Chapter 674: It's Decided: Onyxia!
Evilfang's thoughts were simple and direct.
Its plans and arrangements were also highly practical.
It continued as before—
Cautiously stockpiling large twisted creatures, and mobilizing all small twisted monsters to launch a siege on the Catachan tribe.
The huge number of twisted monsters couldn't bully Bay Territory's army, but bullying their old acquaintances from the Catachan tribe was still within reach.
The transfer and shift of consciousness took only a few short hours.
During that time, the orders given by Evilfang had already begun to affect the monsters besieging the Catachan tribe.
Many Catachan tribes, unable to hold out, had begun retreating and fleeing.
What Evilfang regretted was the disruption in troop strength.
It missed its chance to hunt down those escapees.
Definitely not because—
Its pursuit forces had run into Bay Territory's wyvern cavalry!
Seeing Bay Territory's domineering behavior, Evilfang wisely chose to "ignore" them.
It had only one goal in mind: carefully stockpile forces and wait for the right time.
As for the other Evil Shadow Spirit companions preparing to directly clash with Bay Territory—
Evilfang thought they were overthinking things!
If they couldn't deal with Bay Territory's core combat power, trying to stall them with twisted monsters and plants was pure fantasy.
As for whether the rescued Catachan people would boost Bay Territory's power—
Evilfang pondered for half a second, then chose to ignore it.
Stay away from Bay Territory, live free and happy.
"ROAR...!"
A piercing dragon roar swept overhead.
The fleeing Catachan people looked back in panic.
All they saw were the once-ferocious twisted monsters, now writhing in agony within the flames of dragon breath.
A Bay Territory staff member leading the group immediately shouted through a loudspeaker:
"Reinforcements have arrived. Extraction units are on their way. Please keep moving."
The exhausted Catachan people instantly perked up and hurried to keep pace.
Without Evil Shadow Spirit control, twisted monsters and plants were usually more cautious when facing large prey groups.
They preferred stalking and probing attacks.
Until the prey lost the will to resist—
Or enough twisted monsters had gathered to hunt together—
They wouldn't launch a full-scale encircling assault.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Swift arrows flew into the distance, killing a few lurking twisted beasts.
Thorne retrieved his bow and glanced at the old, weak, women, and children in the center of the group, a trace of helplessness in his eyes.
This Catachan tribe had fought until their last drop of strength, yet still couldn't overcome the twisted monsters.
Most Catachan warriors had died. The survivors were injured and burdened with protecting non-combatants.
Without Bay Territory's help, they likely wouldn't have escaped the encirclement.
Like other tribes before them, they would've vanished under a tide of monsters, leaving no trace.
And this tribe had once been stronger than Thorne's own.
Now, it too was swallowed by the monsters.
Losing their ancestral land and legacy, they'd have no choice but to merge into other Catachan tribes.
They couldn't survive in the wild—Catachan Jungle was full of deadly threats.
Sinister eyes glinted from the shadows—filled with unrestrained greed and a hunger to kill.
"Damn it, they just keep coming!"
Without hesitation, Thorne nocked an arrow and fired at the most intense, greedy gaze.
Thwack! Thwack!
Two arrows in one shot!
Thorne's archery was masterful—stronger than before, with sharper perception.
Prey of this level had no chance of escaping him.
Dull thuds echoed from where the beasts fell.
Then came howls and growls, echoing in waves.
The chaos there didn't settle for quite some time.
But Thorne's expression didn't improve—his deterrence was losing effect.
Soon, they'd pounce.
Realizing this, Thorne looked at the Bay Territory staff organizing the evacuation and suppressed the urge to rush them.
He knew the staff had already done their best—the retreat was as fast as it could be.
Urging them wouldn't help and would only increase stress.
That helplessness left him frustrated.
If only the Catachan tribes had joined Bay Territory earlier—would things have been different?
Of course they would!
But the tribes had been stubborn—just like his once was.
Thorne buried his discomfort and kept shooting the twisted monsters attempting to attack, maintaining pressure on the predators.
But the pressure on Thorne and the others only grew heavier.
They lacked manpower, and their weapons couldn't kill large groups quickly. They were barely holding the line.
"ROAR...!"
A shiver-inducing roar echoed from above.
A wyvern's massive body descended, crashing into the dense jungle.
Trees snapped, battles erupted, and roars shook the forest.
The retreating Catachan convoy briefly fell into disarray due to the wyvern's landing.
Thankfully, the Bay Territory staff reacted quickly and calmed them down in Catachan tongue:
"No need to panic! The wyvern riders are our reinforcements."
"They're here to protect us!"
Seeing that the wyverns didn't attack, many Catachan people felt a surge of excitement.
