The autumn sun shone through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the muddy ground of the Blackrock Clan.
Kurzadh was squatting in the clearing at the center of the tribe, watching several hobgoblin Laborers plaster mud onto a newly constructed wooden frame—the foundation for the hobgoblin Spearman Camp. The wooden frame was crooked and wobbly, but fortunately sturdy enough. Once the mud was plastered on, it didn't shake even when the wind blew.
"Plaster the left side thicker! Don't let the wind get in!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.
The hobgoblin Laborers immediately responded, scooping up wet mud with their claws and spreading it onto the frame. Their movements were much quicker than ordinary goblin, and the application was even.
Lately, his entire focus had been on the camps.
He had obtained two blueprints—the hobgoblin Spearman Camp and the hobgoblin Archer Camp—on the day they repelled the wolf pack. That very day, he had Dragu lead the construction efforts.
The Spearman Camp required ten logs and five pieces of stone, while the Archer Camp was even more wood-intensive, needing twelve logs. The tribe's Lumber Yard had been operating non-stop for three days just to gather enough materials.
"Once these two camps are built, we'll have proper soldiers," Kurzadh mused, stroking his chin.
Currently, only five of the hobgoblins in the tribe knew how to use bows and arrows. The rest struggled even with a stone spear. If they encountered a real tough fight, they relied purely on brute strength.
If he could train a few dozen Spearmen and archers, and equip them with some iron gear, they would be much tougher, whether they were hunting wild boars or confronting other tribes.
Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly heard "Waaagh Waaagh" shouts coming from the direction of the palisade, mixed with the "squeak squeak" cries of goblin.
Kurzadh frowned—who was making noise at this hour? He stood up and walked toward the palisade. Just as he rounded the corner of the Old hobgoblin's hut, he saw Scarface grabbing a hobgoblin by the scruff of his neck and pinning him to the ground.
The hobgoblin was short and Zaggur. His greenskin was covered in mud and dead leaves, his head was bare, his hair was a mess like a chicken's nest, and he had a ragged cloth wrapped around his waist. He clutched half a gnawed dried mushroom and was struggling fiercely, making muffled cries.
Scarface was followed by four goblin, all holding sharpened wooden sticks and looking proudly at the hobgoblin on the ground—they had clearly just caught him.
"What's going on?" Kurzadh walked over and kicked the hobgoblin's leg.
Seeing that it was Kurzadh, Scarface immediately let go, stepped aside, made two "squeak squeak" sounds, and pointed toward the forest—meaning this hobgoblin had been caught in the woods.
Kurzadh squatted down and looked at the hobgoblin on the ground.
This hobgoblin looked completely unfamiliar; he definitely wasn't from the Blackrock Clan.
He tapped the hobgoblin's face with his axe: "Speak! Where are you from? Why did you run here?"
The hobgoblin flinched from the tap and looked up at Kurzadh—seeing that Kurzadh was also a greenskin, just bigger than an ordinary goblin, the fear in his eyes lessened slightly, but he still kept his neck tucked in: "I... I'm a wanderer..."
"A wanderer?" Kurzadh raised an eyebrow.
Greenskins rarely wandered alone; they were either with a tribe or they had long since been eaten by beasts.
Kurzadh didn't believe him, so he scraped the hobgoblin's neck with the edge of the axe: "Tell the truth! Or I'll throw you to the goats as feed!"
The hobgoblin jumped in fright and quickly cried out: "Don't! I'll tell the truth! I came with a group of greenskins ! We came from the Dark Lands!"
"The Dark Lands?" Kurzadh's heart skipped a beat. The Dark Lands were very far from here. He heard that place was nothing but wasteland, and the greenskin tribes there were extremely fierce. Why did this group travel so far?
"What is your tribe called? What are you doing here?" Kurzadh pressed.
"Our tribe is called the Giant Wood tribe!" the hobgoblin quickly said, his words tumbling out like spilled beans. "Our leader, Kess, brought us out! Winter is coming soon in the Dark Lands, and there's no food . We were afraid of fighting with other tribes, so we came out to find a new place to settle! We only entered this forest yesterday!"
He paused, then shrank his neck again: "I... I was hungry. The dried mushrooms in the group were all gone, so I wanted to sneak out and find something to eat. I didn't expect to be caught by these little ones soon after I crawled out..." As he spoke, he glared at Scarface, but Scarface hit him on the head with a wooden stick, making him immediately silent.
Kurzadh ignored their petty squabble, his mind entirely focused on the Giant Wood tribe.
He leaned forward, staring into the hobgoblin's eyes: "How many people are in your group? What kind of gear do they have?"
This was what concerned him most.
It was another greenskin tribe. If there were few of them, they might be able to rob them. If there were many, they needed to prepare quickly.
The hobgoblin dared not hide anything and quickly confessed: "There are... more than fifty hobgoblins! And nearly a hundred goblin!"
