Chapter 44 Twists and Turns (Part 2)

Sangkun looked at Simba, who was embracing a Rakshasa dancer with blatant lust, and felt nothing but contempt. His smile only grew wider; this simple-minded fool was his greatest gain from this trip. The Kereit tribe's pastures were vast, and their warriors numerous. The fertile western part of the Chule River should belong to the Kereit men, not the soon-to-be-fragmented Tatar tribe.

"Sangkun, my brother, thank you for sending me such a beautiful woman... uh... don't you want one?" Simba said to Sangkun, hiccuping from drinking.

“I prefer drinking now, Simba. When you become the chieftain of the Tatar tribe, I can introduce you to some important figures, all kinds of beauties... you name it.” Sangkun pointed subtly to the south.

"Hahahaha, don't worry, my brother. My younger brother can't even muster 10,000 cavalry right now. After the Great Xia army leaves Guihua City, I will convene a clan meeting to take back what is rightfully mine."

Simba grew increasingly agitated. He was his father's eldest and strongest son, yet he had been assigned the smallest tribe. Meanwhile, his younger brother, who was not yet an adult, had inherited the position of chieftain, commanding nearly 100,000 herders and 20,000 to 30,000 warriors. If Simba hadn't fallen for his instigation and gone to Great Xia to sell horses, Simba would have been in real trouble.

“Don’t worry, Sangkun, our Kree tribe is your most steadfast ally. You will get what you want.” Sangkun raised his glass to Simba, but inwardly he was cursing: “Take back what’s yours? You idiot don’t deserve anything. All the ranch herders will belong to the Kree tribe, to me, Sangkun.”

Simba was even happier after hearing Sankun's words. He poured a large cup of wine into his mouth, feeling as if he were already the chieftain of the Tatar tribe, and that everything belonged to him alone.

A hermit dressed as a follower rushed in from outside the arena, ran straight to Simba, and whispered in his ear. Simba's expression shifted constantly, becoming unpredictable.

"What's wrong, my brother? What happened? Do you need my help?" Sangkun noticed the change in Simba's expression.

"Hehe, Brother Sangkun, my good-for-nothing brother is here. He only brought a few dozen men and wants to talk to me," Simba casually replied to Sangkun.

"Let them in. The affairs of our Tatar tribe must be settled today." Simba's eyes flashed with a ferocious light.

Sangkun rose with Simba and looked towards the camp gate. A group of people quickly approached, led by a short, stocky man. This must be Huba, the nominal chieftain of the Tatar tribe. He dared to come to Simba's camp with only fifty men; the Tatars really were a bunch of fools.

Huba, accompanied by fifty guards, arrived at a spot only a dozen feet away from Simba. Looking at the crowd that had gathered around him, he saw that many of them were his relatives, and some were former tribal leaders who were now on Simba's side.

“Brother, I went to Daxia to sell horses for our Tatar people and exchange them for salt and iron for their enjoyment. Why did you take the opportunity to annex my tribe and even hurt Brother Tiger? Are you going to break the oath you made before Father and kill your own flesh and blood?” Huba was originally just angry, but now seeing many of his tribesmen turn to Simba, his words were filled with sorrow.

“Huba, stop lying. You haven’t sold a single horse in the capital of the Great Xia Dynasty, and now you still have the nerve to come back and continue to deceive the kind people of the Tatar tribe. If it weren’t for Brother Sangkun of the Kereit tribe telling me the truth, we would still be in the dark.”

"The Kree tribe? They've been eyeing our fertile pastures for ages. He's clearly trying to sow discord between us brothers. How could you trust those cunning wolves?" Huba was so angry his hair stood on end. His dying father had repeatedly told him and his brothers to stay united to guard against external enemies, especially the Kree tribe. But now Simba had actually trusted the Kree tribe.

“Young Huba, as the nominal chieftain of the Tatar tribe, you must be mindful of your words and refrain from speaking ill of your kind friends.” Sangkun could no longer sit still and slowly began to defend himself. The Tatar tribe had always been highly wary of the Kree tribe. If they did not take advantage of Huba’s youth and miscalculation to open up the situation this time, once Simba recovered, the Kree tribe would be too powerful, and they would have almost no chance of winning.

"And who are you? How dare an outsider interrupt our brothers' conversation?"

"Huba, this is my best friend Sangkun. His people witnessed your ordeal in the Great Xia capital. A young eagle with broken wings should lie low. You will relinquish your chieftainship now, and I will leave you with five thousand tribesmen. We will still be brothers." Simba said silently to Huba, his tone serious and his eyes solemn, a far cry from his previous carefree demeanor. Sangkun, seeing the look in Simba's eyes, suddenly shuddered. Old Qiangba's sons... none of them were fools.

"Brother, you've been blinded by power. Since you don't believe me, then have someone bring in the goods I brought back from Great Xia. Let the people of the Tatar tribe see who the liar is." Huba was about to make a move when a hooded attendant beside him pulled him back. After whispering a few words to him, Huba shouted these words to the surroundings.

A commotion broke out among the surrounding crowd. They had all heard the rumors that Huba had offended the royal family of Daxia. Not only were the three thousand warhorses he brought going to starve, but merchants coming to the grasslands in the future would not trade with the Tatar tribe. Only by changing the tribal chief could the anger of the Daxia royal family be appeased, which was why they sided with Simba.

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