Goblin Vassal

"Bloodlust."

Watching the Bugbear rise once more and observing the changes manifesting upon his body, Lin Lei could hardly believe his eyes.

Bloodlust was synonymous with Ogres; every adult Ogre mage could cast this spell, but Lin Lei had never heard of a Bugbear capable of using it.

The Bugbear who had cast Bloodlust grew in size once again, becoming at least a quarter larger than he had been before, while his eyes turned blood-red and faint crimson energy swirled around his frame, making his movements significantly more agile.

The situation on the battlefield became unpredictable once more; the Bugbear, empowered by Bloodlust, was like a weakened version of Berserk, yet without the drawback of losing one's sanity.

He began to chase Lin Lei across the battlefield, forcing Lin Lei onto the defensive, while the goblins in the camp began to cheer, believing their leader's victory was within reach and that they would soon possess a bounty of food.

"Bang!"

Constantly suppressed, Lin Lei failed to dodge in time and was forced to use his great blade to block the Bugbear's heavy club head-on.

Under the immense force, Lin Lei's entire body was pushed backward uncontrollably, his feet carving deep furrows into the earth.

"Hmph!"

Lin Lei let out a cold snort. Even a clay figurine has a temper, let alone a successful powerhouse like himself; being beaten back by a Bugbear had ignited his fury.

He loosened his grip to flex his hands, then tightened his hold on the hilt, dragging his long blade as he charged straight at the Bugbear.

"Bang!"

The Bugbear, who had been on the offensive, failed to react to Lin Lei's sudden maneuver in time and could only raise his bone club above his head to parry the unexpected strike.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Lin Lei pressed his advantage, seizing the opening in the Bugbear's guard to deliver five consecutive slashes, each one striking the Bugbear's bone club.

The Bugbear, already unsteady from the first blow, was forced to his knees, the ground beneath him sinking a full level lower than the surrounding earth.

Seeing the Bugbear exhausted and his bone club dropping to the ground, Lin Lei retracted the Green Dragon Crescent Blade before it could land another strike.

Lin Lei could have easily ended the Bugbear's life with the third or fourth strike, but in order to ensure the goblin tribe would submit to him, he had aimed his blade at the club, inflicting only minor injuries.

"Respected human powerhouse, I, Furell, have lost. As agreed, our goblin camp submits to you."

Furell struggled to climb to his feet and spoke to Lin Lei.

A smile appeared on Lin Lei's face as he heard this.

Though these savage races were brutal and cruel, their sense of honor far exceeded that of humans.

At this moment, Luo Ji arrived with the soldiers, looking at Lin Lei with eyes full of admiration.

The goblin elder Vix also nervously gathered around with the rest of the goblins.

In front of all the goblin leadership, Furell announced that their tribe would henceforth be under the rule of the human Baron, Lin Lei.

Lin Lei watched the expressions of the other goblins, noting that they only stirred briefly before accepting Furell's command, which made him marvel at Furell's prestige among his kin.

Even the goblin elder did not refuse or go back on the word.

Afterward, Furell led Lin Lei and his party into their camp. To call it a camp was generous; it was worse than the slums of the small town Lin Lei had once governed, with bones and excrement scattered haphazardly everywhere.

Lin Lei looked into the distance and was surprised to find several goblins still sleeping; that they could remain so calm despite the massive commotion outside truly earned his admiration.

Furell's surrender was very sincere; he disclosed all his military strength to Lin Lei. The goblin camp had a population of over two thousand, including two hundred Boar Rider units, whose strength was equivalent to the Bronze rank—though with professional training, they could potentially reach the Silver rank thanks to the charging power of their boars.

There were fifty Bugbear units, equivalent to the Silver rank, with Furell himself possessing Gold-rank strength.

The ten goblin mages were all elder goblins, possessing Silver-rank strength, with Vix nearing the Gold rank.

The rest were all Goblin Spearman units, whose strength varied from unranked to Bronze depending on their physical condition.

After learning the true strength of the goblins, Lin Lei felt a lingering fear; it was fortunate he hadn't attempted to burn and pillage, otherwise, even if he had survived, Luo Ji and his soldiers would have all perished here.

"Furell, do you recognize this wood?"

After touring the goblin camp, Lin Lei asked the question that was the primary purpose of his visit.

Furell took the wooden spear from Lin Lei's hand, glanced at it, and said:

"Baron, isn't this just the wooden spear my tribe uses for hunting? The trees on the back mountain are mostly this kind. I will take you to see them."

Guided by Furell, Lin Lei soon arrived at the back mountain of the goblin camp, where the hills were indeed covered in Wind Fragrance Wood.

"Ugh, why is it so filthy?"

Lin Lei suddenly stopped in his tracks, carefully observing the surrounding environment.

Good heavens, the entire mountain was covered in goblin excrement, the stench overwhelming, with nowhere to even set foot. Compared to this, the environment of the goblin camp was a minor issue.

Lin Lei ordered Furell with a dark expression:

"Your goblin camp is the first vassal territory of Crouching Dragon Ravine. The first thing you must do is improve hygiene. Clean up the trash, bones, and excrement in the camp, and standardize..."

