After Priest Lucy finished speaking, the silver-haired girl Jessica displayed an expression of profound astonishment. She gazed at Enzo, her look still filled with disdain, but now tinged with a touch of reverence.
A person of strength commands respect wherever they go.
This was Enzo's first encounter with someone like Priest Lucy, who not only possessed extensive knowledge but also seemed to have the ability to peer into his innermost power.
If the news of his control over the totem power were to leak—
Enzo's eyes grew dangerously intense.
Lucy sensed Enzo's thoughts. The faint golden light in her eyes dissipated as she sat down, smiling as she spoke, "Mr. Enzo, do not misunderstand. I am not using this to threaten you. In fact, I have also wielded the power of the totem before."
As she spoke, a radiant glow appeared in Priest Lucy's palm.
The light converged in midair, forming a peculiar totem resembling a caterpillar.
She explained, "This is a creature that lives on the archipelago, called the Golden Worm. It is sensitive to various energies and emits a special aura that soothes wild beasts. Most importantly, with the Golden Worm, I can sense the presence of other creatures and use it to perceive changes in the surrounding environment..."
Lucy's explanation was very detailed.
In the meantime, she had Rita bring some swamp delicacies.
However, everything Priest Lucy mentioned did not address the crucial question.
After Lucy finished speaking, Enzo directly asked, "Priest Lucy, you want me and Jessica to conceive offspring, so... what is your purpose?"
Lucy's expression became solemn as she replied slowly, "To return to the archipelago."
It seems that the reason is not quite persuasive enough," she continued, "Only a leader with powerful talents can lead the tribe across the vast barren mountains, through the endless blue sea, to reach the location of the archipelago. Mr. Enzo, although your talent is indeed powerful, it is not enough to achieve this."
Tia stepped forward to retort, "Nonsense, Enzo is the most formidable."
Priest Lucy smiled gently and replied, "Young girl, that's because you haven't seen other truly powerful tribes. Although you possess the power of the totem, you are still too weak."
As she finished, Priest Lucy looked at Enzo.
She asked again, "Mr.Enzo, what do you think? If you agree, in addition to the previous conditions, I can also tell you how to enhance your totem power."
Enzo stood up and declined, "I'm sorry, Priest Lucy, I'm not interested."
He prepared to leave with Tia, Amy, and Clara, but was stopped by the silver-haired girl, Jessica, who blocked their path and threatened, "Give Betta back to me!"
Enzo gently pushed the girl aside.
Next, Enzo reiterated that "This is Betta's choice, not something I forced. You initiated the attack earlier, you should be grateful that I spared your life instead of yelling at me. Next time you decide to strike, you had better think twice."
"Furthermore."
Enzo turned back to Lucy, "Priest Lucy, I believe you have misunderstood something. Personal strength may indeed change many things, but leading a tribe across mountains and rivers depends not only on strength but also on wisdom."
With these words, Enzo and his companions departed.
Rita was very unhappy with Enzo's final questioning of Priest Lucy and was about to take action, but was stopped by Lucy.
Jessica also returned, dejected and crestfallen.
Priest Lucy cast a glance at the mist-shrouded marsh, replaced the bamboo slips with inscriptions back into the box, and then instructed Jessica, "Jessica, in due time, deliver this box to the Crimson Star Tribe. Enzo's talent is exceptional, and the offspring you bear with him will become even more formidable. This is the future of our tribe!"
Jessica nodded and, after a moment of inner turmoil, her gaze turned resolute. "Grandmother, I will conquer him for sure!"
Unaware of the ensuing conversation within the Venom Tribe, Enzo, accompanied by Tia and the others, emerged from the bamboo forest, retracing their steps. He called out to the concealed members of the combat team and roused the slumbering giant bear, Betta.
Upon seeing Enzo, Betta became ecstatic.
It galloped over, rubbing its massive head against Enzo.
Enzo infused it with a bit of totemic power, and Betta grew even more elated, voluntarily lowering its head to indicate that Enzo should mount it. Such a display of affection made Enzo burst into hearty laughter.
