The Six Clan’s Status

Looking back at recent events, the elder became worried as he realized that among the six clans, the sixth clan had yet to make any signs of movement.

"Felix, did you receive any news about the Sixth clan?" asked the elder

"...Still remaining silent, Elder." as he answered, Felix kneeled before the elder on one knee with a face of regret as he was unable to provide a clear answer to his question.

Without even looking back at Felix, the elder started pondering as he placed his hand on his chin.

It was not as though the elder saw the last clan as a potential threat, he was more wary of their presence and future movement than concerned of their military might as the said clan had not been affected by the recent conflicts.

Because they had implanted spies in Mordan City, the continuos flow of information had allowed the elder to be informed on recent events along with how the Naga Clan was interacting with other clans.

But even with all the information they gained in Mordan City, their spies were unable to collect information about the last clan that was farthest from the Boar's clan, the Phoenix Clan.

Like the Boar Clans, the Phoenix clan is recognized as a neutral faction that held no interest in expanding their territory and had not engaged in conflict with any of the other four clans.

Namely the Naga clan, the Black Panther Clan, the Bone Lizard clan and the Blood Vulture Clan.

But even though the Phoenix clan is recognized as one of the Six Clans, the said clan possesed the smallest territory and shared its borders near three of the Six clans.

Even if it was for the sake of protecting their own clan, the clans surrounding the Phoenix clan would willingly accept the idea of an alliance with them despite being the weakest among the six.

Compared to the other clans that wish to show off their abilities or assert their dominance, the Phoenix clan was in a position that will cause a butterfly effect[1] if they were to involve themselves with another clan.

Because the clan shared borders with three other clans, the Phoenix clan is not only protected from foreign enemies but neighboring clans would not dare invade them unless they were willing to risk facing the same threat of being invaded from the other two clans.

That is how special the Phoenix clan is compared to other clans.

Of course, there was another factor as to why the Pheonix clan was regarded as a special case.

In every area that held a large number of clans, it was inevitable for clans to rank themselves and gain a certain level of prestige based on thier respective field of expertise.

There is, however, some categories that are considered taboo subjects.

Take for instance military forces or administrative ability, if major powers were to compare their governing capabilities, then it was an open subject to compare as the results would be clear evidence to the difference of their abilities.

Conversely, if something that was non objective[2] was involved, then conflict was inevitable.

An example would be clans comparing their best fighter's. This type of argument would often be settled via competition or sparring, eventually settling an argument with a chance to succeed in the near future.

Yet, what if clans compared not the fighter's strength, but the training method they used. Then conflicts of opinion was bound to happen as each clan prides themselves over their lineage and the trials they faced.

As such, ranking based on the cultivation method was considered a taboo subject to most clans and is rarely a subject that is openly discussed.

In the land where the six clans are based in, each clan possesses their own unique status/prestige and is widely accepted that each clan are in the top of their respective field of expertise.

The Six Clan's prestige are as followed:

--- The Naga Clan ---

With a great number of territories under their supervision, the Naga Clan is recognized for owning the largest land among the six clans as well as earning the title being the wealthiest among them due to the resources they amassed.

Although there are countless rumours speculating that they had been using underhanded means to claim each territory. Not one clan could deny the Naga clan's ability as they had developed their territory with a successful trading industry.

--- The Panther Clan ---

With their ferocious tenacity and naturally strong physique, the Panther clan is easily recognized as a clan with the most gifted warriors.

To this day, even after losing almost half of their members because of their war with the Boar clan, the Panther Clan or the Black Panther clan is still recognized as the strongest out of the six clans.

--- The Lizard Clan ---

By capturing a large number of beast along with several rare species, the Bone Lizard clan also known as the Lizard is recognized as a clan with the greatest hunters that could use a variety of traps to easily subdue a number of beast without severly harming it.

After making some deals with the Naga clan, the Lizard Clan is recognized as having a business partnership with the Naga clan and continues to supply them with beast as products under their request.

--- The Vulture Clan ---

With their great eyesight and exceptional archery as their asset, the Blood Vulture Clan also known as the Vulture clan is recognized as a clan that specializes in the art of archery.

It is said that if not for a certain incident, the Vulture clan would not have been able to attain the same level of fame that is equal to the five other clans.

--- The Phoenix Clan ---

Lastly, the most famous among the six clans, the Phoenix Clan.

After a mass epidemic swept through the lands, the Phoenix clan was recognized as a clan most adept in the arts of healing as they had saved more than over ten to twenty thousand people.

