CHAPTER 36: CHAPTER 34 PILLAR OF SMOKE

In the Kawa Great Forest, the Beastman Tribes living here usually have a certain range of activity. As the clans grow and multiply, if the population exceeds what the tribe can bear, part of the tribe’s people will automatically split off to wander and make a living elsewhere.

These Beastmen, whether old, weak, sick, disabled, or strong teams, form numerous wandering individuals among the Kawa Great Forest.

Typically, these wanderers struggle arduously outside for a period before disappearing into a corner of the forest—either becoming fodder for wild beasts, starving beside a waterhole, or eating poisonous fruits and collapsing next to trees to become fertilizer.

Only a few lucky individuals manage to find suitable land to settle down and begin to survive and reproduce, or are accepted by other Beastman Tribes to become one of them.

A towering smoke fire attracts these wandering Beastmen across the forest as a beacon coordinate.

The natural smoke and the smoke made by intelligent humanoids are significantly different; distant Beastmen seeing smoke columns naturally know there’s Beastman activity there.

It’s said that initially, wandering Beastmen, dressed in rags and famished with cold and hunger, would automatically walk towards the direction of rising smoke because it represented the location of a Beastman Tribe where they might find vitality, if lucky.

Later, it evolved such that when large tribes had enough food but lacked population, they would burn a big smoking fire at their gateway to let distant wandering Beastmen see it and come to take refuge.

After many years of evolution, this unique method of recruiting population gradually formed within the Kawa Great Forest.

"Using this method, however, creates too much commotion and easily attracts hostile tribal forces, thus inviting danger."

At this point, Quik discreetly glanced at Austin but said no more.

Clearly, if this method is used to attract people, then the Dragon Nest Village will easily be noticed by the nearby Jackal Wolfman Tribe, thus inviting danger.

"You don’t need to worry about the Jackal Wolfman Tribe; just proceed with action."

Regarding the Jackal Wolfman Tribe, even if the Jackal Wolf Leader is a Bronze Level Extraordinary Professional, Austin is fairly confident of wiping them out with enough sacrifice.

Having devoured the Blood Wolf Leader, his strength now far surpasses its previous level.

If those Jackal Wolfman Villages lack sharp Iron Weapons, they probably can’t even breach his defenses, with only the Jackal Wolfman Leader posing some degree of threat to him.

Given this power comparison, if the Jackal Wolfmen dare to attack, Austin’s strength combined with his subordinates are enough to swallow this bunch.

"If they indeed come looking for trouble, considering they must be swallowed eventually, might as well make the first move earlier."

With his enhanced powers, Austin no longer fears the Jackal Wolfman Tribe as he once did.

And if he can recruit enough people within this period, even if the Jackal Wolfman Tribe doesn’t attack, he plans to lead his team to merge and attack them.

"Yes, Your Highness Austin."

For the decision of Lord Blue Young Dragon, Fox-faced Man Quik naturally complies without objection.

Thus, on the same day, with the Beastmen’s united effort, they chopped surrounding trees at a nearby high hill and made a smoke tower similar to a blast furnace using mud.

The idea of the smoke tower was proposed by Austin. Initially, Quik planned to burn dry wood inside and pile damp hay leaves and branches on top to create thick smoke, but Austin felt this was inefficient, and he intended to start refining copper using a blast furnace soon, hence he had them make such a blast furnace.

The blast furnace’s purpose is not only to burn wet wood to create thick smoke but also to produce qualified charcoal.

Moreover, Blue Young Dragon recalled how, in ancient times in his past life, armies communicated using wolf smoke signals, so he ordered some wolf dung from the abandoned Blood Wolf Lair to be placed into the smoke furnace during ignition to increase the smoke, making the smoke column visible from afar.

After several days of bustling activity, the first fire was finally ignited in the blast furnace,

The wind was not strong that day, thus a massive smoke column rose into the air, visible even from more than ten miles away in the forest as a spectacular smoke pillar.

"Hope everything goes smoothly,"

Gazing at the just-built blast furnace standing two to three meters high, Austin said inwardly.

With everything ready, sending someone to wait assuredly was all that was needed.

During this period, numerous tribes might have already entered a food shortage, likely forcing many Beastmen to leave their tribes in hunger to find something edible in the icy and snowy wilderness.

If no fortunate encounters occur, those expelled Beastmen will either freeze or starve, with only one in ten surviving the cold winter.

And this smoke column serves as a beacon of hope for those famished and cold wandering Beastmen, attracting Beastmen with no worry they won’t come; however, the quality of Beastman recruits might not be high, likely consisting of skin-and-bones elders, weak, sick and disabled, and if too many come, Dragon Nest Tribe’s food might also face certain problems.

Regarding this method of recruitment, Fox-faced Man Quik wasn’t particularly in favor, but since it was Lord Austin’s decision, he would naturally comply.

Austin’s chosen location for Dragon’s Nest was indeed remote, though in his two years of growth, he encountered wandering Beastmen while hunting, but back then he was struggling for survival and didn’t pay heed, and truly approaching his Dragon’s Nest were only Kobold Vini and his group.

As for Rodney’s homeless group, they were attracted solely by the Kobolds’ fishing smell, proving Austin’s precise choice of nest location.

Though it provided Blue Young Dragon a great environment for growth, it simultaneously hindered his subordinate Clan’s pace of expanding strength by attracting population.

Indeed, on the first day the smoke column rose, it attracted wandering Beastmen in the Kawa Great Forest.