Lin Lei didn't go into detail. In his eyes, the goblin camp was a territory with great potential, and he would certainly implement a long-term plan for them later, of which hygiene was merely a trivial first step.

Lin Lei spent a barely tolerable, foul-smelling day in the goblin camp. The next day, he departed with a large quantity of beast furs and ores, leaving behind what was now the Green Goblin Town of Crouching Dragon Ravine.

He had arrived with Luo Ji and twenty-five soldiers, but returned with Furell and twenty Bugbears in tow; the rest of the goblin forces remained in Green Goblin Town.

Although the goblins were short on food, they were not lacking in wealth. The beast furs and scavenged ores accumulated over the years filled three large carts, so heavy that the wheels sank deep into the mud.

After Lin Lei left, inside the Green Goblin Town hall, the goblin elder Vix was discussing matters with several other elders.

"Great Elder, must we truly submit to this human? Even if he is stronger than our chieftain, our overall strength far exceeds theirs. Look at the soldiers behind him; one charge from our knights would send them into chaos."

The mage speaking from below was, judging by his appearance, a rare Bugbear mage.

"And then what? What would happen after we defeated them? The human factions are the most powerful on the entire Aize Continent right now. If you defeat them, won't a second human lord come looking for us?"

"Even if we won again, what about a third or a fourth? Would our Emerald Goblin strength not plummet into the abyss?"

The goblin elder spoke with a face as rough as tree bark, her hands constantly rubbing against her staff as if recalling something while she spoke.

"Our Emerald Goblin tribe can no longer withstand another war. Furell acting as he did was at my request; we must remain under human protection to recuperate and rebuild."

"But we shouldn't have chosen a greenhorn! Look at that human noble, he hasn't even shed his baby fuzz yet..."

The Bugbear mage argued.

"Shut your mouth! He will be our lord from now on. Show him some respect. A lord possessing such strength at such a young age only proves his potential. If any of you are dissatisfied, you may leave the tribe of your own volition; the clan will not stop you."

Vix flared with anger, declaring her command like an aging lioness.

The goblins below looked at one another and ceased their discussion, while the mages surrounding the Bugbear mage prevented him from continuing his argument.

After they all took their leave, only Vix remained, sitting quietly in her chair.

"Gork and Mork above, I hope my decision is not a mistake."

At the entrance to the Crouching Dragon Ravine territory.

Lin Lei returned to his territory with a large amount of wealth. While Allen and the others were delighted, they looked at the alien standing beside Lin Lei with some confusion.

To the people of the Aize Continent, the belief that "those who are not of our race must have a different heart" was pushed to the extreme. They rarely welcomed other races, including the honest dwarves and the beautiful elves.

Lin Lei did not harbor such prejudices, and he was not at all surprised by the reactions of the others.

Upon arriving at the Lord's Mansion hall, Lin Lei firmly explained to them that the goblins would become their allies and a vassal force of their Crouching Dragon Ravine.

Because Lin Lei had built everything from scratch, his word was law regarding territorial affairs, so although the others were somewhat dissatisfied, no one went so far as to boycott the goblins.

"Aierlan, how is the school preparation coming along? Have the teachers from the Flower Territory arrived?"

A few days ago, Lin Lei had decided to establish a school, even borrowing Aierlan's influence and wealth to hire over a dozen literate teachers from the Flower Territory.

"They arrived today and have already begun teaching the soldiers."

"Good. Arrange it for tomorrow; have Furell and his goblin soldiers go to learn their letters as well."

As he spoke, Lin Lei gestured toward Furell, the green-skinned giant beside him.

Allen nodded in agreement.

Lin Lei continued.

"This hunt was originally intended to alleviate our fiscal deficit, but I did not expect to welcome a goblin tribe into our ranks. I will lead a team to the Flower Territory tomorrow to sell these furs and ores transported from the goblins. I will need you to manage the territory well in my absence."

"Yes, My Lord."

"Very well, everyone dismissed. Allen, see to the accommodations for Furell and his kin."

After the others left, Lin Lei rubbed his aching eyes and headed toward his private quarters.

While passing the pavilion in the courtyard, he was intercepted by Aierlan, who had been sitting there waiting.

"Have you forgotten about our wedding? It has been over a month, and my father has already written letters urging us to hold the ceremony soon."

Aierlan said shyly.

Lin Lei had kept the wedding in mind, but the affairs of the Crouching Dragon Ravine were far too busy for him to find the time to marry Aierlan. Furthermore, the infrastructure of his territory was not yet fully established, so he had not seriously considered it.

"..."

Lin Lei pondered for a moment. He felt that for a woman like Aierlan to have the courage to bring this up to him directly was no small feat, and he should put her mind at ease.

"Next month. Prepare the invitations and send them out. We shall set the date for the first day of next month; by then, the development of the territory will be on the right track."

"Mm!"

Aierlan nodded vigorously, the corners of her mouth curling upward.

Watching Aierlan's satisfied expression, Lin Lei pulled her into his embrace.