After acquiring the border lands, the Goblin King asked that an accurate report of the current population as well as a map of the territories be produced. Both were necessary for the coming wars. The map he had received from old Falun was too rough to be used as reference, so he would need a new one, and info on the population was necessary to decide on the right amount of tax that wouldn’t cause the people to flee.
Both problems were issues any statesman would be able to handle, but the Goblin King was yet to raise such individuals under him. There were probably such people from the small feudal lords, but they were newcomers, and to give them that much authority in such a short time would likely cause frictions with the goblins and the elves.
“What a pain…”
“A pain indeed, goblin. A pain indeed.”
Beside the king was the goblin, Gi Za Zakuend, and the elf commander, Felbi, groaning aloud as they worked on some documents. A part of the forest had to be cut for the Goblin King to fulfill his kingly duties, for he did not station his troops within the border towns. Instead, they were currently encamped within the forest.
The difficult wording of the first reports submitted by the feudal lords greatly troubled Gi Za, but when Felbi saw from the corner of his eyes the words ‘financial situation’ he immediately pulled it out of Gi Za’s hands.
“More work less talk,” the Goblin King pointed out.
Reluctantly, the both of them complied. If the king himself, who was supposed to be the object of respect and affection, was working diligently, who were they to lax?
“Ugh… Great nobles of Cultidian… under the protection of god… the old blood of Jikmua… with the protection of the cotinued lineage of Jikmua… the rights to the land… Arrgh! Can’t you just say that you were given rights by someone with authority!?” Gi Za bellowed out after finally reaching the end of his wits.
Meanwhile, Felbi was correcting the numbers on the census.
128, 3 from 35… 2 from 48, 27 have passed… Umm… Where was I? Hey!”
As he too reached the end of his wits, he jeered at the stack of documents, looking like he could pull his sword and cut them anytime now.
While the two of them were making a ruckus, the Goblin King was quietly doing his work. One of the documents caught his eyes.
“Hmm.”
It was rare for the Goblin King to stop working, so Gi Za and Felbi immediately turned to him.
“Is something the matter, Your Highness?” Gi Za asked.
Felbi didn’t say anything, but his eyes seemed to be asking the same thing.
“A report from feudal lord, Razuel. It says the second city-state of the Kushain believers, Fatina, has fallen,” the Goblin King said.
“…The Southern Ashunasan Alliance must have made their move,” Felbi conjectured.
The Goblin King nodded. “The details are unknown, but it says here that a group of people calling themselves the Red King are responsible.”
“I’ve heard of them before, Your Highness. It would probably be best to consult with the human, Zaurosh,” Gi Za said.
The Goblin King nodded again.
Matters regarding clans would naturally be best asked from another clan member. Unfortunately, while information from the Leon Heart Clan was often comprehensive, it took a long time for it to reach them. That was mostly due to the fact that most of their forces were still in the east.
Only about 200 combatants were currently present in the border lands. The rest of the combatants and non-combatant members, who took care of organizational tasks, were still carrying on in the east. Zaurosh said they intended to move once they’ve set their foundations in the border lands, but it would still take some time.
“This time it’s a petition, a petition to be stationed in town.”
The Goblin King became thoughtful.
“That’s obviously no good. We have to remain impartial,” Gi Za remarked.
“But goblins do need to be stationed in town if we’re to gather any information concerning the south.”
Stationing goblins in the towns of the western region was a given since they needed to be there to keep up the public order and prevent people from running away. The Goblin King, however, decided to refrain from doing that with the border lands.
Information was passed from person to person. The harpies could scout from the skies, but they had many enemies. They were a race that couldn’t live too far from the forest.
“Consulting Zaurosh might be wise,” the Goblin King said.
“A human?” Gi Za said with open disapproval.
The Goblin King wryly smiled. “Zaurosh is already an ally. He can no longer return to the humans.”
“Wouldn’t it be wise to consider him one only once he’s joined us in battle?” Gi Za asked.
The Goblin King’s wry smile grew deeper. “That would make it hard for us to gather information. You understand, right?”
“Yes…”
Even Gi Za couldn’t deny that the reason they were able to subdue the small feudal lords was because of Zaurosh. But for Gi Za, who was distrustful of humans, he did not find it even slightly interesting to be too reliant on them.
“Let’s take a break,” the Goblin King cracked his neck and exhaled.
“Agreed, Your Highness,” Felbi said as he rotated his shoulders.
“That’s good and all, but… what is that?”
At Gi Za’s words, all eyes turned to a Paradua Goblin riding toward them.
“Ah, a messenger.”
As the rider rode at full speed, the Goblin King felt an ill premonition.
1. North-Western Side of the Free Cities
2. Goblin and Monster Expansion Route
3. Shirak Territory
4. Guena Territory
5. Sandolia Territory
6. Razuel Territory
7. Noran River
8. Hot Sands of the Great Desert.