It must be said that riding on the back of a huge bear felt quite good.
...
Shortly thereafter, the group arrived at the lake.
Many animals were drinking water around the lake.
Sensing the arrival of Enzo's group, many herbivores quickly fled into the jungle, while some carnivorous beasts remained by the lake, their muscles taut, ready to launch an attack at any moment.
There were also some fearless birds that could fly and showed no fear of the creatures on the ground.
After observing for a moment, Enzo expressed his perplexity, saying, "It seems that this place is not as dangerous as Sovita had described."
As he finished speaking, the lake suddenly churned up waves several tens of meters high, and a gigantic crocodile over ten meters long swiftly rushed out of the water, opening its massive jaws to swallow the other predators around the lake in one gulp. The whole process took less than two or three seconds. After devouring those predators, the huge crocodile submerged into the water once again.
Clara blurted out involuntarily, "A supernatural creature!"
Indeed, the crocodile is truly an supernatural creature, but its specific supernatural abilities remain a mystery.
Enzo's expression grew serious as he contemplated the inevitable confrontation with the immense creature while attempting to fetch water from the lake.
Moreover, it seemed that there was more than one supernatural crocodile inhabiting the lake.
With a sense of resignation, Enzo commanded, "Retreat to the tribe."
However, as they retreated, Enzo summoned a bit of totemic power, imbuing it into a stone, and then urged Tia to hurl it with all her might toward the center of the lake. The stone flew out, and as the totemic power attached to it was perceived, seven or eight colossal crocodiles leaped out of the water, vying for the totemic energy.
Witnessing this spectacle, everyone's complexion turned pale, relieved that they had not ventured too far forward earlier.
Nevertheless, after completing these actions, Enzo's mind was filled with a new idea.
The greatest distinction between humans and other creatures lies in the fact that humans possess supernatural intelligence, while those ferocious beasts, including many supernatural creatures, only possess basic animal instincts.
The power of the leaf totem can even attract supernatural creatures, making it an excellent bait.
The only challenge now was how to eliminate those giant crocodiles once the bait was in place.
On the way back, Enzo inquired with Clara.
She offered a suggestion but was not confident in its feasibility, stating, "Using toxins could work, but finding a toxin effective against supernatural creatures is exceedingly rare, and I have not come across such a substance in the Chagga Tribe."
Amy interjected, "That type of toxin is probably only found in supernatural plants."
This remark sparked a realization in Enzo. He suddenly thought, if the power of the leaf totem can induce evolution in living creatures, then could it also accelerate the growth of an supernatural plant if continuously stimulated?
Enzo was somewhat impatient to try it out as soon as possible.
Issuing the order to hasten their return, the colossal bear, Betta, also began to gallop furiously.
Before long, the group reached their camp, but Betta, unable to halt its momentum, crashed through the tree wall, charging into the heart of the camp, prompting a vigilant response from all the tribe members.
"Beast attack!"
The patrol squad of the tribe shouted and raised their spears, surrounding the giant bear Betta.
It wasn't until Enzo dismounted from the bear's back and addressed the crowd, "There's no need to panic, Betta is my mount."
The tribe people astonished at the revelation , erupted into a tremendous cheer.
Sovita stepped forward and couldn't help but inquire, "Lord Enzo, is this giant bear the supernatural creature you captured during your expedition?"
Enzo denied, "No."
He didn't continue the conversation with Sovita, instead calling for the captain of the hunting team, Rhode, and asking, "Rhode, are there any poisonous plants in the surrounding areas of the tribe?"
Rhode pondered for a moment and provided a detailed explanation, including the toxicity and the symptoms of poisoning.
Among them, there was a plant called the sleep-inducing flower that emitted a special scent, causing any creature that smelled it to fall into a deep slumber. Enzo found this particularly intriguing.
He instructed the hunting team to dig up a few plants the next day.
After giving the orders to the hunting team, Clara entered the room.