Chapter 57: What’s the next step?

It was a week later when the chief got the news of their scout’s death. He sent the body to his family for burial and honored them with food, resources, and a better hut.

Naturally, what came next was a council meeting, one where even Omula could join, to speak about the next steps of the tribe.

"I’m sure you’ve already heard the news," Solan said with a grim expression. Losing anyone from their tribe always took a toll on him. These people were his family, and he hated seeing them die unnatural deaths.

"Typhon Tribe scum." Elder Lars cursed, clenching his hand tightly.

"What is our next course of action?" Elder Nala asked. "Should we lead a mini assault to stir them up?"

"And die in the process?" Elder Hal wondered. "In case you forgot, the Typhon Tribe knows that we were spying on them. They even sent the body back to our borders to show that they’re watching for us."

Kanan was racking his brain about what could have happened to the scout. He’d seen the body, and what he saw were the wounds from a fight, yet nothing of torture.

It struck him as odd. Anyone would want to get information on their enemies or rivals, no matter how that information slips into their hands. So the scout dying and being sent back to the border was very suspicious.

"I was thinking about doing a quick strike, taking out their food reserves and burning some of their huts," Trena suggested.

Kanan shook his head and spoke up for the first time. "No, that won’t work."

"Hmm? Is there something we’re missing, Kanan?" Chief Solan asked.

"The body." He explained. "All injuries point to a scuffle, a fight. No injuries point to any signs of torture. Now, the Typhon Tribe could have ways to enter his mind, but if they don’t, or didn’t care to, our scout was just killed outright."

Elder Lars laughed with a scoff. "I expect nothing less from those animals."

"He’s saying that it’s surprising that the Typhon Tribe didn’t torture the scout for any information on us, especially since we’ll be going to war with them soon." Omula translated.

"While I understand your reasoning, he was just a scout. They are told nothing of significant importance in case they are caught or captured." Trena explained.

"I’m sure a giant wall around our village is vital information that the Typhon Tribe would love to know. Pull any tribesman from the village, and they can tell you that, even the children. It’s not exactly a secret." Kanan said while leaning back in his chair.

Solan nodded. "Kanan has a point. The wall would change the plans of the Typhon Tribe. They are used to the small fence we had around the village. But now, two large walls are already built with guard towers. By the time winter is over, we’ll be fully defended."

"We should secure our borders instead," Omula suggested. "Honestly, whatever the Typhon Tribe is doing right now is not our concern. Yes, we must learn how to deal with them, but securing outland should take priority. If they send a scout, we should be ready to kill them as well."

"I agree." Kanan raised his hand, turned to Omula, and nodded. "There’s nothing to gain by risking our people’s lives. I wouldn’t doubt that our scout managed to find something, but died before he could transmit a message to us. Fortifying our defences, building traps, and creating better weapons should take priority."

"Who’s in favor?" Solan asked

Elder Nala raised her hand, then Elder Trena, Elder Hal, and finally, Elder Lars. All of them understood the importance of securing their home and would never be opposed to that.

"One question, though," Omula spoke up again. "What about Elder Warren? If he’s captured by the Typhon Tribe, he could release information to them that could hurt us."

Solan had also thought about that, but he deemed Warren’s case a non-issue. "Elder Warren doesn’t know that we’ve had the best Blessing Ceremony in decades. Not only did we get a lot of 5 and 6 stars, but we even have a 7 star and a Village Shaman. He doesn’t know about the wall or our better weapons either. I think we’ll be fine, even if he leaks information."

"Great. Then we prioritize making sure the Typhon Tribe doesn’t learn about our plans."

After everyone agreed, the council meeting was adjourned, and they went their separate ways to focus on the tasks at hand.

Kanan decided to check his system to see if there was anything he could use to further strengthen the village’s defenses. The wall was a great start, but improved weapons would be far more useful in the long run.

’System, what do you have on ballistae?’ Arrows were great, but bigger arrows would be better. This also gave him the idea to create crossbows for people who weren’t that good at using bows.

[Ballista and Crossbows are available to be crafted. The materials already exist in the host’s village.]

’Sweet. No iron arrowheads, though, so that’s unfortunate. Can bronze be used for arrowheads? For the ballista, I mean. I already know it can be used for regular bow and crossbow arrows.’

[Affirmative. In the host’s original world, bronze was used for arrowheads for centuries before switching to Iron and Steel.]

’Sweet.’

Kanan wasted no time and ran all the way to Igor. He knew that the blacksmith would be eager to learn how to craft new things.

He didn’t know if Igor was the right person to talk to about building the ballista, so he also went to the craftsman since that role was broad and covered many different ways of building something.

After giving them the blueprints and telling them how it should look and work, Kanan left them to their own devices before returning home to his lovely family.

"Did you finally remember that I exist?" Viola asked, welcoming Kanan home with a kiss.

"What are you talking about? I see you every day."

She pouted, then took a seat on a mat. "You usually come to visit me when you have the time."

"Ah, sorry. I’ve been pretty busy."

"It’s okay. Let’s eat. Glena did something cool with the rabbits today. It looks so good."