The howling cold wind carried heavy snow, wrapping the Forest of Gloom in a vast, white world.
Yet, within the Blackrock Clan, there was no sign of winter sluggishness; instead, scenes of bustling activity were everywhere. The greenskins wore thick hides, trudged through ankle-deep snow, and shuttled back and forth across the tribe, carrying logs and pushing stone carts.
The hobgoblin Laborers held stone chisels and swung wooden hammers, pounding away at the construction site, humming off-key work songs. Even the laziest of the hobgoblin Boys, who usually slacked off, were driven to the quarry by Dragu, who dragged them by the ear, making sure they dared not be idle.
Since the day the latrine was completed, Kurzadh had set the goal of "fully upgrading the structures."
For the next month and more, even when the snow fell heavily, the tribe's infrastructure pace never stopped.
He divided the tasks into several parts: he personally took charge of upgrading the statue of brother mao er, assigned the Lumber Yard and the quarry to Dragu, and had Scarface and Wreelx partner up to manage the mushroom field. Every person in charge received a "Death warrant"—if they failed to complete the task, they would face a beating.
Kurzadh was most invested in the upgrade of the statue of brother mao er.
This originally crude statue, piled up from rubble, was now surrounded by a wooden palisade, becoming the most crucial construction site in the tribe.
Every day before dawn, he brought a dozen hobgoblin Sappers here. First, he used stone chisels to level the uneven parts of the old statue, and then he directed the hobgoblin Laborers to attach the newly carved bluestone slabs, one by one. These slabs were the smoothest materials selected from the quarry, and each piece had to be polished three times to ensure it fit perfectly.
"Move it half an inch to the left! Yes, just like that!" Kurzadh squatted beside the statue, gesturing with a wooden stick.
The hobgoblin Sappers carefully pushed the stone slabs and filled the gaps with lime mortar, terrified of accidentally breaking a piece.
The statue's head was the focus—Kurzadh had the hobgoblin Sappers carve two larger heads from solid bluestone, deliberately engraving two rows of sharp tusks. Although still not refined, it was much more intimidating than before.
The most critical part was the statue's base—Kurzadh had the goblins bury several iron scraps salvaged from the skaven tribe inside the base, placing them according to the system's indicated position, claiming it could "enhance the gathering of Waaagh! energy."
Every evening when work ended, he would circle the statue twice, touching the newly affixed slabs, calculating: once the statue was upgraded, they could train Shamans, and the tribe would gain another source of fighting power.
On the other side, Dragu was sweating profusely while leading the hobgoblins at the Lumber Yard.
Upgrading the large Lumber Yard required tripling the size of the original wooden shed and constructing two warehouses for storing timber.
He wore a thick bearskin coat, yet his collar was still soaked with sweat. He held a whip, occasionally lashing out at the lazy hobgoblin Boys: "Damn it! Hurry up and carry that! If you don't finish stacking this pile of wood before dark, I'll make all of you haul shit!"
In the Lumber Yard, twenty hobgoblins took turns swinging axes to chop trees, the "Crack" sounds rising and falling.
Previously, it took two people half a day to fell a large tree, but now with the newly made iron axes (forged from the iron scraps salvaged from the skaven tribe last time), one hobgoblin could chop down a tree in half an hour.
The felled trees were split into appropriate sections and transported to the warehouse by the hobgoblin Laborers using wooden carts. The wooden carts were newly built by the hobgoblin Sappers, carrying twice as much wood as before, significantly increasing efficiency.
The activity at the quarry was even greater.
Dragu specifically transferred thirty hobgoblins there to excavate new rock layers using iron chisels and stone hammers.
To speed up the progress, he also had the hobgoblin Sappers make several simple levers to pry large stone slabs.
"Watch your feet! Don't let the stones crush you!" Dragu shouted from the edge of the pit, feeling immense satisfaction watching the bluestone slabs being hauled out. These stones were needed not only to upgrade the quarry's shed but also to expand the boss's house and the mushroom field, so no mistakes could be tolerated.
