While scouting the area, Lex had come up with a rough estimation of the layout and a map of the small underground area that he was in and how the territories of the beasts were split.
He approximated that the population of the beasts was only slightly more than a thousand and he found that the area was split into territories owned by different tribes of different beasts.
"No wonder the fox beasts were starving" mumbled Lex.
They were too weak in comparison with the other beasts in the area to attempt to join the territorial wars between the other Mortal beasts.
While the rest of the beast tribes were unable of dominating the area, causing most the beasts to be in extreme hunger without much prey to hunt.
Lex could easily wipe out every single beast within the Mortal beast area he was in, but he wanted to nurture and strengthen the fox beasts for the future.
There were 4 other fox beast tribes and what separated them was the colour of their fur and each of them had different strengths from what Lex had observed with his Scouting Eye.
The red foxes that Lex had come across had very sharp senses from what he could see in comparison to the other fox beasts that he had observed from a distance with the Scouting Eye.
The black foxes had the sharpest claws, the white foxes had the sharpest teeth, the orange foxes had the strongest bodies and the yellow foxes had the toughest fur.
All of them had their advantages over the other fox beasts and Lex was planning to cross breed them so that the offspring could have the advantages of all the different foxes.
With his speed, none of the beasts in the area could lock onto him with their eyes and didn't understand what had dashed past them.
There were other tribes spread around the area of other different types of small beasts, that were all battling for survival within the area.
"I will slaughter these rabbit-like beasts and will eat some and feed the red fox tribe that I took over, but I will only feed those that submitted and will kill the others. They are intelligent and I will give them the basics to develop. Then I will order them to take over the rest of the fox tribes and cross breed them so that they can gain the strengths of all the tribes. After the fox beasts under my Dominion take over this area, I will move them onto another beast area that has Mortal beasts and will slowly take over the Underground Coves with my Dominion" planned Lex.
Lex had found another way to increase his strength, by not only cultivating but also forming an army out of beasts that were obedient, loyal and most importantly powerful.
He formed a bow within his left hand, with the Item Creation Skill, and with his right hand launched a fist into the wall that was protecting the rabbit-like beasts he had spotted.
The rabbit-like beasts, were surprisingly aggressive and pounced at Lex as soon as he appeared, but they weren't a threat to Lex in the slightest.
They reminded him of the beast he had gained the Arctic Claws from, but they were still Lex's targets for food for his fox dominion.
As they were in midair, wanting to attack, Lex smiled, amused and unfazed by the slow attack of the Mortal beasts.
Dominant Eye
Lex's previously clear eyes formed a red iris as his eyes fused with his third eye and his will.
"Freeze" ordered Lex domineeringly.
Instantly the rabbit-like beasts were all frightened as a suffocating pressure was emitted by Lex, and were all flung back by the sudden oppressive aura.
They couldn't move in the slightest and many of them fainted and died under the pressure that the full power of Lex's dominant eye released.
[At the current stage of my third eye, I can completely dominate and even kill Mortal beasts and should be able to dominate early Earth Mortals] observed Lex.
He could easily wipe them all out without using the Dominant Eye, but he wanted to test out the extent of his power and didn't want to alert the other beasts in the area of his presence.
Swiftly Lex shot all the 100 or so frozen beasts and placed them all into his inventory.
Without time to waste, Lex dashed back to the red fox burrow and crawled back inside.
"Is there anyone that hasn't submitted" asked Lex to the lone fox beast that was the first to submit to him.
The fox beast was reluctant to answer, but looking at Lex who, despite not having the Dominant Eye activated, was still scary, it had no choice but to answer.
Lex had as much of his aura hidden as possible, but he still couldn't completely hide his aura and had already left a deep impression on all of the fox beasts.
With its paw, it pointed to a small group of 10 fox beasts, that had huddled together and were growling at Lex.
The attempted revolt was led by the past leader of the fox tribe, who was still unwilling to give in to Lex, and the other fox beasts with him, were those of the older generation that wouldn't be of much use to Lex anyway.
"Perfect, I will make an example of these old foxes and gain the favorability of the rest of the fox beasts to begin my plan" mumbled Lex with an evil smile.
With a simple wave of his arm, using the intent of the Scarlet Flash Skill, with his arm acting as his blade, the entire group was gruesomely sliced in half by the blade of energy that Lex flung towards them.
The fox beasts watching screeched in fear and at the sight, as they all began to cower in fear before Lex.
"There is no need to fear as long as you follow my orders" reassured Lex, without any assertiveness behind his voice.
"To celebrate me becoming your master and the beginning of our beast empire, eat your fill" announced Lex.
The lone fox that Lex had come across first, was acting as a translator to the rest of the foxes that didn't understand Lex's words.
They only managed to understand him previously because of his Dominant Eye, that when it fused with his aura also released his intent and will within the aura that was showing the beasts, Lex's intentions.
The foxes' way of communication were howls in a variation of tones that all the foxes seemed to understand.
But after hearing the fox's translation, they were baffled by what they were meant to eat and didn't want to eat their fallen tribe members.
Seeing the worried expression, most likely thinking that Lex would force them into eating the fallen foxes, Lex waved his arm and withdrew 50 of the rabbit-like beasts from his inventory.
Instantly the foxes were all shocked and in awe of what they just saw their master do, as they stared at the beasts with hungry eyes.
"Eat up and strengthen yourselves" allowed Lex, giving them permission to dig into the beasts.
As soon as they were given permission, they all pounced at the beasts hungrily and began to devour the beasts.
Lex had a satisfied smile at their reaction and sat on the ground in the corner of the burrow.
"Now how am I meant to cook the beasts that I want to eat" mumbled Lex who didn't have any materials to form a flame and or an ability that allowed him to manipulate fire.
Withdrawing 5 of the rabbit-like beasts, Lex skinned, drained and cleaned the beasts, then gathered the meat that he wanted to eat in one corner.
Lex after pondering for a while, found a way to form the flame for long enough.
He used the fur and what he didn't want from the rabbit-like beasts, and the bodies of the deceased fox beasts as the fuel for the fire.
After gathering them, he used two small rocks from the ground and easily formed sparks to light up the fire fuel he had prepared.
Sitting beside the fire while cooking his rabbit-like beast meat, Lex had a relaxed and calm expression and after it cooked, he wolfed it down, while preparing another piece of meat.
Only after completely devouring the meat he had prepared, did Lex stop and lye against the wall.
He was stuffed and was satisfied with his meal that was surprisingly tasty despite the situation, but at the same time, Lex was wondering whether it was only nice because he hadn't eaten in a long time.
There was no night or day for Lex to regulate his day with and either way he didn't need sleep, which was perfect for him to make the most of his time.
"I have 4 months to take over the Underground Coves while strengthening and forming a beast army to battle against the coming demonic cultivators. So I have no time to waste relaxing" mumbled Lex to himself as he continued to cultivate the Mortal Elemental Ascension Method.