Progress: An Unusual Wolf Pack

This sudden feedback made Blade Tusk realize that "electron fluctuations" seemed to have a direct connection to light.

Accordingly, he replanned both his meditation schedule and meditation environment.

As for the timing, it was naturally set during the daylight hours, when sunlight was abundant. As for the environment, the meditation room in the new treehouse, whose roof could be opened, was perfectly suited for it.

To coordinate this, he also adjusted the time of the daily closed-door meeting, scheduling it after midnight, once the sun had set.

Since Blade Tusk's research was effectively blazing a trail for all witch doctors, the other members were quite supportive.

In the days that followed, he guaranteed at least fifteen light-hours of meditation during the day, filling the remaining nine light-hours with tribal affairs that were inconvenient to move to the night;

At night, he handled council matters during the first half of the night, exchanged spells with the witch doctors, cultivated his relationship with his wife at midnight, and only went to sleep with her during the latter half of the night.

Thank goodness a day here had forty-eight hours. Otherwise, no matter how brilliant a master of time management was, they might not have been able to keep up with this routine.

Heaven never let down those who worked hard. After more than half a month of such a beast-of-burden existence, his research made significant progress.

First, the diamond-shaped region on his chest had actually stabilized and no longer required Blade Tusk to spend time meditating to maintain it;

Second, while the frequency of the "electron fluctuations" had not decreased, the "heat" dissipating from the area had dropped significantly. The efficiency of its "energy conversion" activity had clearly improved considerably;

Blade Tusk guessed that perhaps, due to the concentration of energy, his body had automatically enhanced the "energy conversion" function of the cells in that area.

Furthermore, throughout this period, he paid close attention to the macroscopic changes in his body, cautiously observing whether there were any adverse reactions such as aging or weakness.

Perhaps the time had been too short? Or perhaps such effects simply did not exist?

In any case, all of his body's feedback was normal. He could run, he could jump, and his performance at midnight remained as valiant as ever.

Under such circumstances, Blade Tusk decided to add another diamond-shaped region as a "testing ground."

As for where to place it this time, he decided to ask Meiya's opinion, because his wife seemed unusually fascinated by that diamond shape on his chest.

Another midnight came, and Blade Tusk consulted her on the location of the "testing ground." The result was no surprise—Meiya was more than willing to offer guidance.

Blade Tusk naturally accepted with delight.

After enjoying a little "advance consumption," the two Trolls finished their healthy exercise and fell soundly asleep.

While Blade Tusk continued his further research, a group of unusual "visitors" drew the tribe's attention.

It was a small Wind Wolf pack, lingering around the tribe's outskirts day after day.

Because their ecological niches overlapped to some extent, Wind Wolves had always actively kept their distance from Troll settlements.

This abnormal situation made the tribe tense for quite some time, fearing that some unknown anomaly had appeared deep within the Black Forest.

Sitting still and waiting for death had never been a quality of the savage Trolls. The tribe dispatched several squads of full-time warriors still in training, intending to drive them away.

However, the reports that came back did not seem so bad.

This wolf pack had only six members, each one thin to an extreme degree, and the countless wounds on their bodies seemed to have all come from their own kind.

Protected by the warriors, Middle Witch Doctor Sharp Tusk approached and observed them, then discovered:

This was the fledgling form of a new wolf pack, made up of two subadult male wolves that had failed in their competition for mating rights, along with four rebellious young female wolves who had "left the pack."

They seemed to lack experience in finding an ecological niche. Upon discovering that there were no medium- or large-sized dominant competitors around the tribe, they had regarded this place as a "safe" zone and were preparing to establish a new den of their own.

Having reached this conclusion, Middle Witch Doctor Sharp Tusk did not choose to drive them away. Instead, he began entertaining the idea of "raising" them.

However, he knew full well that wolf packs were fiercely temperamental creatures. If he tried to capture and tame them by force, he would most likely end up with nothing but corpses.

So the Middle Witch Doctor came up with another method.

By now, the tribe's food reserves were already quite abundant. The hunters only needed to hold a "great hunt" every few days—or even after longer intervals—to have more than enough.

