The different demihuman tribes lived in their own villages in their own lands within the forest.
“Greetings, I am the King of the Goblins.”
Kneeling before me was a member of the winged ones. There was much distance between the countless villages of the demihumans; going to and fro a village could not be done in a short time.
The first problem the demihumans needed to deal with to create their republic was the communication between their villages.
Their solution was this merchant before me, the winged ones.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness. I am Yushika, a member of the tribe of the winged onesHarpies.”
By chance, a merchant happened to pass by the araneae village, so I asked Nikea to introduce me.
The harpies were a nomadic race responsible for bridging communication between the various demihumans. They were also merchants responsible for distributing various special goods.
For example, the threads of the araneae, the fangs produced by the Fang TribeWerewolves, the jewels mined by the Long-Tailed TribeRizalats, the wooden crafts of the Shell TribePapirsag, or the iron works of the Man-Horse TribeCentaurs. The various demihuman tribes traded their special goods for the other tribes’ special goods.
Other than those tribes, there’s also the Mud-Scaled TribeTarpidae, who frolic places the harpies can’t reach, or the eccentric Man-Bull TribeMinotaurs.
“Likewise,” I nodded. “I believe there’ll be plenty of opportunities for us to work together.”
“More customers is always a pleasure,” she smiled, bowing as she bent the white wings behind her back and the talons of her feet. The way she carefully held the bag dangling from her chest with her two arms reminded me of a mother holding her baby.
“By the way, Your Highness,” she said. “How far do you intend to go?”
Her smile quickly changed into one of cunningness.
“If you’d like I could show you the way,” she said.
But then Nikea suddenly interjected. “Don’t tease our guest too much, first feather of the descendants of the crystal.”
Nikea looked intimidating with her arms folded and her brows furrowed.
“You surprised me,” Yushika said. “I didn’t think the araneae seriously intended to be their friends.”
“We are faithful to our words… King of Goblins, I advise you not to trust her too much. Her kind is known to play mischief on people.”
It seems she was planning on leading us astray.
“Oh? That would be troubling,” I said.
“…For the record, I still am the chief of the harpies,” Yushika said when she sensed my displeasure. “In any case, as I mentioned awhile ago, I’ll deliver anything you want delivered as long as proper compensation is given.”
Yushika sweetly smiled as she left my side.
“I would like to hold the Eight-Flag Meeting. Can you send word to the other tribes?” Nikea said.
“…Hasn’t Gurfia’s dream ended?” Yushika asked.
The demihuman of the flames… His name was Gurfia.
“I haven’t given up yet. Compensation has also been paid. I’m not backing off,” Nikea insisted.
“If you insist,” Yushika said. “We have to think of a countermeasure anyway, and there’s also the matter afterwards…” Yushika said. After which she turned to me to bid goodbye, then she spread her big white wings and flew away.
Riding on the strong gales of the skies, she flew up above, beyond the tall trees of the village, and then in the blink of an eye, her figure became as small as an ant’s.
“Harpy, huh,” I muttered.
Gi Za could fly temporarily, but only temporarily. A long flight is impossible. The harpies’ ability to fly is indeed a unique skill.
What a fortunate thing it would be if I could annex all of the demihumans.
◇◆◇
There were 8 days until the meeting of the demihumans could begin. Apparently, according to the harpy, Yushika’s, report, it would take that long for everyone to gather, so I took the opportunity and went on a walk with my goblin subordinates.
Speaking of which, I sent Gi Ji Arsil back to the fortress to call for more goblins. It took much effort to acquire the araneae village, so it only makes sense that I strengthen it.
After sending Gi Ji, a young araneae by the name of Rukenon led us outside the village.
“What beasts lurk around here?” I asked.
But then Gi Za suddenly spoke. “I have some business I’d like to deal with.”
The goblin seemed to have something on mind, so we left him and continued on with our guide.
The nemesis of the araneae, the rock frogs, and the blood-sucking butterflies were renowned as fiendish beasts, but aside from those, it seems there weren’t a lot of high level beasts lurking the area anymore.
The demihumans have been hunting most of the threats in the surrounding area, so as a result, there were barely any left now. It’s only natural, I suppose. It would be much easier to live in an area if there were no threats, after all.
The rocky frogs had tawny skin covered with a slippery membrane. They usually moved groups, so when we came across one, there was an army with it.
There were two big rocky frogs leading the army of rocky frogs. I noticed there were several among them with tails about the size of one’s palm.
When I asked about it, I found out that those rocky frogs with tails were the younger ones. Apparently, the tails were extremely nutritious and delicious.
I spurred on my subordinate goblins as I used this opportunity to train them.
Cynthia, who was sitting on my shoulders, also seemed excited, but when she fought the little rocky frogs, she had a hard time.
Did I spoil her too much?
Well, it should be fine as long as I have her hunt by herself for a while.
Thinking that, I let Cynthia hunt by herself. I told the other goblins not to help her out too.
