Chapter 1170, Each with Their Own Designs

Translator: Silavin

 

Inside the Spotted Deer Tribe, the Chieftain had gathered the Tribe’s Senior figures together once more.

 

They were preparing to discuss plans for the coming year. The Tribe’s development over the past two years had not gone well.

 

Especially after the Flame Dragon Tribe had risen. After that, the Spotted Deer Tribe had found itself falling further and further behind.

 

“We cannot go on like this.” Lu Shi said, his face set. “If we continue like this, our Tribe will eventually be done for.”

 

As Chieftain, he bore the responsibility of leading the Tribe to greater prosperity. But the Tribe was sliding steadily downward instead.

 

This was the source of Lu Shi’s real worry. If he could not manage the Tribe well, his position as Chieftain could easily be taken from him.

 

He had sat in that seat long enough to grow accustomed to it. He had been respected long enough to feel it as his due. The thought of giving it up was not one he entertained willingly.

 

“What can we do?” Yi said, his expression sour. “Isn’t this your responsibility? Surely our Tribe going downhill has something to do with you.”

 

He was the Spotted Deer Tribe’s Hunting Team Leader. He had also once been a serious contender for Chieftain.

 

He had simply been off his form on the day it mattered, and his performance had fallen short. The position had slipped through his fingers. He had never let go of this grievance. Every time he looked at Lu Shi, the resentment surged. He did not shirk his duties, of course. Whatever work fell to him, he did it with all his effort.

 

But that was the reason Lu Shi could not simply be rid of him. Even knowing perfectly well how Yi felt about him.

 

“I may be Chieftain and responsible for this Tribe’s growth,” Lu Shi said, his tone sharp, “but I have no power to stop another Tribe from developing. What would you do in my place?”

 

He knew Yi was seizing on any excuse available. So, he handed the question straight back.

 

Lu Shi was well aware of his position. If he handled this badly, someone could easily use it to pull him out of the Chieftain’s seat.

 

So, he had to pass the problem to others. And he had to make sure that, in this moment, no fault could be found with him.

 

“I would wipe that Tribe out,” Yi said flatly. “Then we’d see who dared to compete with us. We would be the only Tribe holding a Market in this whole area.”

 

Yi stood a little over 1.8 metres tall, all solid muscle, with knife scars covering his face and body. He looked dangerous in a way that made people step back.

 

Because of this, most people in the Spotted Deer Tribe kept their distance from Yi. He was still unattached, though not because no one had come forward. He simply was not thinking about that. What he wanted was to take the Chieftain’s seat, to displace Lu Shi. There was no room in his head for anything else.

 

But Shaman Lu Shan stood firmly on the Chieftain’s side, which left Yi unable to move directly. He had been biding his time ever since.

 

Now that a proper opening had finally appeared, he was absolutely going to make the most of it. A chance this good was not something to let pass.

 

“We have always been on good terms with the Flame Dragon Tribe,” Lu Shi said, frowning. “We even helped them get their Ancestral Land back from the Black Snake Tribe. And we are currently cooperating with them. How can you even think of that?”

 

He had never entertained such a thought himself. Even though the Flame Dragon Tribe had taken quite a lot of business from the Spotted Deer Tribe.

 

Lu Shi had felt the sting of it, of course. He simply had no outlet for it.

 

After all, what could one do? The other Tribe had the talent. They had developed exceptional goods almost overnight, leaving the Spotted Deer Tribe flat-footed.

 

“Then what do you suggest?” Yi pushed the question back. “That Tribe is a serious threat to us. They are holding back our Tribe from developing.”

 

His view was simple. Remove whatever threatened his Tribe’s growth. Nothing else mattered.

 

“Say we follow your thinking,” Lu Shi said, his voice dropping low. “How strong do you think they are? You saw how they dealt with the Black Snake Tribe last time. What do we have to fight them with?”

 

He continued, “Our numbers may be an advantage. But their weapons are the greater advantage. One of their weapons is worth several of our people. How many of us can we afford to spend?”

 

He would never allow himself to entertain the idea of going to war with the Flame Dragon Tribe. It was far too dangerous.

 

Lu Shi did genuinely want the Tribe to prosper. Had the Flame Dragon Tribe been any weaker, he might have sided with Yi’s thinking. But they were not weaker. They were the strongest Tribe in this region as far as anyone knew, though of course there were Tribes beyond their knowledge, so the comparison had its limits.

 

“Then we do it quietly,” Yi said, the sourness plain in his voice. “Why fight them in the open?”

 

“If that’s what you intend,” Lu Shi said, “then go and do it yourself. I will not stop you. But whatever you do has nothing to do with me, and nothing to do with the Spotted Deer Tribe.”

 

His expression had gone quite cold. “If you are in grief, our Tribe will not answer for it. You are not a child. Take responsibility for what you decide to do.”

 

He knew Yi had been thinking this way for a long time. He knew it was difficult to stop him from acting on it.

 

But when someone was about to step out of line, Lu Shi still had to say what needed to be said, and make clear where the line between them lay. If something went wrong later and it dragged the whole Tribe into it, that would be a different matter entirely.

 

“I know perfectly well what I’d be taking on,” Yi said. “But I’m telling you first. If I deal with the threat to this Tribe, then the Chieftain’s seat is mine.”

 

His ambition was not hidden. He had always felt the seat should have been his to begin with. And this time, removing the threat to the Spotted Deer Tribe would make his claim entirely legitimate.

 

He had grown tired of watching Lu Shi occupy a seat that, in his view, had never truly belonged to him.

 

“Sure,” Lu Shi said. “If you manage it, the Chieftain’s seat is yours. But if you don’t, whatever you do has nothing to do with our Tribe.”

 

He reminded Yi of this once more for good measure.

 

Inwardly, he was quietly pleased. He knew Yi would not be able to do it. The agreement was only a way of pointing a threat in a direction that suited him.

 

Lu Shi understood perfectly well that if he did not find some way to manage Yi, his hold on the Chieftain’s seat would never be stable.

 

But he could not act against him directly. Yi was part of the Tribe. He was a Mid-Stage Totem Warrior. Moving against him openly would be far too conspicuous.

 

“Just you wait,” Yi said. The corners of his mouth turned upward.

 

He understood exactly what Lu Shi was thinking. But this was an opportunity he could not let slip.