"Well, I’d be depending on your experience going forward," I said to him.
Caius gave a small nod.
"I’d be here to help... Chief."
There was a brief pause after that before the discussions resud once more.
From there, Caius began bringing up different areas of the clan that needed improvent moving forward, and honestly, most of what he said made sense.
The biggest issue, according to him, was individual and overall combat strength.
The clan had grown rapidly, but rapid growth also created an imbalance. While so goblins had beco monsters in their own right, others were still far too weak compared to the level of threats we would eventually be facing.
And he was right.
A one-man army approach simply wasn’t sustainable anymore.
No matter how strong I beca, there was a limit to what a single goblin could handle alone, especially during large-scale battles like the King’s Gas, where we’d be facing hordes, organized enemies, and possibly other clans.
If the clan itself remained weak, then eventually I’d reach a point where I wouldn’t be able to protect everyone, no matter how strong I got personally. Which ant strengthening the others was no longer optional. It was necessary.
Caius also emphasized the importance of siege weaponry, artillery, and long-range defenses, especially for the first phase of the King’s Gas.
"If we’re truly going to be facing monster hordes," he explained, "then ranged suppression becos extrely valuable. The more enemies we can eliminate before direct engagent, the better."
The ideas themselves sounded realistic enough, considering the abilities available within the clan already. And thankfully, we actually had goblins capable of developing those kinds of things if given enough ti and resources.
Then ca equipnt.
The clan was growing beyond the point where we could rely purely on scavenged gear and whatever random equipnt goblins happened to carry around individually.
We needed proper systems now.
Which reminded of sothing Talia had ntioned to the other night.
Sothing potentially important.
"Gork, Talia ntioned sothing about monster crystals that can be used to enhance armor," I said, turning toward him. "Tell about that."
Gork seed to think for a mont before answering.
"Yes, Chief," he said slowly. "We discovered traces of them in the past, but only in very small amounts. After that, we searched for monsters that might possess more of the crystals, but we couldn’t find anything reliable."
His expression tightened slightly as he continued.
"At the ti, Jael was already prioritizing preparations for the King’s Gas, so eventually he decided the search wasn’t worth continuing."
I frowned slightly at that.
If the crystals were capable of strengthening armor or equipnt, then abandoning the search entirely felt wasteful. Sothing like that could massively improve the clan’s survivability, especially if we were truly going to face endless monster hordes during the first phase of the ga.
Before I could ask another question, a voice suddenly ca from the corner of the room.
"Monster crystals..."
Ariel, who had been quietly sitting off to the side for most of the eting, lifted her head slightly.
"I know where we can get so."
The room imdiately turned toward her. Even Caius looked interested.
I raised a brow.
"Really?"
The fox nodded lightly.
"While I was out hunting, I ca across monsters that dropped those crystals," Ariel explained. "A pack of wolves."
That imdiately caught everyone’s attention.
"They were strong too," she continued, sounding slightly annoyed at having to admit it. "Not strong enough to stop , obviously. I killed a few of them before things beca troubleso."
Ariel curled her tails around herself
"Then their alpha appeared."
The slight irritation in her voice disappeared at that point, replaced instead with sothing noticeably more serious.
"And I fled."
The room went quiet for a mont.
"You are surprisingly honest about that," I said.
Ariel imdiately frowned at .
"He was terrifying," she replied without hesitation, as if that alone justified everything.
Which, considering who it was coming from, honestly made the situation sound far more dangerous than she probably realized.
Ariel wasn’t weak. Far from it. Even now, she was one of the strongest beings inside the clan, and her growth rate was absurd. So if sothing had genuinely frightened her enough to make her retreat instead of fighting head-on, then this so-called alpha was definitely no ordinary creature.
Still, hearing that the wolves possessed monster crystals imdiately made the place valuable in my eyes. Resources like that couldn’t be ignored.
"Then that’s settled," I said after a brief mont of thought. "You and I would be heading there."
Ariel visibly perked up for a split second before quickly forcing herself to calm down again. She turned her head slightly afterward, acting like she wasn’t particularly pleased by the idea despite the obvious reaction earlier.
I ignored it and shifted my attention elsewhere.
"Caius."
"Yes, Chief?"
"You’d be responsible for leveling up Dribb, Gobbo, and Zarah moving forward."
Gobbo and Zarah, who were in the room, imdiately looked toward after hearing their nas.
"Your goal is to get them all to level fifty as quickly as possible."
"I’m not as strong without my innate skill," Caius said after a mont of thought. "Higher-level monsters might be difficult for to handle alone, especially since I wouldn’t just be killing them. I’d have to weaken them carefully so the others can finish them off."
"Take Kharos with you then," I replied.
At that, Caius smiled faintly. A very subtle smile.
I knew exactly what he was trying to do. He wanted his domain skill line back. Or at the very least, he wanted to start considering it. After all, I had already returned Kharos’ skill line to him before, so Caius was probably hoping I’d eventually do the sa for him as well.
But no. Not yet.
His domain ability was far too valuable to casually hand back, especially this early. Trust or not, I wasn’t stupid enough to ignore how dangerous Caius could beco once he regained that level of power again.
Maybe soday. But definitely not now.
I shifted my attention away from him afterward.
"Narg."
"Yes, Chief?"
"You’d be responsible for leveling up the weaker mbers alongside Zonk and Thok."
Narg imdiately straightened after hearing their nas.
"Focus on the newer goblins and the ones falling behind. Build up their levels, improve coordination, and make sure they beco useful in actual combat situations."
"Yes, Chief," Narg replied.
But then he paused slightly.
"...If all of us leave the clan for training and hunting," he said slowly, "wouldn’t that leave the...
User Comments
0 comments from readers