Now, where do I start? Just a few days ago, I was pitying Shure with all the paperwork he had to deal with, yet here I was now in the very same situation. How ironic.
After forming an alliance with the elves and the demihumans, I headed back to the Fortress of the Abyss.
The shaman, Gi Za Zakuend, and the other druids stayed behind with the elves to study, while Cynthia stayed with the gray wolves. Cynthia was already a splendid gray wolf. She would only be holding herself back if she continued to rely on me. I do miss her, though.
To some extent, a road has also been built connecting the Goblin Base with the elves, greatly shortening travel time.
It was a magnificent sight as roughly 200 goblins, elves, koro dwarves, and a human marched back to the fortress.
Along the way, the newly evolved rare goblins were in charge of procuring food, while I distributed the new normal and rare goblins to their respective platoons.
The assassin, Gi Ji Arsil, and the battle demon, Gi Jii Yubu, both refused to receive a territory. Because of that I had to come up with another way to compensate them.
Receiving a territory meant that one also received a bigger army as well as the responsibility of taking care of the land. Of course, it was always emphasized as a reward, but regardless, since they refuse to accept, then I have to find another way to bestow them those same responsibilities.
“I’ll have the soldiers under Gi Ji Arsil’s direct control be in charge of reconnaissance. I’ll bolster his unit with more men from the base.”
I decided to confer to him 100 goblins.
Once he trains all 100 goblins, we will have a small but elite scouting unit.
“As for Gi Jii Yubu, I’ll have him train the goblins at the fortress alongside Gi Ga Rax.”
The newly born goblins are currently being trained by the knight-class goblin, Gi Ga Rax, in the way of the spear. But while the goblins are getting stronger physically, there is much to be desired when it comes to their heads. Their training is insufficient.
I’ll have Gi Jii fill that gap.
I asked Hal if he wanted a family name after evolving to a noble, but he declined, saying, “To wield Paradua’s spear in loyalty to the king is my pride. Master Aluhaliha would surely reprimand me of greed if I were to ask for more.”
I could only nod to his humility.
The tribal goblins had their own land, so they weren’t very keen on receiving a new name. It wouldn’t do to force the issue.
“A splendid attitude. Keep it up,” I said.
“As you will,” Hal said.
We dropped by the demihuman villages along the way, and when we finally returned to the fortress, it had taken us a total of 11 days from the elven region.
“Welcome home, Your Majesty!”
“My liege, we have been awaiting your arrival!”
Kuzan and Gi Ga Rax welcomed me as soon as I arrived.
“I’m back. I’ve troubled you much in my absence,” I told them, then I turned to Kuzan. “We have new people with us, can you assign them a place to stay, Kuzan?”
“Please leave it to me,” Kuzan said as she hopped with that small body of hers.
“Gi Ga Rax, you have worked hard in my absence,” I said.
“No, I still have much to learn. Forgive me for my inability, My Liege,” he said, kneeling.
Patting him on the soldiers, I said. “It was a duty no one could take but you. Gi Ga Rax, be proud!”
“As you will… Thank you,” he said.
After that I headed to the throne, where the goblins, starting with Gi Ga and the nobles, then the rares, knelt before me.
◆◆◇
The goddess sat on her throne as she peeped through her magic mirror. A pure white toga covered her four limbs. She looked bewitchingly beautiful as she sat there with her lustrous skin that was the envy of any woman.
“It went about as expected,” she said.
“Gawayn’s messenger has completed his task as well,” a one-eyed red snake said.
“Did the wind god say anything?”
“He didn’t seem very interested with the spirits. Then again, he has always done as he pleased.”
The goddess laughed. “Pitiful. Try as he might to feign madness and draw his master’s attention, in the end, no one cares about him.”
“…Master,” the one-eyed red snake said when he saw the goddess looking to the distance with sadness in her eyes.
She was probably thinking back to how she was in the past.
“And?” The goddess asked. “What of the spirit?”
The wind god had many dependents, each one uninhibited and whimsical, but most notable of all was their great numbers. Hence, the wind god did not care even when one of them went mad.
“Gawayn’s disciple has calmed down, but it’s only a matter of time before he truly goes mad.”
“I see.”
“If you would permit it, there is a person skilled in reading the wind under him. How about influencing that person?” The one-eyed red snake looked at the mirror, whereupon a goblin sat in his throne. “It would be a great boon to us should we succeed.”
“Interesting,” the goddess said. “Could someone capable of subduing the spirits appear beside him? It’s something worth trying out.”
“As you will.”
In the elven village, a black biting louse appeared before Gi Za Zakuend.
