After a while, the commotion quieted down, and Ash could continue his speech. "That's all I can do for now. I could do that much before because it was our first subjugation, and in the future, it can only be done slowly."
He tapped his feet on the ground slowly as he continued. "Besides, there's another matter. The previous Mirefang Tribe will move their stronghold here. So, prepare yourself and help them to familiarize themselves with everything when they're here."
"However, before that…" He paused for a second and continued with a smile. "I'll upgrade our defense first."
He then ordered the system in his heart. "Upgrade and expand the wooden palisades and the watchtowers."
[Ding! The System Points are insufficient, you need 71,000 more System Points.]
"Why is it doubled now?" Ash frowned, asking the system in his heart.
[Ding! Because you want to expand it too, if the host only upgrades them, then it will only be 100,000 System Points.]
'Fair enough.' He nodded.
"Convert all of the Beast Cores in the inventory to System Points." He ordered.
[Ding! You have converted six Peak 4th Rank Beast Cores.]
[Ding! You have obtained 60,000 System Points.]
[Ding! You have converted 4 Peak 3rd Rank Beast Cores.]
[Ding! You have obtained 4,000 System Points.]
Looking at his current System Points, he was still 7,000 away.
[Tribal Points: 10,883] [System Points: 193,000]
He then looked at Old Ni beside him.
Cough!
He coughed lightly in embarrassment. "I need seven Peak 3rd Rank Beast Cores."
Old Ni didn't ask about anything and just waved his hand. "Bring them here."
Someone immediately went to the storage room and brought the beast cores.
Ash waved his hand, putting them into his inventory and immediately converting them to System Points.
[Ding! You have converted 7 Peak 3rd Rank Beast Cores.]
[Ding! You have obtained 7,000 System Points.]
"Upgrade them now and make the shape into a square." He ordered.
[Ding! 200,000 System Points have been successfully deducted.]
[Ding! You have successfully upgraded them to Tier 1.]
The moment the system notification faded, a deep vibration rippled through the ground.
At first, it was faint like distant thunder rolling beneath their feet.
Then it grew violent as the dirt paths and Clay walls trembled.
Children screamed as adults instinctively steadied themselves. Warriors widened their stances, gripping weapons as if a beast were about to burst from the ground itself.
"What—what's happening?!" someone shouted.
Before anyone could answer, the wooden palisades surrounding the stronghold groaned loudly.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
The sharpened wooden stakes tore free from the ground as one, rising nearly ten meters into the air.
Gasps exploded throughout the crowd.
"The wall—!"
"It's flying, look!"
…
Ash stood calmly at the center with his hands behind his back, calmly watching the scene before him.
Above them, the palisades began to shift.
The once circular wall stretched outward, the wooden stakes sliding and multiplying midair as if guided by an invisible hand.
The curve straightened, corners forming sharply as the shape transformed from a rough circle into a perfect square.
At the same time, the wall expanded outward, doubling its territory.
The distance from one side to the other surged—from roughly two hundred and fifty meters to five hundred meters.
People stumbled backward in disbelief as the land itself seemed to rearrange.
"This… This is impossible!"
"Is this truly the Tribe Lord's power given by God…?"
…
As the palisades hovered, the first transformation began.
The rough, uneven stakes darkened.
Bark peeled away and vanished in an instant, revealing thicker, denser timber beneath. The logs straightened, aligning into a more uniform height. Wooden braces snapped into place between them, binding the stakes together tightly.
Thick ropes appeared, wrapping around the logs in patterns. The gaps between the stakes filled rapidly as packed clay and stones fused into the spaces, sealing the weaknesses that once let wind pass through.
Behind the wall, crude wooden walkways formed, planks locking together to create paths wide enough for warriors to patrol.
"What… there's a path behind the wall now…"
"We can stand on it, now?"
…
Before they could process what happened in front of them, the transformation didn't stop.
A low hum echoed through the air.
The outer surface of the palisade was suddenly coated in thick layers of clay, mixed with ash and crushed stone. The wet surface cracked as it dried instantly, forming a hardened shell over the timber beneath.
The wall no longer looked like wood alone. It looked like someone just used a spell to make a wall from the ground, mixed with ash and crushed stone.
At the top, the sharpened stakes were reinforced further as bones and flat stones embedded into the tips, making them jagged and unmistakably lethal.
The wall was no longer something that could be easily burned or broken.
BOOM!
The entire wall slammed back into the ground.
The impact sent a shockwave outward, dust and loose debris leaping into the air as the ground groaned beneath the weight. When the tremor finally settled, the wall stood firm—taller, broader, and utterly imposing unlike the previous simple one.
The crowd was still in shock but it's not finished yet, as above the newly formed main gate, the two original watchtowers suddenly rose into the air.
Then they multiplied.
Two became four… Four became six.
The towers thickened, their wooden frames reinforced, then coated just like the wall. Each grew taller, broader, with expanded platforms and sturdier ladders forming within.
With precise movement, the system repositioned them.
Two watchtowers descended beside the gate, one on each side. The remaining four drifted outward and settled perfectly at each corner of the square wall, anchoring themselves into the ground.
When the last tower locked into place, a deep resonant thud echoed across the stronghold.