Evil Red Dragon

Gru had already led the trolls to mark out an open area on the east side of the camp and had begun to build a simple fence using rough wood and stones.

Oliveira squatted to the side with a worried look on her face, staring at the several broods of wild rabbits she had just caught.

These little creatures huddled in the corner, trembling, and dared not even touch a blade of grass.

"That won't do."

After observing for a moment, Alecto shook his head:

"They are terrified. If this continues, they will only starve to death. If they can't even feed rabbits, then there's no need to worry about feeding argali and woolly cattle."

Oliveira poked a shivering gray rabbit with her paw and muttered:

"What should we do then? We can't just hide far away, can we?"

Alecto did not answer, and turned to fly back into the cave.

A moment later, he returned with a bronze bell.

These are magical items found on the gray-robed mage, and they are also the wonderful little gadgets he will use in his breeding plan.

"This is……"

Oliveira leaned closer out of curiosity.

"A soothing bell can calm emotions and relieve fear."

Alecto handed the bell to Gru, who was walking over:

"Let's see how it goes."

Gru respectfully accepted it, examined it carefully, and then asked:

"Master, how do I use this?"

"Just shake it directly, but its effective range is limited, so you have to get close to it."

Gru shook it carefully.

As the bell jingled gently, its sound echoed, spreading a soft, gentle ripple.

A miracle happened.

The rabbits, which had been huddled together, gradually relaxed, their ears perked up slightly, and they tentatively sniffed the grass in front of them.

One of the bolder ones even hopped forward two steps and began to nibble at the food.

"It really works!"

Oliveira's eyes lit up.

Her treasure was saved!

Alecto nodded:

"Next, we can try introducing Himalayan blue sheep. Gru, take a team with me to the northern hills to catch Himalayan blue sheep. Bring the calming bell; you can use it to catch them alive."

"Yes, Master!"

Gru immediately gathered four dragonborn and ten trolls to follow Alektor to the northern hills.

Before leaving, Oliveira secretly let all the rabbits into her stomach.

There wasn't much meat and it was a bit tough, but she had worked hard to catch it, so it couldn't be wasted.

Following Alector's markers, they arrived at another secluded rocky slope and spotted a herd of blue sheep leisurely grazing on the bushes in the distance.

"Alright, these are the ones. Gru, go for it."

Alecto wasn't going to do it himself; he'd let his family do the work.

Catching a live Himalayan ibex is no easy task; you have to get close to them but also be careful not to injure them while doing so.

Once a blue sheep is injured, it is highly unlikely to survive, and treating them is a thankless and exhausting task.

But with the calming bell, things are different. As long as you get close and shake it, the ibex has no choice but to surrender.

Gru signaled his soldiers to spread out and encircle the sheep, while he himself, holding a calming bell, cautiously approached the flock.

They concealed their presence, using rocks and bushes to hide themselves, and gradually narrowed the encirclement.

The lead ibex seemed to sense the danger and raised its head to look around.

Judging from this posture, it's likely that at the slightest disturbance, it will issue a warning, causing the flock to flee.

Fortunately, Gru and his group hid very well. After looking around for a while, the ibex leader began to leisurely nibble on the bushes again.

The distance is gradually decreasing.

When he was about thirty meters away from the flock of sheep, Gru gently rang the bell.

As the bell rang, the argali sheep, which had been unusually alert and occasionally looked up, visibly paused. Their erect ears slowly drooped, their chewing slowed, and their wariness was gradually replaced by confusion.

Seeing this, Gru was overjoyed. He continued to ring the bell and waved for the warriors to slowly surround the enemy from both sides.

With the continued ringing of the bells, the herd of blue sheep, though still moving their hooves somewhat restlessly, did not scatter as usual.

The soldiers took the opportunity to throw out the prepared waterlogged vines, which were used to lasso the ibex one by one.

The trapped ibex struggled a few times, but quickly stopped resisting after being soothed by the sound of the bell, only letting out low bleats.

Oliveira watched in amazement:

"This thing is really useful..."

In less than half an hour, all twenty-six large and small ibex were subdued, their limbs bound by vines by the trolls, and carried on their shoulders.

"Well done."

Alecto glanced at the spoils:

"After you get back, keep them in separate enclosures for a few days and soothe them with bells. Once they've settled in, you can put them in the group."

Upon returning to camp, the ibex were placed in a specially designated pen, with a soothing bell hanging from a central wooden stake, tinkling softly in the breeze.

At first, the argali sheep struggled in fear, but with the continued ringing of the bell, they gradually calmed down and began to nibble on the tender grass leaves placed in the enclosure.

