Published: March 12, 2025
CHAPTER 280: Surveillance
Zhao Hai had interacted with several small orc tribes, but this was his first contact with a large tribe like King Xiqi's.
In the past, when he met people from those small tribes, they were always very enthusiastic upon seeing human merchants. Some small tribes even appeared extremely excited, like Spill's Goat Head Hammer Tribe, which offered Zhao Hai a friendship flag for selling them grain at a low price.
However, at King Xiqi's camp, there was no sign of such enthusiasm. Their arrival did not evoke any surprise; even the children in the tribe did not come over to watch. Zhao Hai even caught a hint of disdain in their eyes.
Zhao Hai was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly understood why the orcs looked down on them: their convoy was too small. A hundred carts carrying two thousand pounds of grain only amounted to two hundred thousand pounds, which was far too little for a large tribe with over a hundred thousand members.
Zhao Hai didn't pay much attention to it. He followed the cavalry to a corner of the camp and was surprised to find that the tents in this area were all empty, and there were no orcs around.
The leading cavalryman rode his ox over to Zhao Hai and looked down at him, saying, "Human friend, you can stay here for now. This camp has been set up specifically for human friends. You can make yourselves comfortable and ask the nearby people for anything you need, but of course, you will need something to exchange for it."
Zhao Hai was genuinely taken aback; he hadn't expected King Xiqi's camp to provide accommodations. He quickly said, "Thank you very much, honorable warrior. May I know your name?"
The member of the Bullfighting Tribe grinned and replied, "My name is Beta; you can just call me Beta."
Zhao Hai smiled back and said, "Alright, Brother Beta, I have a small gift prepared for you. Please be sure to accept it. If you have time, could you inform Lord King Xiqi that I am here to discuss a major business deal?" With that, he waved his hand, and Laura promptly brought out a bottle of wine—real human fruit wine, not milk wine.
Beta was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter, accepting the fruit wine from Zhao Hai's hand. "You are an interesting human. Truly amusing, hahaha. Don't worry, I will report to the elder."
After saying this, he patted his ox's belly, and the bull he was riding let out a moo before turning its head and leaving, followed by the cavalrymen of the Bullfighting Tribe.
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and turned to Laura, saying, "It seems large tribes are indeed different; they even provide accommodations. It looks like we won't need to set up our tents. You all take a look inside the tents and see what there is."
Laura and the others responded with smiles and turned to check the tents, while Zhao Hai directed the undead beings to secure the grain carts.
After Zhao Hai and his team got settled, he quickly took out some grain and exchanged it with the nearby Bullfighting Tribe members for some milk wine and lamb meat.
Now, Zhao Hai felt even more aware of the differences between the Bullfighting Tribe under King Xiqi and those small tribes—King Xiqi's Bullfighting Tribe was much more pragmatic.
This might be a natural phenomenon of social development; the more developed a place is, the more utilitarian people become, while the smaller places retain more warmth in human feelings.
After Zhao Hai and his group settled down, they quietly waited in the tent. They did not wander around or engage with the orcs outside, maintaining a very low profile.
However, as soon as they entered the tent, Zhao Hai activated the spatial surveillance device. He wanted to see what was happening around them. Soon, he noticed a phenomenon: there seemed to be too many Bullfighting Tribe warriors around them. Some were wandering near their camp, occasionally glancing in their direction.
Seeing this, Zhao Hai couldn’t help but frown slightly, turning to Laura and asking, "Is there any flaw in our behavior? Why would they send people to monitor us?"