Chapter 24: The Stronghold

After the decisive battle against Wild Howl, the Gale Team gained three more wounded members who needed careful care. They were taken to the open area inside the dome for treatment by Neo, while Barret returned to the temporary camp with Mach and Van Rending to lead the people there.

To be honest, the over 300 people had been waiting for this day for a long time. Their supplies were already ready, and they could set off at a single command. Of course, the migration wasn’t easy—there were several narrow tunnels along the way. Fortunately, the Gale Team was well-prepared; days earlier, they had started planning how to clear paths and address these issues. The main person in charge of this was Van Rending, who had dwarf ancestry and expertise in construction and tunneling.

After nearly 40 days of recuperation, the slaves became noticeably stronger. Their pale and emaciated appearance was gone, and though they weren’t yet healthy-looking, they had reached an average standard. There were still enough strong men available. Under Van Rending’s direction, they chiseled through rocks and filled in ravines, finally arriving at the dome after 20 hours.

Neo ordered the slaves to rest for a day, using this time to take care of the wounded, unpack all the supplies, explore the dome’s terrain, draw up plans for building the stronghold, divide the area, and set up furnaces to prepare for construction.

Although the dome’s shape was irregular, preliminary estimates suggested it covered about 13,000 square meters—enough to comfortably house 300–500 people. Given the dome’s unique environment, there was no need to build walls, but barriers along key paths had to be constructed carefully. There was no shortage of rocks or soil inside, but unfortunately, there wasn’t much firewood. Building bricks and houses wouldn’t be easy.

Starting from the third day, everyone was mobilized and divided into three teams: one to build walls with stone, one to level the land, and one to construct a blacksmith shop to make tools. Although their tools were somewhat limited, there was plenty of iron material. Six of the slaves knew blacksmithing, and though they couldn’t compare to Neo, they could make simple shovels, picks, hammers, and chisels. This freed Neo, the excellent blacksmith, to focus entirely on his small botanical garden.

This garden was built next to a pond, using fast-growing thorns as pillars and beams to outline its structure. It covered about 200 square meters. Neo wanted to turn it into something similar to the botanical garden on the Hurricane’s deck, so that surface plants could also be grown, which would be very helpful for potion research. However, to reach that level, he would need to visit the Valley Lake—both equipment and energy crystals were essential for building a botanical garden. Moreover, since the stronghold didn’t have enough firewood for brick-making, he would have to rely on the power of fire element crystals. It was also time to get in touch with Bels. Thus, this long journey became urgent.

The dome had just been captured, with no defensive facilities in place. Neo wasn’t comfortable leaving, and there was still a lot of work to be done. So, like everyone else, he worked tirelessly for seven days straight.

The flat land required is almost 10,000 square meters. According to the plan, the main roads of the stronghold form a “well” shape. All important facilities, such as the lord’s residence, government offices, and military headquarters, are built along the streets near the core of the “well” shape. However, the very center of the “well” remains vacant for now.Neo plans to build a mage tower here in the future when conditions permit. It doesn’t need to be overly complex—no folding spaces, summoning chambers, or arcane gardens are required. Only two important facilities are needed: first, an element pool that can absorb and gather elemental energies as well as the energy known as dark energy from dark regions; second, a magic clock.Neo doesn’t want his subjects to live a muddled life without any sense of time, so he’s determined to build this magic clock, even more urgently than the element pool.

Neo didn’t bother much to name this dome and simply called it “Wild Howl.” There are three passages—the main passage is obviously the focus. As the other two serve a similar purpose,Neo ordered one of them to be blocked. The work was supervised by Van Rending, who did a good job, making both ends look neatly aligned so that it’s hard to tell there used to be a path there.

The other passage happens to have a straight section with a fairly wide road, about 5 meters wide. Such a width offers no defense, and stronger enemies could easily break in. So,Neo decided to create two 2-meter-wide planting pools in the middle of the passage, filled with thick thorns from top to bottom. Each pool is 20 meters long, with four in total, which can be connected on either side. This turns one main road into two narrower paths about 1.5 meters wide. With this setup, a small number of people can hold off enemies and wait for reinforcements, which is suitable for the Wind Team’s small size. Moreover, these thorns are of a special variety with strong air-purifying capabilities. Their growth is controlled through unique magical techniques, allowing them to convert absorbed dark energy into cold light, forming clusters of thorn-like lights for illumination.

