stonecrandall Page 15
Page 15
“Master, it seems that what Combat said is probably true. The territory is indeed very desolate, and everyone is very dissatisfied with Spring.”
"Yes, and it seems that there is indeed not much defense force in Dorrey City. So many young people have died in battle, and there are probably not many people left to be on duty in the city."
Through today's analysis, inquiries with villagers who have visited Dorrey, and the information gathered from Combat, we learned that Dorrey was simply a small town with rammed earth walls. When Spring's ancestors first came here, they built a castle surrounded by a wooden fence to rule this border region. Later, as things gradually stabilized, they replaced it with rammed earth walls, enclosing the market within the castle and providing ample security for the city. Gradually, Dorrey prospered, and this small town with a population of over a thousand has become the economic center of the 10-strong Dorrey territory in the entire western region.
"However, the Dore territory is said to have 10 people. Most of them are probably like Aunt Liddell's family, who are land reclamation border dwellers. It is difficult to collect taxes from them and they cannot be effectively managed. 10 people is just an estimate. Otherwise, it would be impossible for 10 people to only be able to support 100 knights."
As someone who works in intelligence, Joel is quite adept at organizing intelligence and can quickly make a rough estimate of the actual social situation in the Dore territory through various intelligence reports.
Because the weather was still quite cold, Joel simply carried Niu Zida to the bed, so that Niu Zida could hold her soft and fragrant body, play with her large breasts while they talked, and they could keep each other warm.
"Well, if that's the case, then taking over the Dore territory won't be too difficult. I doubt the people here will support Spring much. But what will happen after we take it? If we want to occupy this place for a long time, it will be hard to convince the people to accept a goblin as their lord, not to mention that goblins don't even make up the majority right now."
Even if I go back and reproduce a lot, I can only gather a maximum of 200 goblins. With such a small number of goblins, I would need to go back and organize the bandits to take over Dorre. Even if I did take it over, it would be unrealistic to rule human territory with such a small number of people, even if it is just a small city with a little over 1000 people.
"If only I could eat a puppet."
Joel watched as Niu Zida, somewhat agitated, buried his head in his arms and ate his large snow jelly. Niu Zida muttered to himself, seemingly lost in thought. This reminded Niu Zida that while it would be ideal to have a puppet ruler over Dorei, who should he support? Perhaps the most suitable person by his side right now was Aponia?
Aponia was just a nun. Although she was beautiful and had a noble demeanor, which would at least not make people object to her, she was not a true member of the church. It was fine for her to be a nun in a remote village, but if she went to a proper noble territory and claimed to be a member of the church, it would be easy for her to be exposed.
Something felt off, but after thinking it over, he couldn't come up with a better option, so Niu Zida could only reluctantly say:
"Let me think about this some more. For now, let's focus on how to take over Dorrey City. If we're sure that Spring is really unpopular, we'll find a way. We need a larger territory to expand. Otherwise, if we rely on that small village to farm and raise goblins every year, we might not be able to get out for 10 years. Once the war in Altaïr ends and we lose the window of opportunity, it will be even more difficult to expand outwards."
At this point, Joel understood why Niu Zida was in such a hurry to attack Dorei City. Currently, the human civil war has left them no time to attend to the border regions. Once the human civil war ends, many of the soldiers who served in the civil war will likely be dismissed. In order to maintain stability, the kingdom will either encourage these people to do so voluntarily or at the kingdom's behest. These people will likely go to the border regions as mercenary adventurers to make a living.
These adventurers are willing to hunt goblins, orcs, half-orcs, dark elves, elves, gnomes, and dwarves—barbarians in the eyes of humans—for a meager wage to expand their borders. At that time, Niu Zida would definitely be the primary target, and he would probably never have the chance to expand. Not to mention expansion, he would probably be constantly attacked by waves of adventurers, and he would only be hunted down all over the world, forever hiding in a cave in the desolate mountains. So now, he should seize the opportunity while the Kingdom of Altaïr is at war with the Kingdom of Fortini.
"Yor, you smell so good..."
"Really? But I've been traveling all day, and besides sweating, I'm worried that my body might smell bad."
"No, in fact, my body odor has improved, especially after I became pregnant."
"Huh? It can be like this?"
The two were chatting in bed when Niu Zida noticed that his maids' body odor seemed to have become stronger after she became pregnant. Could this be due to an increase in estrogen in their bodies?
"I really want to take a bath..."
Joel, lying in bed, held Niu Zida and sighed. Niu Zida, with his arms around Joel's slender waist, kissed her large breasts and said:
"I also want to take a bath with Joel's wife, but unfortunately the conditions here don't allow it, so I have to go back."
