Lines of goblins and warriors were already streaming in and out of the building. Despite our growing numbers, the huge building was only half-full, and we found a free table without having to shoo away any of my underlings. A group of half a dozen players was seated not far from us. They waved as they saw us come in.
I nodded back at them and motioned to one of the goblin servers. He quickly approached, carrying a tray with steaming bowls of stew.
As we ate, a loud bout of raucous laughter drew my attention toward a large group of warriors. It was mostly composed of veteran hobs and Ogres. They were standing in a half-circle around something I couldn’t see. Something in the information tendrils pulled me over to them.
Lirian was sitting at one of the smaller tables in front of a massively muscular hob female. The two were arm wrestling, and the surrounding soldiers were laughing and cheering as the match drew on.
“What the hell is going on?” I demanded.
The surprised warriors turned around and instantly cowered as they realized the chief was standing right behind them.
“Don’t … interrupt,” Lirian said between clenched teeth. She drew in a labored breath at the physical exertion. Her larger opponent didn’t look much better with beads of sweat covering her ridged forehead.
“That warrior has 12 levels over you,” I said. “You can get hurt.”
“I’m … fine …. Father,” she puffed, and her green face grew a shade darker.
The soldiers looked at me – the goblin who didn’t make it up to their shoulders – with open concern. I didn’t like the situation, but I realized it might not be a good idea to damage their morale when we were about to go to war. I had to do something to put them at ease.
“Ten gold coins on Lirian,” I said.
The soldiers guffawed and turned back to watch the match. To my surprise, after a few more moments, Lirian started to overpower the hob, slowly bending her arm backward. The warrior huffed and got red in the face, but she was out of juice. With a resounding crash of knuckles hitting wood, Lirian smashed the much larger hob’s arm onto the table.
The crowd cheered, and many of them reached out to pat the small goblin girl on the shoulder to show their appreciation.
“How the hell did she do that?” Lirian was level 12, while the soldier was 24. My daughter’s peculiar status obscured her Physical attribute even from me, but there was no way she could have had more strength than the hob.
No way she threw the match. I know my people; she was giving it all she had.
Don’t be such a jackass about it, I said.
Lirian stood up and beamed proudly at me. “Father, did you see?”
“I did. You’re amazing, kid.” I couldn’t help feeling fatherly pride for her victory.
Her smile broadened.
“Your daughter’s true potential,” Bob, whom I hadn’t noticed up until now, said.
“She takes after her old man,” I replied with a grin.
“Will she be joining us on the raid then?”
“I want to come, Father!” Lirian was quick to declare.
“No way,” I said. “I vowed to keep you safe, and I plan to live up to that. You’re staying right here – in the valley. I’ll take only the new recruits with me; the veteran soldiers will stay behind to guard you and the rest of the clan while we’re away.”
“What if something powerful attacks us?” she countered. “I would have died if you hadn’t saved me from the kobolds. There is no safer place than by the chief’s side. Your side.”
“Damn,” I muttered. The girl had a point. All of my soldiers were powerful for their level. But the highest of them was level 30. A single level 50 or 60 creature that stumbled into the valley could rampage through it uncontested. At level 51, I was the clan’s most powerful fighter.
“Alright,” I said. “You can come, but you must always stay close and do as I say without arguing, understood?”
“Yes, Father,” she said humbly.
I grunted in mild annoyance. She was just like Tika, playing it coy until she got what she wanted. Females! The irate thought came to me unbidden.
“Bob, have all the warriors been outfitted?” I asked.
“Not yet, Dire Totem,” he replied. “Our smiths are fitting the last of them with armor. They should be ready to move shortly.”
“Good. Have everyone waiting for me in the forest clearing in one hour.”
He banged his fist on his chestplate. “As you command, Dire Totem.”
“Hey, Chief!” I heard someone shouting at me. I turned and saw Aly, the platinum-haired player walking toward me with several players trailing behind her.
“Yes?” I asked as they approached. “Everything’s alright?”
“We heard a rumor you’re going to pick a fight with another clan of goblins, Chief,” Malkyr said easily.
“Yeah, so?”
“The kids want in,” Kyth, the elderly gnomblin, said. He was absentmindedly swirling a mug that was slowly frosting in his hand. “And I’m not about to let them get themselves into trouble without backup.”
I frowned and looked at the players. “Are you guys sure? We’re going out in force but there are bound to be casualties. You can get hurt.”
“The only assurance in life, other than death, is that we will get hurt,” Nero, the dark-skinned half-dragon player, said somberly. “Joining you will be good exercise for us.”
I looked at the other players. Hoshisu was there, of course, standing next to her brother. As well as two other players I hadn’t had a chance to speak with before. “You all want in?”
Everyone nodded.
I rubbed my chin. I didn’t really have anything against the players joining me. Their levels were low enough that they wouldn’t skew the balance of power. I didn’t want them stealing all the XP from my troops, after all. And if they were willing to risk the pain of getting hurt … hell, I’d been through much worse on my first playthrough as a goblin, and I endured. My problem with them lay elsewhere.
