"Well at least they were a bit sincere by giving me these guys as soon as I arrive…" Paul looked at small marbles within his hands as he trudged the desert alone thinking where the hell he was.
In the hour he prepared for his absence in the Marvel world, he looked at the lowest ranked Universe he was going to go to and found some description which gave him some clues on what he needed.
So he brought with him the small dimensional item, one he called the Scroll world with him where a plethora of flora and fauna were stored.
The Ring world and the Orb were left back at his Man-cave since the Orb world had the sleeping Gaea of his world while the Ring World had been connected to some gates within his base.
He tried to connect the other worlds too but when he thought about an extra world is already too big to handle for his people so he just had the Ring World be the only one connected.
He found that other that Natasha and Shanna, some of his close retainers/subordinates were missing as well as some of his pets, Smaug included. Thus to focus on this retrieval tasks he was given with, only two Avatars were left active while the others were recalled to his storage space.
Not that it would matter much since the time difference made it seem the current Marvel world is in pause, but he could still see the world move and it was too much for now so Paul did not focus much on the clones since they had no immediate trouble going on.
"Shit, should've included in the warning about my usage of powers as well…" Paul grumbled as he found it disorienting to not be able to feel his usual powers as the metal bracelet had sealed most of it.
[Warning: Your powers will be sealed as to not overburden the space of the Lower level Universe you are in.
-All powers including Cultivation and body regeneration has been sealed down to Super Soldier Level/Peak Qi Gathering while psionic powers would be weakened and limited as well with the range of only five kilometers radius.
-Artifacts, tools as well as similar supportive items would be unusable as well if they go above a certain level that would pose a threat to the integrity of the present reality you are in.
-The Bracelet could be used to identify the items that are available for use. Some items that are too advanced in terms of technological level of this reality are also sealed.
-Your task is to change the Fate as well as the original "narrative" of this reality and the Bracelet could tell you of your progression. Once certain a number of certain criteria successfully completed then it is possible to go to another destination.]
[Hint: This world is a medieval fantasy type with swords and magic but not as developed as local deities are not in any way able to harm you even with your current powers.]
"Great, not even a clue as to where I am supposed to go." Paul grumbled as he started to browse through the items he brought and found most of them were sealed and highlighted as red.
It was then he found a small bag shining green and it made him pause in his tracks. He could browse the contents of his Scroll world but he cannot use it and was only allowed to take out items that would not be in violation to the many minor terms stated in the warning.
He had checked that he could only take out five items that were allowed by the bracelet. He had thought that maybe it was some sort of advanced System but in the end he dismissed this as the AI he made was much more intelligent and interactive.
But it was powerful since it was able to seal is powers, even if he could break out if he wanted to but that would mean he would have to give up the lives of those taken away.
'It seems I have gotten quite attached to them that I didn't even hesitate too much to go and get them back.' Paul thought as he willed one of the Avatars in the Scroll world to wake then check the items and found that they were mostly cold weapons like swords and spears.
They were part of the loot he got wandering that cultivation world and these were the weakest magical artifacts that they were labeled mortal level.
But they were better that those made by normal blacksmiths and was said to be decent in Thorin's opinion.
Dwarf weapons were quite great in quality that they could be equivalent to Core Formation weapons in durability and sharpness.
As Paul browsed he found that some Storage Rings were also usable but they were the lowest ranked ones, yet it gave him an idea as he controlled his Avatar to then gather a few materials that were also shining green and stored them inside the rings.
"This still counts as five." Paul smiled as five storage rings appeared and then the bracelet fully sealed the Scroll World with only Paul's consciousness getting through.
"Hmm, maybe you are quite a system as well being able to identify things like these with accuracy but still bound by rules prewritten within." Paul said, because even with only this much power he knew he was still stronger than most super heroes in Marvel.
His spatial powers were somewhat sealed and he can only blink with the limit of 1km each time and somehow it exhausted him to use it frequently.
His strength was limited was around two tons, speed about 150kmph, mental powers still strong enough to affect hundreds of normal people coupled with both the Body cultivation and Qi cultivation means that this world might indeed be a lower level one.
"If Fury was here he would rate me as around Class Ten maybe, though strength wise I am weaker than some of them but I still have magic and cultivation… nah even with this he'll put me in avengers level threat. I'm so awesome." He mused as he added all the points of his current abilities.
Paul looked at storage rings as these were the five best quality he could take out for now. Four of these rings were beast rings, used by cultivators that tame demonic beasts where living beings can be stored.