◆◆◇
As soon as I came back, I took a look at our current numbers and started assigning work by class. After the war, everything will depend on how efficient we will be able to manage the humans.
When the newly born goblins in the fortress are added to the goblin that went on the expedition, we get a total of 380 warrior goblins.
There are currently 140 females and 50 goblins that are either too young to fight or unable to for some other reason.
The goblins aren’t born at a fixed rate; rather, the rate of reproduction is ever increasing.
A horde of over 500 goblins. Keeping a horde of that size fed is no trifle task.
The goblins might be fine eating even the bones of beasts, but it won’t be long before hunting alone will become insufficient for us.
This food problem needs to be dealt with as soon as possible.
It is for that that I asked Shure to send us the demihumans from Jirad. Previously, he came to me to discuss the matter regarding Jirad’s farms. It was then that I told him to give me the demihumans.
Neither the elves, the goblins, nor the demihumans originally had any knowledge on farming. In this forest abundant with food, the main livelihood of these three races was always hunting.
But when Nash Jirad realized that the humans might attack, he took the demihumans under him and began cultivating the land of a hidden forest within Jirad. Nash Jirad understood the method, but unfortunately, he wasn’t willing to cooperate with us.
In that case, I will have to use the demihumans that worked under him and attempt to rediscover his methods. We’ll be fumbling our way through, but hopefully, we make it in time. I don’t even want to imagine a scenario where we end up fighting the humans because we ran out of food.
The leader of Jirad’s demihumans, Carad, stayed behind in Jirad’s hidden forest, while we borrowed some of Jirad’s demihumans to help us cultivate our land.
When they investigated the land surrounding the Fortress, they demarcated it and cut down the trees, creating plots of land to use as fields. We used the lumber acquired to work on the fortress.
From the elves, the ones who came to the fortress were Fei, Felbi, Pale, Selena and 30 elven warriors who chose to follow them.
I asked them to make the fields while minimizing the changes to the forest.
“As I thought… There’s not enough blessing. I can’t use my power normally,” Fei said.
“Just do what you can. I don’t want the geography to be altered too much anyway,” I said.
The farther the elves were from their forest, the weaker their ability to control plants and trees became.
Of course, the elves weren’t willing to change the forest into fields at first, but when they saw for themselves how quickly the goblins reproduced, they understood the gravity of the situation and decided to cooperate.
To the goblins, the forest itself was a kind of shield they used to protect themselves. We might be heading to a different stage now, but that doesn’t mean we can change from one extreme to another just like that. Change that comes too fast was bound to recoil.
The normal gobs took on most of the work, though I also helped out while I exchanged opinions with the elves and the demihumans.
We began working as soon as we decided the kind of crop we would be planting, the area we would be using, and the route of the water. The scale was so grand that my eyes went spinning.
Everyone was a beginner, so there was no telling whether this would actually work or not, but that couldn’t be helped. The only thing we could do was to make the best choices and proceed.
This whole thing reminds me of the humans, Mattis and Chinos, who were once with us in the village. If only we had some humans helping out, this whole thing would go much smoother.
Unfortunately, complaining is a fruitless task. All I can do now is to do what I can.
◆◆◇
Aside from the food problem, we also had to deal with our defenses.
There was a lot of distance between the fortress and the borders of the forest, but that was not an uncrossable distance to the humans. Moreover, we also had to be wary of any assassins.
The kobolds and the orcs inhabit the area between the fortress and the forest’s borders, so if a large enough army attacked, it will be easy to know. As long as they don’t end up like last time, anyway. We’ll need to ensure that doesn’t happen again.
In this world, there exists people who can destroy an entire army singlehandedly. If such a person infiltrated the fortress and began slaughtering the female and the young, it’s game over. The one advantage we have over the humans is our ability to reproduce quickly.
To address that I called Kuzan over and had her move the females and the young to different rooms. So long as they weren’t gathered in one basket, even in the worst case scenario, we should be able to mitigate our losses.
The fortress was only two stories high from the ground, but its basement was colossal. It was so big that even I didn’t know how big it was, and perhaps, even Kuzan.
“Yes! Your Majesty!” Kuzan cheerfully replied.
I ordered her to take the Gordob and search the Fortress of the Abyss. Her tribe’s home under the ground was connected to the fortress, so I picked them out for the search. Just in case, I ordered the recently evolved rare goblin, Gi Ah, to lead a platoon to accompany them.
“As the king commands,” Gi Ah said.
Gi Ah led 30 normal goblins to accompany Kuzan and her people. This trip shouldn’t be dangerous, but it was always better to be safe than sorry.
