In the crowd, Richard Stone seemed to sense something and turned to look at David Wood. At that moment, David Wood happened to look his way as well. Their eyes met, and both gave a bitter smile—everything was understood without words.

As for all this, neither of them was angry. Instead, they felt that Charles Bennett's actions were correct. After all, the tribe was at the center of a storm, like a battered sailboat that could capsize at any moment.

While everyone was still immersed in the joy of breaking through to the Blood Refining Realm, Charles Bennett spoke up again: “Now, all tribe members at the early Bone Tempering Realm or above will be incorporated into the tribe’s guardian warriors, with David Wood in command to strengthen internal security.”

“For the few days I am away from the tribe, all affairs will be temporarily managed by Elder Samuel Grant and Elder Richard Stone. At the same time, the tribe will enter a wartime state—no one is allowed to leave or enter!”

No one objected to Charles Bennett's arrangements. After all, he was now the undisputed number one powerhouse of the Guyuan Tribe. As the chieftain, he held supreme authority—his word decided the fate of thousands!

Soon, twenty warriors from the tribe were selected. Each was broad-shouldered and strong, young and robust. They were the strongest two squads among the eight hundred guardian warriors of the Guyuan Tribe, chosen from the eight hundred-man teams, and led by a centurion named Thomas Hill. Thomas Hill was about thirty years old, had achieved the peak of the Bone Tempering Realm, and was a talented tribesman with considerable prestige in the tribe.

On the Archaic Continent, every tribe had its own guardian warriors. Charles Bennett's Guyuan Tribe had as many as eight hundred.

The guardian warriors were organized with every ten men as a squad, led by a late Bone Tempering Realm warrior as squad leader; ten squads formed a team, led by a centurion at the peak of the Bone Tempering Realm; ten teams made up a battalion, commanded by a blood refining realm thousand-man commander.

Every warrior had at least reached the early Bone Tempering Realm. Thus, among the tens of thousands in the Guyuan Tribe, excluding the old, weak, sick, and disabled, the entire tribe could only muster eight hundred guardian warriors—barely enough for a thousand-man battalion.

After arranging tribal affairs, the twenty warriors, led by Charles Bennett, mounted their warhorses and left the tribe, galloping toward Black Cloud Mountain, where the Heishan Tribe was located.

To be honest, if he didn’t think he couldn’t manage to bring back over a dozen young women from the tribe by himself, Charles Bennett would have acted alone long ago. The twenty warriors were extremely excited to accompany Charles Bennett to the Heishan Tribe. Everyone believed they would surely rescue their sisters this time, since their chieftain had already become a Blood Refining Realm expert.

Before leaving, Charles Bennett privately ordered David Wood to arrest the traitors in the tribe and kill any who resisted. Since things had already come to a head, keeping these parasites around was too much of an eyesore—they could only go underground to repent.

Charles Bennett took the lead, charging at the very front of the group. The other warriors followed in squads of two, orderly and disciplined. The howling wind made their leather armor flap noisily and cut at their faces like knives.

The Heishan Tribe, like the Guyuan Tribe, was a lower-grade tribe, with a similar population. In fact, all the tribes within tens of thousands of miles were lower-grade tribes or unranked scattered tribes.

All these tribes were under the jurisdiction of the Iron Hoof Tribe, a middle-grade tribe. Generally, the Iron Hoof Tribe did not pay much attention to the smaller tribes below. As long as tribute was paid on time every two years, they would not intervene in conflicts between small tribes. After all, this continent was vast, and the human tribes were too scattered—most tribes fought for themselves. Otherwise, the Heishan Tribe would not dare to provoke the Guyuan Tribe so recklessly.

On the continent, lower-grade tribes were the lowest rank. Above them were middle-grade tribes, upper-grade tribes, and then marquis and king-level tribes.

The chieftain of the Heishan Tribe was named Robert Strong, a powerhouse of the same generation as Charles Bennett's father. He had broken through to the Blood Refining Realm twenty years ago, but exactly how many meridians he had opened at that level was unknown to others.

While the Guyuan Tribe was filled with excitement, furious roars had already erupted from the chieftain’s courtyard at the center of the Heishan Tribe. The atmosphere was so tense that even the guards on both sides of the door felt nervous and uneasy.

Inside the hall, Edward Strong, who had been so arrogant and domineering in the Guyuan Tribe, now had both cheeks swollen, with traces of blood at the corners of his mouth. He lay on the ground like a pile of mud, completely without dignity. Up close, one could even see his body trembling under his leather armor.

“Useless! All you do is play with women every day. Sooner or later, you’ll die because of them. Besides causing trouble for the tribe, what else can you do?”

The chieftain of the Heishan Tribe kept roaring at Edward Strong, looking utterly exasperated.

It’s said that seeing is believing, and when you actually met Robert Strong, you’d understand how terrifying this man was. True to his name, he was as strong as a tiger, with a grip like iron. He stood two meters tall, with a tiger’s back and a bear’s waist, exuding a fierce and intimidating aura.

“Father, please calm down. Big brother always knows what he’s doing and would never bring a powerful enemy to the tribe. Besides, so what if he took a dozen young women from the Guyuan Tribe? That tribe is nothing but a phoenix that’s lost its feathers—worse than a chicken. Charles Bennett is just a greenhorn; how could he possibly be a match for you, father?”