Chương 15: Gemini 说 Chapter 15: Armor Crafting

Li Qinwu had made up his mind: he was going to raid the human village. To him, they were just another faction in this otherworldly game—pillaging them carried zero psychological burden. However, looking at his current ragtag bunch of green-skinned misfits, he genuinely feared he'd just be "delivering experience points" to the humans' doorstep. Preparation was mandatory! Step one was a mass draft.

Beyond his 19 absolutely loyal system soldiers, Li Qinwu recruited 200 regular goblins, turning them into full-time soldiers. He equipped every one of them with a wooden spear and initiated a "Boot Camp." The training regimen was simple: Spear Thrusting: To improve lethality. Running: To enhance mobility. Standing at Attention: To instill obedience and group cohesion. The first two were manageable—under the incentive of food, the goblins performed decently. But "standing at attention" was pure torture for them.

Goblins were hyperactive by nature; asking them to stand motionless under the sun for an hour was like asking a cat to do taxes. Li Qinwu supervised personally, but it was a disaster at first. The goblins would fidget, whisper, or simply "strike" by sitting on the ground. It was a massive headache. Standing at attention isn't just about posture; it's about breaking the individual's ego to ensure absolute compliance with future orders.

If a soldier can't obey a "pointless" command like standing still, they won't obey a life-or-death tactical order later. Li Qinwu snapped. He called his 19 spearmen over and had them stand in front of the goblin phalanxes.

"Watch them closely," Li Qinwu commanded.

"Anyone who moves, speaks, or wanders off—kill them on the spot!" He stopped trying to reason with them and used the only language goblins truly understood: the threat of death. It worked instantly. Faced with the lethal spears of their brothers, the 200 goblins stood like statues, silent for three hours straight. Li Qinwu nodded in satisfaction. Goblins were like unruly beasts; they required a heavy hand. He was confident that within a month, he could beat a sense of discipline into them.

Beyond military drill, Li Qinwu focused on "grinding." He led his soldiers on daily Horned Crocodile hunts. He needed to level himself up, but more importantly, he needed to upgrade his troops. The common goblins were too short—fighting humans with them would be like children fighting adults. He needed to promote his 19 core soldiers into Level 2 Hobgoblins. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

After two days of relentless crocodile slaughter, Gob-Spear finally hit the XP threshold. Li Qinwu opened the party management page, spent 80 Denars, and clicked [Upgrade]. Gob-Spear's height instantly surged to 1. 7 meters. He stared at his toughened muscles and the surging power in his limbs with disbelief. It was a total transformation. Li Qinwu dragged Gob-Spear in front of the tribe.

"Gob-Spear has been granted power because of his bravery! From this day forth, he is the second Hobgoblin of this tribe! Do you want this power? Then fight for it!" [Ding! You have performed a successful speech, igniting the goblins' passion. Charm +1] Over the next few days, the crocodiles in the river suffered a miserable fate. Many more core soldiers reached their XP limits, and Li Qinwu upgraded them all. Hobgoblins were stronger than human males and had intelligence comparable to humans.

Once his entire core squad hit Level 2, he would march on the village. While improving troop quality, Li Qinwu also worked on gear—specifically armor and crossbows. Using his sharpened iron hatchet, he processed the crocodile hides. The thick, bony scales on the crocodiles' backs were too hard to cut without chisels or picks, so he focused on the softer belly leather. Though "soft" by comparison, the white belly leather was incredibly tough—enough to deflect low-poundage arrows and sword slashes.

He ordered the production of 20 sets of light armor. He demonstrated the process himself: cutting the belly leather into chest and back plates, then lashing them together with rope. Shoulder, skirt, leg, and arm guards followed. The armor was surprisingly lightweight and flexible. To mark his status, Li Qinwu crafted himself a custom "thickened" version with double-layered leather over the vitals. He even took a crocodile skull, split the jaws, and fashioned it into a helmet.

From a distance, he looked like a terrifying "Crocodile-Man." Inspired, the 19 Hobgoblins followed suit, using the hatchet to turn crocodile heads into helmets. A squad of 19 Hobgoblins in crocodile armor and skull helms looked like a demonic vanguard—perfect for psychological warfare.

The system recognized the gear when he placed a set in his warehouse: Name: Thickened Horned Crocodile Soft Armor Weight: 15 kg Type: Light Armor Defense: Head: 12, Body: 24, Shoulders: 13, Arms: 13, Legs: 13 Description: A light suit of armor with minor magic resistance and water element affinity. The wearer may confuse Horned Crocodiles into thinking they are kin. Li Qinwu was ecstatic. These were just made from "scraps."

If he could get iron tools to process the thick back-plating, the defense values would be legendary. With the armor done, it was time for weapons. His Smithing skill had reached Level 25 during the armor-making process, unlocking a new skill branch choice: Pottery Firing: Gain knowledge related to making ceramics. Crossbow Crafting: Gain knowledge related to making bows and crossbows.