After the majority of the masses have recovered from the outbreak, there were rumours circulating that many have sought after their abilities to heal and have tried to make an alliance with them. About a minority sought to marry into the clan to secure their future, while others thought to capture a member for their own benefits.

Whether it was because of those rumours or not, no one was able to form ties as the Phoenix Clan decided to close their doors to outsiders after the epidemic.

--- The Boar Clan ---

As for the Boar clan, also known as the Mountain Boar clan, it is regarded as the oldest among the six clans as they have remained active for almost five hundred years since it's founding.

Prior to their war against the Panther Clan, the Boar Clan had long been famous due to the total number of victories they won from the surrounding territories with just their physical strength alone.

Of course, because of the war ten years ago, a large number of people have believed that both the Panther and Boar clans still hold great hostility to each other and are expecting a calm before a storm.

All in all, faced with the predicament of being attacked by the other clans, the elder saw that the only way to prepare for the upcoming crisis is by focusing on the main problem of their clan. Which was finding a way to heal those injured in the clan.

'Asking for the Phoenix clan is the only way, but there's no doubt the Naga clan will intervene if we try to make contact. As for the Panther clan... I can't expect that our meeting will be pleasant...'

As troubled as the elder was, he did not show it on his face as he was one of the leaders of their clan. Until the sky above him has turned into a blazing inferno, the elder would not lose hope.

As the elder turned to where Felix was kneeling, he gestured the later to stand up and said.

"Felix, athough the situation looks grim, we must do what we can to support each other. Even if I am not confident to lead the clan when the alliance of all the forces start targeting us, I will not allow our clan to be taken lightly. Do you understand what I mean..."

"I understand Elder!" Following the elder's gesture, Felix proceeded to stand up and made a salute to one of the leaders of the clan.

Just as the elder was about to ask Felix to leave so the later could rest, he saw that there had something on Felix's mind so he waited for the young man to speak.

As Felix was responsible for reviewing and summarizing most of the incoming reports, he had early access to a variety of information, so the elder did not see the need to rush him in recalling past reports.

From what the elder can see, Felix was suffering from sleep deprevation as he saw dark circles underneath the later's eyes.

"Felix? Is there something on your mind? If it's nothing important then we can discuss it another time once you get enough sleep." - the elder

"I understand elder but… I remembered that about 10 days ago we received a letter and it was about a travelling merchant group selling goods from another continent. Although receiving letters from traveling merchants wasn't rare, the goods he was selling were... slaves…" - Felix

Felix thought for a moment and showed a conflicted expression before he said anything.

"…It is my opinion on this, but, I think we should use this chance to buy some slaves. Those slaves could be employed to do some construction on our defenses and if we find some able men, they could act as substitute guards. There is also a chance in where we may find a foreign slave that has some knowledge on curses or special remedies. If there performance is satisfactory, then we could reward them afterwards, but…"

Felix then bowed his head before the elder as he felt ashamed on the idea.

Although he said nothing, the Elder was able to understand how conflicted Felix was on the idea as it was going against what their clan believed in.

Their clan was originally a group of vagabounds that had difficulty in accepting anything foreign. But after meeting the founder and witnessing his end, the group of vagabounds grew close to one another and followed the founder's teachings as a tradition then started accepting outsiders to form families and eventually becoming a full-fledged clan.

But now, the clan was in a state of crisis in where they had to close their borders.

Accepting outsiders would prove to be difficult right now, but bringing people that are bound against their will was a serious issue, as such an act was insulting their founder's teachings.

Which was to accept that all life is equal.

A belief that is shared among the current members of the Boar clan.

With that in ming, the elder thought for a while and choose to do a compromise which did not conflict with their principles as well as solve some of their issues they were facing.

"…Felix, you are hearby ordered to go to the traveling merchant group and employ some slaves that can assist in our clans endeavour. If those employed had contributed greatly to the clan then we will reward them with their freedom. Afterwards we will decide to find their families and welcome them as a subordinate family, having people work for our clan means they must be rewarded for their efforts, even if they are slaves. Is that to be understood!"

As the elder dictated his orders, he remembered the words of his father.

'If you do good deeds to others, then someday, they will return the favor.'[3]

"Yes, elder!"

After hearing the elder's orders, Felix could not help but give a sigh of relief and proceeded to bow out of respect.

Before, Felix's family was originally a group of refugees, so they were treated like outsiders when they first entered the lands. After being accepted to the Boar Clan and entering their ranks, Felix became devoted to serve the clan after finding out they were different from other clans.

He was a six year old when the clan accepted his family and he was currently 26 this year, because of the war they had with the Panther clan, Feix had been worried on how the Boar clan would treat outsiders and he was glad that his concern was unnecessary upon hearing the elder's order.

