At night, the eager refugees and Scavengers, ready to seize the grain, discovered that the guards had withdrawn.
The fields before them, tended by fools, seemed like an all-you-can-eat buffet.
But before they could revel in their excitement.
Massive Silver wolves suddenly appeared, blocking their path to the foxtail millet fields.
"Howl!"
Seven or eight Elite Silver Wolves growled in unison.
Their natural sonic pressure pierced through the crowd.
"Run!"
"Monsters are eating people!"
"Escape!"
"Mommy!"
"..."
Regardless of their position in the crowd, everyone turned and fled in all directions.
The crowd scattered in chaos.
This was with the Silver Wolves holding back; otherwise, a few more roars would have left ordinary people incontinent and fainting.
Carriages arrived from the outer city, and farmers stepped down, carrying sickles and baskets.
Seeing the bountiful harvest before them, they couldn't stop smiling.
They spread their arms in a gesture of embrace, immersed in the joy of the harvest.
By the fading light of dusk, the farmers bent down in unison to begin reaping.
Their movements were practiced and precise, honed by experience.
Bundled and tied, the foxtail millet stalks stood neatly at the edge of the field, a pleasing sight.
It was these farmers, along with their families or willing refugees, who usually tended these fields.
"How much can we harvest?"
"Hard to say, but it should be a lot, and there's still the Peach Blossom Spring area!"
"Let's hope it lasts us a year!"
The farmers carefully placed the bundled foxtail millet into carriages lined with waterproof cloth.
This effectively prevented the millet from spilling during the bumpy journey.
By the time the carriages were fully loaded, the moon had already risen.
The farmers, full of energy, shuttled back and forth between the outer city and the lakeside fields under the protection of the Silver Wolves.
They worked tirelessly until noon the next day.
The last carriage, loaded with millet stalks, was pulled away.
Commander Zhang stepped forward to negotiate, and the Silver Wolves stationed there withdrew.
They didn't return to the forest but trotted to the camp's entrance.
There, two fat pigs awaited.
Sensing the aura of the Silver Wolves, the pigs urinated and defecated in fear, their legs giving way as they lay motionless on the ground.
The Silver Wolves swiftly killed and dismembered them, dragging the remains into the forest.
"Is this the payment for the Silver Wolves?"
"What a loss!"
"What do you know about losses?"
The guards argued.
Meanwhile, the lakeside fields were temporarily unattended.
Refugees and Scavengers flooded into the fields, bending down to pick up the scattered foxtail millet and stalks.
They fought over the spoils, and soon, physical altercations broke out.
The nearby guards showed no intention of intervening.
These people had pent-up anger; letting them vent might be for the best!
"Looking for death!"
"I'll kill you!"
"Kid, drop that millet!"
"I saw it first, it's mine!"
"I'll beat you to death!"
"..."
The refugees and Scavengers could no longer suppress their savagery, attacking those around them with frenzy.
The spark for the slaughter was often a handful of millet or a few stalks.
"Lord Tang Wen, join us for a meal, Lord Tang Wen!"
"Yes, Lord Tang Wen!"
At the outer city's guard barracks, two unfamiliar faces enthusiastically called out in the canteen.
Seeing their strikingly similar features, Tang Wen couldn't recall where he had met them and could only offer a casual response.
"Who are they?"
Later, sitting in the Commander's private room, Tang Wen peered through the half-open door at the two brothers.
"Two new Martial Practitioners have joined the camp, and they're brothers."
"That explains it, no wonder I haven't seen them before. They even greeted me earlier."
"Newcomers, after all! They have no one to rely on, probably trying to build some connections. And you're the big shot in the camp, come on, let's eat!" Commander Zhang handed a roasted chicken to Tang Wen.
With a wave of his hand, a gust of wind arose, and the door creaked shut.
Outside, the ordinary guards and squad leaders had meals consisting of about thirty percent meat, with the remaining seventy percent being vegetables and staple food.
Each ordinary guard had one bowl, while squad leaders had one and a half bowls.
