Chương 34: Settlement

On the battlefield, after their initial burst of aggression, the Kobolds quickly ran out of stamina. They were soon surrounded by Goblins, subjected to a barrage of spear thrusts and polearm bludgeoning to their heads. They were rapidly overwhelmed by the green tide. A victory settlement message promptly arrived for Li Qinwu. [You have achieved victory!] Enemies Killed: 57 Enemies Captured: 21 Experience Gained: 560 Casualties (Self): 0 Loot Obtained: Grain x56, Kobold Fangs x12, Stone Axes x11, Stone Picks x8, Animal Pelts x28. Denars Obtained: 1, 780. Level: 11 → 13 Attribute Points: +2 | Focus Points: +2 Gaining two levels in a single battle left Li Qinwu feeling quite satisfied. He opened his personal attribute panel, checked his current stats, and allocated the two attribute points into Intelligence and the two focus points into Engineering.

He knew that to accelerate development, he would need the help of engineering skills. Li Qinwu's current attribute panel read: Name: Li Qinwu Race: Goblin (Hobgoblin) Title 1: Bloody Tyrant. Because you occasionally use "decimation," the Goblins are deeply terrified of you. (Effect: Goblin obedience increased.) Title 2: Fair in Rewards and Punishments. Reward those with merit, punish those with faults.

(Effect: Initiative of the Goblins under your command increased; they spend their dreams pondering how to earn merit.) Level: 13 Experience: 124/980 Mana: 0 Affinity: Dark Faith: Primal Faith (Goblin God) Attributes: Vigor 12 (One-handed 12, Two-handed 19, Polearm 8). Control 0 (Bow 11, Crossbow 5, Throwing 1). Endurance 0 (Riding 0, Athletics 28, Smithing 41). Cunning 0 (Scouting 19, Tactics 5, Roguery 3). Social 0 (Charm 3, Leadership 5, Trade 0, Steward 0).

Intelligence 2 (Steward 8, Medicine 1, Engineering 28, Magic 0). Li Qinwu noticed his Athletics skill had reached 28, unlocking a choice between two perks: Increase movement speed for you and your troops by 5%. You and your troops become slightly healthier. Li Qinwu immediately chose the first option. Increasing troop movement speed was vital, whether in the age of cold weapons or the modern era. After finishing his skill allocation, Li Qinwu felt refreshed.

He walked onto the battlefield and looked at the Kobolds pinned to the ground and bound together. Kobolds had an excellent sense of smell—about twice as sensitive as a Goblin's. They were highly functional monsters; if trained properly, adding them to his tribe would boost their combat effectiveness. At that moment, Li Qinwu heard the Kobold Shaman barking and howling. Despite being pinned down by two Hobgoblins, he was still baring his teeth and snarling like a rabid dog.

Li Qinwu picked up a broken spear shaft from the ground and gave the Shaman three solid whacks across the mouth. The beating left the Shaman's mouth looking like a crushed dragonfruit, and his eyes finally cleared up. Li Qinwu opened the prisoner management page. This guy was a high-tier unit capable of casting spells, and he wanted to see if he could be recruited. Upon opening the interface, Li Qinwu was stunned—this guy wasn't a generic unit; he was an NPC!

Li Qinwu took a sharp breath and checked his quest panel. One of the tasks read: [Recruit a Companion: 0/1] The Mount & Blade system had quests. The first task required 2, 000 Denars, 50 Renown, and the recruitment of one companion to upgrade the Clan Level from 0 to 1. Raising the Clan Level would increase his party capacity; currently, he could only lead 20 soldiers, but upgrading would increase that to 40. Li Qinwu licked his lips. He already had enough Denars and Renown—he just lacked an NPC.

Hana was an NPC, but when he asked her to join, she flat-out refused. Li Qinwu figured he might eventually have to "develop" things with Hana if he couldn't find a female lord, so he hadn't used harsh methods on her. But this Kobold Shaman..." Within three meters!" Li Qinwu bellowed. Hana ran to his side. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work! Li Qinwu pointed his stick at the Kobold Shaman.

