Half an hour later.
Yang Jiu stopped eating and let out a satisfied burp. More than half of the grizzly bear remained on the ground; with a thought, the bear meat instantly vanished, stored into the system warehouse.
Although he was eating it raw, perhaps because of this wolf body, he didn't taste the gaminess he expected. Instead... it was alright?
The meat was firm, with a hint of wild sweetness, and quite satisfying to chew.
Yang Jiu licked the residual blood from the corner of his mouth.
Before he had fire, eating raw was a necessity; he couldn't just starve to death.
—
"Awoo—!"
A wolf howl suddenly drifted from the distance, drawing closer.
Yang Jiu looked up.
He saw a gray wolf sprinting out from the woods, its four paws flying. It ran until it was out of breath, its tongue lolling out to the base of its ear.
"Patriarch... Patriarch!"
The gray wolf skidded to a halt in front of him, nearly losing its footing, panting heavily.
"What's wrong?" Yang Jiu narrowed his eyes slightly. "Speak slowly."
"Patriarch, we—we found a wolf pack!" The gray wolf caught its breath, its eyes sparkling. "But the numbers... are a bit high..."
Yang Jiu's eyes instantly lit up.
"Oh?"
He licked his lips.
The numbers are a bit high?
Perfect.
The Wolf Clan was currently lacking in population.
"Let's go."
He stood up, shook his fur, and a faint light flashed in his amber eyes.
"Lead the way."
—
North of the forest.
A small river meandered from east to west, its current gurgling, shimmering with fine ripples under the afternoon sun.
On one side of the riverbank, seven black wolves were bowing their heads to drink.
Their fur was sleek and shiny, reflecting a deep luster in the sunlight.
They drank unhurriedly, occasionally lifting their heads, ears twitching slightly as they alertly scanned their surroundings.
In the distance, three more black wolves crouched on high ground, one looking upstream and another downstream—sentries.
The entire pack acted in an orderly manner with clear division of labor; they were clearly no ragtag bunch.
—
Meanwhile, in the bushes on the other side of the river.
Several gray figures lay low on the ground, pressing their bodies down until they almost blended in with the shrubbery.
It was Great Remnant and the others.
The four gray wolves remained motionless, their eyes fixed on the black wolves across the river, those moving figures reflected in their pupils.
Their breathing was suppressed to the lightest possible level, and even their tails were pressed tight against the ground, for fear of making the slightest sound.
The wind blew across the river, bringing the scent from the opposite bank.
Great Remnant's nostrils flared slightly, but he didn't move.
They were waiting.
—
Rustle—
A slight movement came from behind as two gusts of wind swept past simultaneously.
Great Remnant whipped his head around to see two gray figures landing silently like the wind, without making a sound.
It was Yang Jiu and the messenger gray wolf.
"Patriarch!"
The eyes of the four gray wolves lit up, and they called out in unison in hushed tones.
Yang Jiu nodded slightly, stepped forward, parted a cluster of bushes, and narrowed his eyes at the opposite bank.
Under the sun, those black wolves were still drinking, and the sentries were still on watch, completely unaware of the movement over here.
The corners of Yang Jiu's mouth curled slightly.
Not bad.
A very orderly wolf pack.
Subduing subordinates like these would be interesting.
"Patriarch, the number of wolves in this pack is definitely no less than thirty."
Great Remnant kept his voice so low it was almost just moving air. "This is only a part of them."
Yang Jiu raised an eyebrow. "Oh? How do you know?"
"Because the Wolf King isn't here." Great Remnant's eyes were fixed on the black shadow on the high ground across the river. "There's only a leader-level fellow holding down the fort."
Yang Jiu followed his gaze.
On a protruding rock on the opposite bank, a black wolf sat on its haunches, alertly scanning the surroundings.
Its build was clearly a size larger than the ones drinking below, its fur glistening with an oily sheen in the sun. Most prominent was a hideous scar at the corner of its left eye that cut through the brow bone, adding a touch of brutality to that wolf face.
But that was all.
Great Remnant continued in a low voice, "I was a Wolf King once myself, after all; I can see these things. That Scarface might be a bit big, but he doesn't have that scent—"
"What scent?"