These were only around 500mx500m inside, where he had his avatar/clone store some creatures that were also allowed in this reality.
Inside one was a house with some basic amenities as well as a garden filled with basic spirit medicines as well as fruit trees, while inside the other three rings were small forests with various critters that could be taken out.
Then the last ring was just for pure storage, it was a 5kmx5km storage filled with resources. Mostly food and feed for the animals Paul brought, his intuition is that he might need them soon.
Other than that there were tools as well as prepared facilities that could be instantly erected incase Paul wanted to make something.
A portable Smithy which he had made back when he stayed in Middle Earth, along with a Portable Lab, Portable Kitchen and a workshop that he thought might be handy.
He looked around and still saw desert in every direction, his eyesight was also weakened but even when he can see for four leagues away all he sees in sand.
"I hate sand, they go everywhere." Paul then pulled out a few items them started to build a yurt in the middle of the dry desert.
It was soon night time and Paul was staying up all night creating something in the portable workshop as he thought about the flaw in the bracelet's logic since he was able to confirm that he was indeed able to take out five items only.
But since those items were storage devices, the things inside were included when he took it out. So Paul thought that since he was not allowed to take out things on a certain level, it did not mean he cannot create some things that are beyond a certain level.
As he tinkered he assembled the various items sprawled in front of him and was about to finish the bracelet glowed as lightning suddenly came out of it flying towards the item he just finished.
BAAM!!
"Motherfu-Aghh!!!" Paul screamed as he felt the millions of volts run through his veins as he was quite close.
Soon Paul was contemplating as he sat on the sand as the whole Yurt was vaporized while the workshop was in tatters in front of him. The cold wind blew on his body as he sat there burnt and naked.
"Hmm, it seems the bracelet wouldn't let something like a golden core level automaton/puppet to exist huh…" Paul said as he looked around him and saw that the sand around him in a five hundred meter radius has turned to sand.
"Welp, it seems I could not get a life too easy but…" Paul punctuated the 'but' as he looked at the Workshop, it may be in tatters but it can still be repaired.
"…what if it was only a Qi gathering level Automaton? Wait Golden Core was the lowest level Automaton I could make, shit why does the recipe have to be a minimum of Golden Core or Golden body level? Could I dumb it down?" Paul closed his eyes tilted his head as he thought about making his own recipe and try to make an automaton using the cultivation knowledge he has.
"…hmmm, it's impossible. Wait! What if I use a different system to make it? Kamar Taj had books about Golem making while I could also include the knowledge of making the sentinels, but at what point does the bracelet identify it as technology or magic…" Paul knew some tech are also forbidden but as he was thinking a warning came into his senses as he blinked ten meters away from his position.
*SWOOSH!!*
A large creature swooped down where he was in the dark and normal people were present then they would have only said they saw a blur as the being was somehow merged with the dark but Paul saw the creature clearly.
It was an all-black wyvern about 25 feet long snout to tail with a 40 feet wide wings on each side making it about 85 feet in wingspan.
The wyvern growled as it missed its prey but soon it saw Paul on the side but as it was about to pounce towards Paul, the Wyvern was shocked to see a wide metallic net thrown by Paul land on it trapping it in the sands.
Paul then threw harpoons all round pinning the net on the crystallized sand but seeing the wyvern somehow trashing about making the net loosen made him remember that the harpoons cannot hold unto sand.
"How about this then!?" Paul then ran around putting large piles of rocks on the metal net around the wyvern.
Why does he have piles of rocks in his storage? Paul wondered as well but somehow he placed a lot of rocks on the storage ring, well it was mostly marble as well as Limestone and Clay.
This was a tactic he had developed back in Middle Earth when he went and captured some drakes with his soldiers leading the hunt.
But they were also great in trapping the wyvern until it could only lie down in exhaustion, it was then Paul stopped and looked at the creature. It looked like a miniature Smaug but without the horns while the scales were not that hard and only felt like tough leather.
The Wyvern screeched as it looked at Paul with savage eyes, this made him wonder as the Wyvern seemed to have just eaten from the signs of blood and meaty bits around its mouth.
Paul then felt a small soul float out from the belly of the beast making him squint and grab unto the soul. His powers still weakened but it was enough to prevent the soul from leaving as death was about to claim it.
He felt the soul seemed similar to humans and probed a bit, as soon as he saw the memories of the owner of the soul he frowned.
