Several days after Fang Ming entered Hei Lou Lan's camp, another name shook the alliance.
Chang Shan Yin.
Wolf King.
Fang Yuan had arrived later than Fang Ming, but his entrance was not small at all. Once his identity spread, the tribes attached to Hei Lou Lan immediately reacted.
Some were shocked.
Some were excited.
Northern Plains respected strength, and enslavement path experts had a special place in war. A single enslavement master could reduce troop losses, break enemy formations, and change the direction of a battlefield.
Now, Hei Lou Lan had two.
One controlled wolves.
One controlled eagles.
Inside the main tent, Hei Lou Lan sat in the central seat and laughed loudly.
"Good! Very good! Liu Wen Wu has Mo Shi Kuang, but I have gained Wolf King and Eagle Commander one after another. Let us see who will have the last laugh!"
Fang Yuan sat on one side, his expression indifferent. His Chang Shan Yin identity had already settled into the camp.
Fang Ming sat not far away, wearing his disguise. His expression was calm, and his posture showed no hint that he had once stood beside Fang Yuan on San Cha Mountain.
To everyone else, he was only a Northern Plains lone cultivator named Fang Ming.
A rank five eagle enslavement path Gu Master.
Hei Lou Lan looked between the two of them.
"Enslavement path is meant to be used. If I have two masters and leave you idle, that would be a joke."
He turned to his subordinates.
"Send orders. Gather wolves for Wolf King. Gather eagles for Fang Ming. Every tribe under the alliance will contribute manpower."
The tent stirred.
No one objected.
The benefits were clear. Stronger beast groups meant fewer human casualties in future battles. No tribe wished to throw its own Gu Masters into the meat grinder if wolves and eagles could bleed first.
The work began quickly.
Fang Yuan received the greater support.
This was natural.
Northern Plains had wolves everywhere. Night wolves, wind wolves, water wolves, turtleback wolves, these wolf groups could be found, trapped, driven, and absorbed with enough manpower.
Hei Lou Lan threw resources into the effort, and Fang Yuan's wolf group expanded at a terrifying pace.
Tens of thousands.
Then over a hundred thousand.
Soon, the number approached two hundred thousand.
The sight of such a wolf army made many tribe leaders uneasy.
Even with Poison Vow Gu binding the alliance, a beast army of that size was difficult to ignore.
Hei Lou Lan laughed on the surface, but even he became more cautious when looking at Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan did not care.
He spent most of his time in seclusion, cultivating and strengthening his control. Banquets were ignored unless important matters were being discussed.
Fang Ming watched this calmly.
Fang Yuan's path was different from his.
The wolf group was vast because Fang Yuan had the foundation to use it. More importantly, Fang Yuan would later have ways to strengthen his soul.
Fang Ming did not have that advantage.
He did not have Dang Hun Mountain.
He could not command hundreds of thousands of beasts as if they were his own limbs.
Thus, his method had to be different.
Hei Lou Lan also gathered eagles for Fang Ming, but the result could not compare to the wolf expansion.
Eagles were not wolves.
They were harder to find, harder to capture, and harder to raise. High-rank eagles were even rarer. Small tribes could barely help with such a task, and even large tribes could only gather them slowly.
Even so, Hei tribe's foundation was not small.
With manpower, bait, traps, and flying Gu Masters cooperating, Fang Ming's eagle group grew rapidly.
From a little over a hundred, it expanded to nearly ten thousand.
Most of them were low-rank.
Many were not suitable for direct elite combat.
But Fang Ming was still satisfied.
Cannon fodder had its own value.
His original elite group remained the core.
Three rank five crown eagles.
A dozen rank four wind chaser eagles.
The original hundred trained eagles.
The newly gathered eagles became the outer layer.
Fang Ming did not try to control every eagle directly. That would be foolish.
Instead, he controlled the high-rank eagles first.
The crown eagles suppressed the flock from above.
The wind chaser eagles relayed movement and pressure.
The lower-rank eagles followed flock instinct, hierarchy, and the commands of stronger birds.
It was not perfect.
But it was usable.
More importantly, it was enough for war.
A wolf tide could drown the ground.
An eagle group did not need to drown anything.
It only needed to see.
To chase.
To harass.
To strike where the enemy was unprepared.
One evening, Hei Lou Lan summoned Fang Ming privately.
On the table was a jade-green Gu shaped like a small eagle tattoo.
"This is Eagle Totem Storage Gu," Hei Lou Lan said. "Rank five. It can store a portion of your elite eagles within your body. It is convenient for travel and sudden battle."
Fang Ming looked at the Gu.
It was useful.
With it, he could hide several important eagles and reduce the burden of keeping them outside constantly.
Hei Lou Lan leaned back. "I gave Wolf King a valuable rank five Gu. Since you are also an enslavement path expert, I will not treat you poorly."