In the last battle, the orcs and the kobolds were rendered moot because of the humans’ surprise attack. The small elite trampled them, then the human army came.
The surveillance network needs to be improved.
To that end, we will be setting up beacons for signal and reusing Gi Go’s old cave as a base in the frontlines.
The next problem is the horde of over 500 goblins. They need to be divided into smaller groups, but who’s going to lead?
Rare goblins aren’t bad, but they might not be able to last under the stress of the work. That leaves only the noble goblins up. Gi Jii and Gi Ji have to work at the fortress, and Gi Ga is still working as my representative.
I’ll have to get the tribes to help.
I summoned Ra Gilmi Fishiga and commanded him to take some soldiers to the frontline base. The soldiers accompanying him were the beast warrior, Gi Bu, the water mage, Gi Ba, and 60 normal goblins. The same goblins that evolved during the battle with the humans.
I chose the hero of Ganra, Gilmi, to handle the frontline base and its beacon because he was the only one suitable, being a member of the Ganra Tribe, which was the most skilled among the goblins when it came to their hands. They could use bows and even craft their own tools.
Gilmi immediately understood my intentions when he heard my command.
Bowing his head, he said. “As the king commands, so shall I fulfill my duty.”
“Ganra’s peace lies upon your shoulders. Strive well!”
“As you will.”
◆◆◇
“You called, Your Majesty?”
“What a nice place. It’s so dark.”
Answering to my calls was the demihuman’s representative, the harpy, Yushika. She had wings on her back and the feet of a bird. In her arms, she carried a bag. She stood out conspicuously in the dimly lit Fortress of the Abyss.
The other one that came was the sleepy-eyed papirsag who carried a mossy shell on his back, Luther.
“Well, it was a rare request from the chief of the winged-ones.”
“You don’t need to thank me. Our standing is the same as always. So long as there’s something to profit, I’ll do business with anyone.”
Yushika seemed to know what I called her here for, as she bewitchingly smiled.
My request was to trade with the elves and the demihumans.
“And what will you give us in return?” Yushika asked.
“We will provide food and shelter for you along your trade routes,” I said.
Yushika smiled. “You’re serious?”
“Of course,” I said without a thought.
Yushika became thoughtful.
The scariest thing to a merchant is to lose their trade. What I want from them is their ability to move goods quickly by flight.
The creation of shelters along their trade route would allow them a place to rest. They might be able to fly, but they can’t fly forever. From time to time, they need to take a breather and sleep. Sometimes, they need to stop because of the weather, and other times it’s because they were attacked by some beast.
My offer to her is protection.
I have the goblins under my rule and an alliance with the elves and the demihumans. This gives me the ability to position my men along the villages and the roads to ensure her safety. Just having a place to run doesn’t guarantee one safety, after all.
This request is also in preparation of the war, as this deals with the issue of goods and supplies.
It would be problematic, after all, if we ran out of supplies away from the forest. To avoid that, we need her power as a merchant.
“…The winged ones are deeply grateful to the king,” Yushika said with an alluring smile.
I turned to Luther. “I also wish to enlist the Papirsag, who are said to be skilled in woodcrafts. I want you to create me a ‘traveler’s inn’.”
“I’ll happily undertake anything for the sake of the community.”
No matter how well the goblins are at cutting down trees, only the Ganra are able to work with them, but the Ganra Tribe currently have their hands full setting up the frontline base.
In other words, I don’t have enough men.
Because of that I decided to ask Luther of the shell tribe to make the inns, in which I will be stationing my men. They will both act as guards of the inn and as scouts to monitor the other races’ movements.
It is imperative that I keep tabs on the demihumans’ and elves’ movements.
We may be allied today, but there’s no telling how long that will last.
Right now, we goblins are dominating, so they choose to be servile. However, should we lose our advantage during the war with the humans, there’s no telling whether they’ll betray me or not. At the very least, the possibility can’t be denied.
Because of that I need to station my troops throughout the region, ensuring that they stay a step beneath me.
“Gi Be, I command you to escort the descendants of the crystals. Protect them well,” I said.
“As you will,” he replied.
The one-armed Gi Be and the other injured goblins trained under Gi Ga. Though these goblins have lost a body part or two, these goblins are extremely loyal to me. I sent half of them to guard and monitor the other regions.
The goblins with the Man-Eating Snake skill weren’t pleased to see that they wouldn’t be partaking in the war with the humans, but there was still some time until the war. Until then, I need to increase our forces as much as possible.
215 days until the war with the humans.