"Where the hell am I? I thought this was a medieval fantasy world but this is a soul of a Neanderthal like kid…" Paul then looked at the Wyvern and poked its head as he started chanting an incantation.
One thing he liked when he browsed the various loots he got was books about taming monsters as well as raising them. This incantation was nothing but a simple technique to mark and make a beast a tamed monster.
The incantation worked better on the Wyvern since the demonic beast the technique was used on was much more brutal and savage than this small lizard.
Paul then browsed the mind of the Wyvern and it made him aware that a few hundred kilometers north was a large rainforest filled with monsters and beast of different shapes and sizes.
"Well it seems I have a destination now…" Paul then looked at the soul in his hands and just as he was about to release it he remembered something.
"…hmm, what if I let this soul possess a puppet? Might work." Paul looked around and gathered what he could then built another yurt a kilometer away from the last place.
It took him a few hours but he was able to make a small humanoid golem about the size of a ten year old then purified the soul into a clean slate since it was necessary according to the books he read.
They were from the Devil's path cultivation but they too noted that if they used an unpurified soul then there is a high chance that they might be cursed since mostly the souls they used were from powerful cultivators victim to their schemes.
Sure the soul would forget everything in the past life but it was safer this way as besides from being curse, they also believed that this was another form of reincarnation and it was important to forget the past so the soul could start anew.
Just like drinking Old Lady Meng's Meng Po soup so they say, Paul found it interesting that they had beliefs similar to some of Earth's mythologies.
Then he made a mortal level soul gathering Lamp which were used by disciples of those in the demonic way to gather the soul force of dead cultivators within large battlefields.
It could be used to purify en masse the souls gathered and even with a mortal level it could store a lot, the cultivation world was more brutal as in every small war of mortal countries millions die in a week.
Those in Ancient empires and eternal Kingdoms where stronger cultivators exist, hundreds of millions are used as fodder. Thus the soul gathering lamp albeit a mortal level could store a maximum of hundreds of thousands of souls.
The Lamp could store and maintain the souls for a long time as well as purify them faster if coupled with a specialized incantation.
Thus he also purified the soul even if it was a child's, though from the kids memories he came from a small tribe of hairy Neanderthal like that placed tattoos on their body in a pattern similar to that of a tiger's stripes.
They have their own crude language of grunting and growling with a rather primitive stone-age lifestyle. They live in the peripheries of the Forest since inside also has great dangers.
In the Wyvern's memories Paul even found some Giant Apes like George, though they were about 23-26 feet tall(7-8 meters) at the maximum while George and his Kongs could already grow about 90 feet tall(27 meters tall).
George already reached 120 feet(36 meters) in all fours, Ralph was as tall yet 180 feet(54 meters) in length but he was lighter than George and Lizzie was taller and much bigger than the two in about 140 feet(42 meters) tall and 400 feet(122 meters) long.
Only one larger than Lizzie were Gordic, Frost(The Ice Drake mount) and Smaug on the intelligent kaiju pets. Somehow few of the Chunky Crabs were left alone as they were not taken away but Paul still have some eggs made by him and Rita.
"Good thing they took some with her or else Rita would have been lonely without those children…" Paul looked at the marbles again as inside were those taken here which were Sapphire, Kana, Sonia, two crippled Silvan Elves with enchanted prosthesis, George, Lizzie, Ralph and somehow Skutoom the Crab leviathan.
He also have mutated eggs that were unfertilized and were only meant to be used as materials to make new mutated creatures with Rita if they plan to make useful creatures for daily life.
Paul was using the lamp to purify the soul while thinking about the people that suddenly went missing, there was also the fact that in the minds of others they either went on a vacation for two weeks or more.
Or that they are making a project that needed their entire attention thus locked themselves up, some even were thought to be in undercover missions that would last quite some time.
Paul thought those reality warping powers were annoying but at least the people who didn't know would not panic, he felt that if they knew then panic might ensue.
"Hmm, but I think it is a bit late. Fury's already stressing out because of me, but maybe that was what they wanted. Didn't care much before but now that I think about it I have been rather careless in many of my actions." Paul murmured as he is slowly familiarizing the process of purifying souls.
"This time here might just give me some insights about the actions I made." Paul felt feeble, he knew he was still stronger than the normal him before but it felt lacking compared to that feeling of being able to hold the world and crush it between his hands.
