Chapter 88: Creating Subordinates
Logan watched the "little thieving cats" in the distance and felt no trace of anger. A few fish were truly not worth mentioning to him.
At that moment, he was pondering a question. As a native intelligent race of the Coral Highlands, the Grimalkynes had lived on this land for an unknown amount of time; they were undoubtedly intimately familiar with their surroundings. Given their fishing habits, perhaps they had caught Goldenfry or Platinumfish before—maybe they even kept some of those glittering scales.
Even if they didn't have scales, they surely knew where to find shiny ore, right? If he could communicate with them, it would save him a lot of trouble.
Unfortunately, there was a language barrier, not to mention the massive size difference. The moment he appeared before those Grimalkynes, their first instinct would be to scatter in a panic; there was no way they would settle down and try to converse with him.
He wondered how the Hunters of the future managed to reach an understanding with them. If only he had a Palico like in the game—being fellow feline-type Lynians, they would surely have a lot in common.
As he was thinking, a spark of inspiration hit him. Logan lowered his massive frame and began to approach cautiously. His soft paw pads allowed him to move silently, and by using the giant coral formations as cover, he quickly circled behind the Grimalkynes.
The next second, the Grimalkynes saw a massive monster suddenly leap from behind a coral mound. His burly frame was covered in snow-white scales that shimmered like diamonds under the sunlight, flashing with a prismatic glow.
The excitement of their catch was instantly replaced by overwhelming terror. The Grimalkynes hurriedly dropped their hard-earned large fish and began to flee desperately on all fours.
However, how could these little creatures, barely a meter tall, outrun a seventeen-meter behemoth? Logan needed only a light hop to clear a distance of nearly thirty meters—a distance that would take a Grimalkyne dozens of frantic steps to cover.
He locked his gaze onto one specific member of the group. With a few leaps, he was beside it, his front paw descending like a dark cloud blotting out the sun. If this blow actually connected, even a Grimalkyne's sturdy body would be flattened into a meat paste instantly. Fortunately, Logan had no intention of taking its life. His five claws plunged into the hard ground like steel pillars, caging the creature within his palm.
"Oh no! Lulu's been caught, meow!"
"We have to save her, meow!"
This scene caused the other fleeing Grimalkynes to skitter to a halt. They quickly pulled handmade small bows from their backs and began firing rapidly at Logan. Relying on their great strength and feline reflexes, they could fire in rapid succession. Tiny arrows tipped with animal teeth flew like a string of beads, clattering incessantly against Logan's body.
Clear "ding-dong" sounds echoed like pearls falling onto a jade plate. Under the despairing gazes of the Grimalkynes, every arrow was deflected; they failed to leave even a single scratch.
Logan ignored these overconfident little fellows. Instead, he slowly closed his claws, gently pinching the captured Grimalkyne. He had to be extremely careful with his strength, fearing he might accidentally crush it to death. The feeling was much like in his past life as a human when he would curiously pick up a newly hatched chick.
The captured Grimalkyne refused to stop struggling, its bone spear constantly thwacking against Logan's claw, which only caused him a slight itch. Ignoring the futile resistance, Logan used his flexible shoulder joints to reach his other front paw around to his back. He scraped off a tiny bit of Blood Frosting and stuffed it toward the Grimalkyne's mouth.
This was delicate work. To Logan, it was a tiny speck, but to the Grimalkyne, the frosting was nearly as big as its paw. Being forced into its mouth, the frosting made the creature's eyes roll back as it gagged. Luckily, creatures of this world possessed robust constitutions; after some effort, it finally managed to swallow the frosting.
Next, he just had to wait. Every creature that consumed the Blood Frosting would, through physical evolution, develop a mysterious connection with Logan and involuntarily show signs of affinity toward him.
Zhu Peiniang was a perfect example. Recently, Logan had noticed her intelligence growing higher and higher; sometimes, a single look was enough for her to understand his thoughts. If a member of another intelligent race ate the frosting, would it be possible to communicate easily?
When that time came, this Grimalkyne could serve as a translator between him and the others, allowing for normal communication.
To be safe, Logan decided to keep it by his side for a while. He would observe the specific changes before releasing it back to its tribe. Using his claw, he gently attached a strand of spider silk to the Grimalkyne, wrapping it around a few times and tying it to his tail like a dangling charm.
Throughout this process, the Grimalkyne screamed "meow-meow" incessantly, and the others were equally agitated, gesturing wildly and shouting something.
Logan couldn't understand them anyway, so he ignored it. Carrying his "prize," he returned to the cave.
"Lulu was taken away, what do we do, meow?"
"That big monster is too strong. Our arrows and spears can't hurt it at all, meow!"
A few Grimalkynes huddled together dejectedly. After some discussion, they decided to send one back to call for reinforcements while the rest followed from a distance to scout the monster's lair.
Logan noticed these "little tails" behind him, but he still didn't take them seriously.
In the period that followed, he spent most of his time guarding the Grimalkyne. Even when he had to go out, he had Zhu Peiniang. Though she was only an adolescent Zinogre, she wasn't something a few small cats could defeat.
As time passed, changes soon appeared in the captured Grimalkyne.
First was a rise in body temperature, signifying an accelerated metabolism. This was followed by a massive increase in appetite; after all, physical evolution required more nutrients.
Logan couldn't boast about much else, but he had plenty of meat. Just a scrap from between his teeth was enough for the Grimalkyne to have a feast. With an abundant food supply, its body began to grow sturdier at a rate visible to the naked eye. Its bones underwent secondary development, and its height increased accordingly.
An invisible connection quietly formed between Logan and the Grimalkyne. This caused the creature to feel a mysterious sense of closeness toward him, and its attitude gradually shifted from initial terror to friendliness.
During this time, the other Grimalkynes organized several rescue attempts. Unfortunately, facing two powerful behemoths, all efforts ended in failure. This seemed to make them face reality; aside from the occasional observation, they no longer launched any large-scale operations.
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