Subconsciously, they began to believe—
Bay Territory was just another powerful Catachan tribe.
So they followed orders without complaint.
Thorne breathed a long sigh of relief at the wyverns' arrival.
But he quickly realized—if the wyvern riders had been dispatched, there were no other forces available for support.
"Did something happen?"
His question remained unanswered.
The Bay Territory staff continued leading the group to their destination.
They had a vague idea why:
Too many Catachan tribes needed evacuation!
Even with many mobile units, Bay Territory could only help those closest to them.
Not all Catachan tribes wanted to cooperate with Bay Territory.
And not all fleeing Catachans were willing to integrate.
Bay Territory didn't force anyone—only accepting those who volunteered.
In just five or six days—
Bay Territory had already relocated over 300,000 non-combatants to the material plane, with more arriving.
Their arrival didn't burden Bay Territory.
With ample supplies and massive food reserves, the Catachans quickly settled.
And soon discovered that Bay Territory offered more than shelter and food.
Training for the path of Professionals, new kinds of knowledge, and the existence of another world—stunned the Catachans.
They would need time to adapt to the environment and integrate.
Ralph the steward was delighted by their arrival.
Bay Territory's development had entered a rapid growth phase.
The biggest limiting factor now was population.
Half the year had passed.
Bay Territory's population had grown to 2.32 million.
Of those, 800,000 were newborns from this year alone.
Their arrival marked the first mass birth generation in Bay Territory.
Preparations had begun two years in advance to welcome them.
One-third of the expanded Professional Training Academy was built specifically for them.
Educational facilities, playgrounds, kindergartens, and teacher training were all in place.
From birth at the Druid Maternity Center, Bay Territory's newborns received the best care and treatment.
Bay Territory had invested heavily in this area—truly sparing no expense.
They also made a public promise:
As long as people were willing to have children—regardless of gender or number—the territory would care for them fairly and openly.
Food, clothing, and daily needs were all provided.
Because of this policy, the number of newborns kept increasing.
Most citizens praised and supported the territory's policies.
Their loyalty and sense of belonging skyrocketed.
Bay Territory's benefits, spread by word of mouth and news outlets, reached all corners of the Northern Continent.
Most didn't believe it—thinking such a utopia couldn't exist.
But for some who had nowhere left to turn, it was a glimmer of hope.
And just when they had that thought—
Bay Territory's trade caravans became their gateway to entry.
"Our caravans are our extended hands and eyes. Recruiting newcomers is part of their mission."
Ralph sent word to Adam Smith to recruit more newcomers and guide large-scale immigration.
Ralph had one regret:
Even though Bay Territory had built many teleportation routes—
They still couldn't meet the demand from refugees eager to join quickly.
"Shame that other territories and organizations still reject golem trains and rail systems."
They were afraid of Bay Territory's development—unwilling to help, even if they didn't dare to hinder.
Old John, pulling his gaze from the teleportation zone, looked toward the Dark Forest with a pout:
"The trolls are getting bolder. Some units have already started attacking our outposts and camps."
"Normal troll tribes wouldn't dare. Must be other forces from the Rottenmoss Clan…"
Times had changed.
The power gap between the troll tribes and Bay Territory was now massive.
Ralph didn't give any specific orders—after a moment of thought, he said:
"The heat in the Desert of Death has dropped recently."
"The number of phantom monsters is decreasing."
"That vast but resource-poor desert can't satisfy tens of thousands of adventurers anymore."
Old John understood what Ralph meant and chuckled:
"Good. I'm sure some adventurers left hungry."
"Let's send them to the troll clans in the Dark Forest to have some fun."
Soon, new war directive quests were issued across Bay Territory.
The campaigns in the Desert of Death and Misty Swamp were coming to a close.
New top-paying quests included:
Capturing trolls in the Dark Forest.
Clearing wild zones and capturing barbarians on the Silvermoon River Plains.
The extra merit rewards made these quests irresistible.
Many adventurers jumped at the last chance to score big.
Veteran teams were already applying for reward settlements to collect their Bay Territory bonuses.
Then they'd head to the Dark Forest for pre-operations.
The better prepared, the fatter the prize.
The underground lab's specimen zone and Vitality Potion factory—
Needed more trolls and barbarians to contribute.
The adventurer scene heated up again.
Bay Territory adjusted its material deployments and factory production accordingly.
New weapons and inventions tested in the Catachan Jungle would debut before the fighting started.
Most adventurers loved buying Bay Territory gear—especially right when directive quests went live.
Smart adventurers knew prices were at least one-third lower at this time than later.
Those who departed early would soon discover—
Bay Territory's bases and camps in the Dark Forest were now full of jungle-hardened Catachan warriors.
Determined to integrate, they'd prove their worth and contribute.