Influence
Ge tribe’s army retreats slowly along crescent lake, its tribesmen excited at having made a name although they did not take down Pei tribe. They boast that Bei tribe and Zheng tribe camps have fallen and Pei tribe suffered huge losses, and credit Lord Wolf King Chang Shan Yin. Fang Yuan’s prestige in the tribe has risen to an absurd level. As supreme elder he could remove tribe leader Ge Guang, an obedient chess piece, but has no intention to. ch. 484
At Zheng tribe camp the Gu Masters left behind have loaded the resources onto thirty blue farm slug Gu, which swell to five times their size. A small portion cannot be carried and stays in the camp, along with a group told to defend it and retreat if Pei tribe’s army comes. The list of gains shows huge profits and Ge Guang is elated, while talk turns to how so many captives can quickly make Ge tribe a large tribe. Only middle-sized with a weak foundation, the tribe has too few slavery Gu for the Gu Masters who surrendered. The army moves on with the slugs and captives, and at Bei tribe camp the column grows several times larger again. At dawn they reach Ge tribe camp to loud cheers. ch. 484
Fang Yuan breathes out, having feared an assault from Pei tribe on the way. He guesses Pei Yan Fei held back to preserve his forces, mainly because the white-eyes wolf looked as strong as a myriad beast king. In truth third watch Gu grew it, it carries no wild Gu, and it could not even defeat a thousand beast king. Had Pei Yan Fei and Bei Cao Chuan kept attacking, Fang Yuan would have been in trouble. His wolves are overspent, and he has only thirty jun of strength and no thousand man soul yet. ch. 484
Of the sixty thousand wolves less than half survive. The night wolf myriad beast king died in battle, the turtleback myriad wolf king lies unconscious under treatment, and the wind wolf myriad beast king lost many Gu worms and its battle strength fell greatly. Fang Yuan has no regrets, since besides the immense loot from two camps, Wolf King Chang Shan Yin’s spreading name will help him join the heroes assembly and deal with Tai Bai Yun Sheng. He keeps the dead wolves’ souls to fertilize Dang Hun mountain. He expects his ferocity to deter nearby forces, so Ge tribe can recuperate while he expands his wolf group, cultivates his wolfman soul and prepares rank five enslavement path Gu worms. Drained in mental energy, he sleeps while cheers rise outside his Gu house. ch. 484
By morning nearly every tribe leader and strategist nearby has the news. Wang tribe leader had meant to watch from the sidelines, and he sighs that he took a leopard for a cat. Ge tribe’s night against three tribes left Bei Cao Chuan a vagabond and Pei Yan Fei down a small realm of cultivation. Wang tribe leader’s strategist Wang De Dao calls Chang Shan Yin ruthless and says Ge tribe broke the unspoken rule by destroying two tribes and half ruining one without warning. ch. 484
A letter from Ge Guang reaches all forces near crescent lake, saying the three tribes had ill intentions and recounting Chang Shan Yin’s old grudges. By its account Chang Shan Yin, once a victim, returned for revenge on Chang tribe, now among Liu Wen Wu’s forces, and Yan tribe, Liu Wen Wu’s family-in-law, sought Chang Shan Yin’s help unaware of those grudges. Wang tribe leader stays calm. He judges that the letter’s forced reason still covers Ge tribe, which under Chang Shan Yin’s protection will expand. The Wolf King’s actions came too fast to interfere with, and the leader admits underestimating him. ch. 484
Bei tribe leader Bei Cao Chuan arrives with his elders, and Wang tribe leader remembers he has hosted Bei tribe’s elder three days. He refuses to meet them and sends Wang De Dao to say he is in closed cultivation. The elder Bei Cao Sheng, well treated but rejected on every request to meet, is surprised to see them. He says Wang tribe leader keeps refusing the alliance, but the three tribes can easily deal with Ge tribe. Bei Cao Chuan, bitter, cannot think how to explain. ch. 484
