Another Encounter with the Second-in-Command

"What is the Heavenly Demon Wolf King? Never heard of it. Feng Xi, do you know?"

Feng Xi shook his head, indicating that he did not.

It had never been mentioned in Primordial World novels from his previous life. It was probably just some stray by the roadside.

"Little fellow, don't spout nonsense. If you're a dog, I'll give you meat. If you're a wolf, I'll slaughter you for meat."

Feng Xu wore a wicked grin, his eyes brimming with killing intent.

"Tell me, are you a wolf or a dog?"

"I..."

The wolf pup's limbs began trembling uncontrollably.

"I'm... a dog."

Faced with the gap between reality and pride, the wolf pup lowered its haughty head.

"Feng Xi, did you hear that? It's a dog."

Feng Xi did not answer, merely staring at the wolf pup with a strange expression.

That worked too?

Feng Xu tore off a piece of meat and tossed it to the wolf pup.

"Good dog. Come on, bark for me."

Enduring the humiliation, the wolf pup raised its head and let out a long howl.

Feng Xu slapped it hard across the face.

"That's a wolf howl, not a dog bark."

"Then how am I supposed to bark?"

Feng Xu demonstrated for it.

"No, that short, sharp sound is too humiliating for a wolf."

"Say it again. Are you a wolf or a dog?"

Feng Xu slapped it again.

"I... I'm a dog."

The wolf pup called itself a dog while imitating a dog's bark.

Seeing this, Feng Xu tore off a large amount of dried meat and tossed it over.

He took out a rope and looped it around the wolf pup's neck. The pup did not resist, only lowered its head and ate the meat.

From that moment onward, it was no longer a wolf.

[Heavenly Demon Wolf King, Late Mysterious Immortal, Lord of the Western Great Wilderness Mountain]

Feng Xu searched for information through the Merit Mall.

The Great Wilderness Mountains stretched for hundreds of thousands of li. Human Race forces were concentrated in the east, while the Wind-Fire Tribe lay at the eastern edge.

The wolf pup slept in the vine basket on his back, its leg wrapped in an animal-hide bandage.

The Heavenly Demon Wolf Clan looked quite different from the wolf pup.

Heavenly Demon Wolves were black, while this wolf pup was white.

"Could I have picked up a differently colored wolf?"

If it truly was the offspring of the Heavenly Demon Wolf King, it should not have been alone in the eastern Great Wilderness Mountain, much less nearly starved to death.

Unless its mutated bloodline was an inborn defect among wolves, leaving it unwanted.

The group climbed to the mountaintop, then continued onward down the other side.

Feng Xu spotted a barren mountain to the right ahead, streaked with steel gray and dark red.

"What mountain is that? Why is it a different color?"

"I don't know. It's always been like that—bald and completely barren."

"Let's go take a look."

"That place is unlucky. When it rains, even the water flowing down from the mountain is red."

"Then we have even more reason to go. Lead the way."

"Fine. It'll only add two more days to the journey."

At the foot of a distant mountain, more than twenty people were being hunted by over a hundred wolves.

This wolf pack coordinated well and moved nimbly, always avoiding the occasional backward strikes from the Human Race ahead of them.

The chase continued for an entire day before a massive mountain blocked their path.

"Hmph. Let's see where you can run now."

Leading the pack was a Wolf King in the Earth Immortal Realm. It was over seventy zhang long, vicious and cunning.

Though it held the advantage in cultivation, surviving in the wild meant avoiding injury whenever possible, so it had remained behind to command the pack.

Otherwise, the other wolves in its pack would covet its position.

The twenty-odd burly Human Race men roared, their bodies swelling as they transformed into small giants five or six zhang tall.

The Wolf King looked on disdainfully. With a howl, it sent the pack charging forward.

They did not rush in blindly. Instead, they split into three groups—one attacking from the front while the other two flanked the Human Race from both sides.

They had already formed the beginnings of a battle formation.

The Human Race stood back-to-back, facing the wolves attacking from every direction.

The battle began.

Other than the Wolf King, none of the wolves could defeat a Human Race warrior one-on-one. But they had the advantage in numbers and worked closely together.

The Human Race could only hold on bitterly as fresh wounds continuously appeared across their bodies.

"These are tribesmen who left the tribe. Facing so many wolves, they probably won't survive."

"Feng Xi, that sounds familiar. Back then, they also said Feng Sui wouldn't survive."

Feng Xi stood above the valley, watching the battle between humans and wolves below.

"You want to save them?"

"Of course."

"But they betrayed the tribe and nearly offered you as a sacrifice."

"They only thought Feng Sui wouldn't survive and wanted to leave to make a living for themselves. That doesn't count as betrayal. As for sacrificing me, it never happened in the end, so why hold it against them?"

Feng Xu looked at the Human Race being surrounded below, his expression dark.

"Besides, they are our kin. How can we let outsiders slaughter them?"

"Can your treasure deal with them?"

"My mana is limited. I can't handle that many demons."

"Then what do we do?"

"I have a plan."

Feng Xu quietly explained his plan into Feng Xi's ear.

Below in the valley, aside from the dozen or so wolves beside the Wolf King, the rest surrounded the humans, constantly probing and attacking to wear down their strength.

