Divine Revelation (Seeking Collection and Recommendation)

Out of the 301 Goblins, Zhao Fu selected 100 Goblin Crossbowmen. After returning to Great Qin Village, he first set about re-establishing the Goblin Village and the Bandit Village.

Afterward, he traveled to the west of Great Qin Village, took out a magic cube emitting a blue light, and pressed it against the ground. Waves of blue light rippled outward.

"Notification! Do you wish to use the City-Building Stone?"

Zhao Fu chose "Yes!"

The ghostly outlines of several buildings slowly emerged, followed by another notification: "Please name the village!"

Zhao Fu gave it a casual thought. Since the village was located to the west of Great Qin Village, he decided to use "West" as the prefix and named it Ximu Village.

Once the naming was successful, four figures slowly materialized: an elderly man with a white beard, followed by a blacksmith, an apothecary, and a tailor. Aside from the white-bearded elder who possessed B-grade aptitude, the other three were C-grade. Zhao Fu transferred over a dozen people from Great Qin Village to construct some basic infrastructure for Ximu Village.

After handling these matters, Zhao Fu ordered his men to bring the previously slain bandit leader to the Bone Space. Although Zhao Fu had not yet researched a skill to inspect the aptitude of corpses, he could make a rough judgment based on status; as the leader of a village, his aptitude was bound to be the highest.

He placed the bandit leader's corpse on the altar and activated the Heaven and Earth Refining Array, obtaining an S-grade aptitude orb. The crystal energy in the jade groove was now about one percent depleted; it should be able to refine another hundred corpses before the energy was completely exhausted.

As for the ownership of this S-grade aptitude orb, Zhao Fu already had a candidate in mind: Li Wen. He felt a bit indebted to him for having him spend every day exploring the dark, sunless tunnels.

"Here, Li Wen."

Zhao Fu called Li Wen to his side and personally handed the aptitude orb into his hands.

Li Wen knelt on one knee, his face full of excitement and a touch of emotion. He was moved that Zhao Fu had thought of him first. After expressing his gratitude, Li Wen took the orb and chose to use it.

The aptitude orb emitted a faint blood-red light, floated above Li Wen's head, and slowly expanded until it became like a bubble, encasing him. Inside the bubble, Li Wen kept his eyes tightly shut, as if undergoing some transformation. After a while, the bubble dissipated, and Li Wen's aptitude had been successfully upgraded to S-grade.

Seeing that Li Wen's aptitude had been successfully improved, Zhao Fu returned to the surface.

Zhao Fu now controlled a total of 11 villages: 6 human villages, 3 Goblin villages, and 2 Goblin villages, with a total combat force of 1,800.

Looking at such a force, Zhao Fu thought it was time to go and meet that Orc Tribe a hundred miles away. Of course, Zhao Fu would not be foolish enough to leak information about his own villages; rather, he wanted to scout the true strength of the Orc Tribe. Instead of living in constant fear that the Orc Tribe might attack, it was better to take the initiative and seize the upper hand.

He gathered his troops once more, but just then, a Goblin Mechanist ran over and said something to Zhao Fu. Zhao Fu's expression brightened; he decided to postpone the expedition and stay in Great Qin Village for a few more days, while handing all 1,800 soldiers over to Bai Qi to continue their rigorous training.

A few days later, Zhao Fu gathered his troops again, brought some dry rations, and the entire force prepared to depart.

Suddenly!

Zhao Fu's body stiffened as a notification rang out in his mind.

"You have received an oracle!"

Zhao Fu's expression turned strange; he had almost forgotten that he was still a Demon Priest. The so-called oracle must have come from the God Kerr, who had bestowed the Demon Priest profession upon him.

He checked the content of the oracle: it demanded that he vigorously develop believers and perform another sacrifice.

After reading the oracle, Zhao Fu frowned. He didn't mind performing a sacrifice, but he was unwilling to develop believers. He would never allow his subjects to worship any deity, and naturally, he would not worship any deity himself, for he believed only that man could conquer heaven.

Suddenly!

Zhao Fu recalled the description of the Heaven and Earth Refining Array—that it could refine all things in heaven and earth. Then... could a deity also be refined?

As this thought surfaced in his mind, Zhao Fu's heart gradually grew excited. A series of plans began to form in his mind, and he had a premonition that this might actually succeed.

The God Kerr had no idea that Zhao Fu was already plotting against it. Of course, Zhao Fu was not going to go and kill a god directly; for one thing, they were on different planes, and Zhao Fu did not yet have the power to cross planes. Even if he could, he and his men would undoubtedly be wiped out in an instant. Although the God Kerr was only a weak deity, it was a deity nonetheless, and its power was not something Zhao Fu could contend with.

Zhao Fu understood all of this very clearly, but he had a compromise in mind. That was a matter for later; for now, he had to resolve the threat of the Orc Tribe.

The expedition officially began!

It was a heavily overcast day, the sky completely covered by clouds, and the light was somewhat dim. A breeze blew through the mountains and forests, carrying a chill. After several days of travel, Zhao Fu's party finally arrived a hundred miles away. With the Gray Dwarves he had brought along to lead the way, they quickly located the Orc Tribe of five thousand.

The Orc Tribe was situated at the foot of a hillside. Their numbers definitely exceeded five thousand, including over a thousand elderly, weak, women, and children, with the remaining four thousand being Orc warriors. These warriors were tall and muscular, with grayish-white skin and terrifying faces. They were wrapped in animal skins and generally carried axes or spiked clubs.

Facing such Orcs, Zhao Fu knew that if they fought head-on, they would definitely lose. These Orcs possessed immense natural strength, and ordinary people would be at a disadvantage against them. Zhao Fu's side was better off, thanks to various profession attribute bonuses, but it would still be difficult to defeat the tribe. Zhao Fu fell into deep thought.

Seeing this, Bai Qi reminded him, "Your Highness! We should first ask if there are any other forces here. Since we have come from a hundred miles away, we should obtain all information about this area before formulating a corresponding strategy."

Hearing this, Zhao Fu nodded, realizing he had been a bit too impatient. He ordered the Gray Dwarves he had brought to provide a comprehensive briefing on the local situation.

After listening to the Gray Dwarves' explanation, he learned that within a fifty-mile radius, there were three other major forces: a village of about five thousand Goblins located eighteen miles to the south; a Kobold village with a population of about four thousand located twenty-one miles to the west; and finally, an Elf Tribe with over three thousand people located twenty miles to the east.

Now that he had all the information, the situation in Zhao Fu's mind became clear.

First, there were two methods: one was to unite these three villages to attack the Orc Tribe together. Given the barbaric and aggressive nature of the Orcs, the three villages surrounding them must have suffered much bullying at their hands, so this first method was feasible.

The second method was to incite the three villages and the Orc Tribe to fight each other. When the snipe and the clam grapple, the fisherman reaps the benefit. This would not only wipe out the Orc Tribe but also allow him to annex the other three villages.