As Felix continued to bow before the elder, he suddenly felt a hand press down on his shoulder.

"Remember Felix, how you approach this is by your discretion, so be vigilant. Get as much capital as you need and bring about 20 personnel with you, if we have received this news, then other clans have received the same notice. Also, where is the merchant group's current location and when is the due date of their departure?"

As one of the leaders of the Boar clan, the elder was well aware of how a traveling market functions.

Whenever a group of merchants travel to different areas, the merchants often announces their arrival by sending messengers with letters to nearby human settlements such as clans or big cities.

Then, depending if a vacant spot was available, another letter will be sent that included dates, the location of where they are and sometimes details about what they are selling.

Afterwards, the merchants wait for people to gather at the designated spot and promote their goods. Eventually, once the due date has passed, the merchants would pack up and leave to another location then repeat the process.

For merchants that are in the line of slave trading, they often provide special offers to clans such as reserving specific type of slaves, branding a captured prisoner, or are given priority over other customer's orders.

Even if a powerful cultivator were to object to the idea of not receiving the same treatment, offending a clan was not a small matter.

Nonetheless, the current circumstances of the Boar clan was very grim, so they have to be incognito as to not alert other clans of their actions.

With that in mind, Felix pondered for a while before answering the elder.

"…If I remember correctly, the location was in Red Lily Valley, it's an unowned territory with no beast residing in its land because of the famous flowers, the Red Lilies. Rumor has it that the flowers that grew there have some natural pheromone that ward of beast I believe, I think it is about a three day journey from our location."

Lifting his head to look at the sky, Felix saw the red sky above him and started calculating the time.

"…The total time was 15 days, today is the tenth, so we have about one day for preparation, and it will take two to three days if we are to use horses for departure. But if we immediately leave tomorrow afternoon we will there in less time. Elder, as we are on a deadline I will immediately prepare for the departure. Goodnight, Elder!"

Felix bowed and said his goodbyes for tomorrow's preparations.

"Wait! Do not push yourself, Felix. Physical condition is important but mentally taxing yourself is more difficult to heal, take you time and pick the necessities. For now, you must go and rest first Felix, I will have someone else handle the necessities and preparations for tomorrow."

The elder was sure, after all the reports came one after another with shocking news, including compiling and investigation, Felix was reaching his mental limit and might over exhaust himself.

"...Thank you very much for your concern elder, I'll keep it in mind."

Felix once again bowed the elder and left towards a tunnel leading to his residence.

'Stay safe Felix, there are still many things you can still do, so we must go through this endeavor.' The Elder then turned his back, walking towards the temple.

---

While the Boar Clan was busy with preparations, there was another event taking place elsewhere.

At a forest in the territory of the Naga Clan, a child is seen climbing out of a hole. Based on the dirt on his face and hands, it appears as though he was placing something to the ground.

"Phew, I suppose that about does it." Stigma, who was still in a forest near Red Rock Valley, was busy preparing for traps and basically lost track of time.

After observing for a while, Stigma realized that he had no idea on which direction Gus and Frank were headed, so his only option was to get them to go to the direction he wanted.

With Dusk by his side, Stigma started making a pitfall traps to immobilize them. Out of all the traps he new, Stigma was only capable of making a simple trap as he lack materials.

As long as he had Dusk who obeys his command, his gaming knowledge on hunting, and wood which grew in the forest. Stigma felt confident that so long as he prepared, he should be fine.

His plan was simple, the enemies were already in an intoxicated state, so he just needs to make use of it to his full advantage.

If his enemies are dangerous when they are alert, then he just needs to attack them when they least expected in the shroud of darkness.

After seeing that the sky was getting dark, Stigma turned to the direction of the cave and saw that the light from a fire was still present. Which indicated that the two men were still there.

Stigma had then double checked to be sure everything was set, after covering the last hole he turned around and headed towards Gus and Frank's direction.

"Now, all I have to do is wait."

Stigma had already made his preparations for the encounter, all he has to do was make sure that no one else was coming to get involve.

'It's my first time doing this so I hope everything goes well.' Looking away for a moment. He took a number of deep breatsh, and ordered Dusk to bring the rocks he collected.

Feeling the weight of the rock on the palm of his hand, Stigma was silent for a moment then headed towards the cave where the light was still radiating.

[1] Butterfly effect – a phenomenon where one incident is connected to another incident, and another that will lead to a huge accident, similar to the domino effect

[2] nonobjective –emotionally based; based on inner experience rather than fact, such as religion or origin theories.

[3] an idiom that basically mean karma.