Chapter 478: Tribal Ruins

‘Go into the forest…?’

‘That’s not a great idea.’ He really wanted to hunt Void Creatures, but that didn’t mean Li Ziyu planned on sending his Undead into the forest just yet.

The Paddle-shaped Void Beetle had left a deep impression on Li Ziyu. It wasn’t something ordinary Undead could handle. At the very least, it would require troops at the level of Elite Heavy Hammer Skeleton Warriors, and even then, he’d need to overwhelm it with numbers. Otherwise, it would be impossible to kill.

He shook his head and said to Guli Geli, “Is there no other way besides entering the forest? How do the Tribes on the plains live? Don’t they hunt Void Creatures?”

Guli Geli gave a bitter smile. “They do hunt, but only Hunters who know a lot about Void Creatures go after them. Ordinary tribespeople can’t even run away fast enough.”

That was true, and the Paddle-shaped Void Beetle was a perfect example. With that level of Defense Power, if you didn’t know its weak spot and just tried to brute-force it… It wasn’t that Li Ziyu looked down on the tribespeople, but truly, very few of them could kill it. To deal with beings like Void Creatures, one had to know their weaknesses and exploit them to get the kill.

The Void Land was, after all, the Void Creatures’ territory. Moreover, Void Creatures had too many good things on them to not be hunted. However, without exception, the Warriors who could hunt Void Creatures were all the cream of the crop in their Tribes.

Having figured this out, Li Ziyu stopped dwelling on the issue. He could just take his time searching for Void Creatures; he’d find them eventually. Instead, another question came to mind. “By the way, do you know which Tribes have Void Crystals?”

He didn’t have high hopes for an answer. Void Crystals were too important. A Tribe would definitely keep it under tight wraps. After all, it was the key to leaving and entering the Void Land—like a switch. Who would be so open as to announce they had a Void Crystal?

Li Ziyu would be satisfied with even a vague clue from Guli Geli. If she really didn’t know, it didn’t matter. He could just search for them himself, worst-case scenario.

“I know,” Guli Geli said casually, gazing into the distance.

“It’s fine if you don’t know, I… Huh? You know? How could you possibly know?” Li Ziyu was halfway through his sentence before he registered her words. He turned to Guli Geli, his voice filled with surprise.

“What’s so difficult about it? Anyone who knows about Void Crystals should know, right?” Guli Geli said with a strange expression.

“Wait, I don’t quite understand what you mean. Aren’t Void Crystals supposed to be a secret? How could so many people know?” Li Ziyu was even more astonished.

“A Void Crystal is a secret, but it’s no secret which Tribe has one. Why would that need to be kept secret?” Guli Geli asked, perplexed.

“Of course it needs to be secret! If people knew who had a Void Crystal, wouldn’t they try to steal it?” Li Ziyu frowned. ‘Didn’t they believe in the law of the Dark Forest? Wasn’t it supposed to be ‘might makes right’?’

Just look at those three Apes from the Black Ridge Tribe. The moment word got out about something as important as a Void Crystal, hordes of people would definitely fight over it. Hiding it should be the normal thing to do.

But Guli Geli just shook her head and explained, “By releasing the information, aren’t they showing they have no fear of being robbed? Aren’t they saying, ‘I am powerful, and I’m not afraid of you’?”

‘Holy crap, you’re hitting me with some reverse psychology!’

But on second thought, it actually seemed to make sense. Announcing that you possessed a Void Crystal in the Void Land could indeed serve as a deterrent.

“Actually, in this place, many Great Tribes have Void Crystals. Or rather, only a Tribe that has a Void Crystal can be called a Great Tribe. That’s because they have no fear, and they have an escape route. Of course, a small Tribe wouldn’t dare announce it even if they had a Void Crystal. It would truly be stolen, and the Tribe would be annihilated,” Guli Geli added, seeing the expression on Li Ziyu’s face.

The “Great Tribes” Guli Geli mentioned were not the same concept as the Great Tribes of the Wasteland. In the Wasteland, the size of a Tribe was judged by its population. The larger the population and territory, the greater the Tribe. A small population, small territory, and few resources meant it was a small Tribe.

But in the Void Land, the distinction between large and small Tribes was more about strength versus weakness. Even if your Tribe only had ten people, if all ten were experts who could easily hunt Void Creatures and fend off a Void Beast Tide, then your Tribe would be considered a Great Tribe in the Void Land.

If your Tribe had tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of people, but you couldn’t hunt Void Creatures or defend against their attacks, you were a small Tribe, one that would struggle to survive in the Void Land.

The Void Land was even more primal than the Wasteland. Because of the threat from Void Creatures, strength was everything. If you had immense Power, no one would dare mess with you, even if you held a Void Crystal. But if you weren’t powerful enough, possessing a Void Crystal was like holding a ticking time bomb.

This was a place where strength truly did all the talking.

Everyone in the Void Land was an outsider. The Void Creatures treated them all the same—kill on sight. There weren’t many rules between the people themselves; the fist was the best rule.

“From the way you’re explaining it, does this mean if I wipe out a Tribe, no one will say anything, right?” Li Ziyu asked with a frown after hearing Guli Geli’s explanation.

“That’s right. But Master, it would be better to choose annexation,” Guli Geli replied without hesitation.