“Okay,” I said finally. “But if you want in, we’re going to do this my way. You need to be able to take orders, understand?” I looked at them critically.
They nodded again.
“We recognize your status, Chief,” Nero said gravely.
“Alright. First thing, I can’t have you rampaging on your own wherever the wind takes you – like when we attacked my old guild house,” I said. “Back then, the extra chaos you caused worked to our advantage, throwing our enemies into confusion, but I’m looking to conduct organized, tactical maneuvers here. And that means we all need to cooperate. Everyone with me on that?”
There was another round of nods and murmurs of approval.
“The advantage you have over NPCs is that you’re smarter, not stronger – especially now,” I continued. “I was planning on dividing my force into squads led by lieutenants, but now I think I’ll give you each control of your own squad and assign you specific goals to accomplish. This also carries the added bonus of having a lot of bodies between you and the enemy, so with a little luck, you might be able to stay out of harm’s way.”
“I prefer fighting my enemies head-on,” Nero said in his deep tone.
“Yeah.” Kyth chuckled. “And I’m more of a freeze-them than give-orders kind of guy.”
“I’m sure you’ll have your chance to see some action,” I said. “But with you leading a small force, we can have better results than leaving it to the lieutenants. Though I guess once you point them in the right direction, you can get your pound of flesh if you really want to.”
“I switched to using bows, so I can get mine from a distance,” Hoshisu said. “I’m in
.”
“Me too.” Malkyr was quick to follow.
The others nodded.
“Me too.”
“Yeah, I’m in.”
“Good,” I said. “Then finish up here, grab your gear, and follow the soldiers to the gathering place. I’ll join you there shortly.”
“Oh darn.” Kyth’s face fell. “I was going for another helping. The food here is excellent.”
Malkyr patted the small green gnome on his shoulder. “If you eat any more, you won’t be able to march with the rest of us, old man.”
“Old? I’m not even 60 yet!”
“I stand corrected.”
A felt a presence coming to stand behind me. “Excuse me, my lord.”
I sighed. “Hi, Kaedric. I’m afraid the clan’s survey will have to wait until we get back.”
“But the lodging issue–”
“When we get back.”
“And what about our enchanter–”
“Kaedric.” I slowly turned to face him. The mandibled hob had a worried expression on his face. “I appreciate all your concerns, but I trust you to manage the clan’s affairs while I’m away. What I’m doing takes precedence. I won’t be away for more than two or three days. Keep the clan going while I’m away. But contact me if any problem you can’t handle arises.”
He lowered his mandibles. “Yes, my lord.”
“Now if y’all would excuse me.” I turned back to the players who were already getting ready to leave. “My breakfast is getting cold.”
***
An hour later, after a very enjoyable breakfast with Tika and Lirian, we walked the path through the forested part of the valley.
The road led to the narrow exit from our protective walls through a small clearing at its midpoint. This was the place where I’d built the very first building. The old Chief’s Hut was long gone; instead, my army filled up the space.
Ten lieutenants and 82 hob warriors stood in neat rows from one end of the clearing to the other. About a third of the warriors were scouts, wielding willow bows and wearing oxsaurian leather armor. The other 60 warriors all wore steel brigandines. Half of them carried large two-handed swords or axes, and the other half wielded metal shields and smaller, one-handed weapons. The two hob adepts stood together, wearing simple robes and carrying daggers. The Ogre Mages stood next to the two recently summoned standard Infernal Ogres. The four towering brutes wore thick oxsaurian leather armor and held sizeable spiked maces.
Each of my level 4 hobs was the equal of any three or four goblins of similar level, thanks to their equipment and the inherent bonuses that came from being part of the GreenPiece Clan. I wasn’t too worried about our chances, so I wasn’t planning on using the Ogres for most of the fight. They were there mostly as a failsafe in case of unexpected trouble and to guard my daughter.
The vow I’d made in Nihilator’s name was binding. I had vowed I would never allow her to come to harm by our enemies, and I fully intended to follow through on that promise.
The seven players who were coming with us stood apart from my soldiers, looking uncomfortable.
“Alright, everyone – listen up!” I raised my voice. “A clan of deformed goblins has claimed a cave at the edge of the forest. We are going there to very politely ask them to join the GreenPiece Clan as vassals.”
The hobs and Ogres frowned at my words.
“Once they refuse,” I continued smoothly, “we’ll kill their chief and take his clan anyway.”
A chorus of laughter and cheers followed.
I raised my voice again, ignoring my companion. “I don’t expect too much trouble, but this is the first time many of you will see real action. I expect you to follow orders and not die in vain. Your deaths will cost the clan precious resources, so if you must die, you’d better take at least half a dozen enemies down with you to help pay the bill.”
Another ripple of laughter rolled through my soldiers.
I motioned to the players. “The travelers will join us. Each of them will lead a squad. I expect you to follow their orders as if they were my own – because they are. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Chief!” the soldiers bellowed as one.
