Chương 12: Becoming the Chief

Li Qinwu glanced back. The goblins who had been prepared to rush in and "rescue" their leader were now standing frozen, exchanging bewildered looks. Once the Chief had begged for his life, he naturally stripped himself of his "strongman" status; the other goblins began to doubt his authority instantly. Seeing the threat neutralized, Li Qinwu signaled his spearmen to stop jabbing. He tossed out a hemp rope and had them bind the blood-soaked Chief. Then, he picked up the hatchet and inspected it closely.

It was an ordinary hatchet, rusted from poor maintenance, with a dangerously blunt edge. Li Qinwu stepped over to the fallen leader, pressing the cold iron against the side of his neck.

"Where did the hatchet come from?" The Chief's eyes darted around shiftily.

"Promise you won't kill me first, then I'll tell you!" Li Qinwu wasn't in the mood for negotiations. He gripped the wooden spear still embedded in the Chief's abdomen and gave it a violent twist. A shriek like a dying pig tore through the night.

"I'll talk! I'll talk! It was stolen from a human village to the west!" Li Qinwu froze.

"Humans? You're saying there are humans to the west? What's the situation? Be specific!"

"Yes, yes... follow the great river west for four days. There's a small village built near the water. I tried to raid them once, but we were driven back. I managed to steal the axe then." Li Qinwu pressed further, "Exactly how many are there? How many men? How many women?" The question stumped the Chief. He looked pained, his tiny brain unable to grasp the concept of an exact count. Recognizing the look, Li Qinwu pointed toward their own tribe.

"Is the human village bigger than ours?" With a reference point, the Chief finally understood. He struggled to lift his bound hand and held up three fingers.

"It would take three human villages to be as big as my tribe!"

"So about a hundred people," Li Qinwu mused.

"If it's a four-day march west, does that mean the forest boundary is four days away?" This was a critical piece of information. He needed to know the scale of this magical forest and their current coordinates. If their current home was only four days away from human territory, his next move would be to lead the tribe deeper into the woods immediately.

In his previous life, Li Qinwu had consumed enough fantasy media to know that small monsters like goblins were usually treated as "XP packs" for human armies and "heroes." Given that goblins in this world had no females and relied on kidnapping other species to reproduce, he could guess with his toes that humans would likely turn into Khorne-worshipping berserkers the moment they saw a green skin. With the tribe's current state, encountering humans meant extinction. Retreat and development were the only options.

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"No, I don't know where the forest ends," the Chief wheezed.

"But it's definitely more than four days. The forest is huge... very, very huge." Li Qinwu relaxed slightly. As long as they were far enough away from the "Terrifying Upright Apes," the tribe was safe for now. Having been reincarnated as a goblin, his survival instinct was now hardwired to the species' perspective—humans were the natural enemy. However, a part of him wondered if he could eventually raid that village for more iron.

He felt zero guilt about the idea; the people of this world weren't the humans of his past life. To him, they were just another faction in a survival game. The real question was: Why would humans build a village deep in a monster-infested forest? The woods were crawling with wolves and bears, the water held Horned Crocodiles and that hundred-meter-long river leviathan, and the land was home to intelligent clusters like his own tribe.

Under such "vibrant and thriving" dangerous conditions, building a village was practically an invitation to death. He suspected these humans might be exiles or criminals banished from the mainstream world. Li Qinwu spent the next hour interrogating the Chief, mapping out the surroundings. First, there were many other goblin tribes in the forest, mostly in a primitive, disorganized state. The Chief claimed his tribe was one of the larger ones. Second, there were other intelligent social monsters.

To the east, the Chief had encountered Kobolds —medium-sized creatures with dog heads, fur-covered bodies, and heights ranging from 1. 4 to 1. 6 meters. They were stronger than goblins but fewer in number. The two tribes had clashed several times, each viewing the other as a food source. After failing to annihilate one another, they formed a silent truce: a massive tree served as the border. West was goblin territory; east belonged to the kobolds. To the south was a high mountain riddled with caves.

The Chief spoke of Cave Spiders —deadly monsters that spat silk and venom. Any goblin sent there had never returned. That was the extent of the Chief's knowledge. He had once been a member of another tribe that was wiped out by a "Mana Surge." He had survived, wandered the woods, and slowly evolved into a Hobgoblin. Eventually, he found this settlement, and weaker wandering goblins naturally gathered around him.

Supported by their labor, he grew comfortable, lost his desire for exploration, and spent his days eating and waiting for death. The interrogation was over. Li Qinwu pressed the rusted hatchet against the Chief's throat.

"Since you have nothing left to say, it's time to go." The Chief began to tremble with pure terror.

"No! I told you everything! You can't kill me! You can't kill me!" He tried to struggle, but between his heavy wounds and the venom from the berries finally peaking in his system, he couldn't muster a shred of strength. Li Qinwu glanced at the [Prisoner Management] panel. An icon representing the Chief showed he was now [Recruitable] —the coward had completely submitted to save his hide. But Li Qinwu didn't click recruit. Instead, under the Chief's horrified gaze, he swung the axe and took the head clean off.

This fat bastard had ruled the tribe too long; many goblins still saw him as their master. If he didn't die, Li Qinwu would never have absolute control. Li Qinwu kicked the severed head into the crowd of spectating goblins, sending them shrieking and scurrying back. He walked to the center of the tribe, stepped onto the former Chief's head, and looked at the crowd with a pleasant, terrifying smile.

"From now on, I am the Boss. Who's in favor? Who's against?"