As the autumn wind blew, most of the leaves in the forest turned yellow, rustling underfoot.
Kurzadh squatted by the palisade, watching the grey shadows flash through the trees outside, his brows furrowed tightly – it was wolves again.
After autumn began, these beasts were like flies drawn by a scent, constantly lurking around the tribe.
food in the forest was scarce, rabbits and pheasants had migrated south, and the goats had not been seen again; the wolves were probably starving and had set their sights on the Blackrock Clan.
"Boss, why don't we go out and beat them up?" Dragu approached, holding his axe, his eyes glinting fiercely. "Look at their sneaky faces, I'll cleave one with a single axe blow!"
"Beat what?" Kurzadh kicked him, pointing at the palisade. "With this thing blocking them, they can't get in. If we actually go out to chase them, they'll just disappear into some part of the forest, a waste of effort."
The palisade had just been reinforced last month; Kurzadh had the hobgoblins plaster mud onto the wooden stakes and bury half-stones at the bottom, making it very sturdy.
A few days ago, several wolves tried to leap onto the palisade, but Wreelx led the hobgoblins to poke them with stone spears a few times, sending them howling and fleeing. After that, they only dared to watch from afar and never approached again.
"We just need to keep a close eye on them." Kurzadh glanced at the forest again. "Have Scarface lead the goblins to guard the palisade in shifts. Throw stones at any wolves they see, don't let them get close."
"Got it!" Dragu responded, shouting for Scarface.
Scarface was now the "Guard Captain," leading over a dozen goblins, carrying stones, and guarding the palisade. He stared at the forest all day, dutifully fulfilling his responsibilities.
That afternoon, Kurzadh led his men deeper into the forest – it was time to collect vines. Dragu needed strings for his bows and arrows, so they had to gather some sturdy vines to twist.
The greenskins marched in a crooked line, the goblins carried stone spears, and the hobgoblins carried empty sacks, shouting "Waaagh!" all the way, scaring the small birds in the forest into fluttering flight.
"All of you, quiet down!" Kurzadh turned and scolded. "You'll scare away the prey, and there'll be no meat for dinner!"
The greenskins immediately quieted down, the goblins covered their mouths, and the hobgoblins walked on tiptoes, looking like a group of weasels stealing chickens.
After about an hour, Zaggur, who was in front, suddenly stopped and made a "Hiss" sound, pointing at the nearby woods.
Kurzadh quickly went over, pushed aside the leaves, and looked – good heavens, there were several dark, charred frames in the woods, looking like the remains of a carriage. The wooden frame was broken in half, and the wheels lay nearby, stained with mud and blood. Around the frames were piles of white bones, whether human or beast, he couldn't tell.
"It's a caravan!" Wreelx, with his sharp eyes, pointed at the tattered cloth hanging on the frame. "I've seen this cloth before! When I was with the Rotten tooth tribe, caravans that passed through the forest wore clothes like this!"
Kurzadh's heart stirred, and he led his men to approach cautiously.
The carriage wreckage had long been gnawed beyond recognition; the wooden frames were covered in teeth marks, likely ravaged by wolves or other beasts.
The greenskins were not polite; they immediately started rummaging – the goblins crawled under the frames to pick up things, and the hobgoblins chopped at the wood with axes, trying to see if anything was hidden inside.
"Boss! Look what I found!" Wreelx suddenly emerged from a pile of bones, holding a palm-sized iron piece, his eyes shining brightly. "This thing is very hard! It can be made into arrowheads!"
Kurzadh took it and examined it – it was a piece of wrought iron, and its edge was quite sharp.
He rummaged through the bone pile a bit more – good heavens, there was a lot hidden underneath! There were palm-sized iron blocks, broken iron nails, and several rusty iron bars. They were probably goods the caravan was transporting that hadn't been carried away by wild beasts.
"Pick them all up!" Kurzadh shouted. "All the iron!"
The greenskins immediately swarmed into the bone pile like crazy, their faces covered in mud, not bothering to wipe it off.
Kurzadh, meanwhile, squatted beside the largest carriage frame and spotted a wooden box in the corner – the box was locked, covered with a tattered cloth, and hadn't been gnawed through.
He found a stone and smashed the lock twice with a "clank, clank."
As the box opened, Kurzadh was stunned – inside, a red cloth was spread, and on it lay a dozen golden coins, gleaming yellow. The front was embossed with a rose, and the back with a crown, looking very valuable.
Next to the gold coins was a map, made of parchment, with many crooked symbols drawn on it: trees, rivers, and even castles. However, he didn't recognize any of the words written on it.
"What is this? It's shiny!" Dragu came over, reaching out to touch the gold coins.
"Don't touch it!" Kurzadh slapped his hand away and tucked the gold coins and map into his embrace – whatever it was, he'd take it back first.
Perhaps the map depicted a treasure? Even if not, the gold coins looked like they could be exchanged for something, certainly more useful than Kurzadh flakes.
The greenskins dismantled everything they could. Two sacks were filled to the brim with iron pieces and blocks, and even the unbroken wooden frames were carried away by them – Dragu said they could be used to repair the shelters.
After thoroughly stripping the ruins clean, the greenskins spat twice in disgust – they hadn't found anything to eat, how unlucky.