He paused, Paul was silent as he was shocked at that thought just now. He stopped purifying for a minute and looked at his hands, it felt empty yet somehow he felt a heavy feeling on it.
"D-did I just casually think that?" Paul said as a frown marred his face, it took him a few minutes until he sucked in a deep breath then calmed down.
"Man, maybe this is why they wanted me to at least experience this feeling of having so little powers… well fuck those guys. I'm going to make this whole place go to shit!" Paul then threw the heavy thoughts to the curb as he still felt pissed being forced on this situation.
Pettiness bloomed within him as he felt like he should just do whatever he likes in this world. Paul hated it but maybe he should just look for something to entertain him on his time here.
As soon as he fully purified the soul, he then placed a series of knowledge of basic stuff like reading, talking, cooking, cleaning and every basic skill a servant should know about.
As he was done, he slowly placed it inside the Puppet's core as he looked at the bracelet waiting for it to react but soon the soul merged with the core without a problem.
"Haha! Yes! Now I can slowly relax as soon as Servant #1 is operational!" Paul jumped in glee as he posed with one hand on his hips and another pointing to the sky with a peace sign.
*Shiver*
"Shit that felt quite wrong to do." Paul said as a chill run up his spine as he looked around seeing if there was someone else that witnessed his actions.
"Hmm, Uniform ready. Mask and weapons ready. Carriage ready. Steeds for the carriage… hmmm… camels or horses…wait a minute…" Paul then browsed again in the Wyvern's memories of various animals it saw in the forest.
"Hmm, there are Elephants here as well. They should be close by." Paul said as he looked to the north east direction as the Wyvern had seen a herd there near the edge of the forest as a small oasis exist there.
The tribe of the kid was nearby as well, though hairy and somewhat brutish like Cavemen, they are sentient and maybe he could conquer them to at least learn something about the forest upfront.
*Click*
Soon the puppet stood up and looked around, it saw Paul then the clothes and armor he set aside along with a short sword, short bow and a buckler.
The puppet though made of iron wood, looked lifelike as Paul at least made it able to talk but the strength is at most similar to a normal human as he prioritized the internal functions more than having a puppet that only knows how to fight.
It was not like it was needed to fight since it would act like a squire to attend to his every need.
"Master." said Servant #1 as it finished wearing the armor and clothes as well as equipping the weapons.
But it was weird since the body was almost the size of a 10 year old kid which made it look like a hobbit more than a puppet since Paul also placed artificial hair on it.
Though it would not be mistaken as a living thing since its puppet features are still obviously apparent.
"Good, I'll be getting us a mount soon and some other goons so be prepared to handle a lot of miscellaneous things." Paul picked up S1(Short for Servant#1) and walked towards the Wyvern.
Since he tamed it he should at least take care of it, soon he took away all the restraints on it and it stretched its wings as it felt happy not being bound anymore.
But the wyvern did not leave as it bowed towards Paul wanting to be useful for this Master that tamed her.
"Hmm, your name shall be…Shadow. Just that, can't think much about it so first get us near the oasis where the elephants are." Paul then jumped on Shadow's back as it screeched and flew up the sky.
Paul was quite surprised of the speed that he realized that if he had not thrown that net in an instant then he would have had a hard time catching this flying lizard with his current strength.
He did scan earlier and found that unlike Smaug this thing does not breathe fire. Just a Wyvern that likes to hunt in the dark, well it has a spike on the tip of its tail as well as sharp claws but that's about it for its weapons.
It took about a few minutes for him to arrive near the Oasis and he landed just a few kilometers away as not to spook the natives since it was quite early in the morning and the sun is still about two hours away.
Paul carried S1 as he ran towards the Oasis and arrived just in time as the Elephants are still asleep. He found there were only about fifteen adults with two children on the herd but that was enough for him.
Paul then sensed four kilometers north the small tribe where there were only about 40 members. He didn't get near as he wanted to focus on what he is about to do.
For the Elephants, he was going to tame them as they sleep since he wanted them all.
But for the Tribe, well a small hypnotizing ought to do it. He didn't quite care about the moral implications as he was still a bit pissed about this forceful kidnapping of his people and pets.
So if the god or gods that asked for help doesn't like what he is doing then that's their problem. They wanted him to change fate then what better way than to do it in an extravagant way, raise an army then mess with people left and right.
"Mwuahahaha! You thought I am a hero? Then guess again!" Paul laughed in a comically evil manner as he felt a bit petty on the inside.
