Chương 152: The Gathering of Worthies

Suokushou shook himself and staggered to his feet from the ground. Despite having just endured a thorough, brutal beating from Li Qinwu, he was still able to stand back up purely on the strength of his own willpower. He was undeniably a formidable, resilient fellow. Looking at Li Qinwu, Suokushou's eyes remained sharp and piercing, yet the raw hostility had completely vanished from them.

For reasons he could not fathom, a deep, soulful submission toward the man who had just pulverized him had taken root within his very being—a phenomenon that logically should have been absolutely impossible. Li Qinwu pulled up and examined Suokushou's trait character tokens. Cunning, Brutal, Bloodthirsty —these made up his core personality traits.

Below them were several attribute-enhancing passive traits: Indomitable Resilience: You and your soldiers fight with greater fortitude during infantry combat, granting the ability to absorb significantly more damage. Ruthless Tyranny: Your soldiers hold you in absolute terror, rendering them completely incapable of desertion. Unseen Ghost: If your army consists exclusively of infantry units, the entire force receives a massive movement speed bonus.

Travel speed across complex terrains such as mountains, forests, and swamps is drastically increased. Disposable Pawns: Sufferance of massive casualties or the active abandonment of your soldiers on the battlefield will not trigger any decay in army morale. Having reviewed Suokushou's traits, Li Qinwu had a fairly good grasp of what kind of asset this guy truly was.

If Li Qinwu's own build focused on maximizing troop quality while continuously sustaining a high-morale elite force, then this guy was the absolute poster child for the "rabble-rouser" playstyle. He fundamentally did not care about troop quality in the slightest. He would recruit every single goblin he encountered, drag his massive, bloated horde to clash with the enemy, feast on the spoils of war if they won, and seamlessly abandon his entire army to flee into the night if they lost.

With the Unseen Ghost trait active, the moment he vanished into the dense mountains, who in the world could ever hope to hunt him down? Once the heat died down, he would simply drum up another massive horde of disposable rabble, sweep down from the mountains, and look for trouble all over again. In the context of Mount & Blade, this was practically a classic speedrun meta strategy. Li Qinwu asked, "Suokushou, where did you use to operate? Give me the breakdown."

Suokushou wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Boss, my old territory was situated within the northwestern mountain ranges of the Orc Domain. It was a chaotic warzone where multiple races constantly slaughtered one another, and the political landscape was incredibly volatile..." As Suokushou narrated his past, a vivid picture of the Orc Domain began to take shape in Li Qinwu's mind. The territories controlled by the Orcs comprised the entire southern continent, bordering the human realms and the Monster Forest.

The boundary regions adjacent to the human empires, in particular, suffered from an absolutely explosive level of racial conflict! The borderlands where the humans and Orcs met were exceptionally mountainous, defined by treacherous, complex geography. The Human Empire treated the southern frontier as a massive penal colony, dumping all manner of disgraced elites, fallen prodigies, and former worthies down there exactly like disposable trash.

Yet these exiled elites and worthies each possessed extraordinary, exceptional talents. In a brutal, multi-racial melting pot where ordinary people could barely survive, they stubbornly managed to carve out a foothold. Over several generations, they developed thriving towns and fortified castles, eventually washing away the criminal stains of their ancestors to establish themselves as legitimate nobility.

The Orcs, on the other hand, possessed incredibly powerful physical builds but suffered from abysmal production technologies and archaic societal systems. Lacking the capacity to effectively pool their human resources for long-term development, they preferred to simply march north and pillage human lands, adhering strictly to a Viking-style raider economy. Furthermore, the Orcs were completely disunited internally.

Or rather, the phrase "Orc Domain" was a massive misnomer born from human misunderstanding, giving the illusion that the Orcs operated under a singular, unified nation. In reality, the Orcs were fractured into hundreds of large and small clans based entirely on their specific sub-species. For instance, the more renowned factions included the Tiger Orcs, the Ox Orcs, and the Boar Orcs. To make matters worse, a single sub-species could be fractured into multiple independent clans.

