Lu Yao got up as soon as it was dawn.

Since he started using the simulator, he had hardly ever slept in. He always had a worry that if he wasn’t careful, the Garlic Tribe could be destroyed by a sudden disaster.

The people of the tribe were still too fragile.

The winter was too long, the summer was too hot, there was not enough food, there were invasions from external enemies, infectious diseases… Each of these could bring about a catastrophe for the Garlic Tribe.

Lu Yao poured a cup of instant coffee and looked down at the people of the tribe while drinking it.

Now, the population of the tribe had reached 311 people, and there was a balance of 270 faith points.

After surviving the winter, the food in the Garlic Tribe had become abundant again, and the food reserves had changed from the warning yellow color to a healthy green color.

In addition, although the wood reserves were in the insufficient yellow stage, under the promotion of the two carpenters, its usage had gradually become popular. The thatched houses in the tribe were gradually transforming into wooden houses.

Spring brought about the revival of all things, as well as an unexpected group of visitors.

Five canoes appeared on the river to the east. They were traveling at an extremely fast speed and docked along the way.

The people driving the canoes were all female pixel characters. Their skin color was darker, their hair was loose, and they were wearing a kind of soft leather armor that covered their whole bodies, with bows and arrows on their backs.

The leading female pixel character had the title of “Captain” above her head. Unlike the others, she wore a helmet made of white bones with many sharp teeth, resembling something from a large wild beast.

Due to the unclear nature of the pixel game itself, Lu Yao couldn’t see more details.

The “Captain” spoke at the shore, “You! Hand over the strong men! Otherwise, we will be enemies of the East River Tribe!”

The other people also shouted along with the leader.

“Hand over the men!”

“Men! Men!”

“Quickly send the strong men onto the boat!”

“Otherwise, we will turn all of you into slaves!”

Lu Yao was confused.

What was the situation with these carnivorous sisters from the tribal era?

The prophet and the shaman rushed over. Along with them, there were more than thirty hunters armed with bows and arrows. The two sides confronted each other at the riverbank.

At this moment, two monsters suddenly emerged from the river behind the canoes. They had the symbol of “Sea Monster LV8” above their heads.

The sea monsters were as big as five people combined, covered in scales. They had lizard-like heads and bodies, with teeth all over their mouths, resembling giant upright crocodiles.

The two sea monsters stepped onto the shore step by step.

The hunters of the Garlic Tribe shot arrows one after another, but the arrows seemed to have no effect on the scales of the sea monsters and couldn’t harm them at all.

The people of the East River Tribe had smiley faces above their heads.

“The sea monsters are invincible!”

“You are too weak!”

The female captain said, “We have many sea monsters and can destroy your tribe at any time. However, you have many strong men that the East River Tribe likes. Hand over the men, and we will protect you.”

Other people from the East River Tribe also said.

“Weak tribe, offer up the men! Strong men!”

“Don’t be ungrateful!”

“Quickly, quickly hand over the men. Otherwise, we will sell you all as slaves!”

Lu Yao took a sip of coffee.

This situation was not easy to handle.

Of course, he could use lightning to kill the two sea monsters. However, this method wouldn’t solve the current crisis and would only further turn the East River Tribe into an enemy.

The Garlic Tribe didn’t have the ability and technology to build boats, so they couldn’t even set foot in the depths of the river. The East River Tribe could come and go as they pleased.

From a technological perspective, the East River Tribe could build canoes, had bows and arrows, had unique tribal clothing, and even had the beginnings of a slave system. They could also raise sea monsters, indicating a certain level of civilization.

Lu Yao felt that the threat from the female captain was more of a deterrent.

If the East River Tribe could really devour the entire Garlic Tribe, they wouldn’t need to bluff and could directly attack, turning everyone into slaves and taking them away.

The pixel world in the Deity Simulator was different from the real world. There were deities, apostles, the flame of faith, monsters… The pixel characters had their own unique way of evolution and couldn’t be evaluated based on human history.

Lu Yao decided to wait.

He wanted to see how the Garlic Tribe would handle this crisis.

They had to learn to deal with trouble themselves and not rely on him, the deity, for everything. If things really couldn’t be handled, then he would call Isabella over.

The prophet and the shaman discussed for a while.

“We are willing to give you five men, which is the maximum that won’t affect the tribe.”

“However, the East River Tribe cannot attack the Garlic Tribe and must ensure the safety of the rivers around us.”

The female captain readily agreed.

“The East River Tribe will protect you, weak men.”

“Quickly send the men over! Strong and good-looking ones!”After some deliberation within the Garlic Tribe, the prophet suggested a lottery system to select individuals. Eventually, five men from the tribe were chosen and sent off on a canoe.

Thus, the first contact and conflict between the Garlic Tribe and the East River Tribe resulted in the Garlic Tribe sending five men for marriage.

With the departure of the East River Tribe, the river boundary further expanded eastward. A floating island made of wooden boats appeared on the water, one of the settlements of the East River Tribe.

Lu Yao focused his attention on the East River Tribe, observing carefully.

The East River Tribe was a typical matriarchal clan, with the majority being women, numbering in the hundreds. Their highest leader was called the “Grandmother”, a female elder.

Their conversations revealed that the origin of the East River Tribe was a large clan called the “East Sea Clan”.

The East Sea Clan lived further east on the vast East Sea, controlling a large area of the sea.

Several years ago, a branch of the East Sea Clan split off and traveled west to reach the East River, forming the East River Tribe. The East River Tribe took the wide and rushing East River as their territory, and their food was mostly fish, shrimp, and aquatic plants from the river. Occasionally, they would sail to land and hunt wild beasts and birds with bows and arrows.

The East River Tribe possessed sea monsters as strategic weapons. The sea monsters usually moved underwater and only surfaced when called by the East River Tribe.

What caught Lu Yao’s attention was the presence of the Salt Pool Tribe’s people in the East River Tribe.

These tribal merchants were also doing business with the East River Tribe.

They brought salt, bows and arrows, and wood on their canoes, trading them for fish from the East River Tribe.

Lu Yao paid special attention to the five pixel men from the Garlic Tribe.

They were assigned to several female captains and became their spouses. These men from the Garlic Tribe hardly did anything, spending their days idling on the boat island.

That’s not entirely accurate.

They also had their own duties to fulfill.

The women of the East River Tribe would drag them into the boat houses, and when they came out, the men would have a weak expression on their faces.

The female captains seemed to take this communal sharing of men in stride.

It was a custom of the East River Tribe.

Due to the scarcity of men, they were turned into a workforce available for the entire tribe. However, the ownership of the men was in the hands of the female captains.

The East River Tribe cherished foreign men, but they were extremely cruel to foreign women.

They would occasionally capture some women during their canoe trips. Usually, the East River Tribe would make these female slaves do hard labor, such as cleaning the boat island, carrying wood, and processing fish and food.

If a female slave fell ill or was injured, they would be thrown into the water to feed the sea monsters.