"Is this true?"

The Azure Ice Rat Leader rubbed its eyes; it hadn't even seen clearly what had happened.

Those four Black-horned Werewolves were all lying on the ground.

The ups and downs of a rat's life were simply too thrilling.

One second it was worried about becoming the Black-horned Werewolves' rations, and the next second, a great savior arrived—this was something they wouldn't even dare to dream of.

"squeak! We survived! squeak!"

Almost all the Azure Ice Rats couldn't help but burst into tears; they hugged each other in excitement, celebrating their survival.

Two older Azure Ice Rats walked over, discussed with the Azure Ice Rat Leader, and made a joint decision.

Holding feelings of excitement and fear, the Azure Ice Rat Leader walked up to Qi Ye, bowed its head to show respect, and asked in a trembling voice:

"Respected Lord, what you just said—is it true that we can join your territory?"

Seeing this giant rat's disbelief and continued fear of him, Qi Ye understood.

If he were a rat hiding underground all day, never seeing the light of day, and one day someone came and suddenly said to him, "Come to my territory, you can live the rat life you want," he would also feel fear at first.

Qi Ye expressed his understanding and smiled, saying, "Everything I said is true."

After receiving confirmation for the second time, the eyes of all the Azure Ice Rats were filled with happiness.

"We can do any kind of work, squeak, we definitely won't become a burden to you!"

The Azure Ice Rat said quickly, afraid that Qi Ye would go back on his word.

Qi Ye hadn't actually thought much about choosing to save the Azure Ice Rats.

But hearing it say this, Qi Ye narrowed his eyes and looked at the Azure Ice Rat's tiny paws; they were much smaller than a human palm, but they possessed the ability to grasp.

As long as Qi Ye taught them how to use tools, they could do some manual labor—for example, like the backpack and knife sheath Qi Ye had previously made for Dahuang, which his territory residents couldn't make because they lacked hands.

The Azure Ice Rats didn't look like much in terms of combat power, but they could be Followers who did simple manual labor.

The Animal Subjugation Skill was flashing incessantly, reminding Qi Ye that it was time to tame the Azure Ice Rats.

"Then become my Followers. One by one, don't rush."

Qi Ye spread his wings, letting the Azure Ice Rats come over one by one to become his Followers.

They all gained a follower panel as well.

Feeling that they possessed entirely new possibilities, the eyes of all the Azure Ice Rats became fanatical.

Among them, the Azure Ice Rat Leader had the highest Aptitude, at B+ Level, and Qi Ye called it Rat One.

【Name: Rat One】

【Race】: Azure Ice Rat

【Level】: Level 1, 0/200

【Aptitude】: B+

【Racial Trait】: Cold Air Control

【Skill】: None

Qi Ye could borrow its Cold Air Control trait; it was exactly opposite to the Flame-tailed Fox's Flame Control, but the intensity was not as high as Flame Control, making it unsuitable for high-intensity combat.

There were twenty-two of these Azure Ice Rats in total, and the pups had all died.

Fortunately, given how fast rodents reproduce, once they reached a safe environment, the Azure Ice Rat population would quickly return to normal.

Now it was time to solve the problem of crossing the river.

Under Qi Ye's instruction, Dahuang carried two Azure Ice Rats on its back, flew across to the other side of the river, set them down, then jumped back to carry two more Azure Ice Rats.

After going back and forth eleven times in this manner, all the Azure Ice Rats safely arrived on the other side of the river, without having to worry about being attacked by the monsters in the river.

Qi Ye pointed out the path to the rat pack, letting them continue on to find his territory on their own.

Rat One raised its head and asked: "Lord, are you not coming with us?"

Qi Ye: "I still need to continue heading south to find the source of the beast tide."

"Beast tide, are you talking about the beast tide?" Rat One was a little excited, because it realized it might be able to help the Lord.

Qi Ye was stunned, then suddenly realized that these Azure Ice Rats had fled from the south, so they must know something about the situation over there. He said: "If you know anything, tell me. This matter is very important to the safety of the territory."

Rat One answered immediately: "squeak, as long as the Lord wants to hear it, I will tell you everything."

It poured out everything it had seen and heard over the past few days.

After listening to Rat One's account, Qi Ye frowned and pondered.

According to its description, about ten kilometers to the south, a very cold and strange energy suddenly erupted. Many monsters were transformed into undead creatures by this energy, and then a group of Black-horned Werewolves headed north, bringing the undead creatures with them to frantically slaughter every living thing they saw.

The lord here had been killed by the Black-horned Werewolves a few days ago, and the Azure Ice Rats surviving on the territory couldn't hold on any longer, so they chose to migrate as a group, which led to the scene Qi Ye had witnessed.

Ten kilometers to the south—wasn't that about fifteen kilometers from his territory?

Fifteen kilometers in the forest was actually quite far; the place was filled with dangerous monsters and steep, uneven mountainous terrain, and every step forward required extreme caution.

And the first wave of the beast tide clearly referred to this group of Black-horned Werewolves.

Unexpectedly, they were already this close to Qi Ye's territory, just about six kilometers away.

While Qi Ye was thinking, a System message suddenly popped up before his eyes.

【Ding, you have triggered a side quest for obtaining clues about the beast tide.】

【Quest Difficulty: B Level】

【Quest Requirements: Successfully eliminate the leader of the first wave of the beast tide and find the source of the beast tide's origin within one day.】

【Quest Reward: 40 experience points】

A new side quest! Qi Ye felt slightly excited and checked the requirements of the side quest.

This quest didn't require Qi Ye to fight the entire beast tide, but rather to eliminate the first wave of the beast tide, which meant dealing with these Black-horned Werewolves.

And among the Black-horned Werewolves, there must be a leader commanding them.

"Do you know where the Black-horned Werewolf leader is?"

"Um, I don't know, squeak! But I know where the previous lord of this land was. The Werewolf Leader killed the lord, so he might still be staying there."

At the mention of it, a sense of fear appeared in Rat One's eyes. Several days ago, when it witnessed the local Black Snake Beast Lord being killed and was fleeing in panic, it had once locked eyes with this ferocious leader.

He was a pure black werewolf, three meters tall, with fur as hard as steel. He had easily killed the local lord and slaughtered almost all of its kin.

Just thinking about it, Rat One would feel fear crawling all over its body.

But seeing that the Lord wanted to find it, Rat One hesitated for a moment, then gritted its teeth and said: "If the Lord must go find him, I am very familiar with the nearby area and can lead the way for the Lord."

Qi Ye nodded in agreement. Having a guide was very necessary. Now that the side quest required completion within one day, he couldn't afford to waste too much time on finding the way.

40 experience points was quite a lot; Qi Ye currently had 80 experience points. As long as he completed three more B-Level side quests like this, he could reach 200 experience points and advance to Tier 3.