Chapter 68: Chapter 10: Capturing Dwarf Pickaxe Miners and Giant Brew
Very soon, from within the mine came a swarm of four to five hundred Kobold warriors wielding flails, long lances, and bows and arrows.
Amidst the dense crowd of dogs, an exceptionally tall Kobold leader emerged, holding a massive Vibranium war axe. It bared its canines, looking fiercely at Hilude.
"The sole supreme ruler from the Gray Mountain Range to the Blood Pine Forest?" Its eyes glinted with menace: "Another foolish human coming to court death. Just in time to chop your head off and present it to the master. The master will surely reward my contribution greatly! I, Doug, will lead our tribe to become the strongest Kobold tribe in history!"
This time, Hilude was truly shocked. She looked incredulously at the over two-meter-tall Kobold leader, "An Elite Level Kobold warrior?"
Kobolds are not renowned for their combat prowess. Even a qualified warrior among them is rare, and a strong, over two-meter tall Kobold warrior like this one is even rarer, extremely rare indeed.
More importantly, it was holding a powerful Vibranium war axe. Although limited by their primitive technology, it wasn’t engraved with any runes, but because of Vibranium’s infinite load-bearing capacity, such a large piece of Vibranium coming down is enough to shatter the bones of any opponent.
"Retreat! The situation here is beyond imagination."
The Kobold leader, Doug, flashed a cruel smile, extremely satisfied with Hilude’s shock and the human soldiers’ panicked retreat.
Raising its right arm, it raised the massive war axe above its head, reflecting a chilling gleam in the sunlight: "These foolish humans dare to try to flee before our swift and fierce Kobolds. Warriors, chase them down, make them all our food!"
With its order, the hundreds of Kobolds howled excitedly, immediately launching a fierce pursuit against the retreating human Armed Attendants.
Su Li stood on a low hill on the south side of the mine, watching the Kobold ranks swarm under his feet, a slight smile lifting the corner of his mouth. The Kobolds, with their low combat power, seemed to have not so good heads either, no wonder they’ve always been at the bottom of the food chain.
As he waved his hand, the knights’ trumpets behind him sounded simultaneously, their rousing sound echoing through the valley, making all the pursuing Kobolds tremble in fright.
They looked up at the mountain in horror, only to see red banners fluttering, elite knights in red robes and dark armor had already formed their ranks, swiftly swooping down like eagles spreading their wings!
Human knights! A large number of well-equipped Heavy Armored Knights charged without obstruction!
Even the dull minds of the Kobolds could understand what was about to happen.
Their cruel grins and soaring morale were instantly crushed under this furious impact, their terrified howls echoing, fleeing desperately, cursing their parents for not giving them more legs.
The battle had become a rout, Su Li used just one strike to crush this Kobold tribe completely.
The tactic was so perfect that even Knight Oerstein couldn’t help but praise: "Lord, you really should believe in our Sun Goddess. I believe with your ability, you will surely gain her recognition and be granted Divine Grace."
Su Li waved his hand, feeling too busy for himself, Vandar said he should believe in the Dawn Goddess, Harriet of the Half-Elf said he should believe in the Hyacinth, Knight Oerstein said he should believe in the Sun Goddess, but his limited energy couldn’t possibly take care of so many goddesses.
"Let’s talk about belief later, how’s the outcome of this battle?"
Knight Oerstein immediately responded: "The results are extremely fruitful, we captured over 360 Kobolds, obtained 6,000 pounds of iron ore, 200 iron ingots, and most importantly, as much as 75 pounds of Vibranium."
"Besides, in the Kobolds’ caves, we didn’t find any human captives, probably consumed by them. But we found 8 Dwarf Pickaxe Miners, enslaved to mine by them."
Soon, various spoils were gathered and tallied, the bounty from attacking this Kobold tribe far exceeded Su Li’s imagination.
In addition to 8 Dwarf Pickaxe Miners, there were unexpectedly 32 Imperial Golden Crowns and 8 Dwarf Oath Gold coins in the mine!
