In the Crimson Star Tribe camp, Jessica felt a sense of panic.
Enzo's gaze reminded her of the wild beasts she had encountered before, their mouths watering, viewing her as a tasty morsel to devour.
And now, Enzo seemed no different.
Fortunately, his predatory gaze was fleeting, and he had no intention of eating her, which relieved Jessica. However, Enzo's proposal left her uncertain.
Enzo said, "From now on, I'll give you a portion of totem power every day. In exchange, you'll give me one too."
Jessica hesitated, saying, "I... I need to think about it..."
But Enzo didn't give her time to consider. He began slowly infusing her with totem power. Jessica's body once again became feverish, sweating profusely, and emitting loud groans until she could no longer absorb the power. Only then did he stop and sternly say, "This isn't a proposal. It's an order."
Jessica was too drained to respond.
It took her half an hour to somewhat recover and feel the increased totem power within her body. Finally, she nodded and agreed, saying, "Fine! But you have to inform me before giving me power."
Enzo smiled and replied, "No problem."
After making their agreement, Jessica also bestowed some of her power onto Enzo.
Then, after a brief rest, she began to tell Enzo about the knowledge of the barren mountain script
...
Meanwhile.
In the jungle,Clara and Tia were swiftly moving through.
Both had smeared green liquid on themselves, emitting a foul odor but effectively repelling the jungle's myriad mosquitoes, reducing many unnecessary troubles.
After all, besides fierce beasts, these relentless insects were also a threat in the jungle.
Suddenly, Clara stopped.
Tia, puzzled, looked at Clara, simultaneously preparing for battle.
Clara approached a large tree with a curved pattern on its trunk, resembling a curled tail.
"This is the mark of the Chagga Tribe's combat unit." Clara said.
Then, the two found many similar marks scattered throughout the jungle.
The haphazard distribution of these marks made Clara uneasy, and she couldn't help but worry, saying, "Something might have happened to the Chagga Tribe. Let's observe the situation first."
Tia nodded.
Five hours later, it was already afternoon when Clara and Tia finally arrived at the location of the Chagga Tribe.
But what they saw made their faces turn pale.
In the Chagga Tribe, there are corpses everywhere.
Many Tribe people were even beheaded directly, with fear and confusion remaining on their faces. Clara clenched her fists and was extremely angry, realizing that it was caused by Priest Crue's use of the Wind Blade.
She decided to assassinate Crue, but that was only targeting Crue alone.
For the other tribe members, she was confident that Enzo would choose to accept them.
Then, everyone would have a better life.
But now, all the tribe members were dead!
Clara couldn't accept the reality before her. Tia spoke up to comfort her: "Clara, let's go back for now. Something's not right with that Priest Crue. We should return to explain the situation to Enzo."
It was the only option at the moment.
Out of caution, Clara chose not to enter the camp for investigation and decided to return to the Crimson Star Tribe.
But as they took a few steps, Clara suddenly grabbed Tia's hand and pulled her aside.
Bang!
In the next moment, several spears were thrust into the ground where they had been standing.
Tia broke out in a cold sweat, her body emitting a silver-white light. As she prepared to fight back, Clara stopped her and shouted in the direction where the spears had come from, "I am Clara, leader of Chagga's first combat unit!"
Nearby, the sound of leaves rustling could be heard.
Dozens of Chagga Tribe members emerged, and upon seeing Clara, they cheered, "It's Captain Clara!"
They ran over and gathered around Clara.
In the Chagga Tribe, as the leader of the combat unit, Clara held considerable prestige.
She asked the survivors, "What happened to the Chagga Tribe?"
One of the survivors replied, "Captain Clara, it's the Chew Bone Tribe! Crue has joined forces with the Chew Bone Tribe. He brought them back and demanded that we sacrifice our lives for their evil ritual!"
"Chew Bone Tribe?!" Clara's face turned pale.
