Chapter 19

As the thunderbirds were recruited, Liu Siyi thought of food as a means to increase their loyalty. Although the rules of this world had given intelligence to any troop, the thunderbirds were still beasts, after all. Without any entertainment, he couldn't think of any other way to foster mutual affection besides eating.

What to eat? Of course, it was bears. He had always heard about bear paws and abalone, but he had never even smelled them, let alone tasted them. However, now there were dozens of bears at the foot of the mountain. If he didn't act quickly, they would all be gone by tomorrow.

He directed the thunder eagles and thunderbirds to use their sharp claws to cut off a few bear paws, leaving the rest of the bear meat for them to handle.

In such a bloody place, the ground was littered with dismembered corpses, and the smell of blood was overwhelming. Liu Siyi was impressed with himself for still having an appetite. Of course, the bear paws, each as large as a 17-inch LCD screen, were too bloody to eat raw, and he certainly wouldn't eat them here.

He found a large rock behind which he could hide from the sight and the smell of blood. He placed the bear paws on a clean rock, then gathered some stones to form a simple circle, collected some dry branches, and built a fire. He found two fresh branches to skewer the skinned bear paws for grilling.

What? No fire? Isn't a first-level magic fireball fire? Although he had no experience, he threw the first fireball into the pile of dry branches, and it burned them to ashes in an instant. Reluctantly, Liu Siyi had to gather more dry branches and rebuild the fire.

This time, he learned from his mistake. He used a small fireball to light a single branch first, then gradually ignited the entire fire.

What? No seasonings?

He really didn't have any. Liu Siyi hadn't studied botany, and while he knew that any bitter plant could be used for sustenance, could it be used as a seasoning? Besides, he didn't want to spend the time searching, as he didn't think he would succeed.

Fortunately, as the bear paws grilled, they turned a golden, translucent color. The fat dripped onto the fire, sizzling and releasing a fragrant aroma with almost no gamey smell.

"Really fragrant!" Liu Siyi took a small bite and felt the rich, clear flavor of the fat in his mouth. It was neither greasy nor fatty, but fresh and tender, almost making him swallow his tongue.

Soon, one bear paw was down his throat.

Even without seasonings, it was so fragrant. If he had some suitable seasonings and a couple of drinks, it would be like living in paradise.

Hmm? Just as Liu Siyi grabbed the second bear paw, he noticed the light around him dimming. Looking up, he saw that the thunder eagles and thunderbirds had formed a circle around him, their eyes fixed on the bear paw on the fire, and their beaks were even drooling.

"Do you want to eat too?" Seeing the thunder eagles and thunderbirds nod, Liu Siyi held the bear paw and said hesitantly, "Unfortunately, there's only one left, and it's not enough for all of you. Besides, I haven't eaten enough myself, so I won't give it to you." He then took a bite.

Sure enough, seeing their master enjoying the food, the thunder eagles and thunderbirds looked disappointed. The master's word was law.

"I won't give you this one, but if you want to eat, you can. Thunder Eagle, go get more bear paws. You guys, go collect more dry branches. I'll cook for you."

"Whistle~" The thunder eagles and thunderbirds cheered and immediately followed his orders.

What? You think the wooden soldiers, being a low-level first-tier unit, should be treated equally?

Ha, you must be joking. Since he started tracking the dwarves, Liu Siyi only gave the wooden soldiers an order to move north and then left immediately.

What about the wooden soldiers now? I can only apologize, but at a certain distance, there is no way to sense each other, so it's unknown whether the wooden soldiers are alive or dead.

If the wooden soldiers really came here, Liu Siyi would certainly continue to lead them. But if they were sacrificed, he wouldn't mind.

Grilling was simple, and soon, his subordinates were all enjoying the feast.

Ha, who would have thought? When the east doesn't shine, the west does. Originally, Liu Siyi wanted to find food to foster their bond, but in the bloody battlefield, he couldn't eat without hesitation. However, the effect of a few bear paws was unexpectedly good.

After eating and drinking, Liu Siyi was wide awake. In just two days in this world, the initial confusion and loneliness he felt upon arrival had been replaced by confidence from his first battle and level-up, the crisis brought by the appearance of the dwarf hero, the battle with the thunder eagles and dwarves, and the final taming of the thunder eagles and recruitment of the thunderbirds, as well as the potential retaliation from the dwarves. All of this gave him a sense of urgency.

This was a world of the strong preying on the weak, and it truly reflected that in any world, strength was essential.

Well, let's see how cultivation works in this world.

Thinking of it, he focused his attention and activated the lightning rune. Soon, lightning elements began to appear in large numbers, pushing away all other elements and occupying the surrounding space.

Without comparison, he wouldn't have known what the elements looked like during cultivation. Now, he realized the difference between the real world and this world. In the real world, the elements were chaotic and intertwined, making it unsuitable for cultivation even for those who hadn't practiced. Without the lightning rune, Liu Siyi wouldn't have been able to cultivate successfully.

In this game world, however, the lightning elements, although pushed away by the lightning rune, were clearly stable and suitable for cultivation.

Liu Siyi's meditation was successful, and he could feel the changes in the lightning elements around him. In the nest behind him, four lightning element aggregates were lying there, one of which was more than twice the size of the others. He knew that the large lightning element aggregate must be the thunder eagle, and the other three were the newly recruited thunderbirds.

As the lightning elements increased, they finally filled the entire space. The thunder eagle and thunderbirds, the large lightning element aggregates, began to move, each emitting a suction force to draw the surrounding lightning elements into their bodies.

Initially, the suction force was weak, but it quickly grew, like a bottomless pit, absorbing all the lightning elements in the surrounding space into their bodies.

What's going on? Can the thunder eagles and thunderbirds, which have the ability to control lightning, automatically absorb the surrounding lightning elements for cultivation?