The Huang Tribe suffered devastating losses in this calamity, and it remained uncertain whether Tylen could retrieve the magic beast training heritage. Thorne decided he couldn't keep watching—he couldn't put all his eggs in one basket.
Returning his focus to the lake, he summoned all the remaining Huang Tribe members and dispatched them to survey the desert's terrain, tasked with creating a map. They were to pay special attention to hazardous and hidden locations.
To build his own faction, Thorne's top priority was evading the elves' scrutiny. The desert's harsh conditions were ill-suited to elves, and its vast expanse held many secrets even they didn't know.
That's why the elves orchestrated beast tides for cleanup rather than acting themselves. Some areas defied even them—like the Ten Thousand Demon Pit deep in the desert, sheltering powerful, rebellious magic beasts, or the Vortex Desert to the south, home to subterranean races they couldn't fully probe.
These were within their expectations; what they guarded against were sudden anomalies like Thorne.
Three or four days later, Tylen returned, leading over two hundred Huang Tribe survivors with basic gear toward the lake. Their faces bore the mixed joy and sorrow of surviving a catastrophe.
Though not a large clan, the Huang Tribe once numbered several thousand. Some perished in the beast tide, others were taken by the elves and never returned, and now, after the Hellhounds' massacre, only these two hundred-plus remained.
Tylen led them to kneel by the lake, about to praise Thorne aloud, but Thorne quickly intervened.
"Enough. From now on, don't kneel or praise aloud—just think it in your hearts, and I'll sense it."
Spoken words could be detected by the heavens, ruled by the God of Light. Thorne didn't want to face the Light Temple's Divine Judgment Squad again so soon.
The newcomers, seeing Thorne forbid kneeling praise, feared he rejected them, growing anxious.
Tylen, knowing Thorne intended their return, wouldn't refuse them. He shot a stern glance back. Now the clan's strongest, his bloodline awakening lent him natural authority—his words carried more weight than the former High Priest's, bolstered by tales of him effortlessly slaying beasts on the journey.
"Lord Lake God, I've brought what you asked for," Tylen said, supporting an elderly man forward.
Thorne scanned the elder, noting his frail body, and sent a cluster of spiritual water to nourish him.
The elder felt unprecedented comfort—his old hunting injury in his right leg eased, his back straightened, and strength returned. Casting off Tylen's aid, he knelt, recalling Thorne's rule, praising silently in his heart.
"Alright, speak," Thorne said, uninterested in empty flattery.
Glancing at Tylen, the elder spoke slowly, "My lord, I'm Bradley, the clan's hunting skills teacher. The magic beast combat training you seek—my father taught me some in idle moments, and we have ancestral magic scrolls, unused, their contents unknown."
"Some knowledge beats none," Thorne thought.
He eyed the three or five scrolls Bradley produced. A sweep of soul power easily read them.
These storage scrolls had limited uses—each down to its last reading. Past Huang Tribe members likely found them useless, passing them down unread.
The first detailed elven history, offering Thorne insight into a potential future foe.
Not his immediate need, he checked the second—tales of marvels, largely useless. Four scrolls yielded nothing vital until the fifth, a treasure.
It recorded how the Huang Tribe, under elven rule, raised and trained magic beasts for combat, including powerful beast battle formations.
"Good. These scrolls are useful. I'll transmit the training methods to you and Tylen. Teach them to everyone—I want all Huang Tribe members to learn. Bigger tasks await."
Thorne sent the knowledge to Bradley and Tylen, urging them to spread it quickly.
With a future beast army of at least ten thousand, these few hundred would barely suffice for breeding, training, and fighting.
That night, the terrain scouts returned. Limited by strength, they'd mapped within ten thousand meters of the lake, finding four or five secluded spots ideal for a base.
Some were held by strong beast packs—claiming them would mean a fight.
The next morning, the first of a new month, Thorne gathered everyone to restart the beast nurturing plan.
Per Bradley's advice, they chose offensive wild leopards and defensive rhinos—common in the desert, easy to find. Leopards could become Flame Leopards post-awakening—swift and fierce—while rhinos could evolve into Ironclad Rhinos, stout defenders with decent offense.
Paired with Red Flame Windchasers for long-distance travel and mounts, and Wood Spirit Deer for group healing as logistics, a balanced beast army took shape. Thorne dreamed of an air force, but large bird flocks were scarce within ten thousand miles.