Chương 72: Starting from Scratch

Sathos Kingdom, the Royal Capital, the Main Temple of the Goddess of Life. This was a magnificent marble building. Today, while wiping the statues of past Heroes, the duty priest discovered with horror that the statue of Leon, the 375th Hero, was covered in cracks. It crumbled into dust the moment the High Priest touched it.

"Hero Leon... has fallen!!!" The High Priest's lament, accompanied by the temple bells, spread throughout the upper echelons of the kingdom. The death of the Goddess's spokesperson broke the balance of power among the four nations. Civil war, Orc invasions, dragon migrations, and Demon advances—a storm capable of sweeping the continent was brewing. For now, however, these winds could not reach the Magic Creature Forest. Li Qinwu's consciousness returned from the darkness.

He found himself in a state of "sleep paralysis," unable to move, but feeling the soft furs beneath him and warmth flowing into his body. His mind wandered back to the final moments of the battle, sighing at how incredibly hard that Hero had been to kill. Suddenly, a pop-up window in the style of Mount & Blade II appeared: Relationship Changes: Killing the Hero caused his relations with the Goddess of Life, the Church, the Royal Family, and the Nobility to plummet to -100.

Li Qinwu didn't care; instead, he pondered the power dynamics between Heroes, secular regimes, and gods. World Situation: Prompts suggested that with the news of the Hero's death, the world was brewing for war—civil wars, Orc invasions, and dragon flights. Li Qinwu was delighted; only in chaos could he reap the best rewards. Divine Attention: The "God of War" issued an invitation for him to become a believer. Although joining would grant massive attribute bonuses (+20 to Vigor, Control, and Endurance, etc.), Li Qinwu resolutely chose"No." He would not let his regime become a mere tool for a god's war. System Feedback: Rejecting the god caused a -10 hit to favor, but because of his potential, favor increased by +5, eventually compensating him with a smaller set of attributes (+3 to Vigor, Control, and Endurance; +2 to Cunning and Social; +1 to Intelligence). This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Li Qinwu checked his personal panel and saw he had leveled up twice. He invested points into Intelligence and Spells. He was pleasantly surprised to see his Two-Handed weapon proficiency soar to 82 and his Crossbow (Firearm) proficiency reach 54. He selected his skills: Strong: +1 Vigor for troops, +5 party size. Healthy: +50 HP for himself and his troops. Skilled Crossbowman: Increased proficiency and reload speed for musketeers. United, Nightwalker, Loose Formation, Combat Tips, Iron-Clad, Disciplined.

After the upgrades, his clan reached Tier 2, bringing his party limit to 80 men. More exciting were the warehouse drops: Werewolf Serum: A burst-buff potion with severe side effects. Mithril Breastplate: Extremely rare armor forged of precious mithril. Emblem of the Hero: A manifestation of collective spirit that allows a race to birth its own Hero.

"We Goblins need our own Hero!!" Li Qinwu blurted out, startling Miss Hana by his bedside. Li Qinwu realized he had been asleep for seven days. Under Hana's powerful healing magic, his severed limbs had been reattached (leaving faint scars), and his ruptured eyeball had been restored. After a brief silence, Hana went to call his subordinates. Li Qinwu watched her leave and whispered, "Thank you." Minutes later, Gobu-Spear, Gobu-Bow, One-Ear, Gobu-Da, Doggie-Witch, and Iron-Orc crowded into the room.

Doggie-Witch complained that the Kobold tribes had heard rumors of Li Qinwu's death and were refusing to pay tribute. A cold light flashed in Li Qinwu's eyes; it was time to solve that problem permanently. He issued orders to Iron-Orc to upgrade their armaments: develop breech-loading flintlocks capable of all-weather combat to counter magic that manipulates the environment. Finally, he asked about the casualties.

Gobu-Spear reported with grief that the ten companies of the Disciplinary Army were nearly wiped out; all the captains had died in battle. Li Qinwu fell silent for a long time before ordering a monument to be built on Martyr Hill. A week later, Li Qinwu had recovered. He reorganized the 10th Company, and the new recruits took their oaths before a 10-meter-tall statue. The sculpture depicted countless musketeer Goblins sacrificing themselves to pin the struggling Hero Leon firmly into a pile of corpses.

The inscription was written in the Human Common Language: On April 6, Year 4353, the Hero Leon and his bandit group invaded the Alliance of Intelligent Beings and were annihilated by the 10th Company of the Disciplinary Army at Gob-Fort. The 10th Company was nearly wiped out, with 812 killed in action. Li Qinwu scanned the text and thought: Creating our own script needs to be put on the agenda soon.