Take the Tiger Orcs again—there were three notoriously famous clans among them, and all three shared deep-seated blood feuds, constantly waging bitter wars against one another. To put it bluntly, the Orc Domain was a colossal mountain of legacy spaghetti code; even a Hearts of Iron veteran with 2, 000 hours under their belt wouldn't be able to salvage that absolute disaster of a faction.

It was precisely within this chaotic, merciless environment that Suokushou had risen to power in a geographically isolated, treacherous mountain range. Just as a certain eccentric goblin expert had once posited: Wherever there is light, there are goblins. Even in the northwestern mountains of the Orc Domain—a region defined by such terrifyingly high combat intensity—Suokushou's tribe had stubbornly survived.

Wedged directly within a hyper-volatile warzone, his survival strategy was remarkably simple: pillage everything in sight, raid human settlements, and butcher weaker Orc tribes. They would thoroughly plunder a target and immediately vanish. If they encountered an enemy they couldn't defeat, the escape plan was equally straightforward—Suokushou would directly abandon his entire force and bolt.

Those who possessed superior physical conditioning and sharp wits would flee alongside him, while the weak, slow, and dim-witted were left behind as meat shields to buy time. Operating like this continuously for several years, Suokushou eventually gathered a core inner circle of over 200 Hobgoblins—all of whom were lightning-fast, battle-hardened veterans of a hundred skirmishes.

Since the wild goblins spawning out in the wilderness would naturally gravitate toward the strongest local power, Suokushou relied on his ironclad core elite and an ever-rotating roster of nearly a thousand disposable meat shields to maintain an unbreakable foothold in that unforgiving warzone. Because of his Unseen Ghost trait, every time he led an assault, he would plunder and flee if successful, or ditch his cannon fodder and flee if compromised.

This pattern caused the local Orc tribes who suffered under his raids to hate him to the absolute bone, eventually branding him with the moniker "Suokushou." In Orc mythology, a "Suokushou" was the most despicable, low-born, and vile magical beast in existence—it was essentially a profound profanity. Yet every time Suokushou heard the Orcs screaming the curse at him, he thought the title sounded rather badass, and so he simply adopted it as his official name.

However, if you walk by the river long enough, your shoes are bound to get wet. Suokushou's persistent, disruptive existence eventually forced several local Orc clans to form an unprecedented alliance. Even the neighboring humans provided tactical intelligence to aid the joint suppression. Following a massive, coordinated multi-front encirclement campaign, they successfully annihilated Suokushou's grand horde and captured him alive.

Ordinarily, this fellow would have been flayed alive by the completely enraged Orcs. But simply slaughtering him wouldn't fix anything; the economic losses he had inflicted upon the clans were far too catastrophic. Killing him would grant momentary emotional satisfaction, but it wouldn't recoup a single dime. Fortunately, since the local region was a desolate, war-torn hellhole, the slave-trading industry was exceptionally lucrative.

Displaying an immense, almost supernatural feat of collective willpower, the Orc clans restrained themselves from slicing Suokushou into ribbons. Instead, they sold him off to a slave merchant to recoup some of their financial losses, effectively eradicating a massive local plague while allowing the clans to immediately go back to slaughtering each other. Listening to this guy's glorious, chaotic life story, Li Qinwu couldn't help but sigh with deep emotion.

He truly hadn't expected that under purely natural circumstances, the fragile goblin race could actually birth a brilliant talent like Suokushou. It really was a textbook case of the environment shaping the man! It was merely a pity that this fellow had launched raids in every single direction, provoking absolute collective fury until he was completely overwhelmed by a unified alliance.

His eventual downfall could also be seen as a perfect miniature reflection of why the goblin race as a whole could never truly civilize or develop. Suokushou had never once considered establishing a permanent base of operations, nor had he ever thought about nurturing administrative talents. His military had remained a purely predatory, Viking-style horde from start to finish—capable only of raiding and consuming, completely devoid of domestic production.

Such an army was nothing more than rootless duckweed, entirely lacking a future and destined to vanish permanently after a single catastrophic defeat. Yet, it was the pinnacle product born strictly out of the natural goblin mindset. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Fortunately for him, Li Qinwu possessed a soul from another world and had already thoroughly developed the massive strategic rearguard that was the Monster Forest.