"Master, please stop joking."
Every time Niu Zida calls her "wife," Joel blushes like a little girl. Although to outsiders this beautiful woman is decisive, ruthless, and resolute, only Niu Zida knows that Joel is actually as innocent as a little girl at heart.
Niu Zida was about to press himself against Joel's delicate body, ordering her to part her black stockings so he could enter her, but Joel clamped her stockings shut and tried to stop him:
"We'll have to stay here for a few more days. If I get pregnant, it will be inconvenient for me to move around. Master, you should probably call it a day."
After saying this, in order to appease her master, Joel willingly slid down and buried herself beneath Niu Zida, opening her small mouth to take him in and swallow him...
Chapter 42 Observations in the Territory of Dorrey 3
Chapter 42.
The next morning, after getting up, Joel ate some dry food with Niu Zida in his arms and left the inn. He saw the innkeeper sitting there listlessly, just like the day before, so he asked:
"How far is it from here to Dorrey City?"
"It's about five kilometers away, and it takes a little over an hour to walk there."
This place was indeed a major transportation route. Joel inquired about the situation in several surrounding villages and was told that there were two or three other villages nearby, which were originally quite densely populated and each had its own church.
"If you want to ask for help over there, that's fine too. There's a church in our village. You can contact them there."
"Thank you."
The innkeeper genuinely believed Joel was a nun and kindly gave her directions. After thanking him, Joel carried Niu Zida away from the inn. To be honest, I hadn't noticed this place since I entered at dusk yesterday. It wasn't until I left the inn this morning that I realized the village was quite large, with a decent street and at least two or three hundred houses scattered on both sides. If you include the houses scattered on the nearby mountains, there must be nearly a thousand people. It's a big village. You can even see a church in the distance, much bigger than the one in Aponia village.
Niu Zida certainly wouldn't order Joel to actively seek out the church. Sister Joel's identity was all a facade, and going to the church would only attract attention, especially since Joel was so beautiful. It would be easy for people to notice something amiss if a young and beautiful nun was carrying a "child" and wandering around several villages inquiring about the situation in the territory. So Niu Zida had Joel carry him to the mountain to ask someone.
When they arrived at the mountain, Niu Zida specifically asked Joel to find a relatively secluded house. He knocked on the door under the pretense of asking for water. Fortunately, an old woman came out. It seems that many people in the Dore territory have indeed been conscripted into the army. During this period, Joel had mostly seen women outside. Even the men he saw were either disabled or middle-aged or elderly.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Joel, still using the excuse of asking for directions to Dorrey, specifically inquired as instructed by Niu Zida:
"I don't see many people here during the day, what's going on?"
“What else can we do? All the men have been taken to fight in the war, and my son has been taken away too. Only my daughter and I are left at home. Apart from working in the fields, we don’t dare let my daughter go out freely now.”
"Huh? Why can't women go out either?"
"Because there are a lot of thieves in this area. It would be terrible if a young woman were spotted and targeted at night. Even though you are a nun, you still have to be careful. It's easy for someone as beautiful as you to get into trouble walking alone in this chaotic rural area. Sigh, just a few years ago, although this was a border region, people weren't rich, but life was relatively peaceful."
The old woman sighed at this point, looking nostalgic for her old life, and then muttered to herself:
"I hope my son comes back soon, and that nothing bad happens to him."
"He'll be alright, the Holy Maiden will protect him."
"Thank you. You are indeed a beautiful and kind-hearted nun."
Hearing the tall, beautiful nun bless her son, the old woman smiled and responded. After chatting for a while, Joel left the farmhouse. Over the next day, Joel inquired with about six or seven farmers, and the information he received about the territory was largely the same: many young men had been conscripted to fight, people were dissatisfied with the rule of the territory, and many blamed Amelie, believing that it was because the lord had married this noblewoman that Baron Springer had sided with the king and gone to war.
"It seems that the fighting in the Dore territory is real."
That evening, Joel, carrying Niu Zida, found a nearby village to stay in. Since there were no hotels, she simply found a secluded place, paid some money, and stayed at the home of a local family. Fortunately, Joel was dressed as a nun and was a lone woman, so finding a family to take her in was not difficult. The family that took Joel in was similar to the one she had encountered before: an elderly couple whose two sons had been conscripted into the army, leaving only a seven- or eight-year-old grandson and his daughter-in-law at home.
"Hmm, it seems the information Combet provided these past two days is true. We can go back to the village tomorrow."
