As the jackals thoughts turned chaotic he grew more and more panicked.
'Me and uncle are going to die! How could we be so unlucky.' His gaze turned resolute as he charged towards the rabbit preparing to pounce risking his life.
"Stop!" A thunderous voice woke him up and made him come to a stop.
The stronger jackal had finally found his way to his feet, he steadied himself as he lowered his posture and head towards the ground facing Shadow. "Please spare us and we will call you master!"
"Why should I? I am sure you would not have spared us if you had the chance." Shadow snorted but waited patiently for his response.
"He is the last of my brothers bloodline, everyone else is already dead and all we have done is to ensure our own survival. If we have a chance to live we would gladly serve you. Please!" He lowered his head further towards the ground as he begged.
"But uncle!" The younger jackal cried out as he saw his uncle take up such a posture before another beast.
The jackal family were once a proud and stubborn race of beasts, they refused to mix with other beasts and would never submit to anyone.
However now, their homes were destroyed and they were the only two remaining alive.
What pride they had before was laughable in the face of extinction so they could only use this chance to overcome their struggles.
"Shut up! We either put aside this shame and serve faithfully or we die! We are the last of our family, they all died in hopes that you could live on and create a future for our jackal family once more!" The older jackal scolded.
"Yes uncle." The younger jackal lowered his head to the ground in a submissive stance.
"Swear an oath that you will follow my orders and never betray me. I will not treat you unjustly, there may even be benefits if you are loyal." Shadow decided to give them a chance if they were being sincere.
"We swear that we will faithfully serve you and never betray you." As they both declared in a submissive stance.
"Very well, I don't need much from you right now but information. I need to know of the beast clans in the area, their numbers and strength. Even little things like their alliances or their enemies, anything I can use." Shadow nodded as she got closer to the stronger jackal, she removed the dark energy from his body before healing him and his nephew with her light spirit energy.
She began to cultivate under the watchful eyes of Korah and the two jackals as she gained back her depleted energy from healing them.
"Follow me in secret from now on but don't show yourselves unless I tell you to come out. When I return home you cannot follow but we will meet at a secret location so you can update me on what is happening within the forest." She nodded towards them signalling they may leave.
Spirit beasts who submit to a master remain loyal all of their lives and follow no one else unless that person dies so Shadow had just gained 2 followers who would never betray her.
If beaten in combat they may still hold some resentment which was why Shadow decided to test their loyalty a little allowing them a slight opening to attack when cultivating and healing them.
If she were to involve them in her future plans she would need them to hold no resentment towards her as they submitted so they could work efficiently.
Because they were both very skilled at stalking their prey they had very good experience at hiding themselves and they had clearly lived in this forest for a long time making them suitable candidates for gathering information on the other beast clans.
"Yes master! We shall obey your orders." The elder jackal bowed his head as he signalled towards the younger jackal with his eyes. "Let's go!"
"Thank you master for sparing us." The younger jackal bowed his head before following his uncle.
The jackals continued to stay within a safe distance while staying hidden close enough for Shadow to sense their presence and so they could keep close to Shadow and Korah.
After a few more kills, Shadow continued to collect the beast cores while lost in thought. 'We have collected lots of 1st to 5th spirit gathering beast cores, it should be very beneficial towards my future plans. Today we gained two allies but I hope we can gain more soon!'
"Alright Korah, let's go home. You two find a place to rest and we will continue tomorrow. Here is a 4th spirit gathering beast core for your nephew, once he consumes it he should be able to make a break through soon." Shadow instructed as she placed the beast core onto the ground and began to head back home. "If you can find any stray beasts who are down on their luck, try to make contact with them and keep me informed."
She turned to head back home, a white blur jumped up onto her back, Korah's white fur had been dyed red after all of his fighting.
After landing on her back he immediately started cultivating like she had told him earlier.