But he didn't do much, just change some memories for the small tribe that they are serving him as they too had some set of rules they follow.
And that is the rule of the strong, their tribe leader is a burly hairy man wearing a large pelt of a Cave Bear he killed and is now the alpha of the tribe.
He just made it that he defeated them and brought them to heel, thus now they feel reverent to him as they now consider him as their leader.
Soon daybreak came and now Paul stood in the middle of the tribe roaring as he is now half naked like Conan the Barbarian while holding a large battle axe on his hands.
"RAGGHH!! TO THA CHOPPAA!!!"
He just tanned his skin a bit making him look like an oiled up body builder as he sweat a bit under the bright sun.
"Raghh!!" The barbaric tribe was roaring in excitement as they saw Paul ride a Bull Elephant into the tribe.
Even the confusion within the mind of the past alpha was gone as he felt something was wrong at first but seeing Paul look all mighty and strong riding the Bull made him believe his allegedly defeat.
[Three Months Later]
"Master, all the nearby tribes have now been united and swore to follow you even if it meant to die in the Green Hell." S1 reported as he kneeled in front of Paul who sat on a throne made of bones of beasts he had slain to prove his might to nearby tribes.
Now he had about two thousand barbarians on his base camp where the Oasis was.
Over the past few days he had also scouted about ten kilometers in radius from the Oasis and into the Forest. There he found many things useful as well as interesting within as the Tribes by the periphery were but the outcast and weaker ones compared to the ones within.
These tattoos somehow of these barbarians were made to mimic tiger or zebra stripes as they help in camouflaging them inside the forest should they plan to hunt as there are many dangerous creatures within as well as flesh eating plants.
Paul spent a bit of time to gather the tribes in the Periphery as he had been making sense of the language of these people and started to refine it to make it into a proper dialect which he could slowly instill in the minds of his new subjects.
He had also gathered hundreds of elephants that he had to move to a bigger Oasis where he had found a Tribe consisting of 200 members.
About 30-40 families which was quite a large number, given how severe their situation are in this unforgiving place they call home. His role had been more of a Tyrant now as he had defeated the various leaders of various groups as he united them into his horde.
Now that Paul had thought about it, these barbarians were more akin to orcs than humans in their thoughts if he compared it to other fantasy creatures but they looked more like prehistoric humans.
Which begs to question where are the society that made this world considered to be medieval fantasy in setting? As he had a feeling that he should be there to make a difference within this world so he could finally move on.
Paul contemplated as S1 reported the situation within this tribe he now rules over. He had Shadow appear as well and made her a saddle which made these people worship him more.
It wasn't until S1 said something that made him pay attention in the next second.
"Master, a large tribe within the forest had contacted us recently. From what they said, it seems they want us to dissolve or else they will attack us by the next full moon." S1's words made Paul smile as he connected his mind to him to find out who made contact so as to see if there is something interesting with the messenger.
"Hmm, nothing of a difference other than the patterns within their skins seems more natural. Are these people striped for a reason and made these other tribes outcast because they are different from them? Quite racist aren't they?" Paul mumbled as he saw a hairy man in the memories of the Gate Guards.
"Doesn't matter S1, we are not staying here anyways as preparations for travelling north is almost ready." Paul stood up and picked up the large axe which was the same axe he used during his time on the world of Bota Ma, the submerged post-apocalyptic Earth.
Still weighs at least a ton which means each swing of his could kill an elephant in an instant. Soon he came out of his tent and was greeted by four of the strongest warriors from all the combined tribes.
Ugg, the bear-slayer who was the chief of the first tribe he had taken over wearing a Cave Bear's pelt standing about 7 feet tall and about 320 pounds(145 kg) of pure muscle wielding a large club made from Elephant bone.
Krall, similarly built like Ugg but likes to use stone mace using a rather sturdy type of wood as well as durable edged stones tied up with quality soft leather.
Kaash, a female warrior standing about 6'7" weighing 190 pounds(86.5kg) and likes to wield a stone spear, she's fastest fighter of all the four and was the leader of the tribe that recently joined.
Then lastly is Ogap, a literal tank of a man about 7'5 weighing about 400 pounds of heavy muscles. He has no weapons as most of the ones he uses breaks within his hands and his tribe was the second largest yet he was the only fighter as they had a hard time feeding him due to his large appetite.
Kaash is the only one who could bring a chance in beating Obap out of the four but if they change gears then maybe there would be a difference if Obap wears armor and wields a suiting weapon.
