Chapter 019: The Clan Leader

Du Fan originally thought that these so-called barbarians, with their strange appearances, would have unattractive women as well. But upon a quick glance, he found that most of these barbarian women were extremely beautiful. Coupled with their sun-kissed skin and slender waists free of fat from constant physical activity, they exuded great allure.
The women also wore leather armor, covering only the vital parts of their bodies while leaving most of their skin exposed. Du Fan couldn’t help but sigh inwardly after just one glance—there were really… so many curves…
As he was engrossed in the sight, someone suddenly coughed softly beside him. Du Fan glanced over and saw it was Stuart. He felt a bit embarrassed, but Du Fan’s thick skin made it hard for others to read his thoughts. He smiled and said, “Honorable Stuart, are you unwell?”
Stuart snorted, “Respected Du Fan, the clan leader wants you to come in and talk.”
Du Fan nodded slightly and glanced around. He inwardly groaned—unnoticed, he had already reached the center of a cluster of wooden huts. He must have been too busy admiring the women along the way to notice.
The area before him resembled a square, with a raised platform made of bamboo at its center. Behind long wooden stairs stood a tall wooden house at the platform’s center. At first glance, it was far more elaborate than the huts he had seen along the way. Several animal skins covered in runes were pinned to it, likely the symbols of this so-called Moon-Inviting Tribe.
On both sides of the stairs stood rows of barbarians armed with weapons. Surprisingly, although their armor was mostly disheveled, it was all iron armor, indicating that these barbarians held a higher status than others. If he guessed correctly, they were likely the clan leader’s personal guards.
Du Fan looked up the stairs and saw a large doorway at the end, covered with bead curtains. He frowned inwardly—if he wasn’t mistaken, those curtains were made of the magic cores of magical beasts. Each core was as thick as a thumb, suggesting they must have come from beasts at least level six.

Who would have thought that these things, which are regarded as treasures by everyone on the mainland, are used by these barbarians as door curtains? I doubt even the Emperor of the Gavin Empire, let alone the supreme figure on the Roland Continent, the Pope, would engage in such extravagance. It seems the chieftain of the Inviting Moon Tribe really has a high opinion of himself!

As he was pondering, Stuart grew impatient. He coughed again and said, “Lord Du Fan…”

Du Fan was startled awake. Lost in thought, he nodded and said, “Stuart, your place is truly grand and luxurious… I, Du Fan, have seen much, but I’ve never encountered anyone who would use such things as door curtains.”

Upon hearing this, a proud smile appeared on Stuart’s peculiar face. He said, “Those door curtains are sacred gifts from the Great Temple’s priests. They are not only symbols of honor but are also said to have mysterious effects. However, these details cannot be revealed to Lord Du Fan.”

Du Fan secretly smirked. What effects could those magic stones possibly have? Unless they were used to form a magic array—though he had never seen a magic array in the form of door curtains in his life.

Still, the shaman priests’ magic was mysterious, so such a possibility wasn’t entirely unfounded. With that in mind, Du Fan grew slightly more cautious.

Perhaps because of Du Fan’s unintentional praise, Stuart’s expression toward him improved. He nodded slightly and said in a low voice, “Lord Du Fan, the chieftain has been waiting for you in the temple for a long time. You’d better go up now…”

Du Fan couldn’t help but laugh at the idea—this so-called temple was the barbarians’ sacred place? If judged by this scale, then the so-called Great Temple would just be a huge wooden house!

But Du Fan didn’t dare show his amusement. Acting like this on their territory was tantamount to seeking death.

He nodded and stepped up the wooden stairs, then turned to look at Stuart and asked, “Aren’t you coming up?”

Stuart nodded. “Only guests of honor, along with clan members and shaman priests, are allowed to enter the temple. So, Lord Du Fan, please go ahead…”

Du Fan was slightly puzzled. His status certainly couldn’t be considered that of a guest of honor, could it?

