The 'Singing Waters' shout alerted the upper class of the 'Land' and their escort warriors to prepare for battle.
"Into defensive formation!"
"Move the injured to the center of the camp so that they can receive first aid."
As usual, the upper 'ground' people and escort warriors moved quickly and formed a defensive formation. The first and second lines were occupied by escort warriors carrying shields and spears.
In the center of the camp, the upper ranks of the 'land' men, armed with crossbows, loaded their arrows and prepared to provide support from the rear at any time.
The top owner, 'Turtle Shell', screamed loudly as he carried the wounded who had been stung by the poisonous needle.
"The poison is already spreading. Bring me the antidote quickly."
"Understood, Your Majesty!"
There were three wounded by the poisoned needles. Among them was one escort warrior. At that moment, a sorcerer at the top came running in and examined the injured.
The area where the stinger struck was turning blue.
"First, we need to stop the poison from spreading throughout the body. Please tie up the injured area with a rope."
"Yes, Shaman!"
Like all the sorcerers of 'The Sun in the Sky', he also served as a healer. Moreover, as new temples called Cheon Il Gyo were established in each region, the upper-level shamans who learned proper treatment methods and herbal medicine began to skillfully treat the wounded.
"We administered the antidote quickly, so it won't get any worse. However, the wound where the poison was injected may fester, so rest is very important from now on."
"Thank you, Shaman!"
The injured who received emergency treatment from the upper shaman repeatedly expressed their gratitude. Meanwhile, the captain of the upper guard led the escort warriors and strengthened the defensive formation.
The occasional flying poison darts could never penetrate the wall of shields.
Swish! Swish!
The poisonous needles bounced off the shield one after another. There were no more casualties. The captain of the guard above looked at the 'singing water' and waited for the next order.
"Based on the flying stingers, there don't seem to be many enemies. Around thirty. If we deploy our heavily armored escort warriors, we can subdue them right away. What should we do? Mr. Director of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry!"
"hmm!"
The 'Singing Water' felt a strange sense of security at the captain's confident report and was lost in thought for a moment.
There were not many tribes that used poison needles as a weapon. Moreover, this area is the territory of the Catawba tribe.
'Am I misunderstanding something?'
'Singing Water' paused for a moment to deploy the heavily armored escort warriors and shouted towards the front.
"We are the people of the 'Sun of the Sky'!"
"...."
"Do not attack!"
As expected, there was no response from the enemy in front. But no more stingers flew.
"...."
There was an awkward silence for a while. At that moment, several people carrying long poles cautiously appeared between the thick trees.
The captain of the guard above spoke immediately after seeing a tattoo and shape on their face.
"Chief! These are the Catawba people."
"As expected, you don't get along well with the surrounding tribes. Even your welcoming speech is quite rude."
"That's right."
'Singing Water' hurriedly called over to the upper echelon who could speak the Catawba language and tried to talk to them again.
"We are the people of the 'Sun of the Sky'. Didn't the Catawba Chief hear our story?"
The Catawba tribesmen who had appeared were talking amongst themselves, and then this time they raised both hands and began to slowly approach, as if they had no intention of attacking.
'Singing Water' let out a sigh of relief.
'Whew! If I had given the order to attack, it would have been a disaster.'
If we had killed them, we would have completely fallen out with the Catawba tribe later on. The Katawba tribe is already very hostile to the surrounding tribes… .
* * *
Middle Catawba River, Catawba tribal village. Not far from the river a barrier made of trees was visible. The party from the upper part of 'Singing Water' and 'Land' was moving towards the wall under the guidance of the Katawba warriors.
"That is our tribal village."
"okay."
The 'Singing Waters' nodded to the words of the Katawba Tribe's warrior. And again, the awkward silence continued. 'Singing Water' chuckled, lost in its own thoughts.
Certainly the Catawba people were not friendly to other tribes. A few days ago, the misunderstanding about their surprise attack was resolved, but the awkward relationship continued as there was still some animosity.
Of course, it was not incomprehensible that the Catawba tribe had not let their guard down until now. In recent days, two Catawba villages have been devastated by Cherokee slave raids.
Also, the entire Catawba tribe was in a state of disarray because quite a few people had been taken as slaves by the Cherokee tribe.
'We should be satisfied with just opening up trade.'
It is unclear how future negotiations with the Catawba tribe will turn out. However, as the head of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, 'Singing Water' intends to do his best to complete the mission given by His Majesty the Emperor.
* * *
As we entered the barrier, a Catawba village came into view. As with the tribes that settled in the southeast, wooden houses were clustered together around a central plaza.
Boom boom!
Everyone, old or young, came out of their houses and looked at our party on the upper level of 'land' with wary eyes.
'Turtle Shell' coughed, clearly uncomfortable with the unwelcome stares of the Catawba tribesmen.
"Ah! Minister of Commerce and Industry! This is the first time I've seen a tribe look at me with such hostility."
"That's right. The chieftain said he wanted to meet us, so he came looking for us…."
'Singing Water' paused for a moment and then secretly gave separate instructions to 'Turtle Shell'.
"If negotiations fail, the atmosphere could become tense, so I think it would be a good idea to prepare thoroughly in advance."
The turtle shell immediately understood the meaning of the singing water, as if the upper part was not for nothing.
"I will tell the captain of the guard not to let his guard down."
