Not to mention outsiders like Jon, even communication between tribes in the Mountains of the Moon was quite closed off.
So, what happened at the 'village entrance' naturally attracted a large crowd of onlookers.
Of course, it was still mostly women and children.
The children hid behind their mothers, only daring to peek out their heads.
The women of the village pointed and whispered about the group of foreign men.
Some of the bolder ones even giggled and teased.
However, the young men from Winterfell didn't think much of these women.
Their goal was to marry the daughters of nobles.
These tribal women were no different from wildlings in their eyes.
As for the old soldiers of the Mountain Clans, most of them were already willing but unable.
At this moment, a brave and spirited girl with a grass circlet on her head suddenly appeared in the crowd.
She curiously sized up Jon and his group, and very quickly, her gaze locked onto Jon.
Almost instantly, she was attracted by the attire of Jon and his group.
"Outlander, you abducted our Fire Witch, and yet you still dare to invade our tribe? Are you not afraid of death?"
As soon as the seemingly authoritative tribal leader spoke, the atmosphere at the entire 'village entrance' changed.
Mothers pulled their children back, while men, armed with bronze weapons or farm tools, stepped forward to block Jon and his group.
Harken, who had previously provoked Jon and the others, even reached for the hilt of the knife at his waist, eager for a fight.
Meanwhile, the Winterfell soldiers and the old soldiers of the Mountain Clans around Jon also drew their swords, encircling Jon and Old York to protect them.
The surrounding air became stagnant, subtly tinged with the smell of blood.
Jon didn't know how Kuno had explained the previous events to him.
He had captured their Fire Witch on the battlefield, then saved her; by rough calculation, he and they shouldn't have any animosity.
Why were they immediately shouting for a fight?
'Is he testing me?'
Jon looked at the women and children not far away; he believed Kuno must have explained it clearly to him.
Even if he didn't care about the Fire Witch's life or death, his fully armed group, if a direct conflict truly broke out, would pay a heavy price even if they won.
If they really wanted to deal with his group, they should first let them 'enter the village' and make their move at night.
Jon activated Gods Perspective to confirm again that there were no ambushes around, which further solidified his judgment that this tribal leader was testing him.
He also looked at Kuno, who stood beside the two leaders, and she too had a look of astonishment.
"Respected leader, I honorably defeated your people on the battlefield, and I personally had your Fire Witch's life saved.
My presence here is also a promise from that Fire Witch; I think we can be considered guests. If this is your way of hospitality, then we will leave now, and you may not be able to keep us!"
"Ha! I knew there would be a fight today!" As soon as he heard Jon's tone, Harken immediately became excited. He turned and said, "Elder Vido, Elder Huwulf, these iron-skinned people are always despicable. Please allow me to duel him. If I win, they must return the Witch Lord! Otherwise, we'll kill them here!"
"Yes! Return her!"
Harken's subordinates and younger brothers also clamored.
Kuno quickly stopped him:
"Harken, didn't you hear?! The Fire Witch's injuries were treated by Lord Jon!"
"Hmph! No matter what, I don't trust these iron-skinned people. I only trust the sword in my hand!
How about it? Do you dare to duel me!?"
Jon looked at the two elders and found that they had no intention of stopping it.
The seemingly authoritative elder was apparently called 'Vido'.
Vido saw that Jon showed no fear, and a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. He said:
"It's true that our Fire Witch is in your hands, but if you want the Huaquan Tribe to serve you, please show some strength.
We have seen those iron-skinned people before; their banners covered the sky, their armies were boundless.
If joining you brings us only defeat and bloodshed, then we would rather abandon the Fire Witch, and we believe the Fire Witch would also agree with my decision."
Hearing him say this, Jon became even more interested.
It seemed the Fire Witch was more like a spiritual totem, not someone who wielded actual power.
"How about it! Come and duel, iron-skinned man!"