In addition to the thorn barriers, walls are also essential—two layers, each 5 meters thick. The entrance here doesn’t require much sophistication; it’s simply sealed with large stones from floor to ceiling, with a 2.5-meter-thick iron-reinforced teak door in the middle. The surface of this heavy teak door is covered with rock moss. With this plant, the door will become as hard as fossilized material within a few months, durable, fire-resistant, and impact-resistant. The rock moss is a modified variety, and its seeds were provided by two druids from the Forest Wood tribe.

Although the two druids from the Forest Wood tribe have somewhat peculiar personalities, they are highly respected by everyone. After all, they have long served as the team’s healers and have contributed greatly. Everyone knows that whenever there’s a health issue, they’ll be needed.

The cultivation methods of these two druids shared many similarities with Neo’s, so Neo, who had gained considerable advantages from the beautiful adjutant, became very close to the two druids. Neo obtained many valuable plant seeds and related knowledge from them, as well as the druids’ skills in wild potion-making. The two druids also benefited greatly; although the adjutant’s potion-making techniques were dismissed by them as inferior, they proved useful as references, especially the brilliant ideas contained within those techniques, which broadened the druids’ horizons, inspired them, and elevated their professional skills by one level.

With the help of these two Wood Elf druids, many problems were easily solved. For example, Neo’s thorny plants were tough but lacked rigidity, making them unsuitable for use as stakes in the ditches in front of the first barrier wall. The two druids, however, had a suitable plant: the Earth Spike. This plant had a unique appearance, resembling a spear-like structure growing out of the ground, without branches or leaves, relying solely on a main root to absorb the power of earth elements to survive. Its roots could grow up to dozens of meters long, and with a simple arrangement, they could resonate with elemental forces to petrify the surrounding ground, becoming stronger over time. Using this plant to construct permanent or semi-permanent defensive structures was quite effective.

In addition to the Earth Spike, the druids also provided another excellent plant—the Lantern Tree. This plant had been improved multiple times and resembled a large spoon in shape, with a long stem and a large hook-like head at the top, like a half-bloomed flower. Its outer leaves were as thick as palm bark, and its inner part resembled a lotus pod. This plant could emit light of a bright color, making it ideal for illumination. Moreover, its roots could intertwine with each other. Since it required water element energy, the common approach was to create a pool of water element energy, into which the roots would be submerged, allowing the Lantern Trees to naturally absorb energy. Their energy consumption was low, and their only drawback was their extremely slow growth rate. However, this was not a problem for Neo, as with the power of the Tree-Builder and the Moon Goddess Well spell, any plant could be rapidly grown into shape under his control. This was also one of the reasons Neo chose the path of botany and potion-making.

The construction of the back entrance to the Wild Howl Cavern was not very extensive, but Van Rending still directed the workers to complete it flawlessly. At the first fork in this passage, Van Rending used some clever techniques to make the path appear desolate and created echo walls. This way, when adventurers entered the area, they were likely to overlook this path leading to the cavern, as it not only looked unattractive but also produced echoes when called out. As a basic rule, the presence of echoes indicated that there was likely a barrier ahead—a dead end.

In contrast, building barriers for the main entrance was a task that could not be completed in just a day or two. After exploration and thorough consideration, the barriers for the main entrance were constructed at the edge of an underground hall about 200 meters away from the cavern.

This atrium covers an area of over 400 square meters, but its space is irregular and its structure not very stable. Significant manpower and time are needed to build columns, reinforce the foundation, and repair the walls. Neo intends to turn this place into a guard post and barracks to separate combat forces from the civilian population, allowing military and administrative functions to operate independently, starting with establishing order.

The barriers of the main passage are nearly 30 meters wide and 7 meters high, which obviously requires a large amount of rock. Even if Van Rending has the means, the lack of tools and labor severely hinders construction progress. With the current amount of labor and ordinary tools, it would be good if the barriers could be completed in half a year.

