The Great Werewolf knew standing off like this wasn't a solution. The young werewolves had too little resistance to food of such quality. If he let his guard down even for a moment, they would surely rush forward to eat the meat.
The old werewolf's proposal wasn't a bad idea at all.
When these werewolves saw humans being poisoned to death, they would learn to fear.
"Go, bring over a human farmer," he ordered.
A farmer was quickly brought before the Great Werewolf, who grabbed a handful of meat from the bag and spread out his claws in front of the farmer, commanding, "Eat!"
The hungry farmer grabbed the meat, gulping it down in just a few bites.
Wishing to eat more, he was instead knocked to the ground by a kick from the Great Werewolf.
Then the Great Werewolf roared at a few young werewolves, "Watch him! If he's still alive when the moon is overhead, I'll let you eat the meat!"
"Yes, Lord!" The young werewolves restrained their appetite with great effort, shifting their gaze to the farmer who had just eaten the meat, their eyes gleaming ferociously as if they wanted to tear the farmer to shreds and eat him.
And the fate of the farmer they had captured was to be eaten by the werewolves, flesh, skin, and bones, after his death.
Food inside the swamp was too scarce, and lower-status werewolves had even less to eat. Many werewolf infants were killed as soon as they were born.
Some of the older werewolves were also driven out of the pack because they were of no value.
The werewolves could withstand the temptation of ordinary food and restrain themselves from eating their fill, but the meat they had picked up today was just too fragrant.
The night returned to silence, not a single werewolf able to sleep.
The Great Werewolf stood guard over the bag filled with meat, while other werewolves eyed the moon above, letting out a wolf howl from time to time.
As the night deepened, the moon slowly moved across the sky.
The trial-eating human farmer's eyes widened as he looked at the werewolves gathered around him, unaware of what they were doing.
The moon crept closer to its zenith, and the wolf pack became restless. The man hadn't been poisoned to death, and no symptoms of poisoning had shown at all.
By this time, even those who initially managed to restrain themselves were repeatedly glancing at the bag of meat, saliva being secreted in large amounts.
The Great Werewolf didn't understand why the trial-eating farmer hadn't been poisoned to death. He just knew that if he continued to prevent his subordinates from eating, these envious werewolves would surely attack him.
Moreover, after seeing the human farmer unaffected by the poison, the Great Werewolf couldn't resist the temptation of the meat either.
No poison... of course, it's edible!
"Alright then, this meat isn't poisoned," said the Great Werewolf, and his words caused cheers among the pack.
The werewolves immediately crowded around the bag of meat. Waiting until the Great Werewolf grabbed a handful of meat and put it in his mouth, all the werewolves surged forward and fought over the meat.
Yan Xing, who had returned to the eastern hillside, watched through binoculars as the werewolves finally began to eat the meat and heaved a long sigh of relief.
Good, they ate. Good that they ate.
Eat more, in case the poison isn't strong enough.
What's left is to wait for sunrise, when this Lord himself will lead the army to strike and settle the battle with the werewolves!
A bag of meat and added dried fruit weighed over fifty pounds. Even if ten werewolves were to eat until they collapsed, there was still plenty of meat left in the bag.
The stomachs of the werewolves were now so full they could not stuff any more in, sitting on the ground and savoring the rare feeling of being well-fed.
Meanwhile, they enjoyed the aftertaste of the meat in their mouths, occasionally licking their greasy hands.
They had never tasted such delicious meat before. The meat was tender and juicy, smooth and delicate to the taste. Even a belch that brought up a mouthful of minced meat provided another delicious aftertaste that spread from the inside out...
In comparison, the roasted meat they had eaten before tasted pungent and was tough to chew.
What joy in their hearts!
But why this sudden lack of strength in their bodies?
Their stomachs started churning, with a persistent urge to vomit?
And... why is the sky starting to spin too?
「And so the night passed.」
The sun rose from the east, gradually illuminating the entire grassland.
Yan Xing, who had lain on the slope all night, stood up. He brushed the grass off his clothes and kicked Eddie and Lao Hansi beside him, who were dozing off.
"Let's go, get on the cart. Follow me into battle!"
The bleary-eyed Eddie and Lao Hansi immediately climbed into the tricycle's cargo bed, tightly gripping their dung forks as they stood.
Yan Xing took his seat in the driver's chair, steering the "war chariot" to the top of the hill, then sounding the horn as he charged down toward the shanties below.
BEEP... BEEP BEEP... BEEP BEEP BEEP...
The display was enormously impressive!
Yan Xing, with a burst of energy, drove the agricultural tricycle close to the shanties, then grabbed a steel pipe and jumped down from the cart.
At that time, all the tied-up farmers blankly watched Yan Xing and his miraculous steed.
And the werewolves were scattered all over the ground in disarray.
They all had their eyes open, but with pupils dilated and unfocused, their bodies stiff while occasionally convulsing and twitching as if in epileptic seizures.
The medicine is really effective! All the money I spent on feeding you guys that marinated meat wasn't in vain.
Now, there was no fighter left in the entire shantytown area. Yan Xing, wielding a steel pipe, kicked this one and shoved that one, standing tall and invincible.
At the same time, he shouted, "Lads, hurry up and release my subjects! And tie up these werewolves, using the ropes I brought. Make sure they're tied up tight!"
There were bundles of nylon rope in Yan Xing's car. Although only as thick as a finger, they were much sturdier than the hemp ropes the werewolves used to tie up the human farmers.
There was no worry about the werewolves breaking free after being tied up.
The farmers were successfully rescued, and a prompt indicating the completion of the mission appeared.
[You have completed the commission quest: Rescue the Farmers' Shanties]
[You receive quest reward: Ownership of the Shanties; 14 farmers; 100 God-given gold coins; one unit of stone, one unit of wood]
[You gain experience: 2000]
[Your level has increased]
[Your level has increased]
[You gain reputation: 100]
Yan Xing gained ownership of the shanties.
The original 14 farmers of the shanties, including Lao Hansi, now officially belonged to Yan Xing.
One hundred God-given gold coins fell at Yan Xing's feet, along with roughly one cubic meter each of stone and wood materializing around him.
Following the end of this prompt, another appeared.
[After an intense battle, you have achieved a glorious victory]
[You gain experience: 1400]
[Your level has increased]
[You have captured 9 werewolves and one Great Werewolf]
[You gain reputation: 100]
[For your exemplary zero casualty performance in battle, you are awarded experience: 1400]
[Your level has increased]
[You receive weapon: Werewolf Flail (Intimidation against Werewolves +1)]
[You receive God-given gold coins: 100]
Yet another shower of gold coins fell at Yan Xing's feet.
With the completion of the mission, the battle, and the additional rewards, Yan Xing's hero level jumped by 4 levels, reaching level 5.
Yan Xing (Human Race) Level: 5
Class: Knight Lord
Attack: 7
Defense: 11.5
Intelligence: 7
Knowledge: 7
Hero Specialty: Winning Hearts
Hero Skills:
Basic Training
Basic Leadership
Basic Offense
Skills/Magic:
Charge
Collide
Prayer
Zeal
Contempt
Skyrend Slash
Shield Bash
...
Equipment: Werewolf Flail
Achievements: None
Reputation: 201