In front of the Great Shaman Kalman, several goblin champions were waiting for his orders.
Great Shaman Kalman was grinning. Since he was born, he has always been in charge. His intelligence enabled him to push the Underground Goblin Tribe to its golden age. After conquering a little piece of territory in the subterranean world, Kalman's greed got the better of him, and he decided to go to the outside world, known as the 'human' territory.
Kalman was extremely prideful. He has never lost, not even once. He was stronger than his peers, but most importantly, he believed that his knowledge and his tactics would give him the opportunity to overthrow any kind of power.
"WE ARE GOBLINS!", Kalman shouted to his goblin champions with pride, "WE AREN'T AS AGILE AS DARK ELVES, YET WE WON AGAINST THEM! THIS TIME, WE ARE FACING ANOTHER FOE: HUMANS. HOWEVER, WE HAVE ONE ADVANTAGE: WE ARE MORE NUMEROUS, WE HAVE THE SURPRISE EFFECT, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE HAVE GUTS. CHAMPIONS, FOLLOW ME, AND LET'S CONQUER THIS WORLD TOGETHER!"
As soon as Kalman finished his loud speech, the goblin champions seemed to have been enlightened. They were slightly hesitant at first, since they were going against their ancestor's wishes. However, Kalman told them what they needed to know. They would fight, and they would win. Screw these ancestors!
Screeches and goblin laughter could be heard within the Western Gate Village, which was now…inhabited by goblins. As for the humans who used to farm the lands around it, they were no more. A few humans were taken prisoners, but their fate would not be any lighter. In fact, it might be even worth. The human females were probably going to become breeding material, and this is definitely the worst case possible, and as for the males, they would either be turned into labour force, as baits. In any case, surviving a goblin attack was often a curse, instead of a bliss.
Kalman was thinking at high speed at this point.
With the villages' supply, the goblins following his lead would be able to survive over 2 months. But was it enough to satisfy Kalman? Obviously not. He always wanted more. Similarly to humans, goblins were irrational creatures. They were also victims of the 7 primordial sins. However, they were especially greedy and lazy, which caused their race to be nicknamed the 'weakest of all'. However, there were some exceptions to the rule, and Kalman's tribe was one of them.
A goblin shaman was rare enough, as just like in human society, the amount of goblins having the prerequisite to become a magician was just too low. Not even one in tens of thousands might have it. As for being able to actually harness this power, and cast actual spells…then it was an abnormality in itself, especially for a lazy species such as goblins. This is why everyone respected Kalman, abiding by his laws and orders.
Kalman was not only a wise leader, but he was also very strong. He was stronger than any of the goblin champions that submitted to him. His fireballs could incinerate any being in a matter of minutes, not to mention weak human farmers.
However, he committed one error: he had broken into someone else's territory. And among all nobles, Kalman had the ill luck to choose Roland Thornfield's lands. He didn't know about this yet, but objectively speaking, Roland was anything but a weak noble.
Recently promoted to a viscount, Roland possessed 2000 trained soldiers under him and 2 knights. Such army was not matching his nobility rank, but the Phuinem Kingdom is a meritocracy. Just because you are strong doesn't mean you deserve the privileges reserved to the very high nobles and aristocrats. Except for the royal family, if you didn't do anything worth mentioning, then your rank would not increase at all. In fact, you might even be degraded if you didn't participate in a battle once a century.
Barons usually had a few hundred soldiers under them. Viscounts possessed 500 to 1500 soldiers, and from times to times, there would be one or two knights joining their ranks. However, Roland actually possessed 2000 soldiers. And unlike other territories' soldiers, his went through deadly battles: The Oak Lake Battle which expanded the Thornfield Territory by a few thousand acres, The Blood Plain battle which enabled the Thornfield Household to get rid of its sworn enemy: The Jajal Barbarian's tribe, the Serious Hill Battle etc…Each soldier was the result of natural selection. Those who survived were all veterans. They were strong, trained and they were no longer fearing any kind of battle.
When news about goblins taking over a village spread, with proof matching the saying, Roland was infuriated.
"Give this scout who risked his life a few gold coins. As for my army…Tell them to get ready. The next few months will be full of blood."
===
Meanwhile, in the castle:
George – "Young master, goblins have been found in the territory. Should I reveal my strength, or something?"
Drodosis – "No. I know there will be more casualties this way, but it might be a necessary evil. When my father is marching towards the enemy, the castle will be vulnerable. My father made many enemies in the past few years, conquering neighbouring lands, asking for unbelievably extravagant compensation. While it strengthened the territory, it also put it in a delicate situation. We should stay low at this point, but the goblins are too big of a threat to let it grow in strength, which is why my father needs to lead an expedition with his own army instead of hiring mercenaries and adventurers to do it."
George – "But?"
Drodosis – "But, what if an enemy, who just wants to take revenge, decides to strike now? Taking the castle will not require more than 200 men, considering that the number of guards do not exceed 80. However, if such a battle occurs, with me as an authority and you as a moral boosting power…500 enemies might be able to siege the castle. Do you understand?"
George – "Yes, young master. I was too hasty in my judgement. Seems like I have a long way to go."
Drodosis – "Always strive to accumulate knowledge, no matter whether you want to become a farmer or a knight. This is something Merchant Iker told me when I bought him a few items."
George – "A man of wisdom."
Drodosis – "Indeed. In the future, I plan to explore the world, seeking opportunities in danger, just like him, even if it might cost me my life. Once, you asked about my ambitions, right?"
George – "Indeed, your dreams are mine as well."