Neo certainly cannot tolerate such a large gap remaining for half a year. After all, the Gale Squad currently lacks sufficient combat strength to defend the dome, especially when he is not around. If a group of monsters like Howling Beasts or any other underground inhabitants were to raid the area, the stronghold would be in danger.

With these considerations, Neo ordered that all mature Thynn trees in the dome be cut down. He even resorted to using his magic to grow some more, so as to first establish a simple wooden fence. Outside the fence, thorns were planted that reached the ceiling; each of these straight thorns was over 10 meters long and arranged in an orderly manner. Although they are thin for now, they will soon grow together. Once they mature and are covered with rock moss, they will form a resilient thin wall, primarily used to defend against flying creatures such as vampire bats and Dark Dragon Flies. Allowing such creatures to enter the dome would also be a disaster for ordinary people.

The most troublesome aspect of this thorn wall is creating shooting holes. Unlike the back door, the shooting openings on this side must be wide enough to allow the guards behind the wooden fence to pose a serious threat to invading enemies. Thus, just creating these “large windows” took Neo a full three days.

By mid-February, the first phase of construction at the stronghold was finally completed. Neo entrusted military affairs to Barret, administrative tasks to Marian, and the maintenance of the botanical garden to two druids. Then, he left the stronghold with Vitz and Bichir.

All three took a wolf with them on this trip, and nearly half of the journey took place in the Shallow Depth Layer. During the major construction of the dome, Neo sent juvenile Abnormal Rhododendrons and Falcon Rhododendrons to expand the exploration area of the Dark Regions. Both types of rhododendron juveniles are plants, and ordinary beasts have low sensitivity to them. Using them to explore the paths is ideal. Moreover, with Neo’s instructions, these abnormal plants would not cause trouble. Once they detected nests, living caves, or areas in the dome where powerful creatures might reside, they would immediately take a detour, greatly increasing safety.

The path that Neo and his two companions are taking now was mapped out by the Thorns and confirmed by Spine carrying Falcon Thorn. There was no other choice—the Thorns lacked intelligence; they could only conduct rough explorations, and for detailed information, it was necessary to involve the Spirits. Among them, Spine had the highest wisdom. Its role was mainly to oversee the reproduction and cultivation of the Thorns. With its cooperation and the Moon Goddess Formation, along with the power of life, the growth rate of the Thorns reached 600% of the normal rate. Yet even so, Neo did not yet have any fully developed battle Thorns. This was not only because large Thorns consumed a great deal of energy but also because Neo was trying out new varieties—two approaches: purely combat-oriented or purely supportive. As an assistant, Spine helped Neo with all its might in research. Moreover, since Neo had always used a lot of life energy, the maturation and cultivation of the Thorns were delayed.

They traveled continuously in the Shallow Depth Layer for two days, with smooth progress. They encountered two insignificant skirmishes in narrow passages, both of which gave Vitz and Bichir a chance to practice. Neo’s gains were the collection of two new subterranean plants. Whether these plants were useful would require planting them and observing them for some time before a judgment could be made. Of course, Nancy’s involvement was crucial. Thanks to her strong computational abilities, out of the more than 40 plant species collected so far, most had little use on their own, but through grafting and improvement, 7 highly valuable new species were developed.

For example, alfalfa, a common plant known as the “king of forages” and beneficial for improving soil structure, was not suitable for growing underground. With Nancy’s help, Neo successfully cultivated Glow Alfalfa, which had high yields and great nutritional value. If the concentration ofmysterious energy energy was appropriate, the yield could even double. Cultivating three to five acres of it could solve the problem of meat and dairy for the people in the stronghold.

Neo and his two companions returned to the surface at midnight, a time carefully chosen. After spending too long underground, they needed a transition from night to day to adapt to the daylight above.

Although it was already mid-Fog Moon, the weather was just as cold as in previous Ice Moons. Judging from the thickness of the snow, heavy snowfalls had occurred at Hylfanis Domain at least three to four times since Neo went underground. Given this, the recovery of the land would likely be delayed by at least a month, making the already scarce food supply even more critical.