Yet for the moment Paul does not care much in their development but he did make sure they are healthy by using the various herbs and plants he found in the forest after studying about them in his portable lab.
He had made some cross references as well as study the DNA's of these hairy cavemen and found that they were indeed much closer to the Neanderthals that it made him smile that he might learn a lot studying these cavemen.
How he checked the DNA with no advance technological devices? Well there were various techniques used in cultivation to know if the child is your spawn since those people tend to have very adventurous sides.
Then there are some spells also in Kamar Taj which he can repurpose to act like computers as they show to Paul results from the technique he used. It took him about two weeks to create this technique while having it integrate with spells of sorcerers.
So he cannot make advanced machinery for making more sophisticated medicines easily but he could experiment, there are thousands of different plants and herbs in the Forrest to test on then coupled with the newly made technique, he can at least make advancements in making medicine here.
Other than making pastes and poultices, he also tried to see if he could use Dr. Erskine's method of gradually making a super soldier through specialized diet and training.
And from what he found in this forest, he might be able to shorten the time to make a regular SSS from minimum 15 years to 3 years.
Though he has been forced in this situation doesn't mean he should not look for some benefits from side missions.
Before even the Full Moon arrived, the camp where Paul settled was empty as he had gathered enough resources to plan a long trek to cross this place the locals call the Green Hell.
The Elephants have been equipped with Howdahs so the young could stay safe atop while the warriors now rode on weird eight legged venomous lizards Paul had tamed by the dozen.
He was not sure what they were called but from what he understood in the language of these Cavemen is that they termed them as Madness Lizard, one reason is that once meat is rubbed with a special paste these Cavemen made it would make the meat smell savory but turn an animal mad enough that a mouse would even attack a lion.
They were amazed when Paul turned these ravenous lizards into tame mounts that now guarded their convoy. Shadow on the other hand was perched on an elephant with a specially designed saddle where the Wyvern could roost unto.
The one carrying Shadow was the second largest Bull out of the herd of over a hundred elephants.
In the large tribe Paul made, it was quite rare to see and Elderly person within but there were rare cases of those living up to 60 years of age even in this dangerous environment.
Those elders along with some young ones were responsible to supplies and food as the marched along the way.
Many Elephants were given special platforms which are divided in different responsibilities. A few for shelter, some used as kitchens, some even housed about five Mad Lizards inside a walking cage for them to rest on.
Around there were 60 elephants with these cages where the lizards rest if they get tired during the march. Paul had devised a system where warriors would change shifts every eight hours to rest and find time to feed the Mad lizards.
Every shift there are 100 mounted warriors along with 200 others that are guarding the convoy. This means there are about 900 warriors guarding in rotating shifts to guard the 2000+ people following the march.
Healthy ones had to walk barefoot and were warned to be careful as many poisonous creatures dwell within the forest.
It didn't matter much as long as they bring the patient on time towards Paul then they are mostly saved since there are proper medicine to combat these problems.
Out of the 300 that guards, there would be 20 mounted and 30 warriors tasked to hunt game along the way to replenish food stores for the lizards and forage as well for the tribe.
The elephants did not need much as they only need to stop after a 10 hour march that starts early in the morning and in the late afternoon would be enough time for the elephants to feed on nearby plants and trees.
Then they rest for the night while Paul keeps watch for other problems, he doesn't need much sleep as when they are on the move he rests on his seat which is enough for him.
Many things happened on the way that troubled him though, like some cannibal tribes thought they were a walking meal which caused the death of about 14 men on Paul's tribe that it pissed him off.
So he went and killed them all since these people were much worse that he had thought, when he was attacking them he also browsed the thoughts of these people and was disgusted.
They were the local bullies of other tribes nearby as they specialize in using the Mad Lizard venom and had a taste for cannibalism on other tribes.
Even the kids tried to bite his feet off, it was mostly since they eat the prey that died from Mad lizard venom raw and it degraded the minds of these people.
Not sure if he should really call them as people, but it did become a boon for him though as his actions made nearby weaker tribes awed as his strength of going solo and leaving a massacre.
In this Green Hell strength speaks the loudest and many wanted to join his horde that it became about 4000+ strong. Thus he stopped for a few days near a rather large Lake where he almost lost a lot of men as they had met with smaller but numerous wyverns the size of monkeys.