"Tell him to join my army." Hana translated faithfully. The Shaman began baring his teeth again, muttering and grumbling in a way that sounded like strings of curses. Hana translated: "He says a noble Kobold will never surrender. Lowly Goblins are just food. When the Great Chief attacks, all Goblins will turn into feces." As she spoke, Hana couldn't help but snicker. Li Qinwu's eyebrows twitched. He raised the stick and began thumping the Shaman's head, making a hollow thwack-thwack sound. He cursed as he beat him.

"Noble Kobold, huh? Lowly Goblins, huh? Great Chief? Feces?" A dog's head is its hardest part, but even it couldn't withstand this. The Shaman's head swelled up, and his gaze became increasingly "clear." High-born or lowly—three whacks could settle that debate. CRACK! The wooden stick snapped. The Kobold Shaman fell to the ground, head covered in blood, but fortunately, he survived. He no longer feared the Goblin's coercion. Then, he saw Li Qinwu pick up a new branch as thick as a bowl.

Terrified, he let out an immediate, submissive howl. Hana noted, "He says as long as he's fed until full every day, you are his Chief." Li Qinwu tossed the stick aside and opened the prisoner interface. The Kobold Shaman's icon now showed he could be recruited. Li Qinwu clicked recruit, paying a hefty sum of 2, 860 Denars. His party now included an NPC with a health bar.

Name: Dog-Witch Race: Kobold (Great Kobold) Level: 9 Mana: 120 Affinity: Dark Faith: Cursed Dragon Attributes: Vigor 7 (One-handed 5, Two-handed 2, Polearm 3). Control 2 (Bow 0, Crossbow 0, Throwing 9). Endurance 2 (Riding 0, Athletics 13, Smithing 0). Cunning 4 (Scouting 12, Tactics 1, Roguery 1). Social 1 (Charm 0, Leadership 2, Trade 0, Steward 22). Intelligence 9 (Steward 8, Medicine 1, Engineering 28, Magic 68). A magic proficiency of 68—very impressive. Li Qinwu patted Dog-Witch on the shoulder.

"Good boy. We're family now. Your Boss here won't mistreat you." Dog-Witch spat a mouthful of blood and forced a hideous grin on his swollen face. Li Qinwu wanted to offer more empty promises, but his attention was suddenly drawn to the Ogre groaning on the ground. Pinned like a pincushion by the ballista bolts, the giant was still alive.

"Gugu... gaga..." The Ogre made unintelligible sounds, blood frothing from his mouth and nostrils. He was likely suffering from massive internal hemorrhaging. Li Qinwu walked over and looked down at the behemoth. Such heavy injuries, yet he wasn't dead; his vitality was truly remarkable. Li Qinwu ordered a ballista to be brought over and cocked. He planned to blast the giant's head apart at close range; surely an experience hoard this big would yield hundreds of points.

As the ballista was being prepared, Hana walked up and pointed at the Ogre.

"He just said 'Gugu gaga, don't want to die.'" Li Qinwu paused.

"What does 'Gugu gaga' mean?" Hana shrugged.

"I don't know. Ogres have low intelligence and their language is chaotic. But I suspect those two words mean either 'Father/Mother' or 'Son/Daughter.'" Li Qinwu recalled how the first volley had downed the Ogre, only for the Shaman to use a Fear Hex to provoke him back into the fight. The hallucination the Ogre saw must have been his family being killed. Gobu-Bow placed a bolt onto the ballista.

"Boss, it's ready." Looking at the Ogre's eyes filled with tears, Li Qinwu unexpectedly felt a surge of pity.

"Miss Hana, ask him if he wants to join my army."

"What?" Hana was incredulous. She suspected Li Qinwu had lost his mind. Ogres were dangerous, simple-minded, and notoriously impossible to tame. But she did as told, speaking in the guttural Ogre tongue. After a brief exchange, Hana shook her head at Li Qinwu.

"He says 'Little Greens' and 'Fuzzies' are all bad.

'Little Greens' hurt everyone, and 'Fuzzies' took 'Chuchu' and 'Mimi'." Li Qinwu scratched his head, realizing the giant spoke like a toddler. So, he decided to speak in the same manner.

"Miss Hana, tell him 'Little Greens' are not bad.

'Little Greens' are good.

