to be the Divine Spirit itself.

That fact alone was enough for them. The real purpose of the expedition was completely secondary to them.

"Selecting the members who will travel with me is not my jurisdiction, everyone. Hunting Chief, please select the suitable candidates."

"Understood, Spirit Chief." The tribe's Hunting Chief, Swift Steps, briefly replied.

This man was one of those overly taciturn characters. He rarely spoke, if ever, during most occasions. And whenever he did say something, it'd be in the form of simple replies related to the topic at hand.

But thanks to his tall height and considerable physique, he was considered one of the top-ranked warriors within the tribe.

Even so, his name was Swift Steps. But that indicated how good he was in the matters of hunting and gathering. So much so that his skills were considered number one in the tribe, too.

Kim Gi-Wu believed that he could definitely entrust his safety to someone like that during his trip to the Appalachian mountain range.

The atmosphere indicated that the tribal meeting was gradually winding down to its conclusion. However, at least for today... Kim Gi-Wu didn't want it to end like this.

Weren't they meeting today for the sake of producing steel in earnest?! This was the moment of them taking that giant first step to carve out the path that the future generations would walk on.

Kim Gi-Wu's heart began blazing in fiery emotions when that thought popped up in his head. And he decided to let these emotions take over his body for the time being.

"Until now, the Creek tribe has been living hand-to-mouth in a small corner of this expansive continent."

When Kim Gi-Wu began saying something in a grave-sounding voice, the warriors focused all of their attention on him right away.

"However, the lives of all Creek tribespeople have greatly changed in a relatively short time after my arrival. Don't you agree?"

"No, you're correct, Spirit Chief."

"We are always grateful for your blessings, Lord Spirit Chief!"

The responses of the younger warriors were noticeably more emotional than their older counterparts.

"We have made much progress, yes, but I'm still dissatisfied with what we've achieved so far. I do not wish for the Creek tribe to be remembered as just another tribe among countless many existing on this vast continent, everyone. Am I the only one thinking this way? I ask of you, are you all pleased and at content with your current situation?"

"Huh-uh!"

"M-mm..."

Warriors hearing about Kim Gi-Wu's grand aspiration began expressing their own varied emotions. However, at the very least, none of them was showing discontent or displeasure.

"Warriors satisfied with the current state of affairs need to reflect on their mindset. Is it not our duty to gift the grand history of the great Creek tribe to our future sons and daughters? Children who will roam freely on the sacred lands in the distant future?"

"Yes, you're right!"

"Oh, oooh! The Great Creek tribe, you say! Just imagining it alone...!"

Kim Gi-Wu didn't try to rein in their excited emotions threatening to run amok. And when he figured that the atmosphere had ripened just right, he roared out loudly, his eyes gleaming dangerously. "The expedition to the Big Mountain will be recorded in the annals of history as the great Creek tribe's first step towards achieving greatness! Because we're destined to become this sacred land's, this vast continent's...!"

Kim Gi-Wu temporarily stopped talking and began gazing at each and every warrior present. The tension in the air grew to the point of bursting at the seams, and the noise of someone swallowing saliva sounded like an angry thunderclap.

Deciding that the atmosphere had reached another perfect ripening point, Kim Gi-Wu made a declaration.

"...Sole ruler that stands tall without equal!"

His voice wasn't all that loud, but it still managed to echo within the meeting venue for a long while. At least, that's what all the warriors present thought so.

"W-whoaaa..."

"...!"

The sole ruler?

When that term was brought up, this powerful bout of silence descended upon the tribal meeting venue.

But soon after that...

"Woo! Woo! Woo!"

"Woo! Woo! Woo!"

Thud, thud, thuuud!

No one prompted them to start, yet the warriors began roaring in steady hums and stomping their feet on the floor in unison.

Kim Gi-Wu, too, clenched his fists tightly and joined in with them. "All of you, follow my lead. With our tribe in charge, the sacred land will experience everlasting glory and honor!"

"Woo! Woo! Woo!"

In the distant future, when Kim Gi-Wu found himself looking back on the past events, he'd come to realize that today at this very moment, was when it all happened.

...The moment that he had become the de facto leader of the Creek tribe.

*

The Appalachian mountain range was truly massive. So massive, in fact, that one could reach it from the Creek tribe's central village by walking for only one and half days.

"Let's us depart, everyone."

"Yes, sir!"

One command from Kim Gi-Wu was enough for the expedition group consisting of some of the best warriors in the Creek tribe to start moving quickly and accurately.

This group numbered almost two hundred, too.

The Creek tribe's population was between 20,000 to 25,000 individuals spread over a wide area centered around the Chattahoochee River. It was on a smaller side compared to the scale of some of the Great Tribes of North America.

Yet here they were, bringing about two hundred of the best warriors from the tribe. In other words, the tribe was considerably overextending itself.

That's why the expedition had to half-confiscate food from other smaller tribes to sate their hunger during their journey.

'I do feel bad about doing this, but there's no helping it, either.'

A tribe consisting of only a few hundred individuals could never oppose a group of two hundred warriors wielding iron weapons.

One could argue that Kim Gi-Wu was acting like a gentleman by only confiscating a suitable quantity of food in conduct.

The expedition left the village and walked on for a long time. Thankfully, the small village the group stopped by earlier seemed to be the last one before reaching their destination, because the mountain range had gotten considerably closer now.

Eventually, they discovered a suitable spot to construct a new village near the foot of the mountain range.

"Everyone, pay attention!" Kim Gi-Wu roared out.

The warriors, chatting among themselves in joy after reaching their destination, promptly shut their mouths and maintained their silence.

Kim Gi-Wu didn't dally and continued on. "We shall now erect a sturdy village in this location. If you want to acquire steel that's even better than what we've been using until now, then we'll have to live in this new village for a long while.

"If you don't want to go through hardships later, we better build our new dwellings sturdily from the get-go, don't you agree?"

"You are right, Spirit Chief!"

"I'm not going to mince my words. Place your complete trust in me and follow my orders to the letter. That's all."

"Yes, sir!"

"We shall follow, sir!"

The blazing heat emitted by two hundred warriors instantly whipped across the still-empty location. This moment made Kim Gi-Wu feel that the three hundred Spartan warriors from the movie '300' didn't seem as impressive as before.

Afterwards, he passionately led the gathered warriors.

He ordered a group of warriors to go and prepare timber using the iron axe, while another group was tasked with canvassing the mountainside for a potential mining site. The rest was ordered to level the ground for the construction of their new village.

About a week later...

The village was finally completed. Although it was rather basic, its districts still had been properly divided. Of course, they still faced a problem here, and that would be with how sturdy the houses made out of crude timber and soil could really be.

'We gotta manufacture bricks and cement as soon as possible.'

Kim Gi-Wu made up his mind while inspecting the completed village.

Bricks and cement...

Once the village starts manufacturing these two items in earnest and also in good quantity, every facet of villagers' lives should experience a qualitative transformation almost right away.

This mountain range was overflowing with material for cement, while Kim Gi-Wu already possessed the necessary know-how in its manufacturing process. In other words, it was only a matter of time.

Unfortunately, it was not possible to produce cement at this point in time. There was a fatal lack of labor force for him to even entertain the idea of starting the manufacturing process, after all.

"Sir! Spirit Chief!"

Just as Kim Gi-Wu was almost finished with inspecting the village...

Large Craggy Face hurriedly ran up to him while holding something in his hand.

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