Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

The western side of the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province is marked by the Big Horn River as a natural boundary.

Crossing the Big Horn River and traveling a hundred more kilometers to the west, one arrives at the Terdun Tribe's winter grazing grounds.

In the past month, tens of thousands of Terdun people had continuously migrated to this area, making the number of tents in the winter grazing grounds unprecedentedly high.

Yet, no matter how numerous the tents were, one could not witness the spectacle of tens of thousands of horses galloping across the plains, with at most small groups of riders rushing along the horizon.

Felt tents were distant from each other, herds too kept to themselves, each maintaining a cold distance as if they were isolated islands on a vast yellow-green ocean.

The reason such a scene presented itself was partly due to the social structure of the Herders, and partly due to the dictates of survival.

The Herders could roughly be divided into three classes:

Kota—the unbonded warriors, military aristocracy;

Haran—meaning commoners, subjects of the nobles;

Tiher—slaves.

Because the living environment was harsh and dangerous, there was little difference in the standard of living and political status between the commoners and the slaves.

The slaves of a great noble certainly ate better and dressed warmer than an ordinary commoner, and their status was higher as well.

At the same time, the flattening of the society meant that there was considerable social mobility.

After all, a Herder could be a commoner today and be captured as a slave tomorrow, achieving a leap across social classes.

Even the Terdun Tribe, esteemed as one of the "big three", still operated on the organizational mode of "a group of minor military aristocrats loyal to a greater military aristocrat".

A minor military aristocrat, along with his attendants, guards, subjects, and slaves, constituted a micro-tribe.

The fireside ruler was not only the object of loyalty of the minor military aristocrats but also the strongest among the military aristocracy.

There was a limit to the number of livestock the grasslands could support, necessitating Herder families to spread out to graze; the increased distance in turn resulted in skyrocketing costs of rule. This naturally evolved into a loose social structure.

To Herder society, this was a necessity for survival; but to the rulers, it signified a dispersion of power.

The fireside ruler wanted to make changes. He had heard that the White Lion was conducting "household registrations for all citizens", and he too wished to reorganize the Terdun Tribe just like the White Lion.

Yet, his prestige was not as great as before, especially since the loss of the sacrificial golden statue had drawn much criticism. Every time the fireside ruler saw the Kotas whispering among themselves, he felt they were mocking and scorning him.

The core of the White Lion's "household registrations for all citizens" was to shrink the power gap allotted to the minor military aristocracy—this much the fireside ruler saw clearly.

However, there was one characteristic of nomadic life: "A herdsman's wealth was either on legs or could be carried away by legged beasts, always ready for escape".

If the Kotas were not happy with the fireside ruler, they could at any moment pack up all their belongings, walk away, and continue to be Kotas in another tribe, or even set up on their own.

Of course, this kind of "moving house" akin to defection certainly came with procedural problems, was quite troublesome to deal with, and could even provoke warfare among the tribes.

But when it came down to their interests being harmed, the Kotas would not hesitate for a moment.

Therefore, the fireside ruler dared not act rashly; he had to first stabilize the Terdun Tribe and then gradually squeeze power from the hands of the Kotas.

To regain prestige, the swiftest method was to win a battle.

For the Herders, there was no issue that spoils of war couldn't solve. If not, surely it was because there weren't enough spoils.

And the fireside ruler had already spotted a prime target.

"Warriors of Terdun!" The fireside ruler entered the great tent with an imposing presence, "Has everyone arrived?"

The Kotas within the great tent ceased their clamor and paid their respects to the fireside ruler one after another.

The fireside ruler had summoned the Kotas to discuss matters under the guise of "dividing the winter grazing grounds".

The agreement with the Paratu People held no binding power now, and the Terdun Tribe no longer needed to maintain a buffer zone of a hundred kilometers.

As a result, the Terdun Tribe had, as if out of thin air, gained a large expanse of rich winter grazing grounds, and the Kotas were all eagerly waiting for the fireside ruler to distribute the spoils.

Surveying the great tent, the fireside ruler began with another matter, "In the battle last fall, both you and I were present. We captured few treasures or women, and it only tired our horses. It was my error in command, and you may blame me."

By pointing out his own shortcoming, the fireside ruler prevented the Kotas from speaking carelessly.

"The warriors did capture quite a few things, though." A cautious, older Kota spoke up, "This is all thanks to your grace, fireside ruler."

The fireside ruler sneered, "We missed the truly tender and plump lamb legs. Some bone scraps and offcuts, how can they be enough for the warriors to share?"

The true purpose of the fireside ruler's great tent council was clear to the Kotas, but none were willing to express their positions.

It was the fireside ruler's own uncle who stood up first, bluntly questioning, "Fireside ruler, just speak plainly. We're all ready to raid, but you need to explain the plan. Just like a herd follows the lead horse, tell us clearly where we're headed so we can follow you."

"It's simple. Despite their defeat, the bipeds are still a tough bone to chew." The fireside ruler said gruffly, "A direct clash of knife against knife, arrow against arrow, we might not win, and even if we do, it could cost many lives."

The Kotas of the Terdun Tribe nodded in agreement.

Thirty years of decline could not be overturned with a single victory, and if it came down to setting up for another battle, the Paratu People would surely win.

"That's why we must walk the path of our grandfathers and ancestors. Like a wolf pack hunting gazelles, we should first target the small and the weak, avoiding the big and strong," the fireside ruler bared his teeth, "Once the small and the weak are devoured, the big and strong will be ripe for slaughter..."