After the expedition ended, the warriors and hunters naturally had their own celebrations, which need not be recounted. The entire tribe plunged into an ocean of joy, spending three full days stuffing themselves with food and mating to their hearts' content.
But after joining in only the first day of festivities, the Witch Doctors collected themselves and threw themselves into handling the matters that followed.
In the central council hall, the Witch Doctors and apprentices gathered once more. Blade Tusk sat high in the chairman's seat and was pleasantly surprised to find three more Trolls scattered among the ranks of the apprentices.
Though it was regrettable that the number of Witch Doctors had been slow to rise (Note 1), becoming an apprentice was the prerequisite to becoming a Witch Doctor. An increase in apprentices meant an increase in the foundation, and that was naturally worth celebrating.
Composing himself, he struck the gavel to signal the start of the meeting. Once the Trolls had quieted down, he began by summarizing the gains, discoveries, and problems encountered during this expedition.
"The greatest gain this time was undoubtedly the growth of our Troll population. The two tribes we targeted have brought us nearly a thousand new Trolls in total."
"Among them, there are more than eight hundred adolescent and adult Trolls, as well as seventy-three Trolls under sixteen. In addition, there are sixty-five elderly Trolls who still retain some capacity for labor."
"If we can successfully absorb them, it will undoubtedly greatly strengthen the foundations of Headquarters."
"I brought back all young Trolls between the ages of three and sixteen. These little ones, who have yet to develop any sense of distinction—or whose sense of distinction is still shallow—are undoubtedly the easiest to assimilate and absorb."
"Therefore, I hope everyone will treat them