"It's a success!"

Gru excitedly pounded his chest:

"Master, they are really eating!"

Alecto, however, looked further into the distance:

"This is just the beginning. There are too few argali sheep right now. You need to use this method to capture them back to your territory little by little."

"Furthermore, argali sheep need sufficient space and fodder. You need to create a grazing area outside the fence, sow fodder on it, and rotate the pasture regularly."

Gru carefully memorized every word Alecto said, even though he didn't fully understand some of the words, but his master's will was everything.

"Yes, Master! I will have my people collect grass seeds and plant them around here!"

Alecto nodded, then looked at Oliveira:

"You are responsible for overseeing the development of the grazing area."

Oliveira, who was drooling over the ibex in the pen, quickly looked away upon hearing this:

"Okay, brother..."

She wondered if she could be the first to try these argali sheep once they were fattened up.

Alector saw right through her little scheme:

"All the livestock on the farm are my property, and no one is allowed to steal them without my permission."

Oliveira's tail stiffened, and she lowered her head sheepishly.

In the following days, the area at the foot of Chifeng became unusually busy again.

Under Gru's command, the trolls further expanded the breeding area, separated sheep pens with wooden fences, and began clearing a larger area of ​​land to the east, preparing it for grazing.

Although reluctant, Oliveira obediently flew around, directing the dragonborn to graze the livestock.

She would occasionally slack off and doze off in the grass, but as soon as Alector came over, she would immediately jump up and pretend to inspect the area.

However, she does it only occasionally.

The soothing bells proved to be exceptionally effective.

The blue sheep gradually adapted to captive life.

They discovered that those ferocious giants did not harm them; instead, they protected them from attacks by other magical beasts and even fed them.

Oh, Your Honor, what kind of lives did they live before!

Living in constant fear, even eating grass requires keeping a watchful eye on everything around you, ready to run away at any moment.

Now things are great. We eat and sleep, sleep and eat, and occasionally have sex. Life is wonderful.

Because they were so comfortable, the ibex immediately began training to reproduce.

Several ewes gave birth to a lamb within a month of moving in.

This news caused a sensation throughout the entire troll tribe.

For the first time, they realized that food could be grown in this way.

Taking advantage of the momentum, Gru organized several more capture operations, bringing back the scattered herds of argali sheep within his territory.

The number of blue sheep at the farm quickly exceeded two hundred.

As Gru captured more and more argali sheep, Oliveira enjoyed wandering around the sheepfold more and more.

Even if you can't eat it, just smelling it up close is enough to whet your appetite!

The scene was rather comical; can you imagine a five-meter-long red dragon squeezed among a flock of sheep?

Anyway, Alecto saw it.

"At this rate, Master, in another year or two we'll have more meat than we can eat!"

Gru excitedly reported this to Alecto.

However, Alecto cautioned:

"Don't forget the woolly cattle; that's the real source of meat."

"I'll go catch it right now!"

Gru is full of energy.

This time, Alecto personally oversaw the operation.

The woolly cattle are six meters long, enormous in size, and incredibly strong. Even with calming bells, the process of capturing them is far more dangerous than that of capturing blue sheep.

But the trolls already had experience.

They planned to use the terrain to drive a small herd of woolly cattle into a narrow section of the valley, and then set traps with vine nets and giant logs.

Gru commanded the trolls to set up a net of vines in a narrow section of a valley and pile up stones on both sides as obstacles.

Ug led the herd, driving them towards the trap area.

The calming bell worked its magic once again.

As the lead bull entered the narrow section, Gru immediately rang the bell.

The sound of the bell slowed the cattle's movements and reduced their momentum.

But the lead bull still broke through the heavy vine netting, its horns piercing the thigh of one troll and kicking another troll away.

Seeing this, Alecto lightly patted the ground, and earthen walls rose up, completely blocking the cattle's retreat.

The trolls took the opportunity to tighten their nets, eventually capturing eighteen adult woolly cattle and two calves.

When these behemoths were driven back to their camp, all the trolls cheered.

The pens for longhaired cattle are several times larger than sheep pens, and they are made of logs as thick as a thigh.

They were initially restless, but the continuous ringing of the bells gradually calmed them down, and they began to nibble on the grass that the trolls had thrown out.

"very good."

Alecto looked at the farm, which was beginning to take shape, and felt satisfied.

With a stable food source, the troll tribes can reproduce rapidly, and the population of Red Peak Territory is about to explode.

More importantly, this laid the foundation for his future plans.

Only a self-sufficient territory is qualified to talk about expansion.

