“Damn! These NPCs are so cunning!” Little Ashina complained rather unhappily to Lumina beside her:
“Why can’t I just buy their gnoll gladiators with money? They insist on doing quests, but I still want to boost my score on the leaderboard. Now I’m being called back to kill ghouls again. I hate those stinky things!
Now I’m doing Hog’s Hidden Quest, exchanging gladiators for him, but it takes 100 ghoul claws for just one? This is too ridiculous!”
“It’s fine, aren’t all sequence quests like this? One link after another,” Lumina didn’t have many complaints.
She looked at the quest just given by Dorothy. The Blood Rat Gang’s boss didn’t want them to spend money, just help solve the gang’s troubles. It sounded like it had that classic RPG quest chain flavor.
“But we won’t get any points by staying here killing ghouls,” Little Ashina was still unhappy.
She said glumly:
“The top 10 have aweso rewards! And there’s also our group point pool reward. Sister Pogranate is in first place now, she definitely won’t want to give that up.”
“So why not just let her not give up?” Lumina said with a pout:
“Ghouls are nothing. You, , and Lady Aqua can co back and take care of it, and we can also help Lady Aqua grind so skill proficiency to prepare for her Black Iron trial. Let Orchid accompany Sister Pogranate to continue grinding her gnoll points.
Hog just needs a batch of loyal subordinates, the number doesn’t need to be too large.
We can finish it in 2-3 days, then go back to continue grinding gnoll points. This way we won’t delay much.
I’ll tell Orchid and Lady Aqua about this first. You take Hog to the arena to check it out. Tonight’s gladiators are all gnolls, let it pick a few it likes.”
“Okay.”
Little Ashina nodded and waved to Hog Gnawbone, who was wrapped up tightly in a hood not far away.
She could chat well with this skinny gnoll, and Hog truly regarded Little Ashina as its “doghead strategist”, often consulting her on so issues.
The reason they got along so well was probably because the two were about the sa height?
Little Ashina at 155 cm was the shortest of all the players, while Hog was among the thinnest and smallest batch of gnolls, no taller than 160 cm.
In fact, Lord Murphy thought this gnoll was likely “born with disabilities” or had dwarfism. In any case, it wasn’t much bigger than a kobold.
Lumina didn’t go to the main venue of the Fight Club. It was already packed with NPCs who ca to watch the excitent and so players who were keen on PVP.
After the Blood Rat Gang took over this place, they also made “professional” improvents to the previous betting process. There were even smooth-talking guys as hosts, provoking the crowd to burst into cheers.
Lumina didn’t really like these frenzied gladiatorial matches. She shared the current situation with her other three teammates through team chat in a quiet place in the first level of the sewer, which was no longer very dangerous.
After hearing that they had triggered the Blood Rat Gang’s quest in the sewers, Sister Pogranate replied with so regret:
“Forget it, you wait there, we’ll co back to help right away. There’s not much point in grinding this leaderboard anyway. Our ‘exclusive’ side story quests are more interesting to do.”
“Just pretend to be generous. I haven’t seen you put down your competitive spirit,” Orchid mocked:
“I’ll stay here with you to continue grinding points. Lady Aqua can go back. Lumina is right, with our current combat power, this quest can be completed in 2-3 days at most. It won’t delay much.”
“You little fools, why do you think this quest must be done by us personally?” Lady Aqua obviously didn’t like the dirty environnt of the sewers. She said in a puzzled tone:
“This quest is to help Hog Gnawbone build its own clan, not for us to be nannies for that gnoll. Do you think after we work hard to exchange for the first batch of clan warriors for it, we still need to continue protecting it until it becos a power?
That thinking is too stupid!”
“Huh?” Lumina, who was called a “fool”, asked back:
“So, what’s your idea?”
“Just exchange for 3-4 elite gnolls to form the first batch of clan warriors!” Lady Aqua said:
“Let it exchange for the rest on its own! Lord Murphy wants to cultivate it into a real gnoll chieftain. How can this be easy and simple? It has to rely on itself to gather its own clan and beco the savior of those imprisoned gnoll gladiators!
Not relying on us for help all the way.
Hog Gnawbone itself is one of the weaker types among gnolls. If it wants to convince its future clansn and establish initial prestige, it has to suffer hard.
I even think this quest doesn’t need you two to show up at all.
Lumina and Little Ashina go kill ghouls now, exchange for the first elite gladiator and then don’t bother anymore. Prepare weapons and armor for them two, let them go down to the second level of the sewers to kill monsters and then exchange for more gladiators from Dorothy.
They are gnolls!
Their individual combat power is much stronger than ordinary ghouls. Letting them form their own group and snowball is the correct solution to this quest, understand? If their progress goes smoothly, Hog should have at least a dozen people under its command by the ti we complete the first stage of gnoll extermination.
Therefore, my suggestion is to leave Little Ashina at most to help there, you hurry back here to continue the main quest.”
“!”
Lumina replied slowly after several seconds:
“I feel my IQ has been crushed again. You housewife are too much, how can you play this ga of driving wolves and chasing tigers so skillfully?”
