17 – Building the Beast Legion Cold wind swept through the dense forest.
The smell of blood lingered for a long time.
Rek’Sai ruffled the dark-gray head of the Wolf King, Wolf.
The giant wolf gave a gentle, obedient rumble in its throat.
Its ghostly green pupils narrowed slightly as it allowed the large, blood-stained hand to stroke the top of its head.
At the edge of his vision the system panel flickered.
[Quest Triggered: Form a Battle Beast Legion] [Requirement: Establish a basic beast formation with clear divisions for combat, communication, and logistics.] [Reward: Skill “Eagle Eye”] Rek’Sai closed the panel.
Combat had the wolf pack.
Meat shield had Pig.
Communication needed birds.
Logistics… at minimum he needed gentle beasts that could carry loads or produce milk.
He patted Wolf’s neck and straightened up.
“Pig.” A low call.
The undergrowth not far away shook violently.
The Boar King Pig came trotting over on its thick hooves, crushing thorns along the way.
It suddenly stopped.
Its two lower tusks, each as long as an adult’s forearm, gleamed coldly.
It stared warily at the wolf pack on the ground and gave a threatening low grunt.
Wolf rose in an instant.
The silver-white mane along its spine stood on end.
Its ghostly green pupils locked hard on Pig.
The surrounding wolves began to growl.
The atmosphere dropped to freezing in a heartbeat.
Invisible tension stretched tight between the two giant beasts.
“Behave.” Rek’Sai strode forward and slammed a palm the size of a fan against Pig’s thick back with a sharp slap.
At the same time his icy gaze swept toward Wolf.
Higher-order predator pressure radiated from those green vertical pupils.
The savage light in Wolf’s eyes vanished at once.
It whimpered, dropped its tail, and lowered its body again.
Pig also shook its massive head and settled down.
Rek’Sai swung up onto the Boar King’s broad back.
His huge frame sat on Pig like an iron tower.
“Back to the village.” Pig started walking.
Wolf raised its neck and let out a short howl.
From deep in the forest, the she-wolves and half-grown cubs that had not taken part in the fight emerged one after another.
More than thirty giant wolves gathered.
Like a dark-gray cloud they silently flanked Rek’Sai on both sides and followed him home.
Cedar Village.
Pat was bent over a wooden table in front of the village headman’s house, carefully counting the copper stars left by the pirates.
“Thirty… thirty-one…” His fingers moved the blood-stained coins.
Village headman Edric stood nearby, face full of worry, brow tightly knotted.
“Manager Pat, this money has to be used to repair the docks.” The old headman tapped his pipe.
“The pirates burned two fishing boats and a section of the breakwater collapsed.” “The lord said to build the chevaux-de-frise and the wall first.” Pat did not look up.
The quill scratched across the parchment.
“The docks can wait.” “But without boats, what will everyone eat?” Before the words finished, a deep vibration suddenly came from outside the village.
It felt as if something heavy was trampling the earth.
Immediately afterward a bone-chilling wolf howl tore through the quiet of dusk.
The villagers on watch tumbled into the square, not even noticing that one of them had lost a shoe.
“Wolves!
A wolf pack!
Huge wolves!” The man shouted himself hoarse, face deathly white.
The entire village of Cedar exploded into chaos.
Men grabbed pitchforks, fishing spears, and rusty wood-cutting knives.
Women screamed as they scooped up children and fled indoors.
The sound of wooden doors slamming shut rose one after another.
In less than half a minute several dozen able-bodied men had gathered on the square in a trembling circle.
Brienne charged out of a house with her longsword in hand.
She wore no armor, only a linen shirt, but her nearly two-meter height and the fine steel longsword in her grip gave the villagers a thread of courage.
She pushed through the crowd and stood at the very front.
“Form ranks!
Don’t panic!” Brienne roared.
The shadows at the edge of the trees twisted.
The massive Boar King stepped out of the woodland first.
Its enormous tusks reflected cold light under the setting sun.
Then a dark-gray giant wolf with shoulders nearly 1.4 meters high paced out from the shadows behind Pig.
It coldly surveyed the villagers standing ready, as if looking at a flock of lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
Behind it, dense pairs of green eyes lit up among the trees.
One after another the giant wolves emerged, completely sealing the village entrance.
The villagers sucked in sharp breaths.
“Gods above…” Several of the more timid ones collapsed onto the mud as their knees gave out.
Pitchforks fell from their hands with clear metallic rings.
“Master!” Brienne clearly recognized the iron-tower figure on the boar’s back.
The tension in her shoulders suddenly released.
She immediately sheathed her longsword.
Rek’Sai rode Pig slowly into the center of the square.
Dried wolf blood still stained his bronze muscles.
Several deep, criss-crossing claw marks stood out starkly on his body.
