Henry Clark didn’t waste any more time on them. Since David Reed and the others could come over, it was possible that others might show up too. Right now, Henry Clark could only outsmart three kids, and that was with Julius Caesar’s help. If more people came, or if older kids showed up, Henry Clark would have no choice but to retreat.

Thinking of this, Henry Clark sped up his picking.

Chapter 5: Are You Freaking Kidding Me?!

Lying on the side, David Reed wiped his face, not caring about his swollen cheek or the blood running from his nose. He glared hatefully at Henry Clark picking through things. From his current angle, he couldn’t see exactly what Henry Clark was picking up, but it was definitely good stone—enough to trade for several days’ worth of food.

Henry Clark could sense the stares from David Reed and Scott Turner, but he was already used to it. After picking out some things, he glanced at the sky. It was past noon; time to head back. Today’s haul was already enough. Although there were still some stones here that looked pretty good to him, Henry Clark was small and not very strong. Taking too much might not be a good thing—he might not be able to keep it safe.

He still wasn’t strong enough. Maybe later, after the so-called totem power awakened…

He called Julius Caesar back, made sure the kid named Jack Harris that Julius Caesar had dragged away was still safe, then left with the stones wrapped in animal hide.

When Jack Harris, who had been dragged away from the battlefield by Julius Caesar, staggered back, what he saw was David Reed lying on the ground, face covered in blood and gritting his teeth, and Scott Turner shrinking to the side.

Once he caught his breath, David Reed ordered Jack Harris and Scott Turner to hurry and see if they could still find any good stones to trade, all the while cursing and swearing, shouting that next time he’d get even and take all of Henry Clark’s stuff.

What the three of them didn’t know was that not far from them, some warriors had witnessed everything that had just happened. But after Henry Clark left, those warriors also gradually departed.

“Who was that kid just now?” a young warrior asked curiously.

“You mean the one with the wolf? I think his name is Henry, from the cave over by the foot of the mountain. As for that wolf, it belongs to the shaman, so don’t even think about it!” the older warrior warned. He didn’t know what the shaman’s intentions were, nor did he care to find out. All he needed to know was that you couldn’t take anything that belonged to the shaman. As for that kid Henry, in his eyes, he was just helping the shaman raise the wolf.

The young warrior scratched his messy, stone-dust-covered hair. “How could I take the shaman’s stuff, haha. I just think that kid’s pretty interesting. Once he awakens his power, he probably won’t be bad. Maybe we can recruit him to our hunting team.”

“It’s too early to talk about that. You’ll have to wait another two or three years at least. I think the kids from your side of the mountainside are pretty good. As for those kids from the caves…” The older warrior shook his head, not finishing his sentence, but the meaning was clear.

The tribe was roughly divided into three layers. Basically, the stronger the warrior, the higher up they lived, closer to the mountaintop. The mountaintop was also the center of the whole tribe. It was said that the tribe’s fire pit was at the top, the coldest part of the whole mountain.

In the eyes of many warriors, the kids from the caves awakened later and had worse aptitude than those living at the foot of the mountain. Even if those kids reached the right age and awakened their totem power to go hunting, the warriors still didn’t want them in their hunting teams. Hunting teams relied on teamwork, and any weak link could lead to unexpectedly tragic consequences.

On his way back, Henry Clark had no idea about the warriors’ conversation or what they thought of him, though he had long guessed there were people around. He’d heard a lot and figured out some things.

Although the mountain warriors didn’t care about their surroundings during training, they were very alert to any movement when resting. The commotion here would definitely attract a few warriors. When Jack Harris was shouting for help, there were probably already several warriors nearby, but they just wouldn’t intervene easily.

Henry Clark also knew that as long as things didn’t get too serious, those warriors would only watch and not get involved. Just like earlier, when Henry Clark smashed the stick on the ground—if he’d hit a vital spot with that force, David Reed or Scott Turner might have been in mortal danger, and the warriors would definitely have stepped in. Henry Clark’s reputation in their eyes would have taken a hit, which would be bad for his survival in the tribe later. So that move was just a warning and deterrent to David Reed and Scott Turner.

Henry Clark returned fully loaded. The patrolling warriors and the guards at the edge of the residential area only asked him a couple of questions when they saw his bulging animal hide bag. They wouldn’t try to take Henry Clark’s haul for the day—they probably didn’t even care for his stuff.

Back at the gravel field where he’d practiced boxing that morning, Henry Clark picked two stones from today’s finds, then buried the rest. He didn’t have time to deal with these stones now, and taking them back to the cave was out of the question. That place was full of “wolf cubs”—little “wolf cubs” who would snatch anything and bite at the sight of meat. So Henry Clark never hid food or anything he could trade for food in the cave.

After hiding everything, Henry Clark sat down on the ground to rest. Climbing the mountain and fighting had used up quite a bit of energy.