"Master, are you preparing to attack Dorrey City next?"
"We'll have to meet with Combat before making a decision. My main purpose in coming here is to find out the situation in the Dorrey territory privately. If it's not as desolate as Combat says, I won't come back to attack Dorrey. Even if I manage to take Dorrey City by trickery, the people in the territory will oppose me. Now that I know how poor the territory is, if I take Dorrey City, the reaction to my continued rule will not be as strong."
"So, Master really intends to rule the Dore Territory."
"Of course, otherwise how could such a small village develop? Am I supposed to be stuck there as a goblin for the rest of my life?"
This was the first time Joel had heard Niu Zida's future plans from him. Before, Niu Zida had kept these thoughts to himself and never shared them with his maid. Joel also realized that Niu Zida was a man with such a vision.
The two spent the night in the farmhouse, and the next morning they were treated to corn porridge. Joel specially left a few extra copper coins as a thank you. Yue'er originally wanted to leave more money, but Niu Zida objected.
“Leaving too much money will make this farmhouse a target, and your generosity as a nun will also arouse suspicion. It’s best to leave as soon as possible.”
Following his master's advice, Joel carried Niu Zida away from the village and began heading west back. Along the way, they occasionally visited a few farmers, but the situation remained largely the same. Finally, that evening, the two returned to the village. Upon arriving, Aponia told Niu Zida some good news:
"Shizuku Misato gave birth to an elite goblin, a goblin magic swordsman, but he is still in his infancy and will need to grow up before he can advance to a higher class."
"Huh? My wife Shizuku Misato is pregnant so well?"
Unexpectedly, such good news came upon his return. Niu Zida hurriedly went to visit Misato Shizuku. At this time, Misato Shizuku had rested for two days after giving birth and had almost recovered. She was lying in bed eating meat porridge, which was probably a special treat given to the beautiful girl by Aponia, the elite goblin.
"Shizuku Misato, you really did a great job this time, you're awesome!"
"Please stay away from me, master. I just gave birth and want to be away from dirty things."
Shizuku Misato is as blunt as ever, launching a venomous attack whenever she sees Tatsumi Ushiko...
.
Chapter 43 The Promise in the Suburbs
Chapter 43.
After Niu Zida returned, he waited for two or three days. The goblin demon swordsman born from Misato Shizuku had also come of age. Niu Zida could use the goblin bone whistle to check the other party's panel attributes. Unlike the maid's panel, the goblin demon swordsman only had a rough ability rating, without specific values. This goblin demon swordsman's ability rating was C-rank.
"I don't know what the highest level is."
Looking at this dull-witted goblin swordsman, Niu Zida had his doubts. However, since he was the first elite goblin he had created, he should give him a more important role. So he let the swordsman lead the other goblins in training and see how it went.
After returning, Niu Zida got Joel and Aponia pregnant one after another. Good news followed one after another. Soon, Joel also gave birth to an elite goblin, whose class was Goblin Assassin. Now they even had an assassin.
"Not bad, not bad. We're about to face a major battle, and now we have two elite goblins."
After a few days of training, the Goblin Assassin also entered the mature stage, and its level was rated as C. Although the level doesn't seem very high, it's usable, so Niu Zida doesn't care about these things anymore.
The day to meet Kang Bait at the previously agreed place was fast approaching. Niu Zida counted that he had a total of 155 goblins under his command, plus 2 elite goblins, one a goblin assassin and the other a goblin magic swordsman, both of whom had reached maturity.
Fortunately, elite goblins mature in just a few days, just like ordinary goblins. This is an advantage brought about by the goblin race's strong reproductive ability. If elite goblins required several years or even more than ten years to cultivate like humans, Niu Zidak would be devastated, as the cost would be completely uneconomical.
Then came the day of the agreed meeting. Just in case, this time Niu Zida had Sanxiang Shizuku carry him and the money that might be used to exchange information, while he had Yoel lie in wait nearby to meet the other party. This way, if there were any problems, Yoel could come to his rescue. As for the others, he didn't bring them. Considering the strength of the troops in Dorei City, Niu Zida actually felt that the other party was unlikely to ambush him. Even if they did come out to ambush him, the fighting strength of Sanxiang Shizuku and Yoel was more than enough to rescue him. He did this just to ensure that nothing went wrong.
He didn't bring anyone with him this time. After all, if something really happened, he could run away, but it was hard to say what would happen to the villagers who went with him. Even though Niu Zida had made such preparations for this meeting with Kang Bait, there was still an element of gambling in it. He didn't completely believe that a human would keep his word and be honest with a goblin, even though he had investigated in advance and confirmed that the Dore Territory was indeed very similar to what he had heard, with many internal problems.
