11: The hero is actually an iron-eating monster, a cub?

“Confirm!”

Buzz—

The token shattered into a beam of light, shooting straight into the sky, where it outlined a constantly changing runic array.

Mo Yan could feel something being summoned from a distant place.

The light gradually receded, and the array slowly descended, finally condensing into a figure on the open ground in front of Mo Yan.

That was a… huh?

The summoning array dispersed, revealing a black and white furball, and Mo Yan’s prepared welcoming speech caught in his throat.

It wasn’t the majestic humanoid hero he had imagined, but a… panda?

A round, fluffy black and white panda cub, only reaching his waist in height.

It had iconic dark circles around its eyes, and its distinct black and white fur was fluffy and soft, making one want to reach out and touch it.

The little guy held a vibrant green bamboo stalk in its front paws, with a few tender leaves still attached to the top of the bamboo, looking more like a snack than a weapon.

It curiously peered at Mo Yan, its large eyes under the dark circles blinking, and its head tilted to one side, looking like it had just woken up and was still a bit dazed.

“A hero?” Mo Yan looked down at the panda holding the bamboo, wondering if he was hallucinating.

Although this panda looked really cute, could its combat power really be effective?

[Hero Unit Information]

Name: (Named by Lord)

Race: Iron-Eating Beast (Yao Beast Cultivator)

Rank: Lv1

Spiritual Power: 0 / 200 (Qi Refining Stage Layer 1)

Loyalty: 80

Talents: wood Heavenly Spiritual Root, Iron Stomach (Consuming metal Ore can increase its defense)

Skills: Soaring Sky Strike (Beginner), Qingyang Bamboo Shadow Skill (Beginner)

Description: A Yao Beast Cultivator Iron-Eating Beast from the mysterious oriental bamboo forest. It appears harmless and naive, but actually possesses considerable potential.

It loves peace, but loves bamboo even more, and will defend those it acknowledges with its life.

After reading the information panel, Mo Yan’s expression became strange.

Iron-Eating Beast? Yao Beast Cultivator?

Consuming metal Ore can increase its defense?

So it wasn't an ordinary panda, but the legendary Iron-Eating Beast!

And it was also a Yao Beast Cultivator.

It came with its own Cultivation Technique, and even had a rare wood Heavenly Spiritual Root.

This style was quite different from the Cultivation System of sword-flying immortals he had imagined.

But the potential was huge!

Especially the Iron Stomach talent, which perfectly aligned with his resource production capabilities.

“Gulu?” The little panda felt Mo Yan’s scrutiny, rubbed its eyes with its paws, and spoke in a soft, milky voice, “Are you the one who summoned me?”

Looking at the fluffy little guy, the sense of urgency in Mo Yan’s heart dissipated.

“That’s right, I am Mo Yan, the Lord of this territory. And this will be your home from now on.”

He squatted down, meeting the little guy’s gaze, looking at its round appearance and the Iron-Eating Beast race.

“From now on, you’ll be called… Iron Pillar, how about that? I hope you can be as hard as iron in the future and become a pillar of the territory.”

Seeing its little expression as it wrinkled its nose, Mo Yan laughed, and rubbed its head: “Alright, seeing how round you are, let’s call you Gun Gun. It’s simple and easy to remember.”

“Lord Mo Yan!” Gun Gun was so excited to finally have a name of its own that it stomped its feet in place.

It patted its chest with its fleshy paws, which were still holding the bamboo, making dull thudding sounds, and a wave of spiritual power spread out.

Mo Yan felt a gentle aura pass over him.

“Gun Gun will protect you!”

These words weren't very convincing, but looking at Gun Gun’s serious little eyes, a warmth spread through Mo Yan’s heart.

“Good, I believe you.” Mo Yan smiled and rubbed its fluffy head, which felt nice. “However, before that, let’s try out your talent.”

“Gulu?” Gun Gun curiously leaned closer, sniffing hard at the cold, hard Ore with its little nose, then looked at its precious bamboo in its arms, comparing which one tasted better.

Mo Yan patiently enticed it: “Eating this will make you stronger and increase your defense.”

