At dawn the next morning, a strange and wonderful sight greeted the waking citizens of Dry-Well Village.
Lined up along the north fence in neat rows were two hundred gray Desert Sand-Wolves and one massive, nine-foot-long Silver-Back Wolf King. Each wolf had a hemp rope tied loosely around its snout and a heavy hunting net over its back, and every single one of them was staring with wide, drooling eyes at Old Guo's outdoor kitchen.
After being beaten black and blue by bronze-skinned farmers and a rolling-pin-wielding grandma last night, the pride of the Sand-Wolf Pack had already been smashed to pieces. Now, after going hungry for three days in the desert, the rich, fatty smell of boiling Meat-Potato and Lamb-Bone Broth drifting from Old Guo's cauldrons was torturing their wolf noses beyond endurance!
Even the mighty Silver-Back Wolf King, whose four paws had been unglued at sunrise and chained to an iron post, was letting out pitiful little whoo-whoo whimpers in its throat while staring at a meat bone in Old Guo's hand.
"My Lord, how should we skin them?" Chief Batu walked up carrying a sharp skinning knife, though he looked a little reluctant. "Sand-Wolf fur makes warm winter vests, and the Wolf King's Rank 2 blood can be boiled into strength medicine. As for taming them... adult Desert Sand-Wolves are born wild and treacherous. Even our best nomad beast-tamers can only raise wolf pups whose eyes haven't opened yet. If you untie an adult Sand-Wolf after feeding it, it will bite your hand and run back into the dunes!"
"That is because ordinary beast-tamers don't have Old Guo's cooking—or my secret taming recipe," Pei Xuan laughed.
He walked over to the kitchen table, where Old Guo had piled up three big wooden tubs of leftover Meat-Potato marrow bones and boiled lamb scraps, alongside ten bundles of wild Sweet-Calm Grass (a cheap desert herb that nomads burned to calm spooked sheep) and a bucket of Sweet-Spring Spirit Water.
Pei Xuan stood in front of the three tubs and opened his Fusion Cube.
==================================================================== [ FUSION CUBE — MASS BEAST TAMING SYNTHESIS ] * Slot 1: [3 Tubs of Meat-Potato Marrow Bones (High Blood-Qi Food)] * Slot 2: [10 Bundles of Wild Sweet-Calm Grass (Soothes Feral Minds)] * Slot 3: [1 Bucket of Sweet-Spring Spirit Water (Cleanses Ferocity)] -------------------------------------------------------------------- * Fusion Cost: 200 Loyalty Points (LP) * System Processing: Infusing marrow bones with permanent spirit- taming imprint... Deleting [Feral Betrayal Instinct]... Adding [Pack Discipline & Herding Intelligence]... >> FUSE NOW? [YES / NO] ====================================================================
"Fuse!" Pei Xuan ordered silently.
[-200 LP! Current Balance: 4,400 LP (Including Midnight +2,300 LP Settlement!).]
HUMMM!
A soft golden-amber glow passed through the three wooden tubs of marrow bones. Instantly, the bones turned a rich, glossy reddish-gold color and gave off a savory, meaty aroma that was ten times more irresistible to canines than raw lamb!
==================================================================== [ FUSION SUCCESS! MASS TAMING CONSUMABLE CREATED! ] >> [ Loyal-Hound Spirit Marrow Bones (205 Pieces — Rank 2 Item) ] << -------------------------------------------------------------------- * Effect 1 (Instant Domestication): Any wolf or canine beast under Rank 3 that eats one bone permanently loses its wild ferocity and gains 85+ Starting Loyalty to Dry-Well Village! * Effect 2 (Smart Guard & Shepherd Instinct): Unlocks human-level command comprehension! Wolves will automatically patrol territory borders, herd livestock, and never bite citizens or children! * Funny Side Effect: Turns fierce wolf howls into polite barks and causes uncontrollable tail-wagging whenever praised! ====================================================================
Pei Xuan picked up the biggest two-foot-long reddish-gold marrow bone from the top of the tub and walked straight up to the chained Silver-Back Sand-Wolf King.
"My Lord, watch your hand!" Chief Batu warned nervously.
Pei Xuan ignored the warning, crouched down in front of the nine-hundred-pound beast, and untied the hemp rope from around its giant jaws with his bare hands.
The Silver-Back Wolf King opened its mouth—not to bite Pei Xuan, but to stare with trembling, watery eyes at the glowing reddish-gold bone in Pei Xuan's palm!
"Listen to me, Big Silver," Pei Xuan said, tapping the bone lightly against the Wolf King's black nose. "Eat my village's bone, and you work for Dry-Well Village. Your job is to lead your two hundred brothers to patrol five miles around the oasis every night, herd the sheep and camels during the day, and bite any bandit or spy who tries to sneak in without a gate pass. Do a good job, and you get two bowls of Meat-Potato gravy and a big bone every day. Understand?"
