The golden chain glowed brightly in the darkness.
Talia raised her silver staff high, ready to cast Orbital Magic at any moment, using the golden light as her signal.
Whether or not she would use it depended on whether Romon could succeed.
And now, let's see.
The Alpha Wolf, which had tumbled to the ground, felt the unusual sensation around its neck. It quickly pushed itself up, but at that moment, a crushing force came from the golden chain, forcing it back down to the ground.
"Aw?"
The Alpha Wolf was confused. Its body was still strong, so why was this happening?
Refusing to give in, it tried to rise again, but once more, it was pressed back down. This time, as it struggled on the ground, a vision appeared in its mind. It was a blurry human figure—unfamiliar—but deep within its soul, it received a mental suggestion: He is your master.
The Alpha Wolf didn't understand. It opened its mouth and tried to bite the golden chain.
But this time, it was even more affected. The figure in its mind gradually became clearer, transforming into Romon's face. And as the wolf king's dominant nature saw the figure, a strange feeling of submission stirred within it.
"Ugh…"
The Alpha Wolf gnawed furiously on the golden chain with its sharp teeth, but the chain wasn't made of material—it was a magical construct.
It couldn't break it. Instead, with every bite, the mental imprint on its mind grew stronger.
Romon kept an eye on the simulator blueprint. He could see the wolf's attitude shift from a bright red "Hostile" state to a yellow "Wild" state, and then slowly transition into a green "Ally" state.
When an option to issue commands appeared above the Alpha Wolf's head, Romon knew that the taming was complete.
The golden chain in the night sky loosened from Romon's hand, disintegrating in segments until it completely vanished from around the Alpha Wolf's neck, allowing it to finally rise.
"Awwooo?"
The Alpha Wolf shook its heavy head, exuding an air of dominance and strength. But the next moment, it stuck out its tongue and looked up at Romon with eager eyes.
"We did it, Talia," Romon announced.
Then, he looked at the Alpha Wolf. "Call over your mate and your pack."
The bloodthirsty wolf king evidently had some intelligence, especially now that it had officially become Romon's pet. It was now influenced by the culture of Romon's territory.
"Awwoooo—!!"
A piercing wolf howl rang out across the wilderness, quickly spreading through the area. Before long, the two of them could hear the sounds of wolves running through the plains.
Soon,
A dozen or so female wolves surrounded the Alpha Wolf affectionately, followed by hundreds of regular bloodthirsty wolves gathering behind them.
At this moment, the Alpha Wolf's size became even more apparent, standing out clearly as much larger than the other male wolves.
After the wolves had gathered, they immediately noticed Talia and Romon in the sky. The male wolves bared their teeth and growled, ready to attack at any moment.
However, this hostile intent was quickly detected by the highly intelligent Alpha Wolf. It raised its head and looked back.
With just a single glance, the Alpha Wolf made all the male wolves behind it lower their ears and hang their heads in submission.
"Tell them that from now on, they will follow my orders, or they will die."
Upon hearing this, the Alpha Wolf turned around to face the pack. Then, a long and powerful wolf howl echoed through the air.
Romon observed the simulation blueprint. As the Alpha Wolf issued its warning, each of the regular bloodthirsty wolves began to shift from a red "Hostile" status to a yellow "Wild" status, and then slowly turned into a green "Ally" status.
He only needed to tame the Alpha Wolf; the rest would follow.
Soon, the entire pack had turned green. Romon counted the numbers—there were 598 wolves in total. These were considered allied units, not counted toward the population value.
However, they did contribute to the Strength value.
After taming the pack, the territory's Strength value had increased from 222 to 460!
With the pack's help, the chances of successfully attacking Stone Town were much greater.
Moreover, from this point on, if Romon used the simulator for future simulations, he could factor in the bloodthirsty wolf pack as a variable.
With or without the bloodthirsty wolf pack, the results of the simulations were drastically different.
Romon glanced at the wolf pack on the ground and then activated the simulator in the air, preparing to run a simulation.
Stone Town was located to the west of Thune territory's small rural area, south of the Great Plains.
To send the bloodthirsty wolf pack to attack Stone Town, they would need to pass through a main road between the two areas. The road was open and visible, and if the wolves were spotted too early, it would give Stone Town an advantage.