“Stronger?” Gun Gun’s dark eyes widened. It dropped the bamboo, took the iron ore, and put it into its mouth.

“Crunch!”

With a crisp sound, the hard iron ore was easily bitten off by it!

Mo Yan heard the crisp sound and his heart skipped a beat. Those teeth…

As expected of an Iron-Eating Beast.

Gun Gun chewed a few times, and its tiny brows initially furrowed.

A moment later, Gun Gun happily lowered its head and gnawed furiously, making gurgling sounds.

“Delicious!” It mumbled, then buried its head in the Ore, eating with relish.

Mo Yan observed carefully and found that every time Gun Gun ate a small piece of Ore, the black and white fur on its body subtly gained a bit more luster.

A faint aura flowed within its body.

[Gun Gun’s Iron Stomach talent triggered, Physical Defense +0.1] The System prompt immediately popped up.

“It really works!” Mo Yan felt relieved. Gun Gun’s talent was very useful.

In the future, all the iron ore in the territory could be given to it to eat.

After settling Gun Gun, this potential stock, Mo Yan’s gaze turned to the Barracks.

After the territory was upgraded to Lv2, the population cap increased to 50, and the recruitment limit for the Barracks was also lifted.

“Recruit Soldiers!” Mo Yan didn’t hesitate.

[Tier 1 Soldier]

[Requirements: food × 10, Gold Coins × 10]

[Recruitment Time: 5 minutes / Soldier]

He now had abundant resources and felt confident.

“Twenty!”

[Confirm consumption of food × 200, Gold Coins × 200, to recruit 20 Tier 1 Soldiers?]

“Confirm!”

The Barracks glowed and flickered, beginning to mass-produce Soldiers.

Mo Yan took this opportunity to walk towards the newly built Butchering Platform.

The Butchering Platform was constructed from sturdy stones and wood, with a smooth metal surface laid on top, displaying various sharp knives and hooks.

[Butchering Platform (Rare)]

[Function: Can decompose Yao Beast corpses to obtain Materials. Can be operated by residents.]

[Special Consumption: Requires 1 Primeval Stone per day during operation.]

[Currently Operable Units: Resident × 1]

“One Primeval Stone per day…” Mo Yan stroked his chin, “It seems this rare-grade building isn’t free to use either.”

This was not a burden for him. The eight Primeval Stones acquired from the wolf den could last for a while, not to mention the potential of his talent.

He took out the corpse of the Icefield Wolf leader and the other nine ordinary Icefield Wolf corpses from his talent space, temporarily piling them on the open ground next to the Butchering Platform.

A strong smell of blood quickly spread.

It made Gun Gun, who was gnawing on iron ore, curiously look up, then continue to bury its head and eat.

He called over the resident he had recruited earlier.

“From today onwards, you will be responsible for this place. Try to decompose these wolf corpses. Operate carefully.”

Mo Yan pointed at the corpses on the ground.

The resident’s throat bobbed, and though fear was unconcealed in his eyes, he respectfully replied, “Yes, Lord!”

He walked to the Butchering Platform, picked up a sharp skinning knife, and clumsily attempted to operate on the first ordinary Icefield Wolf corpse.

About one hour and forty minutes later, the light from the Barracks gradually faded.

Twenty new Soldiers marched out in formation. Adding the original ten, Mo Yan now commanded a total of thirty Tier 1 Soldiers.

Like the previous Soldiers, they wore basic leather armor and carried spears and wooden shields.

But Mo Yan keenly sensed an unusual aura about these new recruits.

He opened the attribute panel of one of the new recruits to check.

Tier 1 Soldier

Rank: Lv1

Spiritual Power: 0 / 200 (Qi Refining Stage Layer 1)

Status: Intact

Skills: Basic Spear Mastery Lv1, Basic Shield Defense Lv1, Physical Training I

Aptitude: Five Elements Spiritual Root (Not Activated)

“Huh?!” Mo Yan’s breathing hitched, his gaze fixed on those two new attribute lines!

Spiritual Power.

Qi Refining Stage Layer 1.

Five Elements Spiritual Root?!

He quickly checked the panels of several other new recruits and found that every single new recruit had these two brand new attributes!

Without exception!