In contrast, Tang Wen and the other commanders had meals that were seventy percent meat, ten percent vegetables, and twenty percent staple food, with no limits on quantity.
Tang Wen never ate outside, regardless of whether he knew them or not.
An afternoon and a full day passed.
In the fields by the lake, only the soil remained; even the roots of the foxtail millet stalks had been pulled out.
The guards returned to their posts, and the farmers followed, leading out large, tall oxen, yoking them to iron plows, and skillfully tilling the land.
"These Azure Oxen seem to be low-level Mutated Beasts, right?"
Tang Wen remembered their meat being exceptionally delicious, perfect for grilling or slicing for hot pot.
"Hey! Even if they were mid-level Exotic Beasts, they'd have to learn to plow in our hands!"
Plowing, sowing seeds, fertilizing, and watering.
In just three days, a series of farming tasks were completed, waiting only for the seeds to sprout.
Tang Wen returned to the palace, ready to continue his secluded training.
Just as he arrived at the door, Qian Dong joked, "You came at the perfect time, just in time for lunch!"
"What's for lunch?"
It must be said, the palace's meals were incomparable to those in the inner or outer city's canteens.
Only at home could one eat better than in the palace.
But eating at home every day would consume so much meat and foxtail millet?
That would be too heartbreaking.
"Wild vegetable dumplings!"
Indeed, the food did not disappoint Tang Wen.
The palace kitchen made dumplings with very few wild vegetables, essentially pure meat.
After all, during the drought, meat was easy to come by, but wild vegetables were truly hard to find.
Tang Wen swallowed his saliva: "Is there any beer?"
"Beer? We only managed to get thirty barrels, and they're all gone. You have a lot of face, why don't you go ask General Zhou for some?"
Tang Wen patted his stomach: "Eating dumplings without beer is a bit lacking, I'll just have a light meal, say, five hundred dumplings!"
Qian Dong immediately turned and headed straight for the kitchen: "Five hundred? If I give them all to you, what will I eat?"
As commanders, they shared a small stove, and when it came to eating, it was purely a competitive relationship.
Tang Wen activated his Traceless Step, arriving first!
...
A few days later, at the Black Mountain Camp.
A voice reported something in a hidden spot at the back mountain:
"I can't find any opportunity!
There's absolutely no chance!
That kid is a martial arts fanatic!
You don't know, he hardly ever goes out, and his training spot is in the palace.
That's the most dangerous place in the Flame Camp.
Unless the Black Mountain King himself comes, who dares to kill there?"
Old Black Devil sneered silently: "Don't tell me this, Tang Wen killed your Young Master Red Night with a Flying Stone last year, and he was a natural Awakened. You came to avenge your young master, and you can't find an opportunity, what does that have to do with me?
Go tell your Night King, see if he'll come himself?
See if he'll personally teach you how to find an opportunity!"
"General Black Gui, let's speak plainly. As we know, your beloved son, Young Master Black Fang, has also fallen victim to Tang Wen's schemes! He was supposed to be the heir to your camp, wasn't he? If it weren't for Tang Wen, in a couple of years, you would have been the supreme elder! Tang Wen deserves to die!"
Old Black Devil remained silent for a long time: "I cannot influence the decision of the Black Mountain King."
"That's not difficult."
"Do you have a way? The Black Mountain King is old and won't take risks."
"I know, but isn't there still that bear? Two against one, the advantage is ours!"
Old Black Devil still shook his head: "Cooperating with a beast is not reliable."
The person on the other side sneered inwardly: These Black Mountain Devils have no courage at all. The Flame Camp has already recruited the Silver Wolf King! What about you?
However, he didn't say this out loud, instead, he said: "We can find a way to make..."
His voice grew softer and softer, gradually becoming inaudible.
Old Black Devil frowned deeply: "The Black Mountain King will still hesitate, he's too old! The older one gets, the more afraid of death they become!"
He's afraid of death?
I think it's you who's afraid of death!
The man gritted his teeth secretly: "Then, let's give him a push!"
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