NOVPUB"Lesser wolf is ready to evolve?" Zaroth repeated what the system told him in confusion.
He had only four wolves of the Lesser tier—the unmanned ones—but currently they were in his soul, meaning they couldn't achieve what was needed of them to evolve even if they wanted to.
"This makes no sense…" he muttered, scratching the back of his head.
A few minutes passed as he struggled to remember the possible reason for the message. Until—
"Ah!" he exclaimed, his eyes opening wide.
A memory surfaced from the day he first tamed the four unnamed wolves. He had been hunting for more beasts when he witnessed a bear slaughtering a pack of wolves. Making use of the moment, he commanded Silverfang to kill the bear. That was the thing that allowed Silverfang to evolve to the next tier.
After the bear had failed by Silverfang's attack, Zaroth tamed five wolves, but one of them wanted to remain there to care for the pups along with their mother.
"Damn I completely forgot about it!" It was certainly bizarre to forget a beast that you commanded, but who could blame him? He had a very busy life after that event, it was only natural to forget.
"But if the wolf is ready to evolve, does that mean the beast has fulfilled its desire?... maybe the pups have grown up?" That was the only explanation that made sense. Enough time must have passed for the young ones to mature and live on their own. Which could only mean one thing—
"I am old?" he couldn't help but sigh. He was still 18 but his birthday was soon going to arrive.
'Damn, time flies when you try to kill the gods, huh?'" he mused, a smirk appearing on his face.
With no hesitation he commanded the beast to go back to his soul. Originally, he had let it roam free because the beast was taking care of its family, but now there was no reason to.
[Lesser wolf evolution in progress]
'So this means the four unmanned wolves will become five? Or now that this one will be stronger than the other ones, he will be worthy of a name…'
Deciding to think later about the matter, Zaroth continued his walk back to the former slave city.
*****
Eventually he re-entered and was greeted by an unexpected sight.
It hadn't been long since these people had been set free, and yet they were all working diligently to restore the city.
Was it because they were former slaves, meaning they were familiar with work even when not in the best conditions? Or was it because Eldros was leading them and they just had that much faith in him?
'It doesn't matter the reason, all that is important is the outcome.' Coming to that conclusion, Zaroth began to wander the city, searching for Eldros.
It didn't take long to find him, as he stood out like a noble compared to the people that still wore tattered clothes.
"You are back?" Eldros questioned with a raised eyebrow.
Zaroth was about to flash him a smile but remembered that it was pointless due to the mask he was wearing.
"Yes," he shrugged his shoulders, "I just went to the nearest city, killed everybody there, and pillaged the resources."
Eldros blinked a couple of times, seemingly having trouble believing what Zaroth was saying. It hadn't even been a day, and for him to defeat a city? It was hard to believe, but remembering that the man had claimed he was a godkiller, Eldros had to believe that this was the truth as well.
'Do I want to ask if he spared the civilians?' Eldros narrowed his eyes for a moment. A part of him still believed in the teachings the Purifiers had drilled into him since a young age, and didn't think it was just to slaughter for the sake of it.
At the end, he shook his head. 'It's better I don't ask. It will not change anything anyway. We need the resources for the city to thrive,' he reassured himself.
"Well, that is good. Come, I want you to meet a couple of people," Eldros motioned for Zaroth to follow, and he complied.
As Eldros was a single man, he wasn't able to observe the whole city, so he had found a few capable people to help him in the matter.
The city had been divided into a couple of districts that each of them took control over, and they in turn would report back to Eldros.
"These people are in charge now. Show them what you brought, and we'll sort it out."
Zaroth spared them a brief glance. They looked ordinary, but if Eldros trusted them, he was going to do the same.
The people chosen to take charge of their respective districts trembled in Zaroth's presence. Even if he was their savior, his appearance—clad in white robes and a demonic mask—didn't make him look approachable or friendly at all.
Fearing what might happen if they accidentally offended him, they all bowed their heads at a ninety-degree angle, a clear display of respect.
Zaroth had ridden to the city on his dragon's back, conquered it, and returned on foot. It was safe to say he was exhausted. As such, he paid no attention to the way these people were acting and didn't really acknowledge them.
With a flick of his finger, Nightshade appeared, and with swift movements she began to enter and exit her shadow, bringing more and more items.
By the end, everybody—even Eldros—had wide eyes as they stared at the mountain of things the panther had been able to store in her shadow.
'He did tell me his partner was able to store things in her shadow, but from the looks of it, there is no limit!' Eldros thought, clearly impressed.
The people that were in charge of the different districts of the town went to their knees—most likely from their old habits as former slaves—to thank Zaroth, their leader, with all their heart.
These resources were going to change so many lives for the better! They weren't going to live like slaves anymore—all thanks to this man!
After bathing in the glory and the praise for a few minutes—he deserved it, after all—Zaroth let them do as they wished and headed for one of the still-standing structures of the city and went to sleep.
His mana core was drained, and it was important to be recovered as soon as possible.
The leaders of the districts quickly redistributed the resources that their leader had blessed them with. Food that was able to satisfy their hunger, clothes that didn't look like they were picked up from the trash, and materials that would speed up the rebuilding of the city many times over.
The plan that Eldros and his helpers made was simple: the more one worked, the more resources they would get. This led to a lot of work being done while Zaroth was still asleep.
While the rebuild of the city was going smoothly, five members of the Crimson Sun council were making their way through the lands with the aim to destroy it, killing 'Ghost' in the process.