The Silver-Back Wolf King didn't even wait half a second—it nodded its giant silver head up and down like a pounding garlic pestle!
Pei Xuan tossed the bone.
CHOMP! CRUNCH-CRUNCH-GULP!
The Wolf King caught the bone in mid-air, crunched it down in three bites, and swallowed it whole!
As the warm golden energy of the [Loyal-Hound Spirit Marrow Bone] melted in its stomach, the cold, savage red glint in the Wolf King's eyes melted away completely, replaced by a bright, warm, devoted intelligence. Its stiff silver fur softened into a sleek, fluffy coat, its pointed ears flopped slightly to the sides in a friendly curve, and behind its back—
Swish-swish-swish-swish!
The nine-hundred-pound Silver-Back Wolf King's bushy silver tail started wagging back and forth so fast it kicked up a mini windstorm in the sand!
"Woof!"
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Instead of a terrifying midnight wolf howl, the giant beast let out a crisp, cheerful dog bark, dropped down onto its front elbows, and rubbed its giant silver cheek affectionately against Pei Xuan's boots while panting with a big pink tongue!
[ PET / GUARD TOOLTIP: "BIG SILVER" (Former Sand-Wolf King) ] * Realm: Rank 2 Mid Beast | Loyalty: 90/100 (Good Boy!) * Position: Captain of the Dry-Well Village Guard Dog Patrol * Thought: "Master's bone is the best thing in the whole world! If a single scorpion or bandit steps within five miles of Master's potato field, I'll bite their butt off! Wait—will Master scratch behind my ears again?!"
Behind Pei Xuan, Chief Batu dropped his skinning knife in the dirt with a loud clatter.
"It... it barked?!" Batu stammered, pointing a trembling finger at the nine-hundred-pound ferocious wolf king that was currently rolling over on its back so Pei Xuan could scratch its belly with his boot. "That's the Silver-Back Wolf King of the northern wastes! It just went 'woof' and asked for a belly rub?!"
"Untie the other two hundred wolves and toss each of them a bone!" Pei Xuan laughed, throwing the wooden tubs to Little Stone and the nomad hunters.
Within ten minutes, two hundred reddish-gold marrow bones were tossed into the corral.
Crunch! Crunch! Woof! Woof!
Two hundred pairs of savage wolf eyes turned clear and loyal on the spot, and two hundred gray tails wagged in unison like a field of wheat waving in the wind!
When Grandma Zhang walked past carrying a basket of flatbreads, the thirty wolves nearest the fence didn't bare their teeth—they sat down neatly on their hindquarters in a straight line, tucked their front paws together, and let out polite little "Arf!" sounds hoping she would toss them a crust of bread!
"Oh my goodness, look how polite they are now!" Grandma Zhang beamed, tossing each wolf a piece of potato crust. "Yesterday they were bad dogs, today they are better behaved than my grandson!"
Just as Chief Batu was organizing his twenty-five nomad hunters and the two hundred newly tamed Guard Wolves into four fifty-wolf perimeter patrol squads, the lookout bell at the south gate rang twice—the signal for peaceful visitors.
Pei Xuan walked over to the gate and saw a small, dusty group of sixty-five wandering salt-peddlers and desert craftsmen (including a blacksmith family with three apprentices and an old weaver!) standing outside the cactus line, pulling handcarts piled with rusty tools.
"My Lord!" the old blacksmith knelt at the gate, holding up a pinch of snow-white salt and a piece of dried Meat-Potato he had traded from a passing nomad two days ago. "We come from the dry border hamlet ten miles west! Our hamlet's last mud well dried up three days ago, and we heard that the benevolent Lord Pei of Dry-Well Village takes in hardworking folk and has sweet water and stone houses! We have three iron anvils and twelve looms—please let our sixty-five people join your village!"
"Welcome to Dry-Well Village!" Pei Xuan smiled warmly and waved toward the wash-tents that were still standing outside the gate. "Hong Ling, register all sixty-five newcomers! Scarface Wolf, take them through the Jade-Clear Soap scrub-down and issue them clean clothes and hot breakfast soup!"
As the sixty-five grateful craftsmen bowed in tears and hurried toward the wash-tents, their Loyalty bars immediately jumped past 70/100.
And at that exact moment, a loud, triumphant golden trumpet fanfare echoed inside Pei Xuan's mind!