To facilitate communication, Neo had specifically sent Spine and Falcon Thorn to accompany Bels on a trip. So, around noon, not long after Neo and his companions adapted to the daylight above ground, Falcon Thorn, sent at midnight, returned. It had already mapped out the route, and with its guidance, they could reach one of the Edge People’s gathering places directly.

After two days of traveling by day and resting by night, they arrived at the Edge People’s gathering place. This camp was not far from Shelter Valley. It originally had no name; the authorities gave it a designative name, “Number 4.” Over time, this became the common name for the stronghold.

Considering that the three wolf riders would stand out too much if they appeared at the Edge People’s gathering place, Neo settled in a valley about ten miles away. He then had Bichir change his appearance slightly and use his token to go to the gathering place to find and meet with Bels.

Bijir is not as intelligent as Boglem, not as steady as Barret, and not as combat-effective as Mah, but when it comes to overall competence, he is the best among the core members of the Gale Team. When the Gale Team was first formed, although they suffered many losses against the Mathuya militia, the fact that they were chosen as leaders showed that Bijir had certain outstanding abilities and qualities that earned him respect. Seven days ago, Bijir reached level five alongside Vitz, and interestingly, he even showed some talent for spellcasting. Thus,Neo taught him the skills of Star Dark Magic, and two Druids of the Forest Wood clan also gave him some guidance. With his own hard work and his water attribute powers, Bijir managed to master quite useful water-based healing spells. Even though he can only cast them once a day for now, they are still extremely valuable, which is whyNeo felt confident sending him on this mission.

With a short sword, a wooden bow, leather armor, and a bag carrying two small beasts, Bijir now looks quite like a hunter. And indeed, that is the role he is meant to play this time. In the gathering places of outcasts, the most welcome are hunters, junk traders, and black labor bosses. During casual conversations,Neo learned some information about other outcast settlements from Bels, and on the way here, he shared all this information with Bijir, even practicing a few times—showing just how serious he is about this mission.

According to the plan, whether Bels is there or not, Bijir must stay at Number 4 for at least one night to gather as much information as possible. After Bijir leaves,Neo and Vitz won’t be idle either. Vitz has only recently mastered combat energy, and after all, refinement is also a fast-track method that requires a lot of time to understand and stabilize the power. In this regard,Neo has some authority. By discussing things together, not only does Vitz benefit, butNeo also gains insights, as their power attributes are different. Arguing from different perspectives naturally helps with mastering and understanding combat energy.

In addition, cultivation and micro-concentration are also daily necessities forNeo, with the duration varying. As his proficiency keeps improving and he now has all four elements under control, the cycle time for cultivation has shortened while its effectiveness has increased. He can cultivate once every 40 minutes, up to 8 times a day. After that, he needs to rely on deep meditation to restore his mental energy and the elemental energy in his internal pool.

Compared to the past, modern cultivation methods are not merely about the conversion of energy but also involve the absorption of external energy. By utilizing his mental strength and the essence energy from his elemental pool, Neo can quickly cast spells to absorb and control external elemental forces, thereby enhancing plant growth. With these enhancements, plants grow at an extraordinary rate, allowing Neo to acquire even more vital energy. This vital energy, combined with the power of the Sacred Tree and the effects of the Four Elements and Moon Goddess Array, not only strengthens the Sacred Tree’s power but also yields vital energy influenced by it. This energy is the most crucial source for Neo to use various plant-related spells. Just the “Rapid Growth” spell alone gives Neo many practical abilities, such as Thorn Ring, Thorn Net, Thorn Wall, and Thorn Entanglement—all of which are based on rapid growth.

In addition to acquiring vital energy, elemental refinement is also essential. Unfortunately, the elemental energy crystals obtained from the Hurricane Ship do not meet the standards for human absorption, and there aren’t enough precious materials like storm crystals for Neo to use freely. Thus, his long-term goal of transforming his body into an elemental energy conductor can only be achieved through gradual, persistent effort.

Alongside refinement, muscle training focused on vitality is also important. After all, becoming a “Boarman” is also Neo’s goal, and strong physical strength and excellent metabolic capabilities require proper training. Neo uses spells like Life Wave to assist in his training, achieving better results with less effort.