Seeing Jon give no reply, Harken continued to provoke him, rubbing the hilt of his sword as if he could no longer wait.
Even the girl with the grass circlet in the crowd looked on expectantly.
"Hmph! Someone like you, our lord can piss with one hand and take care of you with the other." Old York said with a sneer.
"Is that so! I hope your lord's skill is as great as your bluster!" Harken excitedly drew his sword.
His peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of the girl with the grass circlet, and instantly, his fighting spirit intensified.
"Then let's do it, but..." Jon turned to his attendant behind him and said, "Someone, remove my armor."
"Ha, the iron-skinned man wants to take off his skin? Interesting?"
"I'm just worried you'll make excuses if you lose."
The two exchanged words, and the tension gradually rose.
But unlike Harken, who focused all his attention on Jon, Jon had already begun to survey the surroundings with Gods Perspective.
He found that the territory of the Huaquan Tribe was indeed quite large.
Among them were many strongholds that were easy to defend and difficult to attack.
No wonder they could take root here and fight with the Valley people for thousands of years.
Soon, the two faced each other, one holding a bronze short sword, the other a fine steel longsword.
Jon's weapon was clearly longer.
"How about it? Why don't you use my weapon?" Jon provoked.
"Hmph! No need!"
Harken let out a low growl and attacked Jon, but he only saw a flash of cold light, and Jon's figure was gone.
The next second, Harken only felt a bone-chilling cold wind brush past his neck. He looked down and saw Jon's longsword already at his throat.
The two leaders, known as Elder Vido and Elder Huwulf, showed obvious surprise.
They almost simultaneously made a gesture of wide eyes and heads thrust forward.
Harken hadn't even reacted; his body instinctively tried to counterattack, but the icy coldness from his neck stiffened his muscles.
In his memory, a very young Harken had been praised by countless people the moment he got his bronze short sword.
He learned the adults' moves just by watching.
By the time he came of age, he could hardly find an opponent in the tribe.
His personal martial prowess quickly became one of the tribe's strongest trump cards.
He couldn't fathom how he could have lost so badly.
Suddenly, Harken noticed the grass-circlet girl in the crowd looking at Jon with surprise, even infatuation.
"Sora..."
Harken murmured, uttering the name of the grass-circlet girl.
Anger surged in his heart, and with a roar, he knocked away Jon's sword and spun into a horizontal sweep.
"Harken!"
The grass-circlet girl was startled and was about to step forward to stop him.
Old York also protested loudly from the side:
"Shameless! Shameless!"
However, what no one noticed was that Elder Huwulf, beside Vido, beyond his shock, clearly had a look of pleasant surprise on his face.
When he witnessed Jon's astonishing swordsmanship, his expression of admiration even carried a hint of ecstasy.
As if he had discovered some treasure.
If some people thought Jon had an advantage due to his weapon in the first exchange,
this time, with Harken almost launching a sneak attack, he was defeated again in just two moves.
He believed that no one stronger than Jon could be found in the entire Mountains of the Moon.
If possible, perhaps this outsider was the person he had been waiting for so long!
"Do you want to continue?"
It was a light, airy sentence, but to Harken, it felt like a slap across the face, making him feel a burning sensation from his cheeks to the base of his neck.
And the cheers of the soldiers behind Jon only made him feel an indescribable humiliation.
It was like having a chamber pot dumped on his head.
Not only anger, but also exasperation!
"Again!"
Seeing that he was still unconvinced, Jon decided to see it through.
But the grass-circlet girl had already walked towards Vido and Huwulf, the two tribal leaders.
"Harken! Are you going to bring shame to the entire Huaquan Tribe?" After speaking, she looked at Vido and said:
"Father! Quickly, tell Harken to stop!"
As an elder, he still cared about his reputation.
"Harken! Stop!"
Hearing the dual warning from his beloved and the elder, Harken, somewhat unwilling and disheartened, put away his sword.
"Elders, can we discuss cooperation now?"