Misato Shizuku carried Ushiko to the place where she had previously released Combat. When she arrived, she found that Combat was already waiting there. It seemed that he was keeping his promise. Moreover, the terrain here was relatively open, and it was not easy to set up an ambush. This was also the reason why Ushiko had chosen to meet here in the first place.
"My lord???"
"Looks like you've been doing pretty well lately. Didn't anyone suspect anything when you went back?"
"No, Spring has a lot on his mind lately and can't worry about the thieves for the time being."
"Oh? What happened?"
"The war between the Kingdom of Altaïr and the Kingdom of Fortini has reached its most critical stage. The kingdoms have asked Spring to provide money and manpower to help continue the war. Spring simply cannot come up with the money or send any troops to support the kingdoms' war efforts. So he is currently worried that if he were to raise taxes, the situation within his territory would not allow it. Now he is thinking that if he could recruit a group of thieves, he might as well organize them and send them out as cannon fodder."
Goodness, this Springer really knows how to play the game. He recruited thieves and sent them to the Great War, which not only satisfies the kingdom's demands but also eliminates his own internal troubles. He solves both internal and external problems without spending a single penny. What a brilliant plan.
"In that case, he must be very concerned about the thief's situation."
"The problem of sending troops has been solved, but the problem of money is still not solved. He himself has very little money left, and even if he had money, he would be reluctant to give it to the kingdom. So he wants to temporarily increase the tax, but the important knights in the families below all oppose it. After all, the tax will also be levied on them. These knights have already been taxed several times and have no money left. Some people even directly advised that such taxation would cause the people to rebel. Others simply blamed Baroness Amelie, saying that it was her arrival that bound the Dore Territory to the central kingdom and mired it in this quagmire of war."
As expected, Springer's internal situation was unstable, and now he had an opportunity. It was understandable that the knights under Springer opposed the war; the mineral resources won in the east after the war would most likely have nothing to do with these western lords. No one would be so foolish as to sacrifice their lives to gain benefits for others.
"Have you figured out the situation inside Dorrey City?"
"I've figured it out a bit. There are about 20 knights and 100 militiamen on duty right now. I even know the people guarding the city gate. It wouldn't be difficult to bribe them."
"Oh, that's great! Just tell me how much money you need, and I'll try my best to come up with it for you."
"50 gold coins."
It was surprisingly a large sum of money, but Niu Zida wasn't exactly unable to afford it. He actually took out a bag full of gold coins and handed it to Kang Bait, saying:
"There are about 50 gold coins inside. You can use them to bribe the gatekeeper to open the city gate. I will reward you handsomely afterwards."
Combat probably never expected Niu Zida to be so generous. A goblin seemed much more willing to pay than a human, and he was somewhat surprised as he accepted the money, then said:
“A week from now, go to the south gate of Dorrey City. Around midnight, I will bribe the gatekeeper to open the gate. But do not reveal your identities beforehand. My excuse will be that I want to bring in a batch of goods that night to smuggle in without declaring taxes. If your people appear near Dorrey City in advance and are discovered, it will be bad if the lord is alerted. After all, no one will open the gate for goblins.”
"Of course."
The two briefly discussed their secret code, and Combat, to avoid arousing suspicion by staying out of town for too long, quickly left. After Combat left, Misato Shizuku, carrying Ushiko-da, met up with Yoel, who was hiding in the shadows, and the three returned to the village.
"Master, do you really believe in that Combat?"
"Shizuku Misato, do you think what he said is true?"
"I think it's hard to say."
Whether what he said is true or not is not important. This is an opportunity for me to seize. I will not waste this 50 gold coins.
Chapter 44 The Battle of Dorrey Territory 1
Chapter 44.
"Huh? Master, what do you mean by this?"
"Do you think I'm that stupid as to give a prisoner 50 gold coins, such a large sum of money? Do you think I would trust that Combat that much?"
"What does the master mean?"
"You'll know then."
Niu Zida pinched Misato Shizuku's Daiyuki with a mischievous grin, which earned him another eye roll from the proud, long-haired beauty. She was somewhat dissatisfied with her master's cryptic behavior, but seeing Niu Zida's confident demeanor, she thought that he might really have some plan.
After returning home, Niu Zida got Misato Shizuku, Aponia, and Yol pregnant again during the week, resulting in the birth of 15 goblins. He now has 170 goblins.
The three characters' panels are as follows:
Yor Panel Properties
Combat Talent:
Speed: 121