Over at the mushroom field, Scarface and Wreelx worked together seamlessly.
Scarface led the hobgoblin Laborers in building a new burlap shed for the mushroom field. The upgraded Level Two mushroom field required a thicker shelter for warmth, so they stitched two layers of burlap together and piled a circle of dry grass around the shed, ensuring the cold wind could not penetrate.
Wreelx was responsible for managing the use of "Greenskin fertilizer." Every morning, he would take five goblin and carefully scatter the fertilizer collected from the latrine evenly across the mushroom field, wary of wasting even a bit.
"The boss said this fertilizer is precious! Too much will burn the sprouts, and too little is useless!" Wreelx squatted beside the mushroom field, pinching some fertilizer between his fingers to carefully compare the thickness.
Under his care, the new batch of mushrooms grew quickly and well; their caps were a circle larger and their colors brighter. Chik couldn't stop smiling whenever he came to harvest them.
The entire tribe was like one huge construction site, filled with busy figures everywhere.
The greenskins moved back and forth across the snow, their hide clothing covered in snow and mud, yet no one complained. They knew that once these structures were upgraded, the tribe would become stronger, they would get more meat, and they would become tougher.
Wooden poles next to the construction sites were hung with the heads and bones of the skaven captured during the last battle. Some heads had holes chiseled into them, impaled on the poles and swaying in the wind, becoming the tribe's most unique "Decorations," showcasing the Blackrock Clan's battle achievements while deterring external enemies.
Every day, Kurzadh circled the various construction sites several times, checking on how the stone slabs were being affixed to the statue one moment, inspecting the quality of the timber at the Lumber Yard the next, and then observing the mushroom growth in the mushroom field.
When he encountered problems that couldn't be solved, he stopped to consult with the person in charge. For instance, when the rock layer at the quarry was too hard, he had the hobgoblin Sappers make several iron wedges to split the stones. When the wooden carts at the Lumber Yard were insufficient, he drew up blueprints and had the hobgoblin Sappers work overtime to quickly produce more.
That afternoon, just after Kurzadh finished checking the progress on the statue of brother mao er, Chik pulled him over to the livestock area.
This area housed over a dozen goats and dozens of chickens, serving as the tribe's vital source of meat.
Chik and Zaggur were squatting beside the palisade, looking worriedly at the goats inside—two goats hadn't been eating recently and had lost significant weight.
"Boss, take a look, what's wrong with these goats? If this continues, they might starve to death!" Chik stamped his feet anxiously.
Kurzadh walked to the palisade, examined the two goats carefully, and then touched their ears—they were slightly hot.
"They must be cold," he frowned, telling Chik and Zaggur, "You need to lay the dry grass inside the palisade thicker, and add more firewood at night to heat up the nearby shed. Also, feed them some boiled mushroom soup every day to nourish them."
He paused, his expression turning serious: "These goats and chickens are the tribe's treasures. If even one goes missing, I'll twist your heads off and use them as balls!"
Chik and Zaggur nodded frantically in fear: "Understood, boss! We'll definitely watch them closely! We won't let a single one go missing!"
"Don't worry, I'll also give you support." Kurzadh's tone softened slightly. "Tomorrow, have the hobgoblin Sappers make you two new wooden troughs for feeding water and fodder. If you don't have enough dry grass, go get some from the Lumber Yard, don't be stingy."
Only then did Chik and Zaggur breathe a sigh of relief, immediately starting to work—laying dry grass and repairing the shed with great enthusiasm.
Kurzadh stood by the livestock area, watching the busy construction sites in the distance and the goats pacing leisurely inside the palisade, feeling very reassured.
The snow was still falling, but the intensity within the tribe had not diminished at all.
He knew that soon, the statue of brother mao er, the Lumber Yard, the quarry, and the mushroom field would all be fully upgraded, and the Blackrock Clan would usher in a new leap forward.
The cold wind whipped snow pellets against his face, but Kurzadh smiled—this winter was destined not to be peaceful.