The Goblin Warchief's Three Opening Moves

"Dream on," Xiao Yu said, promptly pouring cold water on their hopes.

"Although monster factions can theoretically be upgraded all the way to kingdoms, that's only in theory. Never mind the enormous amount of resources needed for the upgrades, or the wars against other monster factions to seize territory. The fact that this goblin camp is near the beginner village alone means it's destined never to grow powerful."

"Because the Mud Hole Tribe is close to the beginner village, it's capped at a level 1 camp and can't be upgraded to a level 2 stronghold. After all, the system can't allow an overly powerful monster faction to appear near a beginner village. So basically, all we can be for now is a level 1 monster camp. If we want to keep growing in the future, we'll have to move to another map."

There were also things Xiao Yu left unsaid. Moving a monster faction from a low-level map to a high-level one was easier said than done. Leading a group of low-level monsters to fight high-level monsters for territory was obviously not going to be easy.

In fact, 40% of monster factions that met their end were destroyed or absorbed in conflicts with other monster factions.

But naturally, there was no need to tell the two unrelated people in front of him any of that.

All right, it was time to see what needed doing.

First, he needed some underlings to bolster their numbers. The breeding chamber could produce little goblins for 60 food each, taking up one population slot apiece. With a flourish, Xiao Yu produced 30 of them, immediately cutting the food reserves by more than half.

"Go outside and see if anything's changed."

"Whoa, there are loads more little goblins outside!" Killer Codename 38 shouted, rushing in from outside.

Xiao Yu nodded. It seemed his memory hadn't failed him.

Little goblins could be trained into goblin warriors, goblin scouts, or goblin laborers. There were two ways to train them. The first was to build a goblin barracks, which cost 150 wood and 50 stone and could train them in batches. But resources were too scarce right now, so he clearly couldn't afford to waste them.

The other way was to recruit a goblin trainer, who could train the little goblins one at a time. Of course, it was a little slow, taking half an hour for each one, but he had plenty of time anyway. He'd recruit a goblin trainer.

Recruiting a goblin trainer cost 15 gold and 100 food.

A chubby goblin wearing leather armor appeared inside the tent. "Chieftain, goblin trainer Shiduke reporting for duty."

"Good. Go outside and train all those little goblins. Make sure you train every one of them into a goblin laborer."

"Yes, Chieftain." Shiduke turned and walked out.

What should he build next? Xiao Yu looked through the building list. Since this was only a level 1 camp, the buildings available were very limited. Excluding those that already existed, there were three types he could currently build.

Goblin temple: A place to pray to the gods and receive divine oracles. (Offerings required.) Those who pray have a chance of learning new spells during prayer. Construction cost: 125 wood, 100 stone.

Campfire: Attracts a certain number of wandering monsters that stray nearby to join the camp each day. Additional recruitment costs must be paid. Construction cost: 100 wood.

Tower: Basic defensive building. Increases vision range. Can house goblin scouts (up to three) and increases their attack range by 20 yards. Construction cost: 50 wood. Construction limit: 4.

Then he'd build a goblin temple, a campfire, and a tower.

Of course, all of that would have to wait until the goblin laborers had been trained.

Although he had become the chieftain of this camp, Xiao Yu didn't really think much of it. To be honest, a low-level camp like this had hardly any prospects for development. It might be destroyed by players someday, so it could only serve as a stepping stone for him. Rather than waste resources improving the camp's overall combat strength, it was more important to improve his own. That way, even if he had to run away later, he'd have something to fall back on.

He was only a rare elite right now, and his combat strength was only slightly better than an ordinary mob's. Even an adventurer of the same level could easily beat him one-on-one. His top priority now was therefore to raise his template level to the elite template.

For a wild monster, nothing was more important than personal strength.

Upgrading from an ordinary monster template to a rare elite required 100 reputation points, while upgrading from a rare elite to an elite template required 300. That was quite a difference.

The goblin temple could provide new spells, so naturally it was the obvious choice. Xiao Yu did find it a little strange, though. Generally speaking, shouldn't praying at a temple grant divine arts? Why would it grant spells? And what god did this group of goblins worship?

He would find out once the temple was built.

The goblin trainer spent the entire afternoon successfully training all 30 little goblins into goblin laborers. Xiao Yu walked out of the chieftain's tent and looked at the group of naked goblin laborers outside, each holding nothing but a small wooden stick. The sight was rather comical.

"Listen up, boys! I know things used to be very lax in our camp. Everyone spent their days doing nothing, eating and waiting to die. That was exactly the attitude that led to this morning's tragedy. Now that I've become chieftain, those days of eating and waiting to die are gone for good! Starting today, we're going to grow bigger and stronger and become the most powerful monster faction in Night Whisper Forest! So let's start by building a temple to please our god!"

At Xiao Yu's command, the goblin laborers immediately began working in a lackadaisical manner, some carrying stones and others fetching wood. Perhaps because they were naturally lazy, their work rate was really nothing to speak of.

He checked the construction progress. They had only built 10% in half an hour. Damn, at this rate, wouldn't it take a whole day to finish all three buildings? That won't do. I need to find a way to improve their efficiency.

Suddenly, inspiration struck, and he remembered something he had seen earlier.

Goblin overseer: Special unit. Skill: Lash. Deals 1 damage to a goblin laborer and increases its work efficiency by 100% for 5 minutes.

Recruitment cost: 5 gold, 75 food. Occupies 2 population slots. Recruitment building: Chieftain's tent.

That's it. You're the one. Xiao Yu recruited four goblin overseers in one go. Soon, four fierce-looking goblins carrying leather whips appeared inside the tent.

Xiao Yu looked at the four goblins and snorted. "Listen up, you lot. Those little bastards outside are lazy as hell. They've been at it this long and still haven't finished the temple. I'm very angry, and the consequences will be severe. Now get out there and teach them how to work. If you don't do a good job, I'll chop you up and offer you to the god as sacrifices. Understood?"

Goblins were a race that typically bullied the weak and feared the strong. At those words, the four goblin overseers immediately shuddered. "Don't worry, Chieftain. We guarantee we'll complete the task." With that, they all rushed outside.

The goblin overseers cracked their whips, and sure enough, the goblin laborers immediately began working much faster.

Standing in front of the chieftain's entrance and watching the bustling scene outside, Xiao Yu thought that was more like it.