He leaned slightly, his voice low and gentle, like a lover’s whisper: "Good... you can hear the rage."
When the parasitized Frost Giant finally knelt down in a roar, vines climbed up its back, and a floral crown pattern appeared on its forehead like a hot iron.
The surrounding barbarian warriors were montarily at a loss, but quickly, their fear turned into reverence, and they all knelt to the ground.
Titus stood on the high platform, shouting, "We will have a giant army!"
A cheer erupted through the valley, a mix of fear, fanaticism, and weeping.
But no one questioned why the Frost Giant’s eyes were hollow and its steps stiff.
All doubts were completely overshadowed by the noise and excitent of the "miracle."
Yet amid this clamor, Titus’s gaze turned montarily blurred.
He once again heard that low sound, like the rustling of vines moving beneath the skin, as if mocking him.
Suddenly he grabbed his lieutenant’s chest armor, lifting the man off the ground, eyes burning with nearly frenzied firelight.
"Are you... laughing at ?"
The lieutenant’s face turned pale, terrified, denying, shaking his head repeatedly.
Titus stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly sneered, throwing him aside: "Very well. Go capture more Frost Giants. The more, the better. I want the entire Northern Territory to kneel before ."
The order was issued, and the tribes of the barbarian race set out under the blood-red banner.
They surged into the depths of the snowfield like a storm burning with rage, hunting down every remnant of the ancient races.
Not just giants, the first batch of "blessed" exotic beasts appeared in the camp one after another.
Ice Wolves, Snow-horned Deer, Ice-digging Apes, Night Foxes... none were spared.
Their skin cracked, strange vine veins pulsed beneath their flesh, and from their mouths and noses spewed a corrupt red gas, eyes burning with unwanted rage, carrying an extrely unnatural ferocity and deformity.
Chained throughout the camp, the sound of clanging chains, roars, and uncontrollable madness continued.
Like living curses, they struggled between the iron cages and stakes.
However, not a single barbarian warrior avoided them; instead, more and more people approached these monsters.
So watched, so offered blood, so even approached barehanded to fight them, as if testing their own strength.
They laughed as they crawled up from in front of the cages, even if their faces were covered with blood, without complaint, just to vent the endless rage in their hearts.
And these exotic beasts had long lost their minds, yet seed to share so invisible will.
Their cries mingled with pain, anger, and an indescribable longing, as if the entire camp’s heartbeat trembled violently with them.
The roars were deafening, disturbing the whole night, yet no one felt fear.
Instead, more and more warriors approached the cages before dawn, echoing and imitating the roars and even starting to vaguely mimic the poses and cries of those exotic beasts.
They no longer distinguished the boundary between themselves and the beasts.
So people’s eyes were bloodshot, so grew tiny thorns on the tip of their tongues, and so knelt silently in the middle of the night, murmuring words no one could understand.
Like sleepwalking beasts, or slaves chanting prayers in a dream.
Until one night, when the first roar sounded, it was not only the caged beasts that responded but also the living people.
And no one noticed, or rather no one wanted to notice, this was actually a spreading sacrifice.
......
Deep winter finally descended upon the Red Tide Territory.
The red rooftops on both sides of Red Tide City’s main street were piled with thick snow, heavy yet tidy, as neatly arranged as carefully decorated pastries.
Early risers on the streets were already shoveling snow with wooden shovels, the swishing sounds continuous.
People by the roadside were winding pine branches and red ribbons around the lampposts, a tradition they had only recently restored in the past few years.
Children laughed and ran past snowdrifts, wrapped in thick cloaks, with joyful faces.
This winter was no longer as hard as in previous years.
The distribution of food from the people’s warehouse was orderly, with firewood, petroleum, and dicine powder distributed as needed.
Even the market held every seven days offered fresh cured at and salted fish for sale.
Many households rarely cooked at soup in their pots during winter, emitting a fragrant aroma.
People often said, "Thank Lord Louis, I never thought we could have hot at during such a cold ti."
And for Louis himself, perhaps this year was finally a rare chance to take a breather and rest for a while.
Sunlight stread through the bedroom window, falling on the dark red curtains and carpet.
Emily and Sif had long since gotten up, the lingering scent of their dresses had dissipated, leaving him alone nestled under the covers.
He exhaled lightly, having a rare lazy sleep.
For the sake of procreation, last night... he had indeed exerted himself a bit.
Flipping over and getting up, Louis raised his finger, tracing a line in the air, and a semi-transparent intelligence interface imdiately opened up before him.
[Daily Intelligence Update Completed]
[1: A group of Ice Armor Bears has been spotted in the northern part of Mai Lang Territory.]
[2: Titus controls a Frost Giant with Burning Pain Vine Court’s main vine; the giant’s rage is uncontrollable, kneeling and obeying orders.]
[3: Emily is pregnant. Expected to give birth to a son for Louis Calvin in ten months.]
The first piece of information caught his eye, and a look of indescribable joy appeared on Louis’s face.
"...Finally found it."
He murmured, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
The Ice Armor Bear, a magical beast considered a rare wonder of the northern plains.
Two years ago, he personally led the knights to hunt a group; it was the most important battle during the early days of the Red Tide Territory’s establishnt, a ti of scarce resources.
That Ice Armor Bear nearly beca the cornerstone for early resource accumulation.
He rembered clearly, the bear at was carefully cured into grilled at that enhanced Fighting Energy. The bear claws and fangs were crafted into a batch of extrely sharp cold steel weapons.
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