Tisilan Mountains, southern forest.
A group of rabbits are busy reinforcing the wooden wall at the edge of the village. Although they are called rabbits, they actually look basically the same as humans, except for the pair of rabbit ears on their heads.
The trees around the village are sparse and obviously have been cut down. There are some simple crops planted sporadically on the hillside, including green vegetables, beans and some brown mushrooms, but unfortunately they are not growing well.
There are about 200 rabbit-eared people in the village, and they all live in tall mushrooms.
Yes, these mushrooms are taller than people, and their interiors are hollowed out to create rooms. The tops of the mushrooms are also very colorful, with orange, bright red, light blue, and a small amount of light green. It looks very magical and beautiful.
The mushroom houses of all sizes gathered together have a fairy-tale feel.
The men, women, young and old in the village seemed to be very busy. They ran around in a hurry, constantly moving stones, adding wooden fences, and sharpening the upper part of the wooden walls to increase their lethality.
Unfortunately, they had limited iron tools and few weapons. Most of them were wooden poles sharpened into spears, and only a small number of them had iron tips.
The gun heads are also full of small notches, and they must have been used for a long time. However, they are polished very brightly and there is no rust. I think they are well maintained.
Loran Hill quietly observed this special race from the opposite hill.
The Rabbit-Eared Tribe is a branch of the Orcs. During the First Age, the Orcs were widely distributed across the continent, even having their own nation. They were a powerful race second only to the Elves. They had their own unique culture, writing, and customs.
But there are also huge differences among orcs. Some are very bloodthirsty and violent, while others are very gentle and weak. They cannot be generalized.
The group of rabbits in front of us belong to a relatively weak tribe. According to historical records, even during the heyday of the Orc Empire, they often worked as farmers and auxiliary workers. The only time they participated in a major war, the record they left was not very good.
The girl wasn't entirely clear about the current situation outside, but she could probably guess that these rabbits were having a rough time. Most of them were frail, their clothes patched and shabby, and very thin.
It was a little chilly in the mountains in the early morning of autumn, and some young rabbits were shivering from the cold. They felt much better after the sun rose.
The only thing worth mentioning is that they are very clean and united.
Though worn, their clothes were washed white, showing few stains. They worked very well together. If one rabbit couldn't handle a task alone, the others were happy to help, demonstrating their diligence. Everyone worked together, no one slacked off; even the little rabbits would do the simplest tasks within their abilities.
"Kanda....How is the village preparing now?"
An elderly man with a pair of gray rabbit ears on his head was leaning on a cane and asking a strong young man in front of him. The young man also had a pair of rabbit ears on his head, but they were black.
"Father, we have already repaired the village wall and reinforced it with stones at the back. It's almost done."
"Okay... okay... Have all the villagers gathered? Is there anyone outside who hasn't returned yet?"
"Almost everyone is back, except Eden. He said he's going to seek help from other villages."
"As for the other villages, ah... please don't make things difficult for them. Everyone in the surrounding Rabbit-Eared villages knows their situation. They're all struggling to survive, so how could they possibly have the energy to help us?"
"When I was young, there were more than a dozen villages in this forest, large and small. We could support each other and share what we had. We could even get some iron products. But now, there are only five villages left. I'm afraid that soon there will be only four. Sigh..."
"Father, can't we just leave this dangerous forest?"
The young man with black rabbit ears was a little confused and excited.
"Leave? Where can we go if we leave here?"
The old man sighed and touched a pendant hanging from his cane. The pendant consisted of a pennant ball, with a bronze plaque attached to it, wrapped with several thin cords. Two characters were engraved on the plaque. Those familiar with Orcish would know that these two characters meant "White Banner."
"The Crazy Fang Empire, that once powerful nation, has vanished for thousands of years. Now, it's the human race. It doesn't matter where you go. In these mountains and forests, at least you can still have freedom. If you leave, you'll be a slave."
"But I heard there are still a large number of orc tribes on the Gufia grassland. We can go there."
"No...silly child, in a foreign country, your own kind can sometimes be even scarier than humans."
"Although humans might capture us and make us slaves, at least we can still survive. But if we encounter our own kind, we rabbit-eared people might be treated as food. Don't think this is alarmist. This kind of thing happened a lot in the past."
The old man with rabbit ears shook his head and looked at the busy tribesmen on the hillside. He was silent for a while before speaking.
"If you can't hold out later, take this nameplate and the remaining young men and children who can still walk and seek refuge in other villages."
"This is the clan nameplate given to our Rabbit Ear Tribe when the Crazy Fang Empire was still around. The entire Rabbit Ear Tribe only received three nameplates: the Black Banner, the White Banner, and the Gray Banner."
"Thousands of years ago, this nameplate granted the right to grow grain south of the Gaodan Plains and receive protection from the Imperial Rangers. As an obligation, the three Rabbit Ear tribes were required to pay a sufficient amount of grain to the Empire every year to maintain this relationship."
"It is said that things were fine in the early years, but as our population continued to grow, the Empire began to extract young and strong men from among us to fight or work in order to control the numbers."
"They say they're fighting, but in reality they're using us Rabbit Ears as cannon fodder, or even as rations for the march."
"But our tribe is too weak to resist, so we can only let it happen. So, you don't have to miss the former Stormwind Empire. You must be more cautious when you encounter other carnivorous orc tribes."
The black-eared young man found it difficult to accept this fact. He had no other way to learn about this history that had been buried for thousands of years, and he heard about it for the first time today.
"I understand, Father."
The young man's tone was a little heavy, and then he continued to ask.
"Aren't you leaving?"
"I'm old now. I can't walk fast, and I can't do any work. I'm just wasting food."
"You have grown up. I have taught you everything I should teach you." The old man touched the young man's head with his withered hands and smiled with satisfaction.
"When people meet, there will be a day when they will part ways, so don't be sad. Besides, isn't there still a possibility of victory? Don't you, a young man, have less ambition than me?"
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