As for this fellow Suokushou—he could obediently and faithfully serve as the Commander of the Mountain Infantry Regiment! Next, Li Qinwu walked up to the massive 2. 5-meter-tall goblin. This creature was truly built like an absolute brick wall, boasting an anatomy that was staggeringly, unnaturally gargantuan. If one were to draw a vial of his blood for a lab test, the doctor would probably conclude that they had found a small trace of red blood cells inside a pure cylinder of raw testosterone.

Unfortunately, this absurdly powerful behemoth seemed to be a complete lunatic. His eyes burned a rabid, bloodshot crimson, a heavy iron gag was wedged tightly between his jaws, and he continuously emitted a low, maddened growl from the back of his throat. Li Qinwu naturally did not dare to release him carelessly. This creature clearly suffered from severe cognitive issues; the second his bonds were severed, he would undoubtedly go berserk and slaughter anyone within arm's reach.

As Li Qinwu stood hesitating over how to handle this beast, Suokushou spoke up from behind.

"Boss, that creature is a Berserk Goblin. He's a complete lunatic, fundamentally impossible to control. It's better to just put him down." Li Qinwu turned and asked, "You're familiar with these things?" Suokushou nodded firmly.

"My old tribe would occasionally birth a few Berserk Goblins. From the moment they are born, they begin to display manic frenzy, relentlessly attacking any infants or young cubs around them until they have slaughtered every living soul in sight. I once attempted to train and harness a Berserk Goblin to serve as a weapon for my horde, but no matter what methods I employed, they consistently maintained an unmitigated, rabid hostility toward everyone around them. Unless..."

His gaze drifted downward, settling squarely upon the Berserk Goblin's gargantuan lower anatomy. Li Qinwu blanked for a brief second. Following his line of sight down to the creature's massive, swollen masculine trait, the realization instantly clicked. A Berserk Goblin was essentially suffering from an extreme, off-the-charts hormone overload—a massive endocrine disorder that had completely fried his brain.

While the exact biological catalyst for this mutation remained a mystery, addressing the issue directly from the "root" source was indeed a highly effective medical approach. Li Qinwu turned back to Suokushou and asked, "Are you absolutely certain that snipping it will cause him to calm down?" Suokushou nodded.

"Yes. Once you castrate a Berserk Goblin, they gradually settle down and return to a stable state, eventually even regaining the capacity for rational communication. However, every Berserk Goblin I castrated in the past rapidly grew physically frail afterward. They completely lost their combat drive and would eventually try to ambush me out of sheer resentment, so I always ended up having to execute them anyway." Li Qinwu stroked his chin thoughtfully.

While castrating the creature would indeed allow his hormone levels to stabilize, the long-term side effects were simply too catastrophic. Without testosterone, the creature would be completely incapable of maintaining that astonishing, hyper-dense muscle mass. Furthermore, it would breed deep, permanent hatred within him, which completely defeated the purpose of keeping him alive. Besides, performing a forced castration was far too barbaric.

The tragic, crippled state of Gob-Run was still fresh in his mind; actively manufacturing such a grim tragedy ran completely counter to the Alliance's core strategy of occupying the moral high ground through "advanced sociological concepts." This course of action was strictly out of the question. In that case, execution seemed to be the only viable path left. Li Qinwu let out a soft sigh.

The foaming, slavering beast before him looked exactly like a chosen champion of Khorne, every single ruptured blood vessel in his eyes screaming nothing but pure, unadulterated slaughter. A goblin of this nature was fundamentally incapable of integrating into civilized society. For the greater good of the collective collective, putting him down was the only logical choice. Reaching into his spatial warehouse, Li Qinwu withdrew a heavy flintlock musket.

He pressed the cold iron barrel directly against the Berserk Goblin's forehead, preparing to treat him to a swift, painless purple lead pill.