Corresponding to muscle training, the cultivation of mental strength cannot be neglected. Following Nancy’s advice, Neo focuses not on quantity but on quality, striving to refine and purify his mental strength. As a result, although the number of spells he casts daily doesn’t increase, their effectiveness and accuracy greatly improve, and he also conserves more mental energy. This approach is similar to the steady, foundational training for physical strength.

If he has time after completing the above practices, Neo chooses to refine his totems. This process is akin to a mage getting familiar with and nurturing their magic artifacts, similar to a fighter practicing with weapons—it is also highly meaningful. Neo currently has two totems: a wind totem made of light wood and a water totem made of soft wood. He can use four totem spells: Gale Spell, Deflection Spell, Restoration Spell, and Neutralization Spell. The Deflection Spell reduces the accuracy of enemy ranged attacks by lowering physical defense, while the Neutralization Spell reduces damage by lowering magical defense. However, the duration of these spells depends on the intensity of the attacks. If the enemy fires arrows in large numbers, Neo’s current spell level allows him to block only one wave before running out of magic power and needing to recharge his totems.

Tempering totems is done to make their activation more effortless, allow for more mana storage, enhance their effectiveness, and reduce consumption. Notably, though light wood and soft wood are not top-tier materials for crafting totems, their advantage lies in the ability to be repaired using Nyx’s power after damage, giving them permanent value—becoming stronger with each tempering, unless completely destroyed.

These daily activities related to cultivation can be adjusted according to specific circumstances, but they still require at least 6 hours. Adding 4–6 hours for sleep, 1–2 hours for eating, leaves little time for other matters. If one also spends time on potions, studying runes, training the newly acquired Howl Spirit, reviewing combat skills, learning new knowledge, handling military or administrative affairs, or engaging in physical labor, there will definitely be no time left—indeed, not even enough time. Such a life is naturally quite fulfilling.

To Nyx’s surprise, Bier returned before noon. At that time, Nyx was absorbing life force. It wasn’t until over ten minutes later, after completing this cycle, that she asked, “What happened?”

“Bers was attacked and is seriously injured. I used healing magic to stabilize his condition and prevent it from worsening further.”

Nyx frowned. “And then?”

“Encouraged by me, Bers has already driven the cart out of Fortification No. 4, along with the supplies we purchased. They’re now waiting in Post Valley, about 2 miles away, for news. Zal and Sbun are driving the cart—Bers said you know both of them.”

Nyx nodded. “You did well. The last time I saw Bers, it was when the three of them went hunting together.”

Calling for Vitz, the three saddled their wolves. Over ten minutes later, they arrived at Post Valley. Similar to an inn, it had Hilfanis-style features: simple wooden walls and mud huts for livestock were built alongside the main road in a suitable valley, with a watchtower set high above. This post valley was located along the road between Fortification No. 4 and Shelter Valley, so it naturally couldn’t compare to those by the main road. A family lived here, providing only shelter and water, not food—though Nyx and her companions didn’t care about that now.

The post valley was nestled in a mountain hollow, with a single road leading in and out and a long wall made of various soils and woods, about 3 meters high—just enough to ward off wild animals. The space behind the wall was quite large, with stables, livestock sheds, and rows of mud huts, totaling at least 30 rooms. The family running the post valley lived at the top, with a long ladder leading from the bottom of the valley straight to the wooden watchtower at the top, likely over 40 meters high—making it the most prominent structure in the valley.

There might have been a communication tube connecting the watchtower to the caves below. As soon as Nyx and her two companions descended the slope, a man in his 40s came out of one of the caves, calmly opened the gate, and let Nyx in. For a post valley, everyone who came was a guest. Truly wealthy or high-status people rarely visited here. Although they didn’t earn much in a day, or even stay empty, it didn’t emit any “alluring scent” that might attract bandits.

Setting up the wolf and paying the fees—these trivial matters could be handled by Witz with that owner of Yigǔ in his ragged coat. Witz had made a living through violence many years ago, having been a bandit and a mercenary, so he was well-accustomed to such things. Meanwhile, Bichir took Neo straight to one of the cave dwellings. It was easy to tell if someone lived there, as smoke came out of the chimney at the entrance.

