Chapter 13: Breeding Rabbits
"Chieftain, it's not impossible to increase the dragon rat breeding pits," Kordiak said, feeling a bit calmer inside. The ability to make requests was a good sign.
"Go ahead, what are your requirements?" Corvinus said indifferently.
No matter what, the supply of meat for the tribe had to be resolved; this was a matter of urgency.
"Chieftain, you know that in the breeding farm, we need to prepare fodder for a hundred thousand dragon rats every day, which at least requires the efforts of forty to fifty werewolves. If we increase the breeding pits, I will need more manpower!" Kordiak said.
He only had over seventy handlers under him, most of whom were elderly werewolves or young werewolf boys around seven or eight years old.
Breeding war wolves and raising a hundred thousand dragon rats, he had enough handlers, but with the plan to add twenty more breeding pits, it was already at the limit of what his handlers could manage.
If they added more breeding pits, the existing handlers would definitely be insufficient.
Increasing the breeding pits was feasible, but the precondition was that he needed more people.
"How many do you need?" Corvinus nodded, having guessed as much.
"At least fifty more werewolves."
"Preferably young werewolves!" Kordiak said.
"Young werewolves? You're dreaming," Corvinus said, rolling his eyes at Kordiak.
Young male werewolves were out of the question; they were all warriors and couldn't be assigned to do the work of a handler.
As for young female werewolves, that was also impossible because most of the tribe's handicrafts were undertaken by these young females.
Such as weaving, making armor, baking black bread, and so on.
"Hehe, Chieftain, if not young, then at least fifty people," Kordiak knew it was impossible, but he said it deliberately.
"I'll try my best to meet your needs for manpower, but today I've also brought you a gift," Corvinus turned to look at Kordiak.
Gift?
Kordiak was taken aback.
At that moment, a white animal suddenly appeared in Corvinus's hand.
"What is this? And you...?" Kordiak looked at Corvinus's hand in surprise because he had never seen this animal with long ears, pure white fur, and red eyes before.
Moreover, he was even more astonished at how this strange animal had suddenly appeared in Corvinus's hand.
Could it be?
He was a man of some knowledge and knew that there was a type of magical item in this world called a spatial ring.
It was said that some spatial rings, comparable to divine artifacts, could hold living creatures, and even had land within them where life could thrive.
The Chieftain actually had such a treasure!
Corvinus didn't know what Kordiak was thinking; if he did, he would have laughed.
The reason he blatantly took out the animal from the mall was because there were spatial rings in this world that could hold living creatures.
He wanted others to think that he had such a ring.
"This animal is called a rabbit. I caught it from an ancient ruin," Corvinus said, playing with the animal in his arms.
It was a rabbit, which he had directly exchanged from the mall.
This was also his gift to Kordiak, which meant he wanted Kordiak to breed rabbits.
Looking at the rabbit in his arms, Corvinus was somewhat looking forward to it because rabbit meat was much tastier than that of the dragon rats.
Spicy rabbit heads, salted rabbit legs, braised rabbit meat...
Just thinking about it made his mouth water.
"Ancient animal... rabbit?" Kordiak immediately became interested because this was an ancient animal, and it was his fortune to see one.
"Here, take it!"
Corvinus handed the rabbit to Kordiak by its ears, and Kordiak suddenly became nervous, not daring to take it for a moment.
"What's there to be afraid of? It's very gentle, and its habits are similar to that of a dragon rat. It also likes to burrow and eats grass," Corvinus threw the rabbit into Kordiak's arms.
Kordiak nervously held the rabbit, touched its long ears, and pinched other parts. After a while, he said in surprise, "It's really gentle."
"Thank you, Chieftain, for the gift," Kordiak was very happy because this was an ancient animal, which seemed very precious no matter how you looked at it.
"Don't thank me just yet, I didn't give it to you without conditions."
"What are the conditions, Chieftain?" Kordiak touched the rabbit, thinking to himself, wasn't it supposed to be a gift?
Why were there conditions?
"To breed it," Corvinus said, pointing at the rabbit in Kordiak's arms.
Instantly, Kordiak looked confused; he didn't understand at all.
"These rabbits have similar habits to dragon rats, eating grass and roots, and they also like to burrow, and like dragon rats, they give birth to a litter about once a month, with about ten in a litter," Corvinus said.
The mall had many animals available for exchange, and he finally thought of rabbits because they were similar to dragon rats. If dragon rat pits could breed dragon rats, then breeding rabbits should be no problem.
Kordiak was taken aback, but then he realized, "You mean to breed these rabbits on a large scale?"
"That's right!" Corvinus nodded.
"Do you have more rabbits in your hands?" Kordiak asked, since the rabbits' habits were similar to dragon rats, breeding rabbits should be no problem.
However, breeding rabbits would require at least two, one male and one female, right? If there was only one, how could they breed on a large scale?
"Of course, I have more, so your dragon rat breeding pits will need to be increased more than you think."
"This..." Kordiak was a bit embarrassed.
But he also understood that Corvinus was preparing to force the issue again, which meant that even if he disagreed, he had to agree.
"If we are to breed rabbits, then the previous fifty people won't be enough, at least thirty more need to be added," Kordiak realized he couldn't refuse, so he quickly made a request.
"Add thirty more?"
"You're really asking for a lot. I only have at most four hundred rabbits in my hands. To breed over four hundred more rabbits, you dare to ask for thirty more people?" Corvinus glanced at Kordiak.
"Uh..." Kordiak didn't dare to meet Corvinus's gaze, after all, he really was asking for a lot.
"Forget it, the exact number of people I can give you hasn't been determined yet. I need to think about it. Once I've decided, I'll send someone over immediately."
"You should also hurry up and plan. As soon as the people arrive, immediately prepare to increase the pits, the sooner the better," Corvinus's expression became serious.
"Yes, Chieftain!" Kordiak quickly responded.
"Alright, it's getting late, I'm leaving!" Corvinus glanced at the sky; it was almost dark, and he was hungry.
Eating black bread every day with no oil, it didn't fill him up at all.
"Don't see me off!"
When Kordiak was about to follow Corvinus, he heard Corvinus say without turning his head.
Kordiak could only stand in place, watching Corvinus leave.
"You might truly become the greatest chieftain of the tribe," Kordiak muttered as he watched Corvinus's figure disappear.
Although Corvinus asking him to increase the breeding pits undoubtedly increased his workload.
But actually, he was very happy.
Because every word from this new chieftain was for the tribe, for the people.
Such a chieftain who cares for his people, with brains, vision, ambition, isn't he the perfect model chieftain he has always hoped to follow?