The Baby's Tummy is Rumbling

"So this is Kurd City? What a magnificent city!"

When Kurd City came into view, the weary Cat-men cheered in astonishment.

They had thought Kurd was just a village, but it far exceeded their imagination.

During the time the Cat Tribe had been migrating, construction in Kurd had never stopped.

Currently, the city wall of District No. 4, directly north of District No. 2, had already reached five meters in height, while District No. 5 to the south had taken shape, its wall foundation laid and standing one meter tall.

Each nine-grid district covered ten square kilometers. The area now protected by the walls totaled fifty square kilometers, with plenty of farmland still outside their protection.

Kurd was no smaller than Spirit Cat Hill. The crowding and sleeping in the wilderness they had imagined simply didn't exist.

"Far more than I expected."

When the Cat-men entered the city, Medivh stood atop the wall of East Reservoir District No. 1, looking down from above.

Neither Suixiang nor Suixin knew exactly how many Cat-men the Spirit Cat Tribe had, and Medivh hadn't asked. He had guessed somewhere between a few thousand and nearly ten thousand—under ten thousand.

In reality, the tribe's population far exceeded his estimate. A quick sweep of his gaze showed tens of thousands of Cat-men below the wall.

Even Suixin was startled. She hadn't realized that the Cat-men scattered across Spirit Cat Hill could gather into such a crowd.

"Lord Medivh, cats are easy to keep! They only need a little food to survive!"

Thinking Medivh might be displeased by the sheer number, Suixin quickly pleaded in a low voice.

She explained that Cat-men were good at fasting and consumed very little.

They weren't useless mouths or decorations—they could forage and hunt in the wild, and produce all kinds of daily goods for Kurd.

"It's fine. I can afford to support this many."

Medivh was merely surprised by the number, not bothered by their consumption.

Kurd's skeletons had no need for food, and Medivh and Audrey didn't eat much grain anyway.

The warehouses in Kurd were well-stocked with potatoes, wheat, smoked fish, and smoked meat—more than enough to sustain these Cat-men.

The second batch of potatoes, planted earliest, would soon yield a bountiful harvest.

The later plantings would be harvested over the next one to three months.

Kurd was producing food nonstop, its farmland expanding steadily, and its grain reserves growing larger by the day.

"Send some of the Cat-men to District No. 4."

With so many Cat-men, cramming them all into District No. 3 would be too crowded.

Medivh gave an order from afar, instructing the skeletons to open the south gate of District No. 4 and guide some of the Cat-men to move there.

After half a month of arduous travel, the Cat-men were exhausted. Once they drank the meat porridge served by the Skeleton Chefs, they crawled into the fort towers of the residential district and fell asleep.

When they had rested, they would be assigned houses and daily tasks.

While the tribe rested, Riddle, the middle-aged chieftain, and other leaders of the Spirit Cat Tribe followed a Spirit Cat Skeleton Warlock to the High Tower Castle in District No. 1 to pay respects to Medivh.

From now on, the Spirit Cat Tribe was Medivh's vassal. They needed to listen to their leader's thoughts and teachings.

Medivh's demands on the Cat-men were not harsh—he only required them to follow orders.

The Spirit Cat Tribe had lost much of its heritage, but it wasn't completely severed.

When Riddle compared the Inheritance Spirit Runes of the Spirit Cat Tribe she possessed with those of Kurd, some details were refined, making the runes more complete.

The tribe had preserved many Cat Clan Combat Techniques, adding six new ones to Kurd's repertoire. Kurd now had fifteen Cat Clan Combat Techniques in total.

Riddle had inherited a wealth of Spirit Cat Warlock knowledge, and with over two hundred and fifty years of experience and accumulated wisdom, Kurd's warlock heritage underwent a qualitative leap.

Kurd's two Spirit Cat Skeleton Warlocks both acknowledged that they could learn much knowledge and many spells from this junior, greatly enhancing their foundation and strength.

The Spirit Cat Tribe's joining brought not only a supplement to supernatural knowledge but also a demographic dividend.

Medivh specially arranged for skeletons to count the Cat-men. Those who moved into Kurd totaled 85,328.

That was an astonishing number. Currently, all of Kurd's skeletons combined numbered less than ten thousand.

With such a massive population base, the tribe had many promising candidates for Spirit Cat Warriors and Spirit Cat Warlocks. Raising them would greatly boost Kurd's overall combat power.

Ordinary Cat-men who hadn't received inheritance could engage in handicrafts and odd jobs for Kurd—they were decent labor.

After paying respects to Medivh and learning his policies for the Spirit Cat Tribe, Riddle, the middle-aged chieftain, and the other Cat-men returned to District No. 4 to rest.

Suixin and the others wanted to stay and express their gratitude to Medivh, but he smiled and shooed them away.

Their exhaustion from the long journey was obvious—there was no need to tease them at a time like this.

At 4:30 the next morning, before dawn, the General Kitchens in all of Kurd's districts bustled with activity.

Skeleton Chefs cooked potato and fresh fish stew in large pots. This was the welcome feast Medivh had arranged to celebrate the Spirit Cat Tribe's relocation to Kurd.

"Grrrrr!"

"So fragrant!"

As the aroma of stewed fish drifted through the air, the sleeping Cat-men's stomachs betrayed them with loud growls.

They took deep breaths, rubbed their sleepy eyes, and walked out of the fort towers, searching for the source of the food's scent.

"Everyone go clean up—dinner's about to start!"

Suixiang, Suixin, and the other Cat-girls moved through the Residential District, smiling as they urged the drooling kittens to wash up. The feast would arrive soon.

At six-thirty in the morning, flatbed carts loaded with large iron barrels were pulled out of the General Kitchen. Skeletons hauled those carts over to District No. 2 and District No. 4.

At the calls of the Cat-man elders, the Cat-people lined up in front of the carts, waiting for their food to be distributed.

"Clang, clang, clang!"

Once the Cat-people had formed their lines, the Skeleton Chef tapped the iron barrel and lifted the lid.

Steam billowed out, and the aroma of food hit their noses.

The Cat-people widened their eyes, inhaling deeply, imagining what delicacies the big iron barrel might hold.

"It's fish!"

When the Skeleton Chef scooped food from the barrel, the sharp-eyed Cat-people couldn't help but cheer.

Cat-people loved fish the most, but unfortunately, Spirit Cat Hill didn't have much flowing water, so they rarely got to enjoy such a treat.

"I know that one—humans call it bread!"

After ladling a small basin of Potato Stewed Fish for the Cat-man at the front of the line, the Skeleton Chef handed him a large piece of bread as well.

Potato Stewed Fish was the dish, bread was the staple—this was a lavish meal for Cat-people who often went hungry.

Cat-people didn't grow wheat. The more knowledgeable ones explained this human food to their kin.

"What's this? It's so good!"

Cat-people who had received their meals gathered in small groups to share the feast.

A little kitten bit into a soft, stewed potato and curiously asked his older brother and parents.

"Humans call this a potato. I ate one before and thought it was poisonous and awful—never imagined it could be cooked like this!"

The kitten's father was an experienced warrior. In his youth, he had stolen food from the Drifter Stronghold.

He and his companions had dug up plenty of potatoes, thinking they'd have a full meal, but after one bite, they all fell silent.