But he didn’t voice his doubts and instead hurried up the stairs.

A moment later, he arrived at the doorway. The two barbarian guards standing there, though with strange expressions, still pulled back the curtain… Du Fan slowly stepped inside and felt darkness surround him as a peculiar smell filled the air. After sniffing for a while, he recognized it as the scent emitted by the leaves of a magical plant after burning. This plant was quite unusual—when consumed, it had a hallucinogenic effect, but its burning scent could sharpen the mind. Du Fan had briefly read about this plant in the scriptures of the Holy Church, but since it no longer existed on the Roland Continent, he hadn’t remembered its name. After thinking for a while, he still couldn’t recall what kind of plant it was. He had no choice but to give up for now. By then, Du Fan had adapted to the room’s lighting. He quickly glanced around and couldn’t help but be surprised. The room resembled an enlarged tent, with thick animal skins covering the floor. The circular walls were piled with various strange items. There was a window facing south, through which it seemed possible to see the towering peaks in the center of the basin. In the center of the room appeared to be a stone stove, with something burning inside—this was where the smell of the plant originated. At the far end of the room was something resembling a bed, where the chief of the tribe he had seen earlier was sitting, looking weary and exhausted. The shaman priest Lingyin was massaging his back. Besides them, there were two masked shaman priests in the room. Du Fan became wary and tried to sense their strength with his mental power, but he couldn’t discern it immediately, so he gave up. When the chief of the Moon-Inviting Tribe saw Du Fan enter, he waved his hand slightly, signaling Lingyin to step back. He seemed more energetic afterward. After staring at Du Fan for a moment, he simply said, “Sit…” Du Fan was puzzled—there were no stools or similar things in the room. How was he supposed to sit? And on what? At the same time, a strange feeling arose in him, as if something was off. It took him a moment to realize it was the language!

Along the way, although there were a few barbarians who could speak Rolandian, their speech, aside from Suzu no Ne, was all strange and odd. Even Stuart spoke Rolandian in a somewhat awkward manner, like a parrot imitating speech. But the chief of the Inviting Moon tribe spoke Rolandian clearly. If not heard in this place, no one would believe he was the chief of a barbarian tribe.

How did this barbarian chief manage to do that!!!

Seeing Du Fan not speaking, the chief suddenly showed an expression of realization and said, “Oh! I forgot. You Rolandians have the habit of sitting on something—if I’m not mistaken, it’s called a chair, right? But we Karas don’t have such a habit. I’m truly sorry…”

Du Fan noticed that this barbarian called himself a Kara… If he remembered correctly, Kara was an ancient language, seemingly meaning something like a fallen sun or a fallen angel. He wasn’t sure what it meant for these barbarians to call themselves that. After pondering for a moment without coming to a conclusion, he quickly shook his head and said, “No! No! As the saying goes, one should adapt to local customs. Since I’m in a noble’s place, I naturally follow noble customs.”

The barbarian chief seemed to smile faintly but then fell into deep thought for a moment before saying meaningfully, “It’s been over six years since that war, and I haven’t seen a Rolandian since. I never thought I’d get to see one in my lifetime. What luck…”

The so-called war from six years ago was naturally the one between the Northern Legion and the barbarians. Du Fan was puzzled. He didn’t understand why this seemingly ageless man suddenly brought up these things. He could only offer an awkward smile and say, “Your Excellency is joking. What luck could there be in meeting someone like me?”

The barbarian chief shook his head slightly and said, “No… no… no… I truly feel very lucky. I always thought I’d never have the chance to see a Rolandian again in my life. To think I can see one in my lifetime—it’s fate…”

As he spoke, the old chief suddenly shook his head. His once bright eyes became cloudy. He must have remembered something, as he suddenly started coughing violently…

Suzu no Ne, who was by his side, quickly supported him and took out a silk scarf from her bosom and handed it to him. After coughing for a while, the chief finally stopped slowly. Du Fan glanced at him and couldn’t help but be stunned…