If Shadow had not deterred these smaller cousins of his then instead of losing only 10 people, Paul might have lost hundreds as they suddenly swarmed from a nearby swamp by the Lake.
Paul made the horde camp a bit far from the Lake so he could investigate where he found different species of Wyverns.
One was a green colored striped wyvern which could grow somehow larger than Shadow but somewhat slower in flight from what he could see.
Then there were the small annoying ones that appear by the thousands and had brown scales on their belly region, unlike Shadow who has a snout similar to Smaug and some small horns, these did not have horns and their mouth is more beak-like but still has razor sharp teeth inside.
And one he almost missed was a large Wyvern that rests on the deep swampy pools near the lakes, this type looks aged an a lazy type of wyvern as it grew to about 80 feet(24meters) in length snout to tail and a wingspan of almost 140 feet(42meters).
(A/N: If you have guessed which Universe this is then the large swamp dwelling ones looked like the old one which is rather stocky while looking old with that saggy neck as well as wrinkly all over and not as streamlined as the other while its horns and spikes are not quite present, namely the ball sack looking Vhagar.)
These older Wyverns were deep green and some moss now grew on them as they seemed to rather prefer sleeping on the swamps. Shadow seemed more fit that them as Paul found that they are indeed the largest wyverns but they are slow as they wing spans indeed enable flight but takeoff will be slow.
Paul found that there was indeed a lot of miraculous flora as well as amazing fauna within this gigantic rain forest. The mosquitos here are quite large as well that it reminded him of Savage land with all these dangers.
He even encountered what the locals call Walking Lizards which looked like Raptors with a rather distinct frill on the back of their necks running down to the tip of their tail. Then there are the Giant Apes which were definitely Kongs but Paul had to leave the horde from afar if he is to observe them.
He got some samples and found that some Flora here had some similarities to the ones depicted on the records of that Tagu-Atu tribes that raised Kongs and somehow it was included in the diet of these Giant Apes here inside the Green Hell.
They were indeed Gorillas but their DNA tells that they have branched off thousands of years away already. They could still be close cousins in DNA relation, yet Paul did not try taming them as he already has a large group of Kongs and much larger too.
At least they were not overly aggressive as Paul could tell if the place they pass through were in their territory. Not that he was afraid of them per say but he didn't want unnecessary trouble as he just wanted to find signs of the civilization where he should make some trouble.
Yet Paul did try to tame the Swamp Wyverns though, they seem fun to have while also getting some of those green brindled wyverns as well. But only the young ones as he knew they would be hassle to feed unless he gets a stable place to root into.
It was then as he sat on his Howdah that his browsing of info in the older hairy men's memories that he learned of an ancient abandoned cities and that there were tribes much scarier settled there.
It was said to be beings that seemed half animal and half men, some of the elders even had memories of seeing such things that it made Paul frown as he only saw feral bipedal humanoid beings with traces of similarities to other animals.
Some were half man half bull, some looked like werecats, werewolves, Weredogs, Lizardmen and some even saw Centaurs or something similar. Paul was getting confused but he felt that maybe these Demi-human beings would know the answer to what he seeks.
And it came to his attention that there is a large abandoned ruin north which is quite close to the sea.
Soon weeks go by as more and more tribes join Paul's horde and he gathered more Elephants as well as Mad Lizards as well as adding some Walking Lizards in the packs as they seemed like great hunting companions.
Soon their numbers grew up to over ten thousand that made beasts and other troublesome tribes alike gave berth as they now seemed scared from the large horde that is now trudging northwards.
Of the various tribes that joined, there were two distinct ones that had specialized type of warriors. One was a Matriarchal type of tribe consisted of Huntresses that rode on a sabertooth like mount.
The smilodon like beast they call Pouch Tigers somehow preferred female riders which made this tribe place more importance in their female warriors as it made them a much more formidable force than the other barbaric hairy men but the beast were more Marsupial in nature since they have pouches like thylacines.
(A/N: Like a Thylacoleo in Ark Survival but with sabertooth fangs, though not as long as a smilodons but I think this is more apt to describing this Pouch Tiger.)
They were a tribe of 400 large which was a major tribe around the large Lake with at least 50 mounted Huntresses and 100 warriors .Paul that they termed the place as Heart Lake, it was said to be in the Heart of this endless Green Hell.
The other Tribe on the other hand had specialized in hunting larger game in the forest thus were experts in spear throwing. They had something similar to an atlatl to boost their range to over 100 meter effective range.