Drodosis – "I want to become the lord of the greatest territory in this world. I want it to be an unshakable power in the future. I want the Kerrosby Valley and its inhabitants to be rich, to never starve again. But to do that, I need power. Having loyal knight subordinates like you is the first step to make this dream happen, but one day or another, it's obvious that I will need to rise as a knight as well. And if I want this dream to become reality, I will need to become a grand Knight, no matter how…Crazy it might look like."
George – "Then, young master…I will rise as a grand knight as well, supporting you from the shadows. I will never forget the life debt I owe you."
Drodosis – "Let's forget about debts, George. Think of me like a friend, please. You are, after all, the first one I could really share my secrets with since I was born."
George felt something awaken inside him. It wasn't life force, it was just pure acknowledgement of a master, someone he would not hesitate to give his life for, someone he would never betray.
Drodosis didn't know about it, as he was still in the middle of his fantasy, having George stay in front of his door to alleviate his loneliness.
George, hearing Drodosis' acknowledgement and request, started to weep. They weren't tears of sadness, but tears of pure happiness, of pure fulfilment. After a few moments catching his breath, George was already meditating, to match his words with actions.
In his room, Drodosis also returned to his matters. At this point, it was training time with Pyro.
[Beep! Name: Pyro (Nightmare Wolf teen). Strength – 1.7 | Agility – 0.9 | Physique – 1.0 | Status: Healthy. Perks: Bite (biting strength increased by 150%), Tamed (Understand and abide by Drodosis Thornfield's orders), Magical Nightmare Fur (Magical resistance: 65%), Nightmare Fangs (Biting an enemy release powerful poison that destroy enemies' cell and put them to sleep. Pro: Fast spreading speed. Con: Only effective against enemies below 3 points of physique. Each higher point of physique decreases the effect by 50%).]
"Good boy, good boy.", Drodosis said as he was spoiling Pyro.
The two of them truly were inseparable. At first, Drodosis used the excuse of 'taming' Pyro to play with him, but after some time, he realized that the transmigration truly had changed him in his core. He didn't feel alienated, but he knew something had definitely changed. He was socializing with people he didn't know, something he would have never done on his own accord back on Earth, he came back and risk his life for someone else, which is once again something he would have never done in any circumstances back on Earth, and more importantly, he was playing with a freaking magical beast, despite the fact that he was afraid of Dogs back on Earth!
"Did I really change?", Drodosis asked himself…but Pyro was still young. Although it understood Drodosis words, it was obvious that it was trying to use all of its intelligence to fully understand the meaning. Drodosis laughed, before returning to playing with it.
===
Meanwhile, things weren't as sweet for the soldiers.
They were told overnight that goblins appeared, killing their families, raping their daughters, stealing their food, occupying their houses. It motivated them, but a sense of despair was spreading among the soldiers. They couldn't bear the idea of losing their family. No matter how far away they were, how fragile the relationships between them and their family was, family was still family. Blood is thicker than blood. You couldn't turn your back on your family. And yet, they were feeling a sense of guilt. For the past months, they have been slacking off. They weren't even training with their whole heart. They played cards on a daily basis, and spent their wages in alcohol and prostitutes.
They never thought that a call of duty would strike them this soon. Maybe it was the work of a higher existence, punishing him.
Roland – "How are things going?"
Lara – "Soldiers are quite demoralized, but it's okay. What is frightening is the number of goblins. I've never seen something like that. The once rural and peaceful village is no more. It's now a military camp, with sturdy walls. They cleared a part of the Great Forest just to reinforce walls, and they even created traps all around the forest in order to catch bypassing beasts or humans, probably to gather as much food as they can to support a siege."
Eric – "Such intelligence is…unique among monsters. We should maybe ask for reinforcements from the Kingdom's mages, don't you think?"
Roland – "No. Kingdom's mages are too expansive. They don't work without magical crystals, and you can't buy magical crystals with gold only. They follow the law of equivalent exchange, except that their services cannot be matched with anything we have within the Kerrosby Valley. If we are lucky, they will just ask for gold coins. If we are unlucky, they might ask to take my son or your son as a reward, and we will not be able to say anything."
Eric – "…"
Lara – "Anyway, they would take too long to come. Goblins are really frightening this time because of their numbers: there are more than 4000 goblins, and we spotted at least 8 goblin champions."
Roland – "Goblin champions have strength varying from preparatory knight level to knight level…It might be tougher than I thought."
Eric – "However, if we make use of our experience in sieging, we might have a chance."
Roland – "True. We might not have raw advantage over goblins, but we have our own perks. Individually, we are stronger. They cannot charge towards us, as our crossbowmen would make a killing out of it. If they don't charge, they will slowly but surely die from starvation."
Lara – "A siege, huh…You're aware that it will take at least 2 months, right?"
Roland – "Yes, it's a tough decision. Most of soldiers, me included, didn't have time to say goodbye to my family. But it's undeniable that if we let this threat go rampant in the territory, there will be thousands of stories like this village. Goblins wreak havoc on anything they find. They aren't rational creatures. We can't allow ourselves to be kindhearted. The purpose justifies the means. Tell everyone to form an encirclement all around the village. Prepare traps, and tell the sentinels to be aware at all cost."
And just like that, the Great Shaman Kalman, who thought of himself as the most intelligent being in the world, found himself encircled overnight. He never encountered a situation like this. As the sun was rising, he could see the number of spikes around the villages, along with the traps, and armored soldiers. At this moment, his pride shattered.
'What did I just provoke?', it thought.