As soon as Neo pulled back the curtain and entered, he saw Bels lying on the kang. Just a month apart, Bels had become so emaciated that he hardly resembled a human, his complexion extremely poor, as he slept dazedly. By the earthen stove at the end of the kang, Sbun was cooking—rye, dried vegetables, and maybe some minced meat. The dark-colored pot didn’t look appetizing, but it must have been sick food.

When they saw Neo enter, Zar and Sbun’s eyes lit up. Although they still didn’t know Neo’s identity, his distinguished demeanor made it clear he wasn’t a poor soul, and in their eyes, he seemed wealthy, so his ways were naturally more refined than theirs. Besides, they had witnessed Bichir using a healing spell on Bels—it was magic! The only person in Base 4 who could heal was worshipped by everyone every day. If such a person was one of Neo’s subordinates, then Neo must be extremely capable.

The cold wind that rushed in as the curtain was lifted woke Bels. Turning to see Neo, he tried to get up, but Neo stepped forward quickly and held him down. “Stay lying down. There’s no rush,” Neo said, sitting down by the edge of the kang. He then said to Bichir, “Ask Brother Sbun and Brother Zar to help cook some meat and make some pancakes. We haven’t had lunch yet. Also, prepare some meat porridge with tender meat. I need to talk to Brother Bels alone.”

Bichir nodded and sent Sbun and Zar out. These two outcasts treated Bels fairly well. Seeing him nod, they followed Bichir out, their faces showing undisguised smiles. How many meals had they gone without meat and pancakes?

By sending those two away, Neo actually intended to use spells on Bels—Wave of Life, Touch of Life, and Water-based Healing. The first applied to the whole body, while the latter two targeted the wounds. Before that, Neo had also removed the rotten flesh from Bels’ wounds, stitched them up, and applied herbs. Even so, due to the severity of his injuries, Bels would likely take three to six months to recover.

Unlike Bichir’s half-baked healing methods, Neo’s multi-pronged approach brought about immediate improvement in Bels’ condition, and his complexion improved noticeably. Bels wanted to talk to Neo, but Neo gave him a pill and told him to sleep well first. The pain had tormented this man for a long time, but now that his wounds felt clean and with the effect of the medicine, he fell into a deep sleep.

Bijier and the others asked for another room and were willing to spend money, so the owner of Yigu Valley was naturally overjoyed. He even sold all the dozens of eggs he had saved at a high price to Bijier. Before long, the food was served: stewed meat, egg noodle pancakes, fried eggs, a plate of bamboo shoots, a plate of dried mushrooms, and a bottle of high-alcohol wine. Such a meal was nothing short of luxurious for Sbuun and Zar at that time. The two ate heartily, smiling with satisfaction.

Nio also asked Vitz to keep them company while they ate and drank, and asked Bijier to send a portion of the food to the owner’s family in Yigu Valley. Bijier naturally understood that Nio wanted to obtain some useful information from them, so he went off smiling.

In fact, the Wind Team usually didn’t eat as well as they did at this meal. Although the Wind Team wasn’t short of food back then, the slaves didn’t have much surplus. Moreover, nearly two months had passed in the blink of an eye, and the slaves endured great hardships every day, leading to high food consumption. One of Nio’s purposes in coming this time was to solve the food problem—or at least establish a supply route. Otherwise, even if the Wind Team could clear out all the dark areas near the Howl Caverns, it might not last more than a few days of food.

After eating and drinking their fill and having jujube tea served, Nio finally asked about Bels’ situation. He had already learned some details from Bijier earlier. He had entrusted Bels with purchasing salt, spices, and cooking supplies, and Bels had done an excellent job, preparing everything well in advance waiting for Nio to collect it. Later, as food prices kept rising, so did the prices of salt and spices. After Bels was injured, he lacked money for treatment. Sbuun and Zar advised Bels to sell the stored supplies to pay for his medical care and repay Nio later. But Bels refused stubbornly. Those supplies were still stored in Yigu Valley. When they left Base 4, Bijier had used the pretext of selling the supplies to Shelter Valley to treat Bels at the same time. Just because of this, Nio decided that even if Bels provoked the highest authorities, he would make him pay the price!