Chapter 10: 010
【010】 Goblin Gathering Place
Early the next morning, at Qingyun Village.
As the sky just began to brighten, Mei Li quietly climbed out of bed.
But even though she moved so gently, as soon as she moved, her husband, Tang En, woke up as well and made a move to get up.
“Tang En, you can sleep a little longer,” Mei Li said, pressing her hand on his shoulder firmly.
“I want to help you.”
“Aren’t you planning to go gather supplies today? You should rest properly,” Mei Li said resolutely. In the past few days, because she had been working with the construction team, she had allowed Tang En to help her with some preparations for the cafeteria. But now that the buildings were completed, there was no longer a need for help, and Tang En needed to go out to gather supplies. He had to have enough rest so he could have the strength to face the dangers lurking outside.
Thinking of this, Mei Li’s face showed a hint of worry.
Although having the territory as a backing made the teams outside relatively safe, some people had still been injured and brought back in the past few days. She really worried that Tang En might also get hurt.
“Recently, a team has been specifically clearing out the magical beasts around the territory. The area near the territory is considered quite safe now. The ones who got hurt were the residents who faced the magical beasts directly.”
“They are really amazing,” Mei Li sighed.
She knew about these teams. Every day when they returned, they brought back a lot of spoils, and each member of the team earned quite a bit of copper. They were the first to have residential houses and the first to wear clothes made by the tailor’s shop, making the other residents quite envious.
But those who understood knew that they were risking their lives.
Hearing Mei Li’s words, Tang En let out a grunt. “I’m amazing too. If it weren’t for you and the child, I would definitely be one of them.”
Hearing the hint of jealousy in Tang En’s voice, Mei Li smiled. “Yes, you’ve always been a warrior, and in my heart, you always will be.”
Their bond began with a heroic rescue. Mei Li had never imagined that someone would be willing to fight magical beasts for her.
The moment Tang En rushed forward, Mei Li told herself, He’s the one.
Tang En looked at the unhidden emotion in Mei Li’s eyes, smiled, and firmly stood up. “As your warrior, I naturally have to protect you well. Let’s go! I’ll accompany you. I can’t sleep after waking up anyway.”
Noticing the determination in Tang En’s voice, Mei Li sighed and agreed.
After a quick wash, the two of them left the house together.
After walking for a short distance, they suddenly saw two new buildings at the temporary campsite ahead of them.
“Those are the watchtower and the barracks?”
“Yes, it looks like the territory is getting stronger.”
As they spoke, smiles unconsciously appeared on their faces. Both of them understood what the barracks meant for the territory.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, Mei Li’s expression changed slightly. “With two new buildings, does that mean there are other buildings that need to be constructed?”
Tang En immediately understood what Mei Li meant and quickly said, “I’ll go check the village affairs center.”
He hurried to the village affairs center, and sure enough, the large screen on the notice board was scrolling with many recruitment notices.
After reading through everything, Tang En couldn’t help but take a deep breath.
A while later, Tang En went directly to the cafeteria.
Inside the cafeteria, Mei Li was preparing breakfast.
The ingredients for the cafeteria were directly picked up from the warehouse by her. At the moment, the only available ingredients were various types of meat, so to ensure the lord could eat well, Mei Li made different dishes each day.
Since the lord had casually mentioned wanting to eat steak the day before, and Mei Li happened to hear it, she had remembered and decided to make steak for breakfast today. She was preparing each piece with care, using her experience to make the tastiest steak for the lord.
It was at this moment that Tang En entered the cafeteria kitchen.
Looking at Mei Li, who was so focused, Tang En’s gaze softened. He quietly watched her.
It wasn’t until Mei Li finished the first piece that she noticed Tang En standing nearby. She quickly asked, “How is it?”
“The village affairs center has updated a lot of content. They still need to build more buildings, and the new additions include recruiting 20 soldiers for the barracks, and a mission to rescue refugees.”
“Rescue refugees?”
“Yes, it mentioned that if a resident rescues a refugee and brings them to Qingyun Village, the resident will receive a reward of one copper coin.” Tang En quickly explained.
“The lord is so kind-hearted!” Mei Li said, her expression showing excitement.
“Besides being kind-hearted, it’s also because our territory is short on people. The lord is recruiting a lot of people!” Tang En explained.
“The lord is thinking of the territory,” Mei Li said, looking like a devoted fan.
“Yes, with more people, the territory’s combat power will increase. When the beast tide comes, we’ll have a chance to fight back,” Tang En said, his eyes filled with a trace of passion.
When they first arrived, he worried that the territory wouldn’t last a month, but now, seeing the changes happening so rapidly, his heart was suddenly at peace. He hoped the territory would continue to develop steadily.