We were already cleaning up by the time Cynthia finally managed to defeat a baby rocky frog and brought its corpse before me. The ones who dealt with the two big rocky frogs were Gi Do, Gi Ba, and the three normal goblins under Gi Ba.
I distributed the best parts of the meat to them.
The normal goblins under Gi Ba will evolve soon. It’s good that they’re growing well, but what should I do about their names?
◇◆◇
I thought I could finally put my heart at ease after that scary goblin left, but… sigh.
After fixing the village the humans attacked, we started work on its expansion.
“Bui, where to put this?”
Since that day, the other orcs have been seeing me in a new light. As expected, a strong leader like Master Gol Gol is a ray of hope to them.
When I was about to walk over to where Gui and the others were, a voice called from under me.
“Food,” a kobold said as it bit on my legs.
“It hurts, Hasu!” I cried.
“Not for me. Food!” Hasu said.
You’re missing the point! And didn’t I just feed you a triple boar awhile ago!?
When that scary goblin told me he would give me the southern area, I agreed after weighing the risks against the profits. Thanks to that, we were able to secure this bountiful lake, which greatly increased our food supplies. The only threats in the area were the giant spiders, but we could easily deal with them by having several orcs work together just like that goblin does.
Everything was going well… Except for one thing!
When I went south, I met these kobolds who are biting my feet now.
They were originally under the care of that goblin, so I was planning on taking care of them in his stead, but when I saw their leader, Hasu, I instantly got the feeling that she was someone I wouldn’t be able to deal with.
The moment we met, her eyes sparkled and her mouth dripped with saliva.
According to the food chain, I’m supposed to be above her, but for some reason, I couldn’t deal… No, to be honest, I find her really scary!
I gave them a little bit of food when we first met, but she wasn’t satisfied, so she got her friends to circle around us, and they barked at us to give them food. It was so scary! I thought I was going to be traumatized!
I told them I didn’t have any food and made a run for it, but they followed me!
The other orcs saw me, but they just laughed, saying, “Hah! Are you serving the kobolds now, Bui? As expected of our great leader!”
They think this is a joke, but considering how strong this kobold seems, this is actually dangerous!
I’m not really sure why, but I keep imagining this thing stronger than me.
It’s not all bad though, I admit. The kobolds report to us as long as we feed them, and the information they bring helps us hunt better.
“Bui, stop playing with the kobolds and help!” One of the orcs who evolved in the last battle, Gui, yelled.
“Food!” The kobolds cried as they bit me.
To be honest, it doesn’t really hurt, but mentally speaking it’s really scary.
“I have some beans here…” I said.
“Meat!” They demanded as they whipped the beans away with their tails.
I scratched my head, not knowing what to do with these selfish kobolds. In the end, I decided to take out some emergency rations I had with me. It was a paltry amount, but Hasu sunk her teeth into it anyway even though she whipped them away at first with her tail. When I saw her take the bait, I ran away.
We’re in the middle of expanding the village. With plenty of food and no enemies to threaten us, our race naturally flourished. Our females could birth several babies at a time. They’re not like the females of the goblins who could only birth one at a time. Our females could birth even 10 babies at the same time.
Babies, small orcs that could fit the palm of one’s hand. After 60 days, their fangs would sprout, and they would become full-fledged adults.
We grow a lot slower compared to the goblins, and our females need to rest for a year after giving birth, so we can’t reproduce as fast.
Regardless, I think babies are cute.
If all the babies grow up, we won’t be able to fit in the village anymore. That’s why we’re expanding. Everyone agreed too, so I’m not just forcing my opinion on others. On top of expanding, we’re also changing the position of the ditch and strengthening the fence, so when the humans come attack we’ll be able to defend. We’re also digging pitfalls just like the goblins did in the past.
Master Gol Gol would send an orc east whenever one was born, but I don’t think that’s very effective. If I did that to a newborn orc, it might just end up biting me in the heel. Besides, if that scary goblin were to find a new orc village, he would probably just destroy it.
So that leaves two choices.
I could keep expanding this village or send a small group of orcs to found a new village. They’ll have to be very small, so they don’t pick a fight with me later, though.
Right now, we have lots of food, so there shouldn’t be any problem raising more orcs. One day, though, a new force might rise among our ranks, who will lead the younger orcs.
I need to ensure that the orcs grow up accustomed to living together as a horde.
If I show them the benefits of living together, such as the efficiency of hunting together or the benefits of structures we could build together, I’m sure they would naturally prefer living together as one horde.
“Gui, let’s move that tree’s roots to this rock over here. And Goi, please mow the area near Doralia.”
When I turned around after giving orders, I saw something horrifying.
It was Hasu.
…It seems peace is still but a far-fetched dream.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
Gi Ba’s level has risen.
10 => 18
Gi Do’s level has risen.
63 => 67
Cynthia’s level has risen.
20 => 30
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