If the Chagga Tribe was merely fearful, then the Chew Bone Tribe was the nightmare of all surrounding tribes.
The people of the Chew Bone Tribe were incredibly cruel, enjoying plundering the prey of other tribes and reveling in bloodshed. They had once slaughtered over a dozen small tribes in a single day.
Several tribes had united with the intention of eradicating the Chew Bone Tribe.
However, the Chew Bone Tribe did not have a fixed camp. They roamed freely, leaving no trace of their whereabouts.
Clara thought back to Crue's unusual behavior—Crue would leave the tribe every month.
Could it be that during those times, Crue had made contact with the Chew Bone Tribe?
With this in mind, Clara asked, "What kind of ritual is the Chew Bone Tribe planning?"
The survivor shook his head and replied, "We're not sure. Crue, along with the people of the Chew Bone Tribe, killed some of our tribe members and took the rest captive. We managed to escape and left marks in the jungle to alert other tribes still outside. Captain Clara, we need to rescue those people!"
Others also chimed in, demanding action.
Clara shouted, "Quiet!"
With the argument subsided, she continued, "Follow me for now. As for rescuing the other captured tribe members, we need a detailed plan. The Chew Bone Tribe is not easy to deal with. Moreover, Crue has joined forces with them, and there may be people from other tribes who have also joined the Chew Bone Tribe..."
Clara's analysis left the Chagga Tribe survivors feeling fearful and uneasy.
At the same time, they were curious about where Clara was leading them and couldn't help but ask, "Captain Clara, where are we going next?"
Clara replied, "To the Crimson Star Tribe!"
After saying this, she didn't elaborate further.
The people exchanged glances, realizing that Clara might have joined the Crimson Star Tribe, and some hesitated to follow...
But with no other choice, this was the only way forward. They reluctantly followed Clara to the Crimson Star Tribe
...
In the Crimson Star Tribe, Jessica had taught Enzo all she knew about the barren mountain script.
After finishing the lesson, Enzo couldn't help but ask, "Is that all?"
Jessica pouted and complained, "Who knew you'd learn so quickly? It took me over three months to master these barren mountain scripts that Ms. Lucy painstakingly collected."
It seemed that this was all the barren mountain script knowledge Jessica had acquired.
Confirming this, Enzo stopped probing further.
He picked up the bamboo slate brought by Jessica, on which a passage was recorded in the barren mountain script, seeming to be a diary entry of a member of the barren mountain tribe. It read:
[The celestial dog came again, but luckily Lord Quill drove it away. Unfortunately, the day of the full moon is approaching again. I hope Lord Priest can ignite the flame of the soul soon...]
The day of the full moon,the flame of the soul,and the celestial dog...
The peculiar descriptions made the information on the bamboo slate inexplicable.
However, Enzo subconsciously glanced toward the ceremonial square.
Based on the information he had gathered so far, during the initial stages, all tribes would have the tribal fire. Only after the tribe priest inherited it could they manipulate the tribal fire, qualifying tribe members to become tribe warriors.
As the tribe grew stronger and gathered totems, the tribal fire would gradually transform into the totemic fire.
Correspondingly, tribe warriors would become totemic warriors.
Totemic warriors possessed supernatural powers, some even strong enough to hunt supernatural beings alone.
As for the flame of the soul, could it be the next stage of the totemic fire?
This speculation seemed highly plausible.
Enzo thought about asking Jessica if she knew, but Jessica seemed to anticipate it. Without waiting for Enzo to inquire, she spoke up: "Even Ms. Lucy doesn't know the information on the bamboo slips, so I'm even less aware."
Stretching lazily, she walked towards the Crimson Star camp.
After a few steps, she turned back, her face flushed, and said, "I'll come back tomorrow."
Enzo called out to Jessica, "Wait a moment."
The girl stopped, looking at Enzo in confusion. Enzo waved his hand and called the Huge Silver Backed Bear Betta over, instructing, "Betta, take Jessica back."