An extra 10,000 goblins. Goblins did not just pop out of nowhere. A male goblin and a female goblin had to copulate to give birth to a child, and then this child would have to be raised before he could become a warrior. The Fortress of the Abyss within the Forest of Darkness was managed by Gi Bii the druid class goblin, Yellow the elder of the Gordob Tribe, and the old goblin.
“Still, 10,000 goblins. What do we do?”
“If that is the king’s orders, then we must carry it out.”
“But the females could only give birth to so many.”
Although the three of them avoided saying things that would put them at odds with each other or be mere complaints, they ended up having basically the same opinion anyway. That was that it would take time to produce 10,000 goblins. At the beginning, the number of females had been reduced to just 20 goblins, but when the bountiful supply of food was brought to the Fortress of the Abyss, they were able to increase the birth rate, and now, the females numbered 900.
Because these female goblins did not have to hunt, none of them died from hunting, and they could apply themselves to giving birth. Goblins are blessed when it comes to reproducing. Although they can only give birth one at a time, the period from conception to childbirth is not something that orcs and humans could compare to.
Despite that producing 10,000 soldiers would still take considerable time.
“His Majesty must understand that.”
The young Gi Bii and the old Yellow nodded to the words of the old goblin.
“But if the soldiers that come back could make as many children as they could, I’m sure they will be happy.”
“There’s no fear of starving for the time being.”
Yellow smiled and Gi Bii nodded.
With the exception of the high-class goblins, the goblins of the goblin army are now permitted to return from the front lines to the Forest of Darkness after a certain period. Although the wounded soldiers are prioritized, after the unification of the south, the Goblin King gave permission for other goblins to return as well.
Gi Gi Orudo’s monster army is permitted to be accompanied by female goblins, but that is a special exception. To the beast tamers who have to build supply bases in various areas, there is a strong recognition among them that the land they are in itself is their home. Moreover, because the beast tamers are always interacting with monsters, the female goblins tend to keep them at an arm’s length.
Originally, they just dealt with it themselves, but Gi Gi Orudo talked to the king about it, and the king gave permission for them to raise female goblins at their own village. The female goblins that grew up surrounded by monsters did not dislike the beast tamers, and they were able to steadily increase their numbers.
Gi Gi was elated to be given an exception. He himself currently owns three females and have been able to father many children. Although the children born were not particularly high ranked, they all inherited Gi Gi’s makings and were all raised as beast tamers.
The Goblin King was trying to employ a system known as Returned Soldier System, but how many goblins would be allowed to return was actually left to the four generals. The reason behind this is because the number of soldiers varied from army to army and as such it is believed that the number permitted to return should be changed according to the situation.
This Returned Soldier System has further increased obedience to the strong. Wanting to leave behind children is the wish of every living creature. The fact that the high-ranked goblin directly in charge of the goblins under them now held the power to grant them that opportunity was a big deal to the goblins.
Until now, the goblin army was just an army that swore fealty to the Goblin King, but after this change of policy, there were now goblins who truly saw the generals as second to the king and saw them as an object of allegiance. Having a clear object of allegiance is a great boon to the chain of command.
This is especially true to the goblins that do not give out monetary rewards. The only reason these goblins are in battle is because of the king. At the behest of the strongest that is their king, they risk their lives and fight. But the introduction of the Returned Soldier System has brought about a subtle transformation in their psyche.
Only those who have survived in battle and gained honors will have the right to have children.
To the goblins who still could not grasp the concept of a monetary economy, this sort of thinking was much easier to grasp, and it didn’t take long at all before they had fully adopted it.
A reward would be given to those with honor worthy of it.
While the king was being quiet, that sort of thinking permeated the goblins, and just a little, the goblins evolved from being mere beasts.
◆◇◆
Hostilities were opened immediately after the harvest. 4,500 soldiers were dispatched from the 8 fortresses that separated the imperial capital from the Western Region. There was already a noble’s army of 800 fighting against the goblins on their soil, so when these 4,500 came, they joined them to create an army of 5,300. It was this great army that poured into the Western Region.
Ra Gilmi Fishiga, who was entrusted with the defense of the Western Region, led his Fanzel alongside Shumea’s border defense unit. They decided to face the army at their camp at the border. They knew the enemy was coming, so they had already equipped themselves, dug deep moats, positioned abatises, dug pitfalls, and surrounded the camp with fences.
Although they couldn’t prepare as much as they wanted, they did everything they could with the time they had.
“Although our information on the enemy’s approach was correct, there’s more than expected.”
Ra Gilmi Fishiga groaned when he saw the enemy camp from the other side of their multi-layered fence.
“It’s within the margin of error, though. It would feel kind of gross if everything went as planned, wouldn’t it?”
Shumea, who had been assigned as the commanding officer of both Fanzel and the border guards, shrugged her shoulders without any worries.
“But it is a little worrying indeed. Although the Goblin King is at the Western Capital, we definitely can’t lead this guys to the south.”
Bui, who had gone back from the forest, raised his brows, worried.
“We’ll just have to do our best. We’re counting on you guys too, descendants of the crystals,” Gilmi said.
“Naturally. These people came here to destroy our plains once again. They must die.”
The chief of the Fang Tribe (Werewolf), Mido, bared his fangs in anger.
“Exactly. You can expect good results from us.”
The chief of the centaurs, Tianos, fiercely laughed.
After seeing that the chiefs of Fanzel were all ready, Ra Gilmi Fishiga resolved himself to fight.
