Chapter 33: The Panda Warrior Who Would Rather Die Than Yield!
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Su Mu’s eyes lit up at once, and he was practically drooling.
What magnificent warriors! If only he could bring them under his command, his strength as a lord would increase tremendously.
“Drawn Blade Slash, Little Divine Dragon, let’s go meet these panda warriors.”
Su Mu casually plucked a leaf from a tree and charged down the hillside with Drawn Blade Slash and Little Divine Dragon.
“Who goes there? How dare you trespass on our panda tribe’s territory!”
Their intrusion disturbed the peace of the panda lands. The two panda warriors immediately stopped sparring and, with displeased expressions, led several others toward Su Mu.
“Don’t misunderstand. I’m the human lord, Su Mu. I wish to speak with your leader about something of great importance.”
With a broad smile, Su Mu held out the green leaf in his hand.
“What is that?” One of the panda warriors frowned in obvious displeasure. “Our people eat only bamboo, not leaves.”
“If you intend to bribe us panda warriors with that thing, I’m afraid you’ve chosen the wrong method.”
“Don’t misunderstand.” Su Mu explained earnestly, “This is called the Flower of Peace. It represents my sincerity. But if this flower falls from my hand, blood will stain the earth, and your panda tribe may well face a terrible war.”
“War?” One of the panda warriors burst into laughter. He tore open his coarse robe and pointed to the horrifying scar, nearly a foot long, across his chest. “You little brat, what do you know about war? This is the glory of war. Have you ever experienced it?”
“Have you ever endured the agony of parting from those you love? Have you ever watched one of your own relatives die before your eyes?”
“If not, then you’d best not mention the word ‘war’ in front of our tribe.”
“Hahahaha!”
The panda warrior’s words immediately drew booming laughter from the others.
Another panda warrior removed the broad hat from his head and pointed to the depression in his skull, grinning as he said, “This wound was inflicted by Wang Yu, the Fallen Knight King across the river. Do you really think our tribe fears war? We are warriors by birth. Battle only makes us stronger.”
“Get lost, brat. This is no place for you. The Human Empire sent you here merely to use you as cannon fodder. Stop indulging in those pointless dreams of knighthood.”
At last, the oldest and strongest panda warrior stepped forward. With a solemn expression, he addressed Su Mu.
“Elder, please don’t get so worked up. May I ask who you are?”
Although the panda warriors were growing increasingly agitated, Su Mu remained remarkably calm. If they were speaking of war, then he and Drawn Blade Slash had probably slain more monsters over the past few days than all these panda warriors combined.
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How could they claim he had never experienced war?
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“I am Pangu, chief of the panda tribe. In my capacity as chief, I order you to leave our territory. As you said, do not let the Flower of Peace in your hand fall lightly. Our people cherish peace, but we are never afraid of battle.”
The towering panda chief shouted the words with authority.
Leave?
Not a chance.
He had not yet subdued them and made them his followers.
“Hmm…” Su Mu fell silent for a moment before suddenly asking, “Chief Pangu, if I provided your tribe with a sufficient supply of fresh bamboo every day, would you be willing to move to my territory and live there?”
“Really? How much could you provide us?”
The moment Su Mu finished speaking, several panda warriors behind Pangu stared at him with shining eyes, practically drooling.
The enormous change in their attitude left Su Mu stunned. Even Drawn Blade Slash and Little Divine Dragon, standing beside him, opened their eyes wide.
“Haha, as expected of the treasured creatures of our Dragon Nation. They really are gentle and adorably simple-minded.”
Looking at those honest, massive pandas, Su Mu could not help laughing inwardly.
He had only mentioned it casually. Since giant pandas loved bamboo, he had thought it worth a try, whether or not anything came of it.
He had never expected to hit the mark. The panda tribe truly had run out of bamboo.
No wonder novels so often told stories of mortals trading chicken legs for immortals’ pills, or a bottle of fine wine for supreme mystical arts.
Reality really was more fantastical than fiction.
“Ahem!”
Chief Pangu coughed with an air of forced dignity. He also swallowed back a mouthful of saliva before asking blandly, “Does your territory grow bamboo? How much can you supply each day? You should know that our tribe now numbers more than six thousand. Feeding us to satiety would require an enormous quantity of bamboo.”
“As much as you need! Eat all you want.”
Su Mu boldly tossed out a grand promise.
His thinking was simple. If these panda warriors were willing to fight for him, then he would find a way to pluck the stars from the heavens for them, let alone provide bamboo.
At worst, he could ask Old Mo to transport fresh bamboo shoots and bamboo from the human bases.
Those things were cheap in the human world. With the spirit stones he had accumulated, he could keep these pandas supplied for several hundred years.
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“Chief, agree to it! The bamboo in our territory is almost gone anyway. It’s not easy to find a human lord whose territory has bamboo. Let’s move there!”
Several younger panda warriors were tempted and began urging their chief.
“Young man, thank you for your kindness. Although our tribe no longer has enough bamboo to eat, we still cannot join your territory.”
“Do you know that the three great dark lords dwelling in the northeastern corner of the Dark Forest—the Vampire Queen Bloody Mary, the Fallen Knight King Wang Yu, and the Dark Godfather Sheng Xiong—are constantly seeking to exterminate our people?”
“If we join your territory, we may well bring ruin upon it.”
“Our tribe is an ill-fated one.”
Chief Pangu sighed helplessly and shook his head.
Damn it!
Su Mu was so furious that he nearly cursed aloud. Pandas were clearly creatures of good fortune—how had they become an ill-fated race?
The laws of this dark world truly were the opposite of those in the human world.
“Chief Pangu, you don’t need to say another word. My fortune reaches the heavens. Even if your tribe is truly ill-fated, I will take you in.”
“I can even promise you this: within one year, I will uproot the three great forces entrenched in the northeastern corner of the Dark Forest. After that, you will never again need to fear those three dark rulers coming to attack you.”
Su Mu immediately shouted with righteous conviction.
“What did you say?”
Pangu’s body trembled violently. A terrifying killing intent erupted from his towering frame, and his expression became frighteningly solemn.
The panda warriors behind him were no different. Killing intent surged from every one of them, and several even erupted with halos of light. They were clearly on the verge of losing control.
“Human, I hope you will not speak recklessly. Our tribe has battled the three great lords for three hundred years, yet we have never achieved victory.”
Chief Pangu spoke loudly, anger coloring his voice.
“You are merely a child accompanied by a skeleton and an underage dragon, yet you dare proclaim that you will destroy the three dark rulers. That is nothing short of arrogance and madness.”
“You are insulting the panda warriors who died in battle. Leave. Our people would rather starve to death than eat your bamboo.”
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