However, in order to achieve his goal, the Middle Witch Doctor decided to slightly alter this arrangement.

After receiving the council's permission, he organized a separate group of hunters and began hunting as they had under the old daily hunting routine.

Only, the scale was much smaller, with just ten members in the hunting party.

Each time they caught prey, they would quite openly toss part of it into places where the wolf pack appeared.

The first time, the feeding spot was still some distance from the tribe. The wolf pack took it as free loot and cleanly carried it away;

The second time, the feeding spot was moved slightly closer, though it was still quite far from the tribe. The wolf pack once again took it away without much hesitation;

After repeatedly feeding them at those two locations several times, until the wolf pack had practically developed a taste for freeloading, the Middle Witch Doctor moved the feeding spot forward by a great distance, into an area with obvious signs of tribal activity.

This time, the Wind Wolves were much more cautious. They constantly sniffed at the lingering scents in the air, taking three steps forward and two steps back. Only after struggling with the decision for quite some time did they carefully carry off the prey.

What followed were several more rounds of adaptive feeding. Only after the wolf pack had completely grown accustomed to the scent of Trolls in the air did he move the feeding spot closer again.

And so, after this "tug-of-war" continued for several months, the feeding spot gradually reached the tribe's "doorstep," and the wolf pack had basically adapted to close contact with this "harmless tribe."

Until one day, when the hunting party set out to hunt, they discovered that the wolf pack had actually taken the initiative to follow them.

The warriors were not afraid. An individual Troll was far stronger than an individual Wind Wolf, not to mention that there were ten hunters here—more than there were Wind Wolves in the pack.

So they allowed the wolf pack to follow, wanting to see what these Wind Wolves that had eaten free meals for several months were really after.

The answer soon appeared. One Wind Wolf circled around to the front of the hunting party, repeatedly stopping and moving as though trying to convey something.

"Does it seem like it wants us to follow it?" one member murmured doubtfully.

"Alright, let's follow them and take a look. Stay sharp, all of you." After pondering for a moment, the hunting party captain gave the order.

"Understood."

The strange party moved through the Black Forest, which seemed especially gloomy even in broad daylight, gradually straying from their usual route.

After more than ten lamp-hours of this, the 'lead wolf' ahead finally slowed its pace.

The alpha wolf lowered its body and felt its way forward in slow steps. The other wolves scattered around it also fanned out ahead, faintly taking on the posture of an 'ambush.'

Just as the captain signaled for the others to stop and intended to assess the situation first, the alpha wolf immediately turned its wolfish gaze back, seeming to urge them soundlessly to hurry up and follow.

The captain still had the rest of the party remain where they were, while he quietly followed after it himself, intending to scout things out first.

He bent at the waist, slipped the Steelwood throwing spear from his back, and gripped it tightly, keeping himself ready to throw at any moment as he slowly crept close to the alpha wolf.

Only after seeing that the wolf pack showed no abnormalities did he spare part of his attention to look ahead.

Though the deep forest was dim, he still saw something.

It was a herd of animals he had never seen before, vaguely forming a broad swath of brown in the darkness;

Judging by their outlines, they had large heads, thick necks, and sturdy bodies. They were around four meters long, with shoulder heights comparable to an adult Troll;

A few of them even seemed to bear a pair of great antlers slanting backward, making them look exceptionally majestic.

At the sight of this unfamiliar herd of some thirty or forty animals, the hunting captain's eyes gradually lit up.

Without realizing it, he reached out and gave the alpha wolf a rub. Raised in captivity, its fur was exceptionally sleek and soft, and it felt simply perfect to the touch.

The alpha wolf did not react too strongly, merely dodging away with some disdain.

Its gaze remained fixed on the shadowy herd in the distance, carrying a faint trace of anticipation;

A low tremor rolled from its throat, as if it were urging him on.

The captain presumptuously guessed at the alpha wolf's thoughts, feeling that it seemed to be saying—

'Get them! Those are the tastiest. If only we could beat them.'