Chương 17: The Humans

As the goblin army set out, Li Qinwu led them westward along the banks of the great river. The journey was a relentless slog—sixteen hours of marching every day. Li Qinwu had worried the goblins would break under the strain, but he was stunned by their physical ceiling. As long as they were supplied with enough water and food, they could walk indefinitely. He even developed a "marching hack": whenever morale dipped, he'd distribute a strip of jerky to everyone.

Without even needing to stop, the goblins would perk up and keep moving, happily munching away. The downside was the sheer consumption—a single goblin burned through six strips of jerky a day. Fortunately, his month of mass-slaughtering Horned Crocodiles had left him with a surplus. As long as they maintained speed, he let them feast. Fed and fueled, they reached the vicinity of the human settlement on the third day, well ahead of schedule.

Around noon, Li Qinwu suddenly raised his fist, signaling the column to halt. He twitched his nose, catching a scent on the wind.

"Smoke." In the vast Magic Forest, few creatures used fire. Li Qinwu knew he had arrived.

"All units! Into the woods. Eat, sleep, and shut up. No talking, no wandering. Anyone who breaks silence dies!" He hid the troops in the dense foliage to ensure they wouldn't lose the element of surprise. He split the Hobgoblins into two groups: Gob-Large took one to watch the "militia babies," while Li Qinwu took the other to scout.

"Crossbows spanned! Ears up, eyes open. If you see anything strange, alert me immediately!" As they crept forward, the smell of woodsmoke grew thicker, and signs of human activity became abundant. Thanks to his [Scouting] skill from Mount & Blade II, the chaotic tracks on the ground began to resolve into clear data: Track 1: 3 people, 3 days ago. Track 2: 5 people, 2 days ago. Track 3: 4 people, 1 day ago. Li Qinwu deduced these were likely human hunting parties. This was their primary operational zone.

"Careful. Enemies nearby," he whispered. As they moved another few hundred meters, his scouting skill flagged danger in the undergrowth. He used a spear to sweep away the leaf litter, revealing a heavy metal Bear Trap. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. He tossed a stone into it. CLANG! The jaws snapped shut with bone-breaking force. Li Qinwu picked up the trap and handed it to Gob-Spear.

"Hold onto this. It's a rare piece of iron." They advanced another three kilometers, clearing four more traps and several pits. Finally, the forest thinned, and Li Qinwu got his first look at the human settlement. He froze, his jaw dropping.

"Crap! How am I supposed to play this?!" They had found the village, alright—but the "village" had fortifications. Outside the forest sat a patch of cleared, cultivated land where human farmers were working. Behind the fields rose a wooden palisade, roughly three meters high. He couldn't see the interior clearly, but there was a Watchtower nearly seven meters tall. Two humans were leaning against the tower railing, chatting.

They were wearing kettle hats, chainmail shirts, and had longswords at their waists and English-style longbows within reach. Li Qinwu's teeth ached. He wanted to dig up the former Chief and execute him again. A village? You call this a village? This is a damn castle! In the system's logic, this was indeed a Castle —one of the three main settlement types (Village, Castle, Town).

Castles were a nightmare for attackers; they allowed defenders to hold off forces several times their size and featured specialized building slots for resources or training. The system labeled this fortification: Hardship Hamlet. Li Qinwu almost laughed at the name. He was 100% certain these people were exiles from the "civilized" world, and they clearly had a sense of dark humor to name their outpost "Hardship." But how to take it? He had no siege engines.

Charging a palisade with 200 light infantry was a suicide mission. He pondered his options for a while, deciding to pull back and wait for nightfall. Then, the situation changed. The castle gate creaked open. Three people emerged: two armored guards and a young man dressed in vibrant green. The youth carried a longbow, a quiver, and a sword, and he led a straining hunting dog on a leash. He looked like a noble brat out for a morning hunt. The noble headed straight for the thicket where Li Qinwu was hiding.

Li Qinwu tried to signal a quiet retreat—he didn't want to blow his cover before he had a plan. But the hound began to bay frantically.

"Vic! Sit! Vic, sit down!" the youth shouted, trying to soothe the dog, but the animal was possessed, barking at the forest shadows. One of the guards said, "Lord Lance, Vic must have caught a scent." Lance's eyes lit up. He released the leash, and the hound bolted. Li Qinwu realized they couldn't run. The dog was a blur of fur charging straight at him. He narrowed his eyes and drew his iron hatchet. The hound burst through the brush, leaping with jaws wide. Li Qinwu met it with a overhead strike.

The force was so immense it split the dog's skull and cleaved down into its chest, leaving it looking like a zombie dog from Resident Evil. Lance and the guards burst into the clearing. Hunting was the only joy Lance had left since his exile.

"Vic! Did you get it? Vic, you... uh..." Lance skidded to a halt. He found himself staring into ten pairs of glowing green eyes. He froze. Li Qinwu smirked. Judging by the kid's silk clothes, he was someone important. Since he'd delivered himself on a silver platter, there was no way Li Qinwu was letting him go. He shook the dog's carcass off his axe and lunged.

"G-Goblins!" Lance stammered, his heart hammering against his ribs. He reached for his sword, but Li Qinwu's fist got there first. A full-strength Hobgoblin punch slammed into Lance's face, dropping the noble instantly.