123 Preparing to Explore the Desert
“We can’t surrender, father. We should gather all warriors and face him!” Najek said.
They were in the tribe’s main hall discussing the matter about Arthur, who said they had to surrender.
“Are you insane? Don’t you remember what he did to the army that tried to attack us? He will wipe our tribe.”
The memories of that army getting destroyed with a single attack from Arthur crossed everyone’s mind. Could they go against someone like that? Impossible.
While they were all busy itching their heads, trying to find a way out, Arthur was chilling inside his cabin.
He spent the day studying the tattoo magic he got, and could add and erase the tattoos. The only thing he needed now was a good tattoo that added a decent effect.
“Maybe I should try to create one? These are all useless to me.”
Arthur needed more information about these tattoos before attempting to create one. He hoped that the cities within the desert would grant him that.
Someone knocked on the door, waking up Arthur from his daydreams.
“Lord, I’m sorry to bother you. Ahanu wants to talk with you.” Mohe said.
Ahanu did not wait for the 24 hour mark before looking for Arthur. He knew deep down that what Arthur would do as he said, and there was no reason to let his tribe members die.
“Look who is here.” Arthur said.
The moment he got out from the perimeter of the magic barrier, not only Ahanu but all the other tribe members knelled.
“We surrender, and we have our faith in you!”
They all said in unison, but that wasn’t true. Arthur knew that because his system showed no more devotees, only about 5 or 6 of everyone that was there meant these words.
He hoped that the blood mark would change that.
“All right. All of you, get in line.”
“Why Akhur? Is something wrong?” Ahanu said.
“Nothing, just do as I say.”
Ahanu was the first in line, and the second was his son, Najek. Arthur called each one of them to move forward, and then he cut his right hand, waved it, and cast a blood mark on each one of them.
The moment the blood mark hit them, they were already within Arthur’s command, and the number of devotees increased.
It took a while for that to end, but after it did, Arthur now jumped from 87 devotees to 234.
“This is good. Now the next time the system grants me free attributes than the amount will be at least doubled.”
All the tribe members that had the thought of acting against Arthur were now hopeless. They now had to obey everything that Arthur said, which meant it was impossible to plot against him.
“What will we do now, father?” Najek said.
They reunited all the important figures from the tribe inside the main hall after getting marked.
“Nothing, son, nothing. He won, and we have to accept it.” Ahanu said, as he angrily hit the table, leaving the room afterwards.
Everyone present felt the same way, but Najek and the arrogant youth that lost his family were still pissed, and wanted to still act against Arthur, even if they had to wait for a long time.
“We will get him, eventually. Don’t worry.” Najek whispered.
Arthur wasn’t worried at all about their plotting, as it was virtually impossible for them to succeed. What he could do was to focus on improving, and now that everyone in the tribe was under his command, then maybe he should go on a trip through the desert and explore a city.
So, with that thought in mind, he called Jane, Wisa and Harmony to chat inside his house.
“So, I’m thinking that we should travel to the city, as we need more resources for our students, and maybe we could get ourselves a place there. Wisa, Jane, would you like to come with me?” Arthur said.
That startled them, but Wisa quickly recovered, and answered with a smile, “of course.”
“I-I’ll go too!” Jane said.
She had cherry cheeks and could barely utter a word. It seemed Jane was still shy after that conversation they had.
“Harmony, I’ll give you temporary command of the blood mark. Use it if someone tries something.”
Arthur was not worried that Harmony would do something he did not approve. He could sense everything that happened when she used the powers of the blood mark, and if Harmony tried to do something he did not like, then he would talk with her later.
“Okay, boss.”
“All right. We will leave tomorrow morning. I’ll try to get a map from Ahanu.”
After that, Arthur left his house and went to the main building of the tribe. As he flew through it, all the people there gazed at him.
He stood in front of the main building, and said, “Ahanu, come open up the door.”
Soon, someone came to answer. It was not Ahanu but his son, Najek. The displeasing on his face was clear as day, but Arthur did not care about that.
The moment Najek opened up the door, Arthur simply walked in without saying a word. Ahanu came from the second floor, and said, “Celestial lord. What do you need?”
“I want a map as I plan to go for a walk in the city. Do you have one?”
“A map? Yes, I do. Wait here for a second.”
Differently from his son, Ahanu did not have the strength to fight a losing battle. He just wanted to return to how things were, and enjoy his life without worries. Perhaps having someone strong like Arthur could grant him that wished.
“Here, take it.”
Ahanu returned with a piece of paper. It was the map Arthur had asked.
“Thanks. Do you need anything?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like food, weapons, or did you face any problems with your hunters? I’m not the enemy here, Ahanu. I’ll help you if I can.”
“For now, nothing, but I’ll go seek you if any problem shows up. Thank you, Akhur.”
“No problem. I’ll not be around, but you can talk with Mohe and the others. See ya!”
Arthur left and went back to his house to prepare for a long journey.
“Sully, we will be leaving. Return!”
Sully was flying all over the desert since the day they returned, eating and scaring some tribes. He was well-known throughout the desert.
“Okay. I’m returning.”