Since the wolf pack specialized in close combat, an early detection by Stone Town would ruin any chance of surprise.
So, Romon planned a route that would lead the wolves south, through the forest, and then through the small rural area. They would then use the land of other lords to bypass and directly attack the eastern gate of Stone Town!
Bloodthirsty wolves, by universal standards, were considered magical beasts and didn't care about the sovereignty of other territories.
This worked to Romon's advantage since they weren't counted as population.
After completing the route planning for the bloodthirsty wolves' attack, Romon began calling upon Talia, Nini, and the Centaur Knights to make a direct assault from the main road.
The two forces would converge at the eastern and northern gates of Stone Town, with the wolf pack causing a distraction, the Centaur Knights providing cover, and Talia leading the main assault.
"Start the simulation!" Romon thought to himself.
[Round 1 ends! Due to the declaration of war by the Nightingale Lord, you have initiated the attack on Stone Town. The Thune family banner flies high, and the older generation of Stone Town citizens cheer for you. They wish for Stone Town to return to Thune territory and long to witness the revival of the Thune family. However, there are also some who condemn your actions, calling you a tyrant of Thune. As a result, your reputation has suffered a decline. The war is still limited in scope; you must make a choice.]
[Round 2 begins!]
The older generation of Stone Town citizens had benefited greatly from the Thune family in the past. They enjoyed the privileges of the Thune family at its peak, and despite the many events that had transpired since, the memories of those high privileges still lingered in their hearts.
Romon looked at the simulator blueprint, and suddenly, a bold idea appeared in his mind. Since he could send troops into other lords' territories to conduct sieges, he could also try expanding in all directions within the simulator.
Even if it meant initiating a war, it didn't matter. After all, he had the simulator to test things out.
If something could be bought, he would buy it; if it couldn't, he would fight for it. If he couldn't win, he would just move on to another target. After all, all it took was using the free simulation rounds. He just needed to find the right "soft targets" and then, in real life, lead his army into action.
But, that would have to wait for later.
For now, he still needed to find a way to capture Stone Town. While it wasn't a financial powerhouse, it was still much more valuable than his small rural area.
If he could reclaim Stone Town, Thune territory would take a huge leap forward.
Suddenly.
A red warning figure appeared on the simulator blueprint. From the model, it appeared to be a woman.
Her speed was incredibly fast. She had departed from Stone Town, bypassed the bloodthirsty wolf pack and the Centaur Knights, and was heading straight for the small rural area in Thune territory!
Looking at her path, it was clear that her target wasn't Talia but the lord deep within Thune territory's castle—Romon!
It was an assassination attempt by the Nightingale Lord!
Romon narrowed his eyes, zooming in on the blueprint in his mind until he could clearly see the woman's appearance and information.
[Rose Alley's Scimitar • Spidevs]
[Currently in the act of assassination…]
"Ah, so it's Spidevs, Nini's teacher, the prostitute who travels between the thighs of various lords," Romon immediately thought to himself, forming an assessment.
Whether it was Spidevs in the blueprint or the Spidevs in the mercenary market, Romon had carefully reviewed the intel.
Spidevs' assassination skills were far superior to Nini's. Old ginger is spicier.
Romon considered for a moment. He had witnessed Nini's speed firsthand, and it was already fast enough to leave afterimages. Spidevs' overall abilities, however, were far superior to Nini's.
If she attempted an assassination, it would be very hard for Talia to stop her.
Talia could defeat the unskilled Nini using the advantage of magic crystal ore, but against the experienced Spidevs, she might only manage a mutual destruction at best.
But Romon wasn't willing to let Talia die. He had grown very accustomed to using this bodyguard.
So now, what should he do? Talia, Nini, and the Centaur Knights were all on the battlefield. Thune territory had only a group of farmers left—basically, no defenses at all.
Romon's gaze slowly shifted toward the Great Forest.
Perhaps he could borrow some strength from the princess? As long as he stayed close to her, if Spidevs came to assassinate him, he could counterattack alongside the princess.
Thinking this through, Romon tried to plan accordingly. After all, this was the only option left in his entire territory, and withdrawing troops from the frontlines was no longer feasible.
The princess was near the labyrinth, so Romon directly selected his lord figure on the blueprint and planned a movement route.