Kobolds

A few hours later, after arriving in Nankou City by private jet, a dedicated car picked up Zhao Fu and the others and drove them to an upscale residential complex.

This complex was one of the Ying Family's assets. Not only was the scenery and environment excellent, but the security measures were also top-notch. Thousands of people lived there, all of whom carried the bloodline of the Ying Family. Of course, these were not the orthodox branches; the Ying Family descendants who possessed the orthodox bloodline lived in even more exclusive areas.

Here, Zhao Fu also met his maternal grandparents. Aside from them holding him and weeping for a while, they asked why he hadn't returned to their home all this time.

Seeing his grandparents, Zhao Fu felt a sense of relief in his heart. As for not returning to their home, he simply didn't want to become anyone's burden; they were already quite old. As for his other relatives, they were complete strangers to him, and their attitudes were somewhat cold, so Zhao Fu had no interest in associating with them.

Afterward, Zhao Fu was assigned a residence. It was over a hundred square meters in size, luxuriously decorated, and equipped with all kinds of basic appliances and furniture, which was enough to show that the Ying Family was definitely very wealthy.

Opening a brand-new computer, Zhao Fu habitually logged into the Apocalypse Forum to check for news. Currently, the development of other factions was generally slow; building a massive foundation was not something that could be achieved overnight, but rather through the accumulation of time.

However, because regions could not communicate with one another, the members of many noble families were scattered. They tried to form guild-like factions to recruit ordinary people, but these ordinary people could not be managed militarily. Having enjoyed the comforts of the modern world, who would be willing to risk their lives for someone else?

Moreover, the penalties for players dying were severe: levels and equipment were wiped clean, and they could not log in for ten days. The next time they entered the Apocalypse World, non-lord players would respawn randomly, meaning if you died, you would reappear somewhere else next time. Generally speaking, guild players were almost useless and rarely became elites cultivated by the noble families.

Beyond these noble families, one should not underestimate some ordinary people. It was not just the noble families who had ambition; chaotic times were meant for heroes to emerge. "Are kings and nobles born with a higher status?" Aside from the noble descendants who were rising, some ordinary people without any family background were also shining, standing out from the vast sea of humanity.

"Gu Jun led hundreds of players to conquer a mountain stronghold with a thousand people!"

"Liu Xiuming led hundreds of people to break through three alien villages in a row!"

"Jiang Changshui gained the unanimous approval of the villagers and became the village chief of Sanjiang Village, gaining six hundred villagers!"

After briefly reading through these, Zhao Fu returned to the Apocalypse World once more. Compared to the real world, Zhao Fu felt a greater sense of belonging in the Apocalypse World.

Upon returning to the Apocalypse World, he recalled the information he had seen on the Apocalypse Forum, which put some pressure on his heart. He felt he could not be careless for even a moment, and at the same time, he began to conduct a population census.

Currently, Great Qin Village had 1,340 residents. In addition, Zhao Fu had four human villages, three Goblin villages, and one Goblin Village.

After these days of development, these villages had gradually regained their vitality. The four human villages had a total of 524 residents, the three Goblin villages had a total of 410 Goblin Warriors, and the one Goblin village had 189 residents.

From these villages, Zhao Fu recruited more people and incorporated them into the Great Qin Soldiers. Now, there were 930 Great Qin Soldiers, 150 Goblin Warriors, and 100 Goblins, totaling 1,180 soldiers.

In fact, races other than humans could also undergo a Class Transfer into Great Qin Soldiers, as there was no upper limit or racial restriction for the Great Qin Soldier class. It was just that each village had a capacity limit for troops, and the excess soldiers did not receive the village's attribute bonuses.

Therefore, all 1,180 soldiers could be considered Great Qin Soldiers, and they all received the attribute bonuses of the class. Among them, 35 soldiers were exploring the passage to the Bone Space, and 245 were left to protect the villages, so Zhao Fu could lead exactly 900 at the moment.

Leading these 900 soldiers, Zhao Fu continued to set out to explore the area beyond twenty miles from Great Qin Village. It was much more convenient now that he had the Black Forest Horse, but only a few could ride horses; most soldiers still had to walk, as there were only so many tamed Black Forest Horses.

Zhao Fu was currently riding Little Black, the Black Forest Horse King, in the lead, while Little Gray followed alongside, sniffing for various scents.

Suddenly!

Little Gray made another discovery. It let out a few low growls and ran forward. Zhao Fu rode Little Black to follow.

After a while, they discovered an intermediate village on a flat piece of land. This village belonged to an alien race. Living within it was a species with dog-like heads and human-like bodies, looking very much like the humanoid creatures from Western legends: they were Kobolds.

This Kobold village had about a thousand Kobolds, including about seven hundred Kobold Warriors, with the remaining three hundred being the elderly, weak, women, and children.

These Kobold Warriors, in addition to generally carrying blades, also had some who carried spears. Zhao Fu did not dare to get too close to observe, as the noses of these Kobolds were just as sensitive as a dog's.

A thousand Kobolds was a bit too many right now. If there were only five or six hundred, he could wait for nightfall and launch a surprise attack under the cover of darkness to take them down in one fell swoop.

"But what should I do now?"

Suddenly, Zhao Fu thought of something and cast his gaze toward Little Gray. Little Gray, who had finished its scouting mission and was lying to the side resting, instinctively shuddered. It turned its head to look at Zhao Fu, and seeing him looking at it with what seemed like ill intent, Little Gray immediately wanted to bolt.

This time, Zhao Fu didn't need to act; Little Black directly bit onto Little Gray's tail. Little Black had been bullied by Little Gray last time and even bitten a few times, so now that it had caught an opportunity, how could it let it go?

Little Gray turned its head and let out a few low growls, "meaning for Little Black to let go. It knew that its despicable master had set his sights on it, and it was never anything good!"

Little Black also barked a few times, its horse face smiling and revealing a mouthful of white teeth. It meant, "Heh, you're the one getting played anyway, it has nothing to do with me. I'm going to be a good baby who listens to its master!"

At once!

Little Gray couldn't take it. It turned around, wanting to bite the sycophantic Little Black, while Little Black held onto Little Gray's tail and dodged to the side.

Watching the wolf and the horse bickering, Zhao Fu couldn't help but chuckle, "Alright! Both of you, stop."

In fact, Zhao Fu wasn't really planning to use Little Gray; he was just drawing some inspiration. Little Gray's nose was very sensitive—that was an advantage!

But sometimes, if an advantage is utilized, it can conversely become a disadvantage. For example, the Kobolds' noses were also very sensitive. How could he exploit that? Thinking of this, Zhao Fu led his men back to Great Qin Village, deciding not to alert the enemy for the time being.

Upon returning to Great Qin Village, Zhao Fu issued an order for everyone to mobilize. They were to do only one thing: pick chili peppers, then dry them and grind them into chili powder. Zhao Fu spent two days preparing several hundred pounds of chili powder, and then, full of confidence, he marched toward the Kobold village once again.