The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

Chapter 434: Chapter 408: Barbarian Tribe (2)

Even though he had never seen what a Demon looked like.

The boy picked up a palm-sized rock from the ground and brandished it, issuing one final warning.

"Don’t come any closer. Go away."

Seeing the man had no intention of stopping, the boy gritted his teeth and prepared to throw the rock.

But just as the power from his core flowed into his arm, a large hand gripped his wrist.

The strength of that broad palm was so immense that the boy’s all-out throw came to a sudden halt.

The boy looked up to his right in astonishment, his expression then shifting to one of pleasant surprise.

"Dad!"

The other Barbarian children around them saw the man, who was sturdier than a tiger or leopard, and their eyes filled with admiration.

That man was none other than the strongest warrior of the village, Gu Ta.

Gu Ta stared coldly at the newcomer. "Friend, you cannot enter our village."

The man ignored him and walked straight up to Gu Ta.

To the astonishment of all the children at the entrance, the strange man threw a savage punch at Gu Ta.

THUD!

A muffled thud rang out.

The ever-undefeated Gu Ta was actually knocked to the ground by a single punch from the man, his face a mask of disbelief.

’So strong!’

There was no panic on the children’s faces, only fervent admiration.

This was perhaps the greatest difference between Xuan Yang and the Northern Plains.

In Xuan Yang, forget children this age; even the adults would have been scared into scattering in all directions.

That’s right. The newcomer was none other than Bai Yuan, who had come from Xuan Yang.

"You’re not bad,"

he said to the Barbarian man before him in a still somewhat unpracticed tongue.

Learning a new language was not a difficult task for him. Not to mention, he had secretly studied the Barbarian language back in Xuan Yang, precisely to prepare for this trip north.

He had long since mastered the grammar and pronunciation of the Barbarian language; the only thing he lacked, perhaps, was the opportunity to speak it.

Gu Ta looked at Bai Yuan with a face full of worship, scrambled to his feet, and knelt before him.

"Great warrior."

Although it was the first time Bai Yuan had witnessed such an act, he didn’t find Gu Ta’s behavior strange.

The Barbarian People worshiped the strong; it was something carved into their very bones.

To survive in this harsh world, aside from becoming stronger themselves, they also needed the protection of the powerful.

Just then, a group of people appeared at the village entrance.

The boy turned his head and immediately spotted an old man leaning on a cane in the center of the group. He was the village chief.

The village chief wasn’t necessarily the one with the greatest combat strength, but he was definitely the one with the most experience in survival.

This old chief had indeed used his vast knowledge to guide the village through one Demon rampage after another. Of course, the old chief himself had also been very powerful in his younger days.

The old chief looked at Bai Yuan with his cloudy eyes, then glanced at Gu Ta on the ground.

It was obvious that this outsider had defeated Gu Ta.

"Warrior, may we know your honorable name?"

Bai Yuan paused for a moment. "Ah Gu Da."

The old chief’s expression turned reverent. "That is truly a warrior’s name."

An expectant look appeared in his eyes. "Honorable Ah Gu Da, are you willing to become our Barbarian Village’s Sacrificial Guardian?"

’Sacrificial Guardian?’

Bai Yuan mulled over the term.

The Sacrificial Guardian was a unique position among the Barbarians. They could be understood as the protectors of a village. Of course, while they served as guardians, the village was also required to make annual offerings to them.

For a Barbarian Village, finding a powerful Sacrificial Guardian was the only way to survive in a world fraught with danger.

The old chief did not doubt Bai Yuan’s identity.

Not all Barbarians in the Northern Plains were followers of the Demon Sect, nor did all Demon Sect followers travel south. For most of the Barbarian People, they continued to live the same way they had for tens of thousands of years. Xuan Yang and the Demon Sect were exceedingly distant concepts.

To them, the Demons at their doorstep were the greatest threat.

Bai Yuan did not answer the old chief’s request.

"I need to stay here for a while."

Hearing the strange warrior’s reply, a flash of disappointment crossed the old chief’s eyes.

The village’s Sacrificial Guardian had been killed by a great Demon not long ago. Now, the strongest person in the village was Gu Ta.

