Nostalgia from childhood is the embrace of a mother.Jiang Er is the youngest disciple of the Grand Mage of the Divine Forsaken Clan.

　　He was born in the Wolf Tribe of the Gong You clan, as a bastard child.

　　Before his birth, his father, Jiang Sheng, a commander in the Wolf Tribe, bravely died in battle during the War of the Gods.

　　After his father's death, his mother, Chen Qing, concealed herself among the market crowds to give birth to him and struggled to raise him. Chen Qing was exceptionally fortunate during Jiang Er's early years from age three to six, as the lots drawn for human sacrifices never fell on him, allowing Jiang Er to safely pass through those three years.

　　The Wolf Tribe is located in the southeastern part of the Southern Gorge Forest, with their stronghold known as Wolf's Den Citadel.

　　Wolf's Den Citadel borders the territory of the Centaur Tribe of the Mu Continent. During the harvest season, the savage Centaur Tribe often ventures into the forest to raid the grass valleys.

　　When Jiang Er was eight years old, his mother Chen Qing took him to participate in the harvesting team of their community to work on the farm.

　　The harvesting team consisted of over 100 members, with about a hundred guards from Wolf's Den Citadel to protect them.

　　The lower-class farms were situated at the southernmost tip of the forest, which was the most dangerous area. However, for survival, people had to tread with extreme caution to harvest the winter crops.

　　It was a farm planted with corn.In addition to harvesting natural fruits, the Gong You clan also cultivates corn crops within the forest.

　　People clear areas of trees by burning them down, converting the cleared land into farmland for agricultural production. With abundant rainfall in the forest, there's no need for irrigation, allowing crops to grow rapidly.

　　The corn on the Mu Continent is specially bred by the gods, resulting in exceptionally tall stalks, some reaching up to three meters in height. These towering cornstalks stand in clusters, resembling a corn forest.

　　Not only are the individual corn plants large, but they also yield plentiful harvests. Each plant bears dozens of ears of corn, with the yield from just one or two stalks being enough to sustain a family for several days.

　　I remember that particular day of the year being overcast, with the heavy air making it difficult to breathe. As midday approached, the harvesting team and the guard arrived at the farm.

　　The adults used machetes to cut down the entire field of corn stalks, while Jiang Er and several other children assisted in dragging the stalks to the side of the vehicles. Then, the adults loaded them onto the carts and secured them with ropes.Corn can serve as sustenance for folks, while crushed stalks make fine feed for our camel-horses come winter.

　　Guardians keep watch all around.

　　'Tis the season for centaurs to graze the grasslands, so there's a tense vibe pervading the whole harvesting crew. Everyone's hustling to get those hard-earned corn safely back to the tribe as quick as they can.

　　Before long, the carts are brimming with cornstalks, towering like skyscrapers, all strapped down tight and pulled by a pair of camel-horses, heading back to the Wolf Den.

　　The journey back's on a verdant path through the forest, wide enough to fit, leading straight to Wolf's Lair City.

　　Harvesters sit atop the carts, stacked with cornstalks, while flankin' us are the camel-horse-ridin' guards, a lively bunch makin' our way back home.Little Jiang Er pitched in with the harvest, toiling away for most of the day until exhaustion set in. He sprawled out lazily on top of the towering stack of cornstalks, his limbs forming a relaxed 'X' shape, and nestled his head into his mother's embrace, squinting up at the hazy sky.

　　The swaying of the cart was like a cradle, and before long, his eyelids began their battle, succumbing to sleep and drifting into the realm of dreams.

　　In his dream, bathed in the lingering glow of the sun, he found himself seated on the tall swing by the doorstep, his mother gently pushing him higher and higher. The swing soared, carrying him through the air, filled with the sweet scent of crops, laughter echoing around him...

　　All was blissful, but alas, beauty often proves fleeting.

　　Suddenly, the blare of two horns pierced the air, followed by a harrowing scream. He turned to see his mother crumpled on the ground, an arrow piercing her chest, blood pooling beneath her.

　　With a loud "Ah!" he jolted awake from his slumber.

　　The sky remained the same as before, his mother's embrace still warm and comforting. Nothing had changed—it was all just a dream. He wiped the sweat from his brow with a sigh.Jiang Er, relieved after the false alarm, remained nestled in his mother's embrace. But just as he began to relax, two short, successive blasts of a horn shattered the tranquility. This time, it was no illusion— even the carts came to a sudden halt.

　　His mother had once told him that two short, successive blasts of a horn signaled danger, a call to arms. Immediately, Jiang Er sat up, his mother anxiously scanning their surroundings.

　　On either side, the guards mounted on camel-horses hastened ahead, their faces grim.

　　Perched atop the towering stack of cornstalks, Jiang Er peered ahead to witness a scene of chaos: a sea of people, dust swirling, the clash of weapons accompanied by furious shouts.

　　From the woods on both sides, arrows whizzed by, prompting his mother to swiftly push Jiang Er down behind the stack of cornstalks.

　　Amidst the chaos, Jiang Er stealthily crawled to the edge of the stack, where he witnessed the cart driver, felled by an arrow.

　　Then, from the woods, emerged several of those "camel-horses," prompting cries of dismay: "Oh, Lord, it's those treacherous savages!"

　　Jiang Er squinted to see that indeed they were not camel-horses but rather peculiar beings—half-human, half-camel—brandishing a flag adorned with what looked like hoof prints.