“It’s not that you’re stupid, it’s that you’re being lazy. Your tactical diligence can’t hide your strategic laziness,” Lady Aqua said rcilessly:
“You didn’t even consider a more efficient way. In the real world, big villains don’t personally handle everything when supporting puppets. You’re the host of this matter, not a nursery school teacher.
Do you really want to treat this as a raising sim ga?
It’s not impossible, but who would seriously raise gnolls?”
“Stop scolding, stop scolding, the child is about to go stupid.”
Lumina wailed and was lectured for a few more sentences before hanging up the call. She sent a private ssage to Little Ashina, who was watching the excitent at the Fight Club and had even placed bets, telling her to co back quickly to grind monsters.
Little Ashina looked regretfully at the exciting battle in the arena below. She stood up, threw a small money bag to Hog, and said:
“You keep watching here. This money is enough for you to place two bets. Although you’re too weak to be a good berserker, I think you’re very smart and agile. Perhaps you should learn to make good use of the power of wisdom and agility.”
With that, she picked up her hunting rifle and left, leaving Hog, who was wrapped in a long robe, alone among the frenzied spectators.
To be honest, it felt terrible for a skinny gnoll to be surrounded by so many humans.
Hog felt like it might be killed by these guys rushing in the next second, but it touched the Computation Bead hanging on its chest, which seed to give it a bit of confidence.
It had already been chosen by Lord Murphy to be the grandson of the “Gnawbone King”.
It had a new identity now, under the protection of Lord Murphy’s domain. Now it was ti to think about how to build its own clan. These elite berserkers who were captured and forced to fight for human entertainnt would be its future clansn.
Hog pulled its hood, with only two grayish-green eyes visible on the cloth covering its face.
Amidst the piercing noise, it stared intently at the arena below, where a gnoll berserker and a ferocious ghoul were fighting as a “warm-up”.
Its fellow gnoll, wearing ill-fitting leather armor and wielding a sword it wasn’t used to, was struggling under the ghoul’s claws.
It had been told that only by winning could it survive.
What cruel rules! Even crueler than hunting and robbing in the wilderness. Failing at hunting just ans going hungry, but losing here ans becoming food for ghouls.
Lord Murphy’s advice to it was to find gladiators who could survive three rounds without dying to beco its clansn. Those who could survive three rounds of such brutal combat must be the elite of the elite.
In the past, such elite berserkers would have disdained to speak to a weak gnoll like it, but now, it held the power to rescue them from this gladiatorial hell!
Ha!
Hog’s mouth moved under its hood.
It knew it must use this precious power wisely, and it might not necessarily be able to subdue those unruly elite berserkers, so perhaps it should start with “easy mode”?
The clever gnoll made up its mind.
It saw its fellow gnoll below struggling to defeat the ghoul, but was imdiately facing a second battle against a veteran from the Kadman People’s Army.
The good news was that this ti it wasn’t a fight to the death, just to determine a winner.
The opportunity had co!
Hog squeezed through the crowd to the Blood Rat Gang’s betting point, threw its money bag on the table, and said in a hoarse voice:
“All in on your veteran winning.”
“Hmm?”
Old Pete, the Blood Rat Gang mber in charge of collecting money, keenly noticed the furry paw under Hog’s hood. He was startled and about to call for help, but saw the other party grab the Computation Bead on its chest and wave it at him.
Alright.
This was an approved “insider”.
“Tch, this Crimson Citadel is a strange place. Why would vampires allow a gnoll to strut around here? You should really thank Lord Murphy for his rcy. In the past when the Blood Vultures were in power, you would definitely have been stewed into gnoll at soup.”
Old Pete sneered, mocking Hog a few tis, but still accepted the bet.
A guest is a guest, and must be treated with care.
This was Big Sister Dorothy’s instruction.
A dozen minutes later, the gnoll berserker, beaten bloody, was dragged back to the gladiator preparation area by the Blood Rat Gang. As a Black Iron rank berserker, it had defeated the ghoul but lost miserably in the fight against the veteran.
The veteran didn’t take its life.
After all, it was just a warm-up, no need to go that far.
Dorothy couldn’t really use the gnoll berserkers as cannon fodder, as cultivating gladiators also required costs. The badly beaten berserker lay limp on the ground, unable to get up for a long ti. It let out a wail as if lanting its fate.
But in this human city, it couldn’t find any companions to save it. Humans wouldn’t let it die so easily. It would survive but would live in day-to-day battles until one day it died at the hands of an opponent.
“Hey! Do you want to live?”
Just as the miserable berserker was struggling to get up and lick the blood stains on its fur, a voice suddenly sounded from the shadows behind, making this gnoll with a scratched face turn around with difficulty.
It saw a short figure in a hood holding a bag of money walking towards it.
But this wasn’t a human!
The gnoll’s keen sense of sll allowed it to detect the sa scent on this fellow as its own. Was this a gnoll?
“You probably don’t know , but that doesn’t matter.”