“The territory will get better and better,” Mei Li said firmly. The territory had pulled their family from the brink of death, and Mei Li felt a deep sense of belonging and unwavering confidence in the territory.
“Mm,” Tang En nodded, then looked at the ingredients Mei Li was cooking. He stepped forward and said, “Is there anything that needs washing? I’ll help.”
“Help me for a bit, and when the time comes, hurry and go to Lord Albert to register for building construction,” Mei Li said, feeling relieved with the new building tasks.
No need to go out to risk gathering supplies today. It really felt great.
“Mm.” Tang En nodded.
The two of them worked together, their faces filled with unprecedented happiness and contentment.
—
A little while later, as the sky grew brighter, the residents of the territory began to wake up one after another. As soon as they got up, they headed straight for the village affairs center. Soon, the center was bustling with activity, even attracting some teams that usually operated outside the territory.
“Bart, the territory is recruiting soldiers. Should we join?” A member of the team, looking at the recruitment notice hanging high, suddenly felt his heart heat up.
Their team had a wealth of combat experience, often fighting wild beasts in the wilderness. Though they had gained plenty, it was a life lived on the edge.
Becoming soldiers, though still living on the edge, had a different meaning.
In the past, when they joined other territories, there was no chance for them to become soldiers. But with the current recruitment conditions in the territory, being a soldier would certainly not be bad.
With twenty spots available, they were highly sought after in the territory.
“What do you think?” Bart asked the other members of the team.
“We established this team because we want a better life, right? Becoming soldiers in the territory, I think it’s a good idea.”
“As long as this territory isn’t destroyed by the beast tide, being soldiers will be good.”
“Even if we can’t stop it, we’re the ones who received the information first. We won’t be caught off guard like before when the beasts invaded.”
“…”
With everyone chiming in, there was almost no one who disagreed with the idea.
Listening to them, Bart’s gaze became firm. “Alright, today we won’t take any missions. We’ll wait and join the soldier recruitment.”
“I just wonder if all of us will be chosen?”
“Compared to other teams, our combat experience is definitely enough.”
Just as they were discussing it passionately, they saw a familiar team walking past them. Their eyes lingered on the soldier recruitment notice.
“It’s Alex’s team,” someone next to Bart said in surprise. “Are they planning to join the soldier recruitment too?”
“Probably. Their strength is definitely at least equal to ours!”
“They’ve not only been fighting wild beasts but have also taken on territory map missions. They’ve traveled farther than us.”
As members of various teams, they knew about the stronger teams in the territory.
“Fair competition,” Bart said lightly.
Hearing this, everyone relaxed a little. Yes, fair competition, whether or not they would be chosen depended purely on individual strength.
At the same time, Alex’s team, which had just walked by, was also unsettled. They had indeed planned to join the soldier recruitment, but seeing that there were only 20 spots available, they quickly calculated that there were definitely more than 20 people willing to join. For example, their own team already had 13 members. This meant not everyone would be accepted.
“It’s fine. We’re not weak either,” Alex said confidently. “Plus, we have some information that will be useful to the lord.”
Upon hearing this, the person who spoke showed a slight change in expression.
This piece of information was crucial for the territory—it was one of the important bargaining chips for their team.
—
The territory became bustling with activity due to the soldier recruitment and various job postings.
Both Ulysses and Albert became extremely busy, hardly having a moment to rest.
Fortunately, they already had some experience with the process, and by selecting some veteran members, they could satisfy the requirements. After all, during the construction of buildings, Ulysses and Albert occasionally took turns on-site, so they were familiar with the residents’ performances.
What kept them busy were the soldier recruitment and the rescue of refugees.
The former was very popular, with most of the able-bodied men in the base applying. The latter offered attractive rewards, which drew a lot of attention and led many to inquire about the details.
However, since they already knew Gu Qing’s intentions when they received the news, Ulysses handled everything appropriately. With Albert’s cooperation, they finally finished organizing all the data by noon.
Next, Ulysses needed to hand over the data to Gu Qing.
With Albert in tow, Ulysses searched for Gu Qing within the territory.
For this lord who was always on the move, Ulysses had already become accustomed to it.
“Ulysses, it’s lunchtime. Perhaps we can find the lord in the cafeteria,” Albert suggested.
Ulysses paused for a moment, then nodded. The two of them headed in the direction of the cafeteria.
By midday, the cafeteria was packed with people.
Because the food in the cafeteria was affordable, most of the residents, except for those who couldn’t even afford the lowest-priced meals, chose to eat their three meals a day there. During meal times, it naturally became very lively.
As soon as they entered, Ulysses immediately spotted Gu Qing at the center of everyone’s attention.
