The stars were sparse in the night sky, where a crescent moon hung so close it seemed within reach. It cast down vast ribbons of silver light, blanketing the Wilderness in a pure white glow.

The High Cliff Castle party, having dealt with the Goblin and Kobold Tribes, marched over the horizon bathed in the glow, like Warriors from a bygone era.

In Levi’s eyes, the Goblins and Kobolds were utterly unremarkable opponents. They barely reached the waists of the Beastman Barbarians, lacked weapons and military training, and their equipment consisted of nothing more than wooden clubs and scraps of iron.

Levi had annihilated them all with just ten Beastman Barbarians.

What surprised Levi slightly was Hog, the Jackal Wolfman cub. At his own request, Levi had brought him along for this battle.

To his surprise, the little wolf cub was exceptionally fierce. He had killed a dozen or so Kobolds all by himself, either by gouging out their hearts or biting through their necks. It was an exceptionally bloody sight.

And his character panel showed he had even leveled up three times.

「Hog」

「Race: Jackal Wolfman」

「Level: 4」

「Experience Points: 84/1000」

「Power: 4」

「Agility: 4」

「Intelligence: 7」

「Charm: 7」

「Assignable Attribute Points: 3」

「Skills: Iron Bone 1, Strong Strike 1, Strong Throw 1, Weapon Mastery 2, Shield Defense 1, Running 2, Riding Skill 3 [Note: Max Level 15]」

「Assignable Skill Points: 3」

「Weapon Proficiency: One-Handed Weapons 115, Two-Handed Weapons 74, Long Pole Weapon 30, Bow and Arrow 0, Throwing 1, Crossbow 0 [Note: Max Level 720]」

「Assignable Weapon Points: 150」

Levi glanced at the attribute sheet. Although Hog’s current Attributes were practically a blank slate—about the same as an ordinary adult’s—his low Level meant he could level up easily. All he needed were a few more battles to grow stronger.

What Levi hadn’t expected, however, was his Intelligence score of seven. It proved this Jackal Wolfman wasn’t a simpleton like Zat.

He was well-suited to be trained as a Power-Intelligence build, and would one day be capable of leading an army.

Levi didn’t assign the points for now, planning to wait for a suitable opportunity.

...

The Kobolds and Goblins had never disappointed Levi when it came to being poor.

The two tribes yielded nothing but some grass roots and strips of dried meat. Naturally, Levi wouldn’t dare to eat food of such dubious origin, so it ended up benefiting the Kobold slaves of High Cliff Castle.

That night at High Cliff Castle, bonfires crackled to life as the Beastman Barbarians roasted Barbarian beef on spits.

The savory aroma of meat wafted and swirled through High Cliff Castle, making everyone’s stomach rumble with hunger.

The Wilder-Bull is a herbivorous animal that lives on the plains, with a full-grown adult weighing over a thousand pounds.

The three Wilder-Bulls hunted by the Jackal Wolfmen today now belonged entirely to High Cliff Castle.

Even if the Barbarians were all gluttons, several thousand pounds of meat would be enough to feed them for days.

However, with the addition of about a hundred Jackal Wolfman women and children, High Cliff Castle’s food supply was starting to get tight.

As for this group of Jackal Wolfmen, Levi couldn’t just fob them off with grass roots and rotten fruit like he did with the Goblins and Kobolds.

If he wanted an elite force of Scout light cavalry, a rich diet was essential.

But after thinking for a moment, Levi had an idea.

The Barbarians’ general cooking skills could be described as barely edible, at best. However, roasting meat was a craft that all Beastmen had mastered.

They grew up in the Wilderness, and roasting meat was an indispensable part of their upbringing.

The Wilder-Bull shanks were all chopped off at the base and put on the roasting spits. Thanks to the Beastman Barbarians’ precise control of the heat, they were soon crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, sizzling as fat dripped and popped in the fire.

"Boss, have a taste."

Zat handed over the best-roasted hind leg. Levi didn’t stand on ceremony, taking it and tearing into it with big bites until his mouth was slick with grease.

The Barbarians’ roasting skills were truly something else.

Hog, who was nearby, was drooling at the sight, but he collected himself and decided to look away.

"Here, wolf cub. This is for you."

Just then, Zat suddenly tossed a hind leg, almost half the cub’s size, over to him. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Hog fumbled to catch it, his expression puzzled.

"Look at those skinny arms and legs. If you don’t eat more and bulk up, how are you going to work for the Boss?"

Zat curled his lip, speaking with a look of feigned disgust.

Hearing this, Hog broke into a silly grin. He knew this meant High Cliff Castle had accepted him.

In the dead of night, illuminated by the firelight, Hog’s smile pulled at his cataract-like eye, making him look terrifying.

Luckily, aside from Levi, no one else present was human. Otherwise, that smile would have surely elicited a round of screams.

"Whoa," Levi said, looking at Zat with surprise. "I didn’t realize a big brute like you was so prickly about being nice."

"Hehe," Zat chuckled. "This wolf cub may be scrawny and mangy, but he’s surprisingly fierce. If we feed him well for a while, he’ll definitely become a qualified Warrior."

Zat didn’t understand what Levi meant by being ’prickly about being nice’; he just thought Levi was praising him and rubbed his bald head with a silly grin.

Levi nodded. It was obvious Hog’s scrawny build was due to malnutrition in his former tribe.

A few months on a rich, meaty diet would be enough to make him strong.

Plus, Jackal Wolfmen have a short growth cycle. Cubs can walk upright within a few months and are considered adults by age four or five.

Therefore, Hog only needed a year or two to fully mature into an adult Jackal Wolfman.

With the help of the system, he could probably reach the level of the previous Jackal Wolfman chief in just a few months.

"B-Boss," Hog asked timidly, "can I share this food with my friends?"

"Just call me Zat," Zat said, slightly annoyed. "The food’s yours. Give it to whoever you want. What are you asking me for?"

Hog nodded, his face full of joy. He ran toward the Jackal Wolfman camp, clutching the roasted beef leg, and shared the food with two other Jackal Wolfmen.

Levi had excellent eyesight, and with the moonlight over the Wilderness being exceptionally bright, he could easily see the other two Jackal Wolfmen.

Both were as emaciated as Hog. One of them had a scar on his face, a gash so deep you could see bone, that ran from between his eyebrows all the way to the corner of his mouth.

The other had a limp. Clearly, the three of them were bullied outcasts, brothers in misfortune.

Since he couldn’t see any names above the heads of these two Jackal Wolfmen, Levi stopped paying attention.

He gave Hog special treatment because he was a Heroic Unit and worth cultivating.

The others were not yet worthy of him expending a great deal of effort.

As for the Jackal Wolfman Tribe, Levi had already spoken to Hog. He didn’t care what methods Hog used, as long as he could control the Jackal Wolfman Tribe and make it serve him.

Levi also intended to test the extent of Hog’s abilities, so he left the matter entirely in his hands and wouldn’t interfere.

After eating and drinking his fill, Levi returned to his room to think about the future.

Besides the urgent need for a larger population to develop, High Cliff Castle’s most pressing issue was securing a stable food source.

In the Wilderness, the ways to obtain food were none other than hunting and raiding other tribes for supplies.

But neither of these were long-term solutions. To establish a truly stable foothold, farming and animal husbandry were essential.

As he mulled this over, Levi gradually drifted off to sleep. The occasional miserable howl of a wolf echoed in the distance, but he just scratched his ass, rolled over, and went on sleeping.