After a while, 'Singing Water', who had entered the large wooden house located in the center, blushed for a moment at the absurd suggestion of the Catawba tribe chief.
"Putting your stuff down and leaving? That seems like it would be difficult."
"You don't trust our Catawba tribe?"
At the answer of the 'Singing Water', the Catawba chief who was sitting at the head table twitched his unusually white eyes as if he was displeased.
'Did you say your name was Bloodshot Eyes?'
The Catawba chief appeared stubborn even on the outside. 'Red-Eye', whose head was decorated with gorgeous eagle feathers and turkey feathers, spoke to them from the beginning as if they were inferiors.
'I was also a chief representing a clan of the Shawnee tribe.'
'Singing Water' was very funny with its 'crimson eyes' that came out strongly during negotiations.
Phew!
'Singing Water', who had regained his composure, spoke calmly with an indifferent expression.
"Yes, I don't trust the Catawba tribe right now."
"what?"
'Crimson Eyes' made an expression of bewilderment, as if it was beyond bewilderment.
"And our 'Sun of the Sky' has a policy of unconditional exchange of goods in kind."
"...."
The 'crimson eyes', momentarily speechless, looked down at the 'singing water' with a frightening look.
Clang! Clang!
Suddenly, the inside of the large wooden house turned ominous. If anyone moved, the Katoba tribe warriors and the warriors guarding the upper part of the 'Land' would immediately start a fight.
However, the 'singing water' did not give in to that gaze and opened its mouth again.
"If you think you can subdue us, I don't want to stop you. I just hope that you don't make the worst decision as the chief of the Catawba tribe."
"...."
Have you looked inside yourself? Looking at the 'singing water' that was talking to him, 'red eyes' momentarily looked conflicted and worried.
'You're serious.'
After a moment of hesitation, 'Crimson Eyes' decided to take a step back.
"Hahahahahahahaha! You're quite strong. I was just joking."
The 'singing water' just passed by, pretending not to notice the 'crimson eyes' laughing heartily.
"The joke was so over the top that I seriously misunderstood it."
The once tense atmosphere changed to a good one as if nothing had happened, and negotiations began again.
"First, let's buy and try out some of the items that the 'Sun of the Sky' brought. White salt, soap, and alcohol would be good too."
"Very well. We would like to trade for leather and food. And pottery made by the Catawba tribe would also be fine."
The Catawba tribe was famous for making pottery. Of course, the pottery of the Catawba tribe was also crude compared to the pottery made by the 'Sun of the Sky'.
However, since Catawba pottery is traded at a fairly high price to other tribes, they could make a lot of profit through intermediary trade.
"Come back next time. Try it out and if it's good, let's continue doing business with 'Sun of the Sky'."
"All right."
The long and drawn-out trade negotiations with the Catawba tribe have finally come to an end.
* * *
The next day. The party from the upper ranks of 'Singing Water' and 'Land' left the Catawba tribe village with light steps.
'Turtle Shell' shook his head at the actions of the Catawba tribesmen who did not see them off.
"I have visited many tribes, but this is the first time I have ever encountered such an insular tribe."
As if agreeing with those words, 'Singing Water' had a gentle smile on its lips.
"It's my first time too. But I did make some money."
"That's true. First of all, we decided to trade with the Catawbas. And we also learned that the Catawbas would not cooperate with the Tutelo-led coalition against the Cherokee."
"I'm content to make my first deal with the Catawba tribe. I think you'll feel better if you think the same."
"Yes. Of course I think so. By the way, I was nervous yesterday because I thought there might be a fight with the Katoba tribe."
For a while, 'Turtle Shell' unpacked its story of what happened yesterday.
'Did this guy talk this much?'
After a while, when 'Turtle Shell' finished speaking, 'Singing Water' spoke with a very tired expression.
"Now that we're done talking, how about we start by writing down what we need to report to our superiors?"
"Ah! Sorry."
'Turtle Shell', who had hurriedly handed over the apple, quickly turned around and ran away. 'Singing Water', who finally had some time to herself, muttered quietly with a complicated look in her eyes.
"The southern region will be more chaotic because of the Catawba tribe's decision."
Of course, the Cherokee tribe's slave hunting was the biggest reason, but anyway, from the perspective of our 'Sun in the Sky', this development was not so bad.
* * *
The capital of the 'sun in the sky', a 'very big' city. After the deployment of the vigilantes according to tribal origins was over and I was working in the government office, I leaned back in my chair to take a short break.
"Whew! There's no end to the work."
While taking a break, I heard some noise outside and a 'splendid sunset' came into the office.
"Your Majesty the Emperor! The Iri tribesmen and Mohawk warriors obtained from the Intelligence and Surveillance Bureau have just arrived."
Finally, the key witnesses to my assassination case have arrived.
"Where are you?"
"I'm in the training camp interrogation room."
At her answer, I immediately stood up from my seat.
"Go to the interrogation room."
"Understood, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
* * *
Catawba - Also known as Issa or Esaw, but most commonly referred to as Iswa. Catawba means 'river people'.
The Catawba tribe lived in the southeastern United States along the border of North Carolina and South Carolina near the city of Rock Hill, and were primarily agricultural.
And this tribe was friendly to the early colonists. They were in constant war with other speaking Indian tribes, especially the Iroquois, Shawnee, Nanticoke, and Cherokee tribes for control of the vast Ojai Valley (present-day West Virginia).