On the way back, Kurzadh was pondering the map when he suddenly saw a goblin squatting under a tree by the roadside to defecate. After finishing, he wiped his butt and slipped back into the team without even covering it with dirt.
He was instantly furious – he had been nagging about this hygiene problem for almost a month, but the greenskins were still the same. Their shelters were as messy as pigsties, they relieved themselves anywhere, and a strange smell often wafted through the tribe.
"All of you, stop!" Kurzadh shouted, pointing at the goblin who had just defecated. "You! Cover your poop!"
The goblin froze, blinking at him, seemingly not understanding why he should cover it.
The surrounding greenskins also looked on, with expressions of "What's wrong, boss?"
Kurzadh was amused by his anger – it seemed that without some drastic measures, these guys wouldn't change.
An idea suddenly popped into his head, and he clapped his hands: "All of you, follow me back to the tribe! I have something important to announce!"
Although the greenskins were puzzled, they still followed him back.
Back at the tribe, Kurzadh directly stood on the stone platform in front of the boss's hut, cleared his throat: "All of you, come here! Listen carefully!"
The greenskins quickly gathered around, the goblins squatted in front, the hobgoblins stood behind, and even Scarface, who was guarding the palisade, ran over and squeezed to the very front.
"I am Gork and Mork's God's herald!" Kurzadh bellowed, his voice loud and clear. "You all know this!"
The greenskins nodded – their boss could make the statue glow and become stronger, he must be the God's herald.
"Then do you know why I was chosen by Gork and Mork?" Kurzadh asked again.
The greenskins exchanged glances, and Wreelx muttered softly: "Because boss can fight?" Dragu chimed in: "Because boss can catch goats!"
"All wrong!" Kurzadh waved his hand, pointing at himself – he had just bathed by the river that morning, and his greenskin was shining brightly. "Because I am smart! Because I am clean! I care about hygiene! Gork and Mork only like clean greenskins!" he bullshitted.
"What?" The greenskins were bewildered. Clean? Wasn't that something only weaklings did? Why would Gork and Mork like that?
"Don't believe me?" Kurzadh looked at their doubtful eyes, chuckling inwardly but maintaining a stern face. "I'll show you right now!"
He jumped down from the platform, found a wooden board to place under his feet, then spat on the ground, cleaned it with his foot, and then stood on the board.
He took a deep breath and shouted to the sky: "Gork and Mork! I am clean! Give me strength!"
After shouting, he silently thought to the system: "Use 20 points for Body Enhancement!"
[Confirm spending 20 points for Body Enhancement?]
"Confirm!"
Instantly, a green light buzzed from his body, brighter than the green light when he built the statue, illuminating the entire tribe with a green glow.
The greenskins recoiled two steps in fright, staring at Kurzadh with wide eyes, not daring to breathe.
Within the green light, Kurzadh felt all his bones creaking and his muscles swelling. His height shot up rapidly – originally only reaching the hobgoblins' waists, he was now almost as tall as a hobgoblin in the blink of an eye.
His shoulders broadened considerably, his arms thickened, and when he clenched his claws, he could hear his bones crack. He looked even sturdier than Wreelx!
In just a blink of an eye, the green light vanished.
Kurzadh stood on the wooden board, looking down at his hands – his claws were a size larger than before. He squeezed his fists; they were rock-hard, feeling like he could smash a stone with one punch!
The surrounding greenskins were completely dumbfounded, their mouths hanging open for a long time.
The goblins looked up, their eyes wide and round; the hobgoblins also forgot to breathe, their axes clattering to the ground.
"Look!" Kurzadh patted his chest, his voice even deeper than before. "This is the strength Gork and Mork gave me! Because I am clean!"
"Waaagh!"
The greenskins suddenly erupted in a cheer, then all dropped to their knees with a "thud," kneeling to Kurzadh, shouting: "Boss is awesome!
Gork and Mork are awesome!"
"We also love cleanliness! We also want strength!"
Wreelx kneeled the loudest, his head thudding against the ground, shouting: "Boss! I'm going to take a bath right now! Three times!"
Kurzadh looked at their behavior, his heart blooming with joy – this trick really worked! Whether they believed him or not, he'd get them to change their hygiene habits first!
"All of you, get up!" Kurzadh shouted. "From today onwards! Whoever is not clean! Whoever defecates anywhere! I will not let Gork and Mork give him strength!"
"Yes, boss!" The greenskins shouted in unison, their voices shaking the leaves from the trees.
Kurzadh jumped off the wooden board, looking at the greenskins, each excited and red-faced, feeling reassured – this was good. Not only would the hygiene problem be solved, but future management would also be easier.
The identity of Gork and Mork's "God's herald" was indeed effective.
He touched the gold coins and map in his embrace, then glanced at his much stronger arms, and suddenly felt that autumn wasn't so bad after all.
What was there to fear about wolves? With clean subordinates, iron pieces, and this newfound strength, let alone wolves, even if a clueless greenskin tribe came, he could beat them into submission!
"Go take a bath!" Kurzadh waved his hand. "Get clean! We'll roast lamb tonight!"
"Waaagh!" The greenskins immediately ran to the river, crowding together like dumplings falling into a pot. Even Wreelx, who usually disliked water the most, was the first to jump into the river, scrubbing himself until he was covered in bubbles.
Only the fish in the river were to be pitied.