He paid them no attention, simply looking down at the terrified villagers from above.
The scene was deathly silent.
Only the Boar King’s heavy breathing could be heard.
“Pat.” Rek’Sai’s voice was low and thunderous.
“H-here!” Pat squeezed out of the crowd.
His legs were a little weak; he had to steady himself against the wooden table to remain standing.
“Write it down.” Rek’Sai pointed at the huge wolf pack behind him.
“From now on the village will be responsible for providing part of their meat.
Deliver it on time.” “Y-yes, my lord.” Pat swallowed hard and quickly pulled out a charcoal stick.
Village headman Edric’s face was ashen.
He gathered his courage and stepped forward two paces, voice trembling.
“My lord… these wild beasts… they eat people.
The children in the village…” Rek’Sai glanced at him.
He offered no explanation.
He simply pulled the reins.
Pig turned and began walking toward the woodland behind the village.
“Edric.
Pat.
Brienne.” Rek’Sai did not look back.
“Come with me.
Ayla too.” From within the crowd the sixteen-year-old Ayla peeked out from behind her grandfather.
There was little fear in her large eyes—only a thread of curiosity.
The woodland behind the mountain.
The ox-skull totem of the Basic Beast Camp stood quietly in the center of the clearing.
After half a day of settling, the patterns on the totem’s surface seemed even deeper.
Rek’Sai swung down from the boar.
He pointed at the open ground around the totem that was covered by the invisible aura.
“Go in.” Wolf glanced at Rek’Sai.
Without hesitation it led the pack slowly into the totem’s range of influence.
A wondrous scene unfolded.
The wolves that had still been slightly restless and baring their teeth because they were entering human territory suddenly relaxed the moment they stepped into the totem’s coverage.
Their tense muscles melted like snow under the sun.
They sniffed the unique scent radiating from the totem.
The savagery in their eyes faded, replaced by the peaceful calm of animals returning to their den.
The giant wolves each found a comfortable patch of grass and lay down one after another.
Several she-wolves even rolled onto their sides, allowing the cubs to climb across their bellies.
Faint green light seeped from the base of the totem, turning into tiny points of fluorescence that sank into the wolves’ fur.
The bloody gash on Wolf’s back left by Pig’s tusk, as well as the smaller wounds on the other wolves, began forming scabs at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The four people following behind were stunned.
Pat’s mouth hung open.
The charcoal stick in his hand fell to the ground.
Brienne’s eyes went wide as she stared at the almost unnaturally harmonious scene in front of her.
“A miracle…” Edric murmured.
His legs bent as he prepared to kneel and pray.
Rek’Sai seized him by the collar and hauled him upright.
“If you’re going to worship, worship me.” Ayla was not looking at the totem.
Her large eyes stayed fixed on the biggest gray wolf.
She tentatively took a step forward.
“Ayla!
Come back!” Edric nearly lost his soul in fright.
Ayla acted as if she had not heard.
She walked to the edge of the totem’s range and crouched down.
A half-grown cub rolled up to her feet.
Ayla reached out and gently stroked its head.
The cub did not bite her.
Instead it stuck out its tongue and licked her fingers.
Ayla smiled.
Rek’Sai watched the scene, a flicker of approval in his eyes.
This girl’s affinity with animals was truly unusual.
“From now on, this is their camp.” Rek’Sai turned to face Edric and Pat.
“As long as you deliver the meat on time, they will be the guardians of Cedar Village.
They will also go out hunting themselves.
The burden on the village will not be too heavy.” He paused.
His gaze sharpened like a blade.
“Regarding the specific situation of this camp, I do not want word of it spreading outside.
That includes the other villagers.
Understood?” Edric quickly pulled his granddaughter back two steps and nodded repeatedly.
“Understood, my lord.
We will not speak carelessly.” “Good.” Rek’Sai looked at Brienne.
“These battle beasts—if any of you can communicate with them, you may take one as your own.
Choose for yourselves.” Brienne’s eyes lit up.
“Really, Master?” “Only if they are willing to go with you.” Rek’Sai said nothing more.
He was genuinely tired.
After giving all the necessary instructions, he turned and walked toward the lord’s room that Pat had prepared for him earlier.
He took a cold-water bath, ate three whole roast ducks, collapsed onto the bed, and sank into deep sleep.
Early the next morning.
The thin mist had not yet fully cleared when Brienne arrived outside Rek’Sai’s door.
She had thought the entire night and still decided to ask her master about the knack of taming beasts.
She knocked for a long time.
No one answered.
Pat walked over while yawning.
“No need to keep knocking, Lady Brienne.
The lord left before dawn.” “Left?
Where?” “Into the forest.” Pat pointed toward the rear mountain.
“He said he was going to catch birds.”