Fang Ming accepted the Gu.
"Many thanks, Lord Hei."
Hei Lou Lan stared at him. "You do not look very excited."
"It is useful," Fang Ming said.
"But not enough to move you?"
"I came prepared."
Hei Lou Lan laughed. "Good! I like prepared people more than beggars."
Fang Ming stored the Eagle Totem Storage Gu.
He truly did not rely on it.
Lang Ya had already given him a full foundation. Hei Lou Lan's reward was helpful, but it was not life-changing.
Even so, he accepted it because refusing would be foolish.
Resources were resources.
As the days passed, Hei Lou Lan's alliance became more organized.
The five camps coordinated.
Wolf groups were divided and fed.
Eagle perches were built around elevated areas.
Scouts reported movement constantly.
Fang Ming's eagles began flying daily patrols.
At first, many Gu Masters doubted whether ten thousand eagles could match hundreds of thousands of wolves in importance.
But this doubt faded quickly.
A wolf on the ground could not see beyond hills.
An eagle in the sky could.
When Fang Ming's lower-rank eagles spread out, enemy movements became harder to hide. Messengers had to travel with greater caution. Ambush locations were inspected from above. Even distant dust clouds from moving troops could be discovered earlier.
And no one could easily stop these scouts.
If an enemy flying Gu Master tried to intercept them, the rank four wind chaser eagles responded first.
If the opponent was stronger, one of the rank five crown eagles would rise.
If someone was arrogant enough to chase deep into the sky, all three crown eagles would move.
After that happened once, no one tried again casually.
The sky was no longer empty.
It had an owner.
Soon, the alliance oath meeting arrived.
The main tent was brightly lit.
Hei Lou Lan sat at the center.
Fang Yuan sat in a high position on one side.
Fang Ming sat on the other side. He had only been accepted recently, but he was already important.
Around them were the leaders of large, medium, and small tribes, along with demonic path experts who had attached themselves to Hei Lou Lan.
Poison Vow Gu was brought out.
Fang Ming looked at it quietly.
He did not currently have a method like Eating One's Words Gu.
Refusing the oath would be suspicious.
So he took it.
Carefully.
He listened to every clause.
He avoided making unnecessary promises.
He bound himself to the alliance's war direction, but not to loyalty beyond the terms.
The poison vow entered his body.
A faint pressure appeared, then settled.
Fang Ming's expression did not change.
This was risk.
But all progress involved risk.
After the oath, Hei Lou Lan stood and looked around the tent.
"Now that the alliance has formed, we move as one force."
His voice was rough and full of confidence.
"Before attacking, we have strengthened our beast forces. Wolf King now commands the ground. Fang Ming controls the sky. With wolves below and eagles above, how can Dong Fang tribe hide from us?"
The leaders in the tent stirred.
Some smiled.
Some felt pressure.
Some looked toward Fang Yuan with fear.
Some looked toward Fang Ming with wariness.
Fang Yuan remained indifferent.
Fang Ming remained calm.
Hei Lou Lan continued: "We will not wait any longer. Prepare the camps. Our target is Cao Fu."
Cao Fu.
Dong Fang tribe.
Dong Fang Yu Liang.
Fang Ming's eyes sharpened slightly.
Wisdom path.
That was not an opponent to underestimate.
Brute scouting would not be enough against such a person. Eagles could see the land, but wisdom path could see intention.
This campaign would be a test.
Not only of his eagle army.
But also of his judgment.
After the meeting ended, Fang Ming returned to the eagle grounds.
The night wind was cold.
Above him, thousands of eagles rested in dark silhouettes across wooden frames, rocks, and temporary perches. The three crown eagles slept apart from the rest, proud and silent. The wind chaser eagles remained alert even at night.
Fang Ming stood below them and looked up.
Nearly ten thousand eagles.
Compared to Fang Yuan's wolves, the number was small.
Compared to what he had before, it was enormous.
But numbers alone were not strength.
Command was strength.
Timing was strength.
Information was strength.
Fang Ming raised his hand.
One crown eagle opened its eyes.
Then another.
Then the third.
The lower-rank eagles shifted under their pressure, but they did not scatter.
Good.
The hierarchy was taking shape.
Fang Ming lowered his hand.
In the coming war, he would show enslavement path openly.
He would learn from battlefield pressure.
He would observe how Northern Plains experts fought.
And he would keep strength path hidden.
Let others think he was weak once they passed his eagles.
Let assassins believe that reaching his body meant victory.
A blade was most useful before others knew it existed.
The next morning, Hei tribe's camps began to move.
Wolves flowed across the grassland like a dark tide.
Eagles rose into the sky like scattered clouds.
Hei Lou Lan's army marched toward Cao Fu.
And Fang Ming flew above it all, watching the horizon.