"GRRRR! UGHHH! GRRRR!" The Berserk Goblin bit down frantically against the heavy iron gag, his bloodshot eyes staring with manic intensity straight into Li Qinwu's face. Li Qinwu couldn't help but feel a sudden pang of pity for the creature, living out his entire existence in a perpetual, agonizing blur of madness just waiting for death. His finger slowly began to apply pressure to the trigger. Just as the gunshot was about to ring out, he suddenly halted.

Lowering the firearm, he turned to Kanda, who was standing faithfully by his side, and commanded: "Go and fetch Doggy-Witch immediately." He suddenly recalled that during their last conversation, Doggy-Witch had mentioned learning a specialized hex called the Unspeakable Affliction Curse. Statistically speaking, wasn't this the absolute perfect scenario to test it out? Before long, Doggy-Witch came scurrying over to the courtyard.

"Boss." Li Qinwu gave a brief nod of acknowledgment and dove straight to the point: "Doggy-Witch, what was the deal with that Unspeakable Affliction Curse you mentioned last time? Give me the exact specifics." Doggy-Witch scratched his head in confusion, unsure why his leader was suddenly interested in this particular hex, but he obediently began to explain:"Boss, my witchcraft was acquired by offering a massive bounty of sacrifices to the Curse Dragon, combined with hours of devout prayer.

I managed to receive the Curse Dragon's divine enlightenment to master it. The hex requires a sample of the target's fresh blood or hair. Once successfully cast, it renders the target completely incapable of achieving an erection." Li Qinwu pressed further, "Is the physical damage caused by this effect permanent? And can you adjust the absolute intensity of the curse?"

"Boss, the damage isn't permanent at all. I don't fully understand the underlying magical mechanics myself, but essentially, once the curse mana infused into the target's body naturally burns out after a certain period of time, the hex automatically lifts. As for the intensity, it is entirely adjustable. So long as I carefully regulate the amount of mana I channel during the casting process, I can achieve either a 'semi-impotent' state or a state of absolute, total dysfunction."

Li Qinwu thought to himself, Perfect. He immediately shoved Doggy-Witch forward, positioning him right next to the massive Berserk Goblin.

"Perfect. Go ahead and cast the Unspeakable Affliction Curse on him. Let's start him off with the 'semi-impotent' package." Doggy-Witch was absolutely thrilled. Ever since he had mastered this particular hex, he hadn't found a single opportunity to put it into practice; this was the absolute perfect chance to conduct a live field test. Taking a small ritual knife, Doggy-Witch carefully shaved a lock of hair from the Berserk Goblin's head.

He then began to frantically brandish his shamanic staff, dancing in erratic circles around the severed hair while emitting bizarre, rhythmic canine barks. The entire display looked incredibly foolish and absurd. Doggy-Witch continued his frantic shamanic dance for over ten solid minutes.

Initially, Li Qinwu paid little attention to the performance, but as the minutes dragged on, his senses suddenly flared—he noticed an incredibly dense, concentrated vortex of dark-attribute mana rapidly condensing in the surrounding air. His eyes instantly snapped wide with intense focus. He suddenly recalled his previous encounter with the holy choir, who had utilized high-density light mana to launch devastating structural attacks.

If that was possible, couldn't he theoretically harness high-density dark mana to decimate his own enemies? The concept felt immensely viable and held staggering strategic value—imagine establishing a 20-kilometer radius zone of absolute magical death. The tactical potential was simply off the charts. However, since he lacked the necessary knowledge to weaponize it at the moment, he could only shelve the idea for future experimentation. Doggy-Witch's chaotic shamanic dance finally reached its crescendo.

With a final, piercing howl, the lock of hair on the ground erupted into pitch-black flames, burning instantly to ash. The dense dark mana swirling through the air seemed to linger in place for a few brief seconds, as though actively analyzing the molecular signature to identify the hair's owner, before violently surging forward and slamming entirely into the Berserk Goblin's body. Doggy-Witch wiped a heavy layer of sweat from his brow, exhaling a deep breath: "Whew... it is done, Boss."

Li Qinwu locked his gaze onto the Berserk Goblin. Right before his eyes, the massive creature visibly began to settle down. The terrifying, ruptured blood vessels bulging in his eyes gradually receded, replaced by a sudden, profound glimmer of raw sanity shining through his pupils. The Berserk Goblin looked around the courtyard in utter bewilderment, glancing left and right as though he hadn't fully processed his current surroundings.