==================================================================== [ TERRITORY UPGRADE REQUIREMENTS MET! ] * Requirement 1 (Population): 1,050 / 1,000 Citizens! [COMPLETE] * Requirement 2 (Loyal Ratio): 98% above 60 Loyalty! [COMPLETE] * Requirement 3 (Safety & Comfort): Grade A (Stone Housing + Guard Wolf Patrol + Martial Yard + Sweet-Spring Well)! [COMPLETE] * Upgrade Cost: 500 Loyalty Points (LP) >> UPGRADE [DRY-WELL VILLAGE] TO LEVEL 2 NOW? [YES / NO] ====================================================================
Pei Xuan stood in the center of the village square, took a deep breath, and clicked [YES]!
[-500 LP! Current Balance: 3,900 LP.]
BOOOOOOOM—HUMMMMMM!
To the thousand people in the village, it felt as if a warm, gentle spring breeze had suddenly risen straight out of the deep earth beneath the Sweet-Spring Spirit Well!
The stone rim of the well expanded outward by six feet on its own, its crystal-clear water bubbling up three times higher and flowing down the stone irrigation channels with a musical chime!
Around the well square and along both sides of East and West Well Streets, green willow saplings and lush desert clover sprouted out of the cracks beside the water ditches at a speed visible to the naked eye, casting cool green shade across the gray stone houses!
Down in the twenty acres of farmland, the [Meat-Belly Giant Potatoes] swelled from five pounds to eight pounds each, while a faint, invisible dome of refreshing oasis moisture pushed the scorching desert wind half a mile back from the village borders!
At the same time, a massive surge of pure Territory Upgrade World-Qi poured from the sky straight into Pei Xuan's crown!
While the villagers cheered in wonder at the miraculously sprouting willow trees and overflowing well water, Pei Xuan's RTS screen flashed with dazzling golden text:
==================================================================== [ CONGRATULATIONS! TERRITORY UPGRADED TO LEVEL 2! ] >> [ GREEN-SPRING OASIS VILLAGE (Level 2 Territory) ] << -------------------------------------------------------------------- * Lord: Pei Xuan (Rank 1 Peak Martial — 99% to Rank 2 Iron-Bone!) * Map Fog of War Expanded: 5 Miles -> 10 Miles Clear Radius! * Territory Aura (Lv.2 Oasis Blessing): Crop growth speed +50%! Natural moisture +40%! All citizens' Martial Training speed +20%! * New Tech Branch Unlocked: [Lv.2 City Wall & Watchtower Defense] -------------------------------------------------------------------- [ POPULATION & DAILY POINT SUMMARY ] * Total Population: 1,050 Citizens (+61 Camels & 201 Guard Wolves) - 3 Rank 2 Martial/Beast Masters (Old Wei, Scarface, Batu, Old Yellow & Big Silver) = +500 LP/day! - 125 Rank 1 Martial Artists (x10 LP) = +1,250 LP/day! - 900+ Loyal Mortal Civilians & Oasis Lv.2 Bonus = +750 LP/day! >> NEW DAILY INCOME: +2,500 LP/day! >> CURRENT BALANCE: 3,900 LP! ====================================================================
Pei Xuan looked out over his thriving Level 2 Oasis Village.
Ten days ago, this place had been a dying mud pit with thirty-five broken huts and thirty points a day. Now, a hundred neat stone houses lined shaded streets, a thousand strong citizens were training martial arts, sixty camels and two hundred guard wolves patrolled the fields, and he was earning 2,500 LP every single day!
Suddenly, as the Map Fog of War expanded outward from five miles to ten miles, a flashing yellow exclamation mark popped up at the very eastern edge of Pei Xuan's newly revealed ten-mile map!
Pei Xuan zoomed his vision in on the eastern road coming from Salt-Pool Town, twenty miles away.
Riding toward Dry-Well Village on a tall white horse, escorted by six arrogant armed guards carrying a gold-trimmed silk banner, was a fat, silk-robed messenger with his nose pointed straight up at the sky.
Above the messenger's head floated a bright red tooltip:
[ INCOMING EVENT: THE GREEDY WATER BARON'S ULTIMATUM ] * Messenger: Steward Liu (Servant of Boss Qian, Water Baron of Salt-Pool Town) * Reason: Because refugees and nomads are flocking to Dry-Well Village for free Sweet-Spring Water, Boss Qian's muddy-water sales in Salt- Pool Town have dropped by 50%! * Mission: Deliver an ultimatum demanding Pei Xuan hand over 80% of the Sweet-Spring Well's ownership within 3 days—or face 200 Black-Arrow Mercenaries!
Pei Xuan looked at the arrogant messenger riding toward his front gate, then glanced at Hong Ling's abacus and the newly unlocked [Lv.2 City Wall & Watchtower Defense] icon on his screen.
A slow, dangerous grin spread across Pei Xuan's face.
"Steal my well?" Pei Xuan chuckled softly. "Hong Ling, get a blank bill ready. It looks like someone from Salt-Pool Town is riding over to donate a whole mercenary army and a grain warehouse to our village!"