Dwarf Oath Gold, which holds special significance among Dwarf tribes, can be used to purchase any valuable items they can forge from the Goldsmith Guild, Rune Blacksmith Guild, Engineer Association, and Weapon Maker Guild. Even the high-grade equipment usually banned from trading with other races will be reluctantly traded when enough Dwarf Oath Gold is offered, no matter how stubborn the Dwarves.
Usually, Dwarf Oath Gold doesn’t circulate in the market, but even at the lowest exchange rate, one Dwarf Oath Gold can be exchanged for 10 Imperial Golden Crowns.
These were originally tributes the Kobold tribe intended to offer to their Green Dragon master, but now Su Li had seized them all.
As for the remaining Kobolds, Su Li did not order to kill them, nor turn them into the Ogre’s dinner. Except for the Kobold leader Doug being killed, the rest were released back.
With five months until the young Green Dragon, Deceitful Wings, Aeliria wakes up, during this time these Kobolds posed no threat to the territory, so Su Li confidently turned them into mining slaves, occasionally coming to raid them, taking away ore and Vibranium. After all, Hesse Territory was short of manpower now, unable to spare hundreds of people to mine.
The last remaining dwarf pulled the minecart and returned to Hesse Territory with Su Li. They were to serve as blacksmith assistants to Belos Dragon Hammer, working under Su Li for at least a hundred years before they could shake off their slave status.
The moment Su Li returned to the castle, Belos Dragon Hammer excitedly came forward. Seeing so much vibranium and iron ore, his beard trembled with excitement.
"Hahaha, my Lord, your dull castle finally has some fun! This mountain of iron ore and the gleaming vibranium are where the dwarves should be. If you give me control over this wealth and let me stay away from those crude, low-grade farm tools, I am willing to give you a barrel of my personally brewed Giant Brew."
"Giant Brew?" The eight dwarves following behind Su Li couldn’t help but gulp, their throats making swallowing sounds, and their eyes were all aglow!
Every dwarf is a hopeless alcoholic; the two most important things in their life are drinking and crafting!
And Giant Brew is the most popular famous drink among the dwarves!
It’s a fine wine brewed from giant innards and wild berries, traditionally drunk from giant skulls.
Faced with such a frighteningly famous dwarf drink, Su Li of course politely refused!
Dwarves in this world are almost comparable to demons, especially ruthless towards their arch-enemies, the giants, using every part of them perfectly. Even dried giant skin is used by the dwarves to make coats, boots, and cloaks.
At the moment, Belos was wearing a giant skin coat, his round eyes wide and full of fervor. If ordinary human children saw him, they’d probably have nightmares every day.
Su Li glanced around at the dwarves’ fervent and longing eyes and said, "My chief master of forging, I’ll accept the wine you contributed, and you may use the iron ore as you see fit. If your masterpieces please me, I will generously reward you with this barrel of wine for you to drink heartily once!"
Accepting the gift from the dwarves and gaining their goodwill. Using their offerings to indulge them in return. This is undoubtedly a win-win for Su Li! He felt like quite the clever fox.
Yet, the effect was extremely remarkable!
All the dwarves were so excited they trembled all over. Belos slammed his chest with his fists, making a loud thumping sound, and shouted excitedly, "Praise be to your Lordship’s generosity and wisdom! You are simply the perfect partner for the dwarves, and the dwarves will definitely not disappoint a friend. Just wait and see, I will surely forge two sets of the most perfect rune armor and a batch of fine dwarf heavy armor for you!"
The other eight dwarves also brushed off their spirits of being slaves. That’s Giant Brew! They might not even get to drink it in the mountain fortress of the dwarves. With this opportunity, they immediately began to energetically transport ore and start casting.
This made Minister of the Seal, Lauren, who came after hearing the news, amazed. He watched these almost tireless "iron lumps," seemingly filled with endless energy, and sighed: "My Lord, how did you do it? You are simply an astonishing talent. Are you perhaps a naturally Divine Chosen Lord? Even a stubborn dwarf like Belos Dragon Hammer willingly follows your orders."
Su Li raised an eyebrow and asked, "Isn’t this a simple matter?"
Painting a grand picture