"Gru will be in charge of the farm directly. Remember to have a high-IQ dragonborn take care of it."

Alecto instructed:

"These livestock are our future granary; we cannot afford to lose them."

"Yes, Master!"

Gru knelt on one knee and solemnly accepted the order.

Oliveira leaned closer and whispered:

"Brother, when are we going to catch some even tastier magical beasts to raise?"

Alecto glanced at her:

"Focus on building a solid foundation first, and don't aim too high."

Oliveira pursed her lips and said nothing more.

After the farm got on track, Chifeng's daily routine slowed down considerably.

The trolls no longer have to be busy with daily hunts, and can devote more time to camp building, weapon sharpening, and training.

The dragonborn have resumed their patrols.

However, the patrol area has been greatly reduced; they now only need to patrol near the camp, and the establishment of lookout posts has greatly improved the efficiency of the surveillance.

Any unfamiliar activity approaching Chifeng Territory will be detected immediately.

Alecto spent most of his time in the cave, continuing his research into magic, and occasionally he would fly to the summit of Red Peak to overlook the changes in his territory.

He could sense that Chifeng Territory was gradually becoming more prosperous.

The area of ​​Dragonfire Meadow has expanded again, and newborn troll children are rolling and playing on the meadow. Their physique is clearly stronger than that of the previous generation.

"The influence of the Dragon Realm is growing ever deeper..."

Alecto murmured.

At this rate, it won't be long before Chifeng truly transforms into his Dragon Domain.

At that time, fighting near Chifeng will give him a perfect advantage, allowing him to completely dominate the home field.

"Greystone Town seems to be quiet. What happened? Did they give up?"

Alecto looked southeast.

"It had better be that way, otherwise this place will be your burial ground."

Meanwhile, things have taken a subtle turn in Greystone Town.

The guild ultimately maintained that the danger level of the Chifeng area was Level 5, but they issued an explanatory notice.

They claimed that, after investigation, the destruction of the Black Hawk Reconnaissance Team was an accident, and that everyone was now out of danger, so please rest assured.

Peaceful days passed in Chifeng for a long time.

Until the bone staff in the great shaman's hand gradually began to glow faintly as it approached Chifeng.

"Right here..."

He stopped and looked at the faintly visible outline of the mountain peaks:

"Gorlon, send two scouts ahead to explore."

"clear."

Gronn turned and pointed out two orcs.

They moved nimbly and quickly disappeared into the dense forest.

Mog, a dragonborn warrior assigned to a lookout post on the southeast side of Chifeng, discovered the anomaly.

"Chief! Smoke! Smoke from the southwest!"

Gru immediately climbed up to the lookout post.

In the distance, wisps of smoke rose from the mountains and forests, more like a campfire than a natural wildfire.

"Continue to observe, I will report to Lady Oliveira."

Upon hearing this, Oliveira rushed back to her lair without saying a word.

"Brother! Gru has spotted something amiss at the lookout post to the southwest!"

Alecto suddenly opened his eyes:

"What's wrong?"

"There's a campfire burning over there; it's probably a group of people heading this way!"

Alekto flapped its wings, burst out of its lair, and used an invisibility spell in mid-air to fly towards the column of smoke.

As soon as he got closer, he saw a group of humanoid creatures with green skin and exposed fangs.

"Orcs? What are they doing here?"

Alecto had seen descriptions of this creature in his inherited memories, but this was the first time he had ever seen it in person.

This orcish force was not large, numbering around three hundred, of whom about one hundred and eighty were armored warriors, and the rest were mostly the elderly, women, and children.

They were setting up makeshift tents, roasting food they had found nearby over a campfire. The atmosphere was somber, and their faces were covered in dust.

In the center of the camp, an old orc leaning on a bone staff seemed to sense something. He suddenly raised his head, his cloudy eyes looking in the direction where Alektor was hiding.

"Interesting, did you spot me?"

Alekto didn't leave, and just stared at the great shaman from afar.

He wanted to see what the old orc would do next.

The high shaman stared for a moment, then slowly shook his head and whispered something to the Goron beside him.

Gronn immediately ordered increased vigilance, and the orc warriors gripped their weapons and began patrolling the perimeter.

"Didn't detect it, just sensed it? Pretty sharp. This old shaman is at least a level five spellcaster..."

The orc tribe...is in the process of migrating...and their strength is not bad.

If we could subdue these guys...

Alecto flew away quietly, wanting to make some careful plans.

Was it coercion or enticement?

This is meat delivered right to our doorstep; we can't miss it.