Seeing that the treatment had been an absolute success, Li Qinwu immediately initiated the official system recruitment prompt, putting on his most gentle, reassuring tone:"Good boy... how about you recognize me as your official Boss?" The Berserk Goblin stared blankly back at Li Qinwu with a slow, simple-minded expression. Li Qinwu reached into his spatial inventory and pulled out a massive chunk of fresh, raw Horned Crocodile meat.

"Be a good boy... recognize me as your Boss, and you'll get to eat all the delicious meat you want until you're completely stuffed!" Ding! Would you like to spend 5, 000 Denars to recruit the Berserk Goblin? Li Qinwu instantly clicked to confirm the recruitment, immediately pulling up the creature's detailed attribute interface. The Berserk Goblin's base attributes were displayed as follows: Vitality 45, Control 10, Endurance 10, Cunning 0, Social 0, Intelligence 1.

Li Qinwu let out a sharp click of his tongue in absolute awe. To his amazement, this Berserk Goblin actually qualified as a Noble Tier unit, meaning he could be upgraded all the way up to Level 6! Furthermore, his Vitality stat sat at a staggering 45 points at a mere Level 1—an absolutely terrifying numerical baseline!

"Hahaha! Quick! Get him out of those chains!" Li Qinwu was absolutely ecstatic, immediately ordering his guards to unshackle the behemoth. The more he looked at this creature, the more profoundly infatuated he became; with a raw Vitality stat of 45, this guy was guaranteed to be a hyper-specialized, strength-based transcendent powerhouse on the battlefield.

Once they got back to base, he would forge a custom set of ultra-heavy full plate armor for him, hand him a massive two-handed weapon, and boom—a pocket-sized, youth-edition Ogre juggernaut would be officially ready for deployment! Li Qinwu tossed a massive pile of fresh meat onto the ground before the Berserk Goblin, letting the creature indulge in a frantic, joyful feast.

"Listen up, big guy. From this day forward, your official name shall be Gob-Mad. I am your Boss, and whatever your Boss commands you to do, you follow those orders without question, understand?!" Gob-Mad frantically stuffed massive chunks of raw meat into his jaws, murmuring in a thick, heavily slurred voice: "Me... Gob... Mad. Whatever Boss... says... me... do..." Li Qinwu nodded in absolute satisfaction, tossing two more massive chunks of meat over to him.

He then strode across the courtyard, coming to a halt beside the final, severely deformed goblin slumped on the dirt. This creature's limbs were profoundly mutated and misshapen, giving him a silhouette that looked remarkably like a twisted Patrick Star. He was completely incapable of standing upright, forced to either lie flat or sit awkwardly on the ground. Li Qinwu looked down at him and commanded coldly: "Alright, let's see what you've got. Show me your talent!"

The deformed goblin stared up at Li Qinwu, swallowing hard in sheer terror. The aura radiating from the man before him was far too overwhelming; defiance meant instant, violent death. He spoke in a trembling, hushed whisper: "Provide me... with a fresh corpse... or a completely intact animal skeleton." Li Qinwu turned to Kanda and ordered: "Go and slaughter a chicken."

"Yes, Boss!" Kanda barked. He dashed out of the courtyard and returned a mere moment later, dangling a freshly killed chicken by its legs before tossing it directly beside the deformed goblin. The deformed goblin slowly raised his twisted, mutated right hand, softly chanting a low, ominous incantation. A sphere of swirling, sickly black-green magical energy rapidly coalesced within his palm, which he then forcefully pressed directly into the dead chicken's torso.

Under the stunned, collective gaze of everyone present, the dead chicken suddenly began to stagger and twitch. With its neck still completely broken and its head dangling limply to the side, the corpse stubbornly dragged itself onto its feet, standing rigidly in place. Li Qinwu's eyes instantly snapped wide, a wave of absolute, unbridled euphoria washing over his entire face.

"Holy shit! A Necromancer?!"