They were somewhat leaner and were faster than the other tribes as they were more suited for guerilla type of fighting other tribes. They even caused Paul to loose almost 20 mounted warriors due to their ambush when they thought Paul was going to invade them.
They were over 300 in their tribe with over 100 of them able to fight and hunt. Paul had to personally subdue them by catching their best hunters when they tried to ambush him when he chased after them.
Though they only came to trust and become loyal when Paul promised to wipe out their enemy tribes which were nasty since it was the largest one of about 800 strong and their best fighters were poison experts.
They seemed to have elders in that tribe that could be called Shamans as they know how to counter the two other tribes and acted like the tyrant near the Lake.
They had their own drugs that enabled them to dope their warriors into not feeling pain and induce adrenaline shock. Paul massacred them because he got pissed when almost hundreds of those in his horde almost died of a poison fog they induced while he was facing their warriors.
He went and rode Shadow then dropped in the middle of that tribe and started to terrorize them. He found all the poison users and fought over 100 zombie like warriors but they were all crude in fighting that they just swarmed him without tactics at all.
So Paul went 'Hasagi! Sorye! Hasag! Ton! Aseryo! Igei ton! Sorye ge ton!!' in the middle of the enemy ranks. As weak as he was, he got a powerspike on the end which tilted the battle while also flashing his badg-ahem… while also showing his magnificence to these brutes.
Paul found that they were quite brutal as well as dangerous as most of the elders were crazy as they somehow knew how to experiment and that too without moral boundaries.
He had thought that maybe he should stop when they were scared but somehow no warrior backed down even when there were dozens of dead around him painting him red.
It wasn't until it was almost sundown that he stopped when he finally killed the last shaman or elder of that tribe. He was shocked, truly as he never thought that they had no fear at all which seemed impossible since no living thing has the absence of the sense self-preservation other than Honey Badgers or Wolverines.
It wasn't until he read the minds of the young ones in the tribe that he understood why that was, these shamans or elders were fanatics. They had a cult believing they were blessed by some sort of Serpent god that gave them the gifts to wield poison of the Mad Lizards.
Those left in the tribe were not even members as they were mostly prisoners captured from other tribes nearby. The Shamans would then slowly turn them into mindless brutes that worship this so called God of theirs.
It then made sense to Paul when he saw the Idol within the middle of the tribe grounds.
"Well, good thing I didn't let them take care of it or else I might have lost hundreds of these lovable airheads." Paul seemed fond of these barbarians since they all had a limit of an 8 year old mentality.
Only the women would mostly reach at least 15 year old mentality but intelligence wise they were the same as their male counter parts. Very easy to brainwash and were quite loyal to a fault as long as he shows he is still the strongest.
And this action of his cemented it to their minds when the Horde arrived seeing Paul stand alone in the middle of a massacre. The best warriors gathered, aside from the initial four, two more were added and they came from the two large tribes recently assimilated.
They too were quite dissatisfied being defeated by Paul but seeing his blood soaked countenance made them pale in fear thinking that their tribes might have face the same fate should they have been stubborn.
Seeing their faces made Paul smile as somehow miraculously the leaders of each tribe somehow gained an increase in wisdom and intelligence when they become the alpha or chiefs.
Though mostly not much but they are cut above the rest of the others.
"Gather the prisoners and make camp here for tonight!" Paul roared as he flung his axe to the side to get rid of the caked blood on it.
"Hurgh!" grunted the warriors, Kaash stayed behind along with the two new addition, Ruka the rider and Silent Okkun.
Ruka the rider was the Matriarch of the Pouch Tiger Tribe was as fierce as Kaash in demeanor yet unlike her she was similar to most of the barbarians with the stripe like skin pattern.
Okkun was rather pale as he wore a makeshift ghillie suit coupled with their stripe like skin patterns make them great at hiding in this forest.
Soon when the horde had settled, Paul sat on a makeshift throne while listening to the elders of the additional tribes as they have information of the tribes up north near the sea where their so called ancestral lands exist.
(A/N: So I went and did a lot of reviewing this chapter where I realized I had so much thoughts just being poured in this one as random stuff kept popping out making me realize my brain has less attention span than that of a goldfish.
Well some of you might have guessed where this new reality is but don't hound me when there are so little information about this area in this world so I made some assumptions while reading all details found relevant but this will not be much needed as I just made things up as foundation of this arc.
Hope you like this cha-oh look free penny...)