"The scent of a Wolf King." Great Remnant licked his fangs. "The kind of scent that makes other wolves want to bow their heads the moment they smell it. He doesn't have it."
The corners of Yang Jiu's mouth turned up slightly.
Not bad.
Good observation skills.
He looked back at the opposite bank, his gaze sweeping from the seven drinking black wolves to the Scarface sentry on the high ground.
Thirty wolves.
Maybe even more.
An eerie light flickered in Yang Jiu's pupils.
Thirty wolves would be thirty members after being recruited. According to the system's reward rules, one wolf gives 50 EXP and 50 points—
That would be 1500 EXP and 1500 points.
Not only was it enough to reach Level 2, but there would be over a thousand left over.
And the points...
With a thought, the mall interface flashed through his consciousness.
One-Tomoe Sharingan, price: 1000 points.
Yang Jiu licked his lips.
"Patriarch, should we launch a sneak attack?"
Great Remnant lowered his voice, a fierce light glinting in his eyes.
If it were in the past, he would never have dared to say such a thing.
There were at least ten black wolves opposite them; how many did they have on their side? The disparity in combat power was huge; a direct confrontation would be suicide.
But it was different now.
After joining the Wolf Clan, they had the Wind Body. Even if they couldn't use Storm Blade, their speed alone was much faster than ordinary wolves, and their sense of smell and perception were enhanced in all aspects. In a real fight, he wouldn't say one against two, but one against one was a guaranteed win.
Furthermore—
Great Remnant stole a glance at Yang Jiu beside him.
The Patriarch was here.
With the Patriarch around, this fight was winnable.
—
"Sneak attack?"
Yang Jiu softly uttered those two words.
His tone was very casual, as if he were saying the weather was nice today, but Great Remnant heard a faint hint of a smile in those two words.
And something else... something he couldn't quite name.
Like... disdain?
"The five of you, split up and surround them."
Yang Jiu withdrew his gaze, his voice as calm as if he were arranging what to have for dinner.
"Just surround them, don't let them escape."
"Patriarch..." Great Remnant was stunned and became a bit anxious. "But there are ten of—"
"This is an order."
Yang Jiu's gaze swept over.
There was no ferocious expression, nor even any movement.
But in that instant, an invisible pressure suddenly descended, pressing down on every wolf like a physical weight.
Great Remnant's words got stuck in his throat.
His limbs uncontrollably weakened, and he subconsciously lowered his head.
The four gray wolves behind him prostrated themselves directly on the ground, their tails tucked tight, even their breathing becoming shallow.
Yang Jiu withdrew his gaze.
That pressure also receded like a tide.
"Go."
His voice remained calm.
"Just watch."
Great Remnant slowly raised his head, looking at his Patriarch's nonchalant profile, and suddenly understood something.
This wasn't recklessness.
This was... simply not taking those black wolves seriously at all.
"Yes!"
Great Remnant didn't dare say more and led the four gray wolves to quietly disperse, disappearing into the bushes.
Yang Jiu stood in place, quietly watching the ten black wolves still drinking on the opposite bank.
The wind blew across the river, bringing their scent and low whimpers.
It was about time.
He took a deep breath, and his four paws exerted force—
Swish!
A gray shadow shot out of the bushes like an arrow from a bow, leaping across the stones in the river in a few bounds and landing steadily on the opposite bank.
The drinking black wolves whipped their heads up.
A second later, they saw the intruder clearly—just a gray wolf? A lone wolf?
Scarface, the leader, was stunned at first, then bared his fangs and let out a warning growl.
However, his growl had only just begun when it caught in his throat.
Because an invisible pressure, like the weight of Mount Tai, came crashing down.
"Whimper..."
Several young black wolves' legs went weak on the spot, and they collapsed to the ground. Scarface's whole body trembled as he desperately tried to stand straight, only to find his limbs wouldn't obey him at all.
Yang Jiu walked closer slowly, his Wolf Kings Pressure fully unleashed.
He glanced at the shivering black wolves and said flatly:
"Submit, or die!"
Scarface struggled to lift his head, his eyes filled with fear and indignation.
But he opened his mouth and eventually let out a low whimper—
It was the signal of submission.