Kurzadh's heart sank—more than fifty hobgoblins and nearly a hundred goblin! That was more people than the Blackrock Clan! His frown deepened: "Is that all? Nothing else?"
"There's more! There's iron gear!" the hobgoblin quickly added. "The leader, Kess, brought a few Old hobgoblins, and they have iron spears! And two hobgoblins have iron axes! They picked them up in the Dark Lands!"
"Iron weapons?" Kurzadh's face completely darkened.
Currently, only the arrowheads of Dragu and a few other archers in the Blackrock Clan had iron fragments; they didn't have any proper iron spears or axes at all.
Not only did the opponents have more people, but they also had iron equipment. This setup was much stronger than he had imagined.
He stood up and paced back and forth a couple of steps.
The Giant Wood tribe had over fifty hobgoblins and iron weapons. If a fight really broke out, the Blackrock Clan's few people wouldn't be able to hold up, even with the palisade protecting them.
If the enemy managed to reach the tribe entrance and launch a night raid, the entire Blackrock Clan would be finished.
Scarface, seeing Kurzadh frowning, didn't dare to speak, only holding the hobgoblin tightly by the scruff of his neck to prevent him from running away.
Kurzadh pondered for a long time, his mind in a turmoil.
The Giant Wood tribe was clearly here to settle down. Since they had entered this forest, they would definitely scout around, and they would probably find their way to the vicinity of the Blackrock Clan within a few days.
When they saw a small tribe here with goats and wild chickens, they would definitely come to steal—that was the greenskin rule. If you saw something good and didn't steal it, were you even a greenskin?
"Damn it, this is really trouble," Kurzadh cursed under his breath.
He had originally planned to look for other prey in the forest once the Spearman Camp and Archer Camp were built, but now it seemed he had to focus on the immediate threat.
But... Kurzadh suddenly stopped, his eyes lighting up.
The Giant Wood tribe definitely didn't know about the Blackrock Clan's existence yet! The hobgoblin said they only entered the forest yesterday, and with nearly a hundred goblin in the group, they must be moving slowly. Kess was probably still sending hobgoblins out to scout the path, completely unaware that greenskins had already settled in this forest.
Which meant—they were in the open, and we were hidden!
As soon as this thought emerged, Kurzadh felt instantly relieved.
As long as the Giant Wood tribe didn't know they were here, they had time to prepare!
They could rush the construction of the Spearman Camp and Archer Camp, and get the hobgoblins training quickly. Then, he could have Scarface lead the goblins to set up more outposts in the forest to monitor the Giant Wood tribe's movements. They could even take advantage of the enemy's lack of preparedness, scout them out first, see where their camp was located, and whether their leader, Kess, was really that formidable.
"Boss? What's wrong?" Scarface, seeing Kurzadh frown one moment and smile the next, couldn't help but make two "squeak squeak" sounds.
"Nothing," Kurzadh said, patting Scarface's shoulder, then glanced at the hobgoblin on the ground—this hobgoblin was a treasure now, knowing the details of the Giant Wood tribe, he couldn't be allowed to escape.
He kicked the hobgoblin's backside: "Get up! Come with me! If you behave, I might give you some mushroom soup. If you try any tricks, I'll skin you and hang you on the palisade!"
The hobgoblin quickly nodded: "I'll behave! I definitely will!" He scrambled up from the ground and followed Kurzadh, his neck tucked in, not daring to look around.
Kurzadh led the group toward the shack area, having already formed a plan.
First, lock up this hobgoblin and assign a goblin to watch him. Then, have Dragu and the others speed up the camp construction. Tonight, he would call Wreelx, Dragu, and the others for a meeting to discuss how to deal with the Giant Wood tribe.
So what if they had over fifty hobgoblins? So what if they had iron weapons?
As long as they prepared fast enough, they might even be able to turn the tables and rob them—steal some iron gear and absorb their goblin. Wouldn't that make the Blackrock Clan even stronger?
The more Kurzadh thought about it, the more feasible it seemed, and his steps became much lighter.
He looked back toward the forest. The sunlight filtering through the leaves looked warm, but who knew how many dangers were hidden in those woods?
But it didn't matter.
greenskins lived their lives constantly dealing with danger, didn't they? Meet soldiers with generals, and floods with earth—if a fight really started, he, Kurzadh, wouldn't necessarily be afraid of that hobgoblin named Kess!
"Wait!" Kurzadh suddenly stopped and turned back to Scarface. "Have a few goblin keep a close watch on the edge of the forest! If they see any other greenskins approaching, they must immediately report back!"
Scarface quickly nodded, making "squeak squeak" sounds as he ran toward the palisade, apparently intending to scout personally.
Kurzadh watched Scarface's retreating figure, then glanced at the timid hobgoblin beside him, and grinned.
Life, indeed, couldn't be too peaceful.
If it were too peaceful, it wouldn't be a greenskin's life.