　　Jiang Er's mother, Chen Qing, saw them too and pulled Jiang Er close.

　　His head pressed tightly against his mother's chest, Jiang Er could feel her trembling.

　　After a while, the carts made a sharp turn and headed south.

　　As Jiang Er peeked over his mother's shoulder, he saw a large group of these half-human, half-camel creatures by the carts, wielding spears, charging toward the rear of the caravan.From the rear, the sounds of arrows whistling through the air and the clash of weapons continued unabated, mingling with the cries of camel-horses, the shouts of soldiers, and the screams of the wounded. Gradually, the cacophony faded into the distance until it could hardly be heard at all.

　　The carts, laden with cornstalks, continued their journey southward, now escorted not by human guards but by those half-human, half-horse creatures.

　　Jiang Er later learned that these strange beings were another tribe of the Mu continent—the centaurs.

　　Most of the harvesters were women, aware of the savagery and brutality of the centaurs. In order to escape potential humiliation or worse, some women chose to end their lives along the way, using machetes to slit their throats atop the carts; others stood on the stacks of cornstalks, plunging headfirst towards the rocks at the roadside, their brains splattering on impact.

　　The bestial centaur warriors along the roadside, however, seemed unfazed by these scenes.

　　On the stacks of cornstalks, those women who dared not take their own lives wept uncontrollably, their cries filling the air with sorrow. It was a scene of utter devastation.Atop Jiang Er's cart, a young woman contemplated suicide with a machete, but Chen Qing intervened.

　　The woman cried, "Let me go! Better to die now than suffer!"

　　Chen Qing held her hand, locking eyes with her. "Please trust me. Perhaps we still have hope."

　　Strangely enough, Chen Qing's eyes were remarkably clear and bright, seemingly imbued with a magical power, instilling confidence and strength in others. The woman's emotions calmed considerably.

　　At that moment, a bird circled overhead. Chen Qing watched it for a while before it flew southward.

　　As the caravan continued, it suddenly came to a halt.

　　Centaurs climbed onto the stacks of cornstalks from all sides, seizing the humans and tossing them to the ground, where other centaurs bound them.

　　It turned out that General Hali, leading this centaur army, was angered by the humans' suicides. In order to prevent further incidents, he ordered his soldiers to capture them from the cornstalks.

　　In the lore of the book, the southernmost part of the Mu continent belonged to the centaur tribe. They worshiped the Gray Tribe deity.

　　During the War of the Gods, the Gray Tribe deity allied with the Yellow and Black Tribe deities to resist the Green Tribe. However, when the decisive battle came, the Gray Tribe deity and the centaurs betrayed their allies. After the Yellow and Black Tribe deities and the human allied forces fell, the Green Tribe deity did not spare the Gray Tribe. In the end, the Gray Tribe deity was defeated, and only a small number of centaur remnants managed to escape to the Ice Planet aboard the Vimana.

　　After the departure of the Gray Tribe deity, the centaur tribes remaining on Mu experienced division. General Gisber overthrew the former Khan Solon's rule and declared himself Khan. Subsequently, Left General Sison led his own troops to rebel against Gisber's rule, establishing the Sison tribe in the southeastern part of the Split Hoof Plateau. Hali was one of Sison's subordinates.

　　The territory of the Sison tribe was relatively small, and they couldn't sustain themselves with food, so they could only head north to the Southern Valley Forest to raid the harvesting teams of the Wolf Tribe during the harvest season.

　　Thrown to the ground, Jiang Er finally got a clear look at the centaurs. It was his first time seeing them, leaving him with a deeply painful and unforgettable memory.

　　The centaurs were much taller than humans, averaging around 2.3 meters in height. Their upper bodies were humanoid with pointed ears and disheveled hair, while their lower bodies resembled those of camels.

　　They wore clothing on their upper bodies but were completely bare below the waist, leering at the human women with lascivious gazes, causing many of them to avert their eyes in disgust.The human race considers centaurs to be wicked and lecherous beasts, betrayers.

　　Centaurs are an incredibly brutal and savage group, differing from beasts only in their ability to speak. Both centaurs and humans were created by the gods and speak the same language.

　　Their tribal language dictates that the strong rule and the weak are prey. They refer to humans as "two-legged sheep" and, in times of famine, may even resort to cannibalism.

　　After being thrown to the ground, General Hali, wielding a wolf-toothed club, had the bound humans pass before him one by one.

　　At the sight of elderly female humans or male humans taller than the wheels of the carts, he immediately ordered his subordinates to bring them over.

　　With a smirk, Hali watched these terrified "two-legged sheep" pass by, swinging his club and smashing their skulls, causing brains to splatter as corpses fell to the ground. The bodies were tossed onto the stacks of cornstalks for later consumption.

　　The scene was filled with a bloody, terrifying atmosphere, with many human women fainting on the spot and others wetting themselves in fear.

　　Hali and his men looked on at these terrified humans, laughing heartily.

　　Jiang Er and his mother followed along in the human procession, slowly passing by Hali. Jiang Er trembled with fear, keeping his head down as he passed. His height didn't exceed the wheels of the carts, and with a wave of Hali's hand, he was allowed to pass.

　　His mother followed behind Jiang Er, head bowed, attempting to pass unnoticed by Hali.

　　"Stop!" Hali shouted loudly.