Hog pulled back its hood with its paw, turning its green eyes to look at the novice gladiator before it who had one win and one loss.
It bared its mouth full of sharp teeth and said:
“I can save you from here!”
“Ow?”
The gnoll gladiator widened its eyes, looking not very intelligent.
“I’ve made a deal with the Blood Rat Gang boss. For every 50 ghouls I kill, I can exchange for one of our kind to leave the arena. It’s difficult, but I think I should do sothing for my kind.”
Hog took out a piece of smoked at from its pocket and threw it to the gladiator in front of it. The latter grabbed it and started tearing at it. It urgently needed energy to recover.
“I know you have another gladiator match soon. Your opponent is an Astral Realm wildcat.”
Hog said in a low voice:
“You must win to last until I can rescue you. I’m going to deal with those ghouls now. Thanks to your victory just now, I only need to kill 49 ghouls to exchange for your freedom.
But you must also make a pact with .
After I rescue you, you have to stay here and kill more ghouls with .
You know, humans are exterminating us. Our capable brethren will be sent here continuously.
We need to rescue them all. I’ve lost my clan just like you, but perhaps we gladiators can reorganize into a new clan.”
“You don’t seem like a gnoll!”
The injured gladiator finished the smoked at. It pulled out a cracked tooth from its mouth, which made its whole body tremble with pain.
But it still said haltingly:
“You’re more like a cunning human. Pah, rotten at that we eat! Who exactly are you? Are you sure you can rescue ? Why don’t those humans throw you in here too? You traitor!”
“Don’t be stupid. Do you think you’re the first gnoll in this arena?”
The cunning Hog scolded, half truthfully and half falsely:
“I’ve been through things you can’t imagine, and my escape from here on my own is sothing you simply can’t do. I exchanged my freedom with the enemy’s fresh blood, you fool.
Listen well, my na is Hog!
Whether you believe it or not, I will rescue you, but the premise is that you can’t die under that Astral Realm wildcat’s claws later, understand? I’ve found you a weapon you’ll like better. Hope it can save your life.”
A bloody black flail was thrown to the gladiator in front of it.
This was the weapon gnolls most liked to use. It was powerful and had a long attack range, allowing gnolls to fully utilize their advantages in brute force and agility.
“Ugh, I hate you!”
The gladiator grabbed the flail, glared at Hog, but still said in a low voice:
“Thanks.”
“Very good, you seem a bit smarter than the average gnoll. No wonder you could pick up a life from those crazy warriors.”
Hog let out the strange laugh peculiar to gnolls and said:
“One last question, what’s your na?”
“Big Bone.”
The gnoll gladiator said in a low voice:
“My na is Big Bone!”
“Uh, that’s not even a na, you idiot!”
Hog shook its head, returning to the shadows while saying:
“Your na is… Nash! Got it? From today on, you’re called Nash. Don’t die here, Nash. Wait for to co back and rescue you.”
Under gnoll Nash’s gaze, Hog disappeared into the gladiator preparation area.
It really didn’t like this gloomy fellow.
But even with its brain, it could guess that this fellow must have so unusual connections. At this mont, outside the gladiator preparation area, “Razor” Dorothy looked at the money bag Hog handed over with a strange expression and said:
“Are you sure you want this one? It just lost, and it might not win the third round either. I thought you’d choose soone more capable.”
“I’m too weak.”
Hog said in a low voice:
“I can’t control the capable ones. In gnoll clans, the weak have no right to command the strong. It’s not ti to get those capable ones yet. I’ve raised hyenas before. I know that to control them, you have to start training from when they’re pups.”
“Well, you’re indeed clever.”
Dorothy tossed the money bag in her hand and said:
“But I agreed with your human friend that this doesn’t require money. You can take it back.”
“You’ve misunderstood. I’m not giving you money to buy them.”
Hog shook its head.
A glint of cunning flashed in its green eyes as it whimpered:
“I want to ask for your help, to change the order, let them fight in the arena but don’t let them die so quickly. Make them suffer, make it hard for them, make them hope for soone to rescue them! In human terms, I hope you cooperate with … uh, what’s that word?
Drama?”
“Oh, you want to help you cheat?”
Dorothy’s expression beca subtle.
She looked Hog up and down, shaking her head and saying:
“Then this little money is not enough. This is sothing that will stake the Blood Rat Gang’s reputation. But you do have sothing I need.”
“Hmm?”
Hog raised its head to see Dorothy throw her eagle claw knife to it, saying:
“Join the Blood Rat Gang, gnoll. I’m in great need of manpower now, especially cunning types like you. I can lower the standards for my own people. 40 ghouls for one Black Iron gnoll, 120 ghouls for an elite, 20 ghouls for a kobold.
Of course, the premise is that they must survive three gladiator matches for .
After the ghouls underground are dealt with, I’ll gift you weapons and supplies and send you away. I’ll personally train you to beco an excellent gnoll thief.
Your small build and cunning nature are very suitable for this line of work.
Deal?”
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