Gu Ta’s strength was decent, but it was far too difficult for him to protect the entire village on his own.

The old chief forced a smile onto his face, which resembled ancient tree bark. "Honorable warrior, it is our honor that you would stay in our village."

Although he hadn’t managed to find a new Sacrificial Guardian, at least the village would be safe while this strange, powerful man was living there.

He had no reason to refuse.

Unlike in Xuan Yang, the Barbarian People’s way of thinking was completely different. The old chief wasn’t the least bit worried that Bai Yuan harbored ill intentions toward the village; in fact, he would have loved nothing more than to hand the entire village over to Bai Yuan as his private property.

They had no power to refuse anything a powerhouse like Bai Yuan wanted.

And just like that, Bai Yuan easily took up residence in the Barbarian village.

Dry firewood CRACKLED in the flames.

The long-lost warmth soothed his mind. Though his power already allowed him to fear no cold, a warm environment was still more comfortable.

The thatched hut he was staying in would certainly be considered unpresentable in Xuan Yang.

But here in this Barbarian village, it was already the best room available.

It was spacious, and the furniture was all there.

He had come to this Barbarian village purely by chance.

Originally, he had only heard about the existence of Cang Mang Mountain from Old Dong and had come to take a look, and perhaps meet an old friend of his master’s along the way.

He didn’t know the way, so he simply headed north, eventually stumbling into this village by accident.

The Northern Plains were simply too vast, even for a Mingxin Grandmaster like him. Sometimes he would cross a thousand miles and see not a single person, nor even a single Demon. The solitude was oppressive.

Bai Yuan planned to stay in this village for a while.

According to Old Dong, Cang Mang Mountain was an excellent hunting ground.

The Demons and Barbarians here weren’t all followers of the Demon Sect; in fact, many powerful individuals were hostile toward the Demon Sect, which was why the sect had never managed to gain complete control over the area.

Old Dong had stayed here for a long time back in the day before fleeing back to Xuan Yang.

In Cang Mang Mountain, killing was a daily occurrence, and it wouldn’t even attract pursuit from the Demon Sect. It was practically a perfect grinding spot designed just for Bai Yuan.

Bai Yuan planned to grind relentlessly here until he perfected the third level of the Divine Mansion Technique.

Just as he was using his demon-finding ability to search for great Demons nearby, the old chief’s voice came from outside the hut.

"Honorable warrior, may I come in?"

Bai Yuan slowly opened his eyes. "Come in."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the door was pushed open. The old chief he had met earlier walked in, leading two rather pretty Barbarian women.

"Honorable warrior, these two young ladies are clever and willing to stay by your side to serve you."

Bai Yuan was speechless.

’I didn’t expect the culture of gift-giving to be just as prevalent among the Barbarians as it is in Xuan Yang.’

He waved his hand. "There’s no need. I’m used to being alone."

It wasn’t that he was averse to female company. Speaking of which, although these two Barbarian maidens lacked the delicate charm of the women from Xuanyang Jiangnan, they possessed a unique, wild beauty of their own.

But this was the Northern Plains. Compared to seeking pleasure, improving his strength as quickly as possible was the most important thing right now.

After all, the contract for his life-and-death duel with Linghu Yang had already spread throughout the Xuanyang Martial World.

Even though Linghu Yang stood almost no chance of killing him with his current strength, if he were to lose, the Emperor, Li Chengyuan, would certainly not be as accommodating as he was now.

The reason he had become Li Chengyuan’s favorite was not, of course, because he possessed some special talent for pleasing his elders, but simply because he was useful to Li Chengyuan.

Li Chengyuan was counting on him to clean up the Jianghu and create a breakthrough, which was why he was so indulgent toward him in all matters.

Seeing Bai Yuan’s refusal, the old chief sighed helplessly in his heart.

’Becoming a Sacrificial Guardian isn’t something one agrees to so easily. In the Northern Plains, it’s usually the villages that have to beg a Sacrificial Guardian for protection. A being as powerful as Bai Yuan is hard to come by.’

’He had to cling tightly to this powerful patron.’

’Otherwise, it would be too difficult to hold on to this small oasis in a world surrounded by hordes of Demons.’

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