Suddenly, large numbers of logs and boulders came rolling down, smashing into the wolf pack.

In an instant, the wolves fell into chaos, and the Wolf King was separated from the wolves at the front.

"What are you standing around for? Get them!"

Feng Xu shouted down at them.

The twenty-odd people below did not understand him, but Feng Xi slid down the slope.

He shouted as he went, directing the people below to attack.

They had once fought side by side as comrades and knew one another well.

The second-in-command reacted first. With an angry roar, he charged into the confused wolf pack.

Gripping a huge log in both hands, he swept through the wolves all the way.

The others followed closely behind, hurling rocks and striking with wooden clubs. The wolves began retreating in defeat.

Seeing his pack in disarray, the Wolf King let out a long howl, trying to regroup them.

Feng Xu suddenly shouted toward the rear.

"Warriors, follow me down and wipe out the wolf pack!"

With that, he leaped down the slope.

Dust billowed above, accompanied by all sorts of noises, as though a great many warriors truly waited there.

The Wolf King grew wary and called the pack back to retreat.

In this battle, over twenty people on the Human Race side suffered light injuries, while the wolves left behind more than ten corpses.

"Why are you here?"

The second-in-command stepped forward and gestured.

"The chief's injuries have healed. The tribe has plenty of food, so we brought the surplus to trade with other tribes for people."

"Impossible. The chief was injured that badly. How could he still be alive?"

"If you don't believe it, go back and see for yourself."

Feng Xi swept his gaze over everyone.

"Don't make things so serious. We just helped you win a battle. Why not let us rest with you?"

Feng Xi stepped in to smooth things over.

"You're just a child. What gives you the right to speak to me like that?!"

The second-in-command rebuked him.

"He is the wise man appointed by the chief. Other than the chief, everyone in the tribe must listen to him."

"How is that possible?"

The second-in-command did not believe it, but Feng Xi's respectful attitude already explained everything.

If the boy before him had truly become the wise man, then it also proved that the chief was indeed alive.

The warriors were all lost in thought, and the second-in-command's expression darkened.

Feng Sui had always treated the tribe well and was deeply respected.

That was why the second-in-command had led them away instead of driving the others out.

Among these twenty-odd people, only the second-in-command was a true schemer with ambitions.

Once everyone above the valley had safely come down, the second-in-command led them back to their resting place.

They had found a cave in a nearby mountain, located right beside the mountain Feng Xu intended to visit.

Feng Xu observed the surroundings the entire way. Several wolves followed them from the shadows in the distance.

It seemed they still had not given up.

Once everyone began resting, Feng Xu suggested visiting the strangely colored mountain.

"That is an inauspicious place. Tribesmen who drink the water there get sick and grow weak."

The second-in-command immediately objected in an unfriendly tone, clearly not taking Feng Xu seriously.

Feng Xu did not argue. Instead, he had Feng Xi take him to look, since there was something he needed to confirm.

As for the rest of the group, he was not worried.

It was obvious that the second-in-command's group was divided. Quite a few people were already considering returning to the original tribe.

Naturally, they would not attack the people he had brought.

At the foot of the mountain, Feng Xu picked up a black stone. It was heavier than an ordinary rock, and a faint metallic gleam showed at the broken edge.

After scanning it through the Merit Mall, he confirmed that it was iron ore.

Looking over the entire mountain, he saw sparse vegetation and vast stretches of exposed rock glinting with a metallic sheen beneath the sunlight.

This was a mountain rich in iron ore!

Feng Xu's heart burned with excitement. Once they began smelting iron on a large scale, the Human Race would not only develop faster, but also increase their own combat strength.

Everything in the Primordial World possessed spirituality. Iron tools forged from the iron here should also be stronger.

Feng Xu took out the Heavenly Net and Earthly Web and collected a large amount of iron ore. Then he took Feng Xi to chop down trees nearby.

By nightfall, the two finally returned to the camp.

At that moment, the second-in-command and his men were gnawing on raw meat from the hundred-zhang wild boar nearby.

Feng Xi started a fire to roast meat, while Feng Xu led people to dig mud from a nearby stream.

The only threat in the valley was the wolf pack, which had already set its sights on them. There was no need to worry about attracting other fierce beasts.

After bringing back the mud, they piled it into a kiln. He intended to make charcoal for smelting iron.

"Why are you feeding that wolf?"

The second-in-command saw Feng Xu feeding a wolf pup and asked.

"It isn't a wolf. It's a dog. Little White, give us a bark."

"Woof!"

"Good dog. Here, have some more meat."

The second-in-command curled his lip and continued gnawing on raw meat.

The wolf pack had suffered considerable losses that day and left only three wolves behind to watch them.

Feng Xu watched the wolves in the shadows.

His Spirit Sense was the strongest among them all, allowing him to easily locate the hidden wild wolves.

As he busied himself making charcoal, he considered how to hunt the Wolf King.

Though the Heavenly Net and Earthly Web could capture demons over a wide area, his cultivation was too low to unleash its full power.

Moreover, the Wolf King was powerful, intelligent, cunning, and swift.

Using the Dharma Treasure directly might allow it to escape.

This mine would need people stationed here for the long term. They had to deal with this wolf pack and leave no future trouble behind.