She was enthusiastically devouring a steak, while the chef beside her was speaking with great enthusiasm.
“What would the lord like to eat tomorrow?” As they approached, they heard Chef Mei Li’s warm and gentle voice.
“How about some radish and pork rib soup? The rest, you decide. Whatever there is, I’ll eat,” Gu Qing said, mentally going through a list of possible options before quickly offering her thoughts.
With limited ingredients available, this was all she could think of for now. She was determined to expand the territory’s food supply when the opportunity arose.
Eating and drinking well—this was the essence of a vacation!
“Lord,” it was at this moment that Ulysses’ voice sounded in Gu Qing’s ear.
Upon seeing Ulysses, Mei Li didn’t say much. After setting down the specially fried steak she had prepared, she wisely withdrew. The village chief was here to see the lord—there must be something important!
“Ulysses, you’re here. How’s everything?” Gu Qing casually asked. She felt no pressure at all handing over all matters to Ulysses.
“The soldier enrollment list is here. Seventy percent of the able-bodied men are on it,” Ulysses said.
Gu Qing was somewhat surprised. So soldiers were in such high demand in the territory.
She then took the list from Ulysses and called upon the system.
【999, pick out the top 20 with the best qualifications.】
999 System: 【…Okay.】
In just a moment, a simple data comparison appeared before Gu Qing, and two individuals were specifically selected by the 999 system.
【Bart and Alex?】
【These two are the highest-leveled residents, both at level 9, and they are just one step away from reaching level 10 and officially learning their skills. Their attributes include leadership and combat talent, meaning they are natural commanders. In fact, each of them leads a team, and I suggest that the host select all 20 soldiers from their teams. This would rapidly improve the soldiers’ training speed and teamwork capabilities.】
Gu Qing, hearing this, felt more confident. She then said to Ulysses, “Have Bart and Alex come to see me at the village affairs center.”
“Got it.” Ulysses wasn’t surprised that Gu Qing knew about these two individuals. He knew that the lord had a special way of managing the entire territory.
A moment later, Bart and Alex arrived at the conference room of the village affairs center, where they saw Gu Qing.
As soon as they saw Gu Qing, both of them respectfully bowed and greeted, “Lord.”
Gu Qing nodded and said, “The reason I called you here is for the soldier recruitment. I know that both of you have your own teams. For this recruitment, you will each choose 9 members to join the soldier team, forming two smaller squads. Do you have any problems with this?”
“No,” Bart and Alex replied excitedly. Having their team members join the soldier team was the best possible outcome. There was no way they could have a problem with that.
But soon, Alex recalled a piece of information he had learned earlier and spoke up, “Lord, I have some information.”
“What information?”
“Our team discovered a gathering of goblins while exploring the terrain nearby,” Alex said, sharing the information.
“Goblins?” Gu Qing immediately became interested.
Ulysses had told her about the five major races on this continent, and one of them was the goblins.
Goblins had once been slaves to humans and elves, forced to mine ores due to their racial talents. Eventually, they created alchemy to overthrow the human and elven rule, establishing their underground cities. They began trading with other races, but because goblins were so widespread across the continent, not all of them had been freed. In some places, goblins remained slaves. However, with the establishment of goblin territories, many goblins grew dissatisfied with being slaves, leading to frequent escape attempts.
It seemed that this small group of goblins had likely escaped from some territory.
“Goblins typically gather in places rich in minerals, and they are skilled miners,” Alex continued.
Gu Qing knew this as well and suddenly recalled what the system had said when she first chose this territory.
【999, when you mentioned that this territory might have mineral resources, were you referring to the mines controlled by the goblins?】
【Yes.】
Gu Qing received a satisfactory answer and began to formulate her plans in her mind. She then looked at Alex, who was waiting expectantly for her response, and said directly, “I’m aware of the information now, and I’ll give credit where it’s due. This discovery was made by your entire team, so how many people are in your team?”
“13,” Alex replied, his heart racing.
Bart, standing nearby, also began to worry. Was the lord going to take up the spots from his team?
“Then, for this soldier recruitment, we’ll add 3 more people, and they will be led by you. Any problems with that?”
“Thank you, Lord.” Alex immediately responded. This was exactly what he had hoped for, and to his surprise, the lord had proposed it herself. This made it all the more meaningful.
“You two will go directly to the military camp in the afternoon and join the soldiers’ training,” she said, addressing both Bart and Alex.
“Yes,” they both answered in unison, a sense of ambition rising within them.
Moments later, the two left the village affairs center. Bart looked at Alex, and a competitive spark ignited in his heart.
Losing the initial advantage didn’t mean losing it forever.