I divided the hob warriors into seven 12-hob squads and put a player in charge of each of them. I assigned a lieutenant to each player as their second and told them to form a war party. The remaining three went to Lirian. Each squad consisted of four ranged scouts, four tanks, and four melee heavy-hitter fighters. Two of the squads had an adept instead of a warrior. I left the four Ogres for Lirian to command.
“Let’s march!” I bellowed.
***
We made surprisingly good progress through the dense forest. Bob’s scouts had mapped most of the area and had taught it to the low-level scouts. They led us sure-footed through the dense vegetation. This was our forest now; we were the biggest and meanest creatures in the area. That realization caused a peculiar surge of triumph to swell inside of me, and a stray thought stirred through my subconscious: Soon, we will conquer all.
When I’d first crossed the forest in search of the valley, I was in the company of goblin workers and refugees, heavily loaded with supplies. It took us three days back then to make it to the valley. Then, when we crossed the forest again on our way to Akzar, Bob, Yulli, and I made it out of the forest in just over a day.
Now, thanks to scouts, and with the soldiers’ high morale and excitement at the coming carnage, we crossed the distance in less than a day.
As the forest thinned, I started recognizing landmarks. Checking my map confirmed what I suspected; we were about an hour from the old Dripper Clan’s cave.
I decided to hold the attack. My soldiers were in high spirits, but the march had tired them, and they needed rest. Besides, we were far outside the magical zone of Eternal Darkness, and daylight was fast approaching.
We unpacked and made camp. The soldiers cleared up space for everyone, and the scouts established a patrolled perimeter. The players set up at the center within close reach of their squads.
Following Lirian’s instructions, the hulking Ogres ripped out several trees by the roots and made a makeshift log shelter big enough for the both of us. It was always good to be chief, but nepotism was a close second.
We went to sleep, trusting the scouts to watch over us.
***
It was still light when I woke up. “What?” I rubbed my eyes. “Damn it, Tika, I said–”
“I’m not your green lover,” a familiar cool female voice answered me.
That woke me up instantly.
Hoshisu was kneeling beside me. Her eyes were troubled.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, scanning the area for signs of danger.
She shook her head. “Nothing immediate, but I thought you ought to hear this.” She pointed at a thin hob scout not far from us. “One of the scouts in my war party caught sight of the goblins we’re after, and it doesn’t sound good.”
“Oh?” I asked, looking at the scout.
“Yes, Chief,” he said. “I was watching our northern perimeter from a high branch, and I was able to see our target clearly.”
“And?”
“It appears there are two separate groups of goblins. One looks like the normal variety, the others are bigger and look stronger. I couldn’t see very well from so far away, but I think they had spikes coming out of them.”
I blinked at him. “Spiked goblins?”
“Yes, Chief.”
“Huh,” I said. “That’s weird.”
“I advise caution,” Hoshisu said. “We should lay in an ambush and try to intercept a small group of them to learn more about what we’re dealing with.”
“Alright,” I said. “We know they have hunters, and it’s still about an hour till sunset. Take some soldiers and set a trap close to their cave.”
Hoshisu nodded. “I’ll tell the others to get ready for battle.”
“Hold on,” I said. “I want to try something first.”
Up until now, the players had formed war parties with their squads, but I wasn’t included in any of them. I already had my own war party – the one I permanently kept with Kaedric. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to include both NPCs and players in the same war party, but it was worth a try. I opened the party settings and attempted to add each of the players as well as Lirian. It worked without a hitch. I was now able to monitor their situation, as I could see everyone’s HP and MP bars. That was useful, but the real test was still to come.
Hoshisu, can you hear me? I sent my thoughts to her.
The white-haired woman nearly jumped out of her skin, and her daggers instantly appeared in her hands.
I chuckled. “Relax, it’s just me.”
She turned to look at me with shocked eyes. “Did you just speak to me telepathically? How?”
I pointed to the small earring dangling from my left ear. “This little trinket allows me to send thoughts to members of my war party. It was meant to be used by NPCs, but thanks to my broken character, I’m able to use it too. Looks like everyone else who stayed in the game is also capable of this level of integration.”
“Yeah, but …” She was still staring at me. “How?”
“Everything we perceive inside the game is being fed into our mind. The sounds you hear all around you are just signals sent into your brain. The earring allows me to–”
“Convert thoughts into a digital format that is transferable between subjects with high enough CCP to decipher it,” she completed.
“Well, yeah, though that wasn’t exactly how I was going to phrase it,” I said. “Come to think of it, it’s pretty similar to what Aly is trying to achieve with her research.”
Hoshisu looked at me and squinted her eyes in concentration. A moment later she shook her head, disappointed. “Damn.”
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I tried projecting my thoughts to you. You didn’t hear me.”
“Oh, the earring’s enchantment only allows for sending my thoughts, not receiving others’,” I said. “Hold on, let me get the rest of the players.” I projected my thoughts to the entire war party. Hey everyone, it’s Oren. Don’t be alarmed, I’m using a magical item to communicate with you. I can’t hear your response, though. Please come over here. We need to talk.
Life Reset: Human Resource (New Era Online Book 4) Page 25