'Fuzzies' are the bad ones. Tell him to play with 'Little Greens,' and 'Little Greens' will feed him until he's full-full and take him to hit the bad 'Fuzzies' to bring back 'Gugu,' 'Gaga,' 'Chuchu,' and 'Mimi'." Hana muttered something about Goblins not being "good," but Li Qinwu glared at her, so she quickly translated. She spoke with the Ogre for a bit longer.

"He says he won't believe 'Little Greens' unless you swear to 'Boom-Boom'."

"Who is 'Boom-Boom'?"

"I know this one!" Hana said, puffing out her chest.

"'Boom-Boom' is the Ogre word for the Earth Goddess. Legend says the Earth Goddess had four children: the Thunder Giant, the Mountain Giant, the Plains Giant, and the Ogre. The Ogre is the youngest, born with defects—shorter than his brothers and mentally challenged. When the Earth Goddess communicates via divine oracle, there are earthquakes— boom-boom —so the Ogres call her that." Li Qinwu understood.

He immediately raised his finger and swore, "I vow to the Earth Goddess 'Boom-Boom' that I will rescue this Ogre's family from the Kobolds." As soon as the words left his mouth, the ground began to rumble violently. Li Qinwu was startled—an earthquake? A distant, heavy female voice suddenly echoed in his ear:"That is what you said." The tremors stopped. Li Qinwu froze and looked at Hana.

"You said the Goddess communicates via earthquakes?" Hana was equally stunned.

"Ye... yes!" Li Qinwu hissed. Was his vow "officially certified" by the heavens? A system notification chimed in his head. [You have caught the attention of the ancient Great Goddess of Earth. The Goddess has assigned you a quest: Rescue Dang-Dang's family.] Success Reward: 1, 000 EXP, Earth Goddess's Blessing (+5 to all attributes), Earth Element Affinity, increased favor with the Ogre species, Ogre language proficiency.

Failure Penalty: Earth Goddess's Curse (Weakness whenever your body touches the earth), hostility from the Ogre species (all Ogres will hate you, think you are "bad," and beat you!). [Ding! An Ogre has joined your party. Please check the soldier management interface.] Li Qinwu was dazed by the influx of information, followed by sheer joy. He had caught the attention of a Great Goddess! A +5 attribute blessing! Those Kobolds... they had truly courted death! He opened the soldier panel.

The Ogre named Dang-Dang had entered his ranks as a Tier 7 adult Ogre unit. He checked the stats and found Dang-Dang's Vigor attribute was a staggering 120! With such terrifying vigor, it was no wonder he survived so many bolts. Conversely, his Intelligence was listed as -3. Li Qinwu summoned the Hobgoblins, and together they pulled the bolts out of Dang-Dang. In the process, chunks of internal tissue and massive amounts of blood were pulled out.

Li Qinwu's eyes twitched; he was genuinely afraid the giant would die right there. Fortunately, after gushing hundreds of kilograms of blood and letting out a few howls, the Ogre was fine. Dang-Dang called out to Li Qinwu: "Hulu-ga-dudu."

"What's he saying?" Li Qinwu asked Hana.

"He says he's 'hungry-wungry' and wants to eat until 'full-full'." Li Qinwu obliged, sending men to feed him. It took a mountain of jerky—half the meat from a Horned Crocodile—before Dang-Dang felt full. Li Qinwu noticed that after eating his fill, the Ogre's horrific wounds actually stopped bleeding and began to scab over! Such recovery power! The troops rested for half an hour until Dang-Dang regained the ability to move. Just as they were about to head back to the tribe, Te-Ouk approached him.

He held up a black rock that glimmered with faint colors.

"Chief, this is iron ore." He turned and pointed to the dark mountain where the giant spiders were active.

"That mountain seems to be a massive open-pit iron mine. And it's the highest quality ore." Li Qinwu's eyes widened after hearing Hana's translation.

"Are you sure?" Te-Ouk nodded.

"Yes, Chief. I'm very certain. I've never seen iron ore of this quality in my life. The iron refined from this will be superb, and the tools made from it will be even better." Li Qinwu's breathing grew heavy as he looked at the stone.

"Te-Ouk, if I give you enough manpower, can you smelt this iron?" Te-Ouk nodded firmly. Li Qinwu was overjoyed.

"Te-Ouk! If you can smelt iron, I will grant you one reasonable request!"