There were now 600 soldiers, not counting those who had killed skeletons in the Great Rift or the ones assigned to defense. Altogether, they had 720 soldiers. Their strength had increased tremendously, but they were still no match for the five thousand orcs in the Orc Tribe.
Zhao Fu first had Bai Qi put the 300 new soldiers through several days of intensive training in Great Qin Village. Meanwhile, he continued exploring the Terror Forest with his people.
Over the next few days, Zhao Fu finished exploring the area within twenty miles of Great Qin Village without finding a single settlement. He did discover another small iron mine, but no other resources. This left him somewhat disappointed. After resting in Great Qin Village, he took 600 soldiers and began exploring beyond the twenty-mile radius.
Little Gray continued sniffing the ground. After several days without finding anything, the pressure was getting to him. Zhao Fu followed alongside.
"Whine..."
Little Gray suddenly caught another scent and growled softly at Zhao Fu, waiting for his command. Once Zhao Fu gave the order, he immediately dashed off.
Zhao Fu and his people followed behind him.
After running for a while, Zhao Fu was delighted to find hoofprints on the ground. He had been searching for traces of horses since the beginning, and after all this time, he had finally found some.
Excited, Zhao Fu continued following Little Gray. At last, they spotted a dozen or so horses on a flat stretch of grassland. They were tall and powerful, with black coats, manes, and tails. Their eyes, however, were tinged green, giving them an eerie look.
After a brief inspection, Zhao Fu learned what kind of horses they were.
[Black Forest Horse] Description: A horse that lives in forests. It has excellent stamina and is highly skilled at crossing obstacles.
After reading the information, Zhao Fu thought these horses would make excellent warhorses. All that remained was to tame them. He considered using the method they had used to capture the Green Ox, but quickly realized it wouldn't work.
First, every one of these horses was precious. Second, a horse's legs weren't as sturdy as an ox's, and when startled, horses could run very fast. Using the same method as they had with the Green Ox could easily leave them crippled.
After weighing his options, Zhao Fu decided they had to use the traditional method: lassos. They would aim for the horses' necks. This was the most common method in the modern world, and it was also the best way to protect the horses.
However, it required some skill. Seeing that the dozen or so Black Forest Horses hadn't noticed them, Zhao Fu picked out a dozen of his more agile soldiers to practice first.
They would have to rely on these dozen men. Bringing too many would risk being spotted. They couldn't afford to underestimate any living creature.
After more than ten minutes of practice, the soldiers crouched low and crept closer, lassos in hand. The plan went smoothly until they threw the ropes. That part didn't go so well: the Black Forest Horses were too alert. They managed to catch only eight, while the other seven escaped.
Startled, the horses bolted. The eight that had been caught tried to flee as well, and they were so strong that they nearly dragged the soldiers along behind them. Fortunately, soldiers who hadn't caught any horses rushed over to help. Working in pairs, they pulled on the ropes with all their might, barely slowing the Black Forest Horses down. Even so, they were still dragged along.
These Black Forest Horses were incredibly strong. Zhao Fu immediately ordered the others to help, then climbed onto Little Gray. He was now as large as a tiger, strong enough to carry Zhao Fu at a run.
They had finally found horses, and Zhao Fu had no intention of letting the others escape.
Riding on Little Gray's back, Zhao Fu held on as Little Gray raced after them. His keen nose followed the scent left behind by the Black Forest Horses.
A while later, Zhao Fu told Little Gray to stop. He could hear the sound of many horses neighing ahead. Delighted, he crept forward to take a look.
Before them stretched a grassland nearly six thousand meters across. Around three hundred Black Forest Horses were playing and chasing one another. What delighted Zhao Fu most was the stone-brick platform in the middle of the grassland. A stone sculpture of a horse stood atop it. This was their lair.
Right away, Zhao Fu rode Little Gray back and brought all the soldiers over. When Bai Qi saw so many Black Forest Horses, he couldn't help exclaiming happily, "The time has come for Great Qin to form its cavalry!"
Zhang Dahu laughed heartily. "I'm going to find myself a warhorse!"
However, Zhang Dahu's voice was a little too loud, nearly startling the herd. Everyone turned to look at him. Embarrassed, Zhang Dahu scratched his head and promised to be more careful next time.
Liu Mei hurried over excitedly as well. "I want to find a horse of my own, too!"
Everyone was thrilled to discover so many Black Forest Horses. The question now was how to capture the herd. Though Zhao Fu had plenty of men, they couldn't simply charge in.
If they charged straight in, the Black Forest Horses would certainly attack, forcing Zhao Fu's side to fight back. Killing the herd was the last thing he wanted. Besides, these three hundred or so Black Forest Horses weren't like three hundred or so gray wolves.
A herd of horses this large could be extremely dangerous. Zhao Fu's side would surely suffer many casualties.
His gaze shifted to the area beneath the lair. A horse stood there, twice the size of an ordinary Black Forest Horse. Its coat was pitch-black, and its body powerfully built. A horn several inches long jutted from its forehead. This was the Black Forest Horse King.
With most social animals, controlling the leader meant controlling the whole group. But the Black Forest Horse King was deep within the herd and wouldn't come out. There was nothing they could do about it.
Perhaps...
He could find a way to lure it out. As Zhao Fu thought it over, his attention turned to Little Gray. He reached out and rubbed its head. Little Gray, innocently unaware that Zhao Fu was plotting against him, leaned contentedly against Zhao Fu.
With a faint smile, Zhao Fu said, "Little Gray! How about you go provoke the Black Forest Horse King? Challenge it to a showdown between kings, then lure it out."
At Zhao Fu's words, Little Gray immediately moved several steps away, clearly unwilling. As the Gray Wolf King, he was pretty strong, but one wolf against more than three hundred horses was obviously a losing battle. It would be suicide. He wasn't foolish enough to go.
Seeing that, Zhao Fu chuckled and took out a small medicine bottle. He poured out two Small Spirit Pills, walked over, and fed them to Little Gray. Rubbing his head, he coaxed, "Don't worry! If things get dangerous, just retreat. I won't let you get hurt."
Little Gray swallowed the two Small Spirit Pills. After hearing Zhao Fu's promise, he thought it over for a moment and reluctantly agreed. Then he sprang forward and ran toward the herd from the other side.
"Awwooo!"
Little Gray's high-pitched howl rang out across a thousand meters. Then he struck the imposing pose unique to a wolf king and strode toward the herd of Black Forest Horses.