Wild Men

Half an hour later, nearly three thousand elderly, weak, women, and children of the Catfolk, carrying fear and unease, followed their former chieftain—now Chieftain Miuo—toward Despair Fortress. They did not know what fate awaited them.

After all, many of them were merely first-tier, while some did not even possess first-tier strength.

Although the young Lord Zhou Yu had promised to treat them no differently from the people of Despair Fortress, that still could not dispel the unease in their hearts.

The vast procession of nearly several thousand people stretched for miles like a long dragon as it made its way toward Despair Fortress.

They soon returned to Despair Fortress. Zhou Yu had already spoken with Miuo: upon joining Despair Fortress, he would take the post of commander of the Security Battalion. The hundred second-tier swordsmen of his clan would remain under his command, while those first-tier swordsman apprentices would also join the Security Battalion and be responsible for maintaining order in Despair Fortress.

As for the Catfolk who had not entered any tier, Zhou Yu had no use for them. Though conditions were limited for now, the army under Despair Fortress could not possibly be too poor!

At present, Despair Fortress's army mainly consisted of Horned Demons, fewer than four hundred in total. Even the weakest were second-tier warriors. There were more than a dozen third-tier demon warriors, along with their fourth-tier commander, Mize.

Although Mize and Zhou Yu, who had not suppressed her cultivation, both fought with fourth-tier strength, there was a world of difference between their combat power.

Avilan had tested the two in battle, and Mize's combat power was not even half of Zhou Yu's.

This made Avilan realize that even within the same fourth tier, there were still differences.

Zhou Yu was at the hero level among fourth-tiers, a BOSS in game terms. Mize, the Horned Demon Commander, was merely an ordinary fourth-tier, equivalent to an elite monster in a game.

By the time they returned to Despair Fortress, night had already fallen. Arthur and Mi Yue had been waiting outside the gates for a long time. When they saw Avilan and Zhou Yu return safely, both let out long sighs of relief.

They had strongly opposed Avilan following Zhou Yu to suppress the bandits, but an arm could not twist a thigh. Their persuasion had been useless, so they could only pray in secret and obey Avilan's orders to guard Despair Fortress strictly.

Now that their worries had finally been put to rest, their taut nerves loosened as well.

Inside the magnificent hall, Avilan sat high in the seat of honor. After everyone paid their respects, he said nothing. His right hand lightly tapped the armrest as his face remained deep in thought.

Today's results had been brilliant. The harvest of sacrifices was enormous, enough to summon more than five hundred Horned Demons at once and establish the Horned Demons as a proper formation. It was just that gathering sacrifices would slow down from now on.

He could not exactly slaughter everyone he saw and massacre cities everywhere!

If he truly did that, it would not be long before the entire continent hunted him down, perhaps even alerting the "gods" they spoke of.

As for whether gods truly existed, Avilan did not dare show the slightest carelessness or contempt.

Caution came first in all things.

When Miuo led the Catfolk into the urban district of Despair Fortress, cries of amazement never ceased. Having lived deep within Messiah Forest, they had never seen such a splendid and clean city. Although many places were still badly ruined, it could not conceal the city's former grandeur.

Upon entering Despair Fortress itself, Miuo was so shocked by the castle's extravagant decorations and gorgeous furnishings that he could not close his mouth.

Even the royal palace of the Saladin Kingdom, the hegemonic power of Messiah Great Forest, was not so splendid or majestic.

Although bandits ran rampant throughout Messiah Great Forest, there were no other major powers near Despair Fortress apart from these three races. If they wanted to gain more, they would have to launch operations across a wide area.

As the foremost strategist under his command, Zhou Yu absolutely could not be sent out so casually again. Avilan still needed her to develop Despair Fortress.

Half a quarter-hour later, his expression relaxed. He gave an order to Mize, who stood close at his side, "Starting tomorrow, Mize, lead three hundred elite Horned Demon Army soldiers out to suppress bandits. Sweep through and kill the native forces within Despair Fortress's sphere of influence to the greatest extent possible. Those who surrender will not be killed."

"Do not provoke natives who are too strong. Just record them."

Before the Demon Gate was established, the collection of sacrifices absolutely could not stop. With Mize's strength as a fourth-tier demon warrior, she was enough to sweep aside the surrounding forces. The reason for taking three hundred elite Horned Demon Army soldiers was to maximize the slaughter.

"Yes, honored Supreme Sovereign!"

After respectfully saluting, Mize turned and ran straight out of the hall.

The newly joined Miuo and the others looked at one another, unable to understand why Avilan was so keen on exterminating other races. As for Allen and the others, after exchanging glances, they more or less guessed something, and their expressions grew even more solemn.

This meeting was very simple: they would devote all their strength to repairing the Demon Gate, so that new Devil Race members could be born on their own in the future.

Zhou Yu agreed with this and also hoped that all of Despair Fortress's resources would be tilted toward the "Gate."

Even so, repairing the Demon Gate would take more than a month at the fastest.

Avilan could still afford to wait one month.

The time spent waiting was the longest, but for Despair Fortress, which was rapidly recovering, it could only be described as the flick of a finger.

Zhou Yu looked at the South District, which had already been mostly restored, feeling immensely proud.

Yet compared to the South District at its peak, when it had a population of hundreds of thousands, only a scant few thousand people remained now, and most of them were other races.

Over the course of one month, Mize conquered four other-race tribes and slaughtered more than a dozen bandit gangs, adding over two thousand people to the South District. More than four hundred Horned Demons had joined them, giving the entire South District an imposing air.

The Ratkin still had the largest population in the South District. Perhaps because of their low strength, their fertility was far greater than that of the other races. In the outer regions of Messiah Great Forest, the Ratkin possessed the largest tribes. They were not only vassal races to many powerful other races, but also food for many Magic Beasts and powerful wild beasts.

There were more than three thousand six hundred Ratkin in the South District, including over one hundred Ratmen. Half of them had evolved on their own. After the South District recovered, the concentration of magic essence greatly increased, accelerating both their evolution and everyone else's cultivation.

The Catfolk came next. Miuo's clan had fled from the Vick Kingdom, and within a hundred miles, they were the only branch. Increasing their population further would be harder than climbing to the sky.

Last came the few conquered other races. The Goblins alone accounted for more than a thousand people, followed by over five hundred Wild Men.

They were called Wild Men because they had not yet been fully civilized. They were worse even than barbarians. Zhou Yu could not understand why, with so many human villages around Messiah Forest besides Essin City, so many Wild Men tribes still existed.

Avilan had also examined these Wild Men. They were almost no different from humans of this world, only smaller and far weaker than the humans outside the forest. Yet they had survived in the forest for too long, fighting other races for flesh and territory, and every one of them had become brave and fierce—a natural jungle warrior.