Chapter 30: Entering Spring

Returning to the Night Tribe with a massive amount of supplies, Su Xingyu began a new round of construction and development.

The abundant food filled the tribesmen with enthusiasm for their work, while the excellent equipment completely won over the hearts of the Warriors.

In addition to accelerating the construction of various buildings and training professional soldiers, Su Xingyu set up Magic testing stations throughout the tribe. He selected young tribesmen with high Elemental Affinity and sent them to the newly built academy, planning for them to start by learning how to read and write. He specifically chose the youth because adults were already set in their ways and lacked much potential for Cultivation. It was far more practical to train the younger generation.

The Night Tribe's future path of Magic rested entirely on these youths.

The Night Tribe's exploration of Magic was virtually nonexistent. Although they did have Mages, those who had haphazardly stumbled into the profession were no different from charlatans. They had never undergone any systematic training. If told to cast Magic, they could manage it, but if asked to explain the underlying principles, they were entirely clueless.

Their only answer would be that it was passed down from their ancestors. As for why they did it that way, they had no idea—as long as it produced Magic, that was all that mattered. It left him quite speechless.

What could Su Xingyu do? This was the Barbaric Land, after all. He had no choice but to build from the ground up.

He could foresee that this would be a long process, measured in years. It might take a few years, a dozen years, or even decades, but no matter how long it took, the Night Tribe had to develop the path of Mages. An ambitious faction didn't necessarily have to be the absolute best in every aspect, but it absolutely could not have any glaring weaknesses.

Mages didn't have to be deployed constantly, but the option to use them had to exist.

This was just like how he didn't need to rush to reclaim farmland. He could easily purchase food from the City of Gods, allowing him to send more tribesmen to mine and earn more Crystal Stones. Ore was far more valuable than grain, so why didn't he do that? Because doing so would mean handing his lifeline over to someone else, and Su Xingyu had no habit of being controlled by others.

The Night Tribe had to be comprehensively powerful, at least capable of forming an internal resource loop. The same applied to the military—it had to be well-rounded. There had to be Extraordinary Warriors, and there had to be Mages.

In fact, Su Xingyu wasn't the only one facing this situation. Most Players dealt with the same problem: they either lacked Extraordinary Warriors, lacked Mages, or, even worse, lacked both.

It might seem easy for Su Xingyu to train Extraordinary Warriors, but that was only because there was an abundance of Blood Crystal Ore Veins near the Night Tribe. For some Players, there was only a single, small Blood Crystal Vein within a hundred miles of their starting point. What could they possibly train with that?

Even the cleverest chef couldn't cook without ingredients. No matter how many ideas one had, reality always had to be considered first.

The Night Tribe originally didn't have the conditions to develop a Mage Corps either, as no one nearby had ever summarized the Cultivation methods for this path. Su Xingyu essentially threw money at the problem, forcibly importing the conditions of other Players over to his side. He spent millions of Blood Crystal Stones just to lay the foundation for Mages in the Night Tribe. For now, it was hard to say whether it was a profit or a loss.

As the Night Tribe became the sole dominant force on the Black Soil Plain, the entire region seemed to quiet down significantly. There were no massive uprisings caused by food shortages, unlike in the past.

More and more tribes converged, willing to travel hundreds of miles just to submit and join the Night Tribe.

While the Night Tribe developed in full swing, the weather began to warm up. Winter had passed, and spring, a time of revival for all things, had arrived.

The people in the tribe stepped out of their houses, looking at the sun rising over the horizon. Basking in the warm spring sunlight, they felt as if they were in another lifetime.

"Is winter really over just like that?" someone asked in disbelief. The brutal winter that usually felt like an eternity had passed in a blink of an eye.

In previous winters, every single day was agonizing. This year's winter, however, had been comfortable. Some people had even gained a few pounds.

"Yes, winter has passed," an old man sighed emotionally.

"Joining the Night Tribe is truly the best decision I've made in my entire life.

"I can hardly believe how comfortably I survived this year's bitter cold..."

The crowd sighed in awe, genuinely feeling as though they were living in a dream.

DONG DONG DONG!

The toll of a bell rang from afar, signaling that it was time for work.

"Oh no, I'm going to be late!"

"I'm doomed, the captain is going to chew me out later."

"Run! I only need one more day for my perfect attendance bonus. That's ten pounds of grain!"

The crowd immediately scattered, sprinting quickly toward their respective work areas.

Meanwhile, in the Clan Leader's room at the center of the tribe.

"Winter has passed, and things are about to get busy again." Finishing the last document and setting it aside, Su Xingyu felt the prayers of his numerous Believers and realized that spring was approaching.

Barring any accidents, the Night Tribe would be extremely busy for a very long time to come. After spending the entire winter together, the Night Tribe had finally fully assimilated the several tribes they had absorbed.

Judging from the prayers of most of the tribesmen, they now highly identified with the Night Tribe. In more official terms, the residents' Loyalty had reached seventy-five. They were genuinely willing to fight for this tribe, even if it meant paying with their Lives.

This also meant that the Night Tribe could continue its expansion.

Well, in truth, the Night Tribe had never stopped expanding. Even in the bitter cold of winter, tribes continuously joined them, expanding the Night Tribe's territory.

There were no more large tribes left on the Black Soil Plain for him to swallow up. If he wanted a larger population, he could only reach further outward.

Currently, Su Xingyu had no immediate plans for an expedition. He intended to deal with the Gnolls first and completely conquer the Black Soil Plain before considering anything else.

"There was a reward for unifying the Red River. I wonder if there will be a reward for unifying the Black Soil Plain?"

Back when he unified the Red River Region, he was given a generous gift pack. The Black Soil Plain was much larger than the Red River Region. If it also gave a reward, it would be extraordinary.

Although he had decided to attack the Jackal Werewolf Tribe, he couldn't deploy his troops right now. After all, the great general of the Night Tribe was still training troops in the Goblin Plane.

Just as Su Xingyu was about to scroll through the information channel for a bit before going to bed, a message popped into his mind.

"Praise the Eternal Night Monarch! Your devout Believers have eliminated all the Goblins."

Upon hearing this, Su Xingyu smiled. "What a coincidence."

Since the victory in the last decisive battle, apart from rotating a batch of recruits in midway, Su Xingyu hadn't paid much attention to the situation there. He had initially thought that Night Battle would have to fight for another ten to fifteen days. He hadn't expected it to be resolved so quickly.

Closing his eyes, the tall, dark silhouette within the Divine Realm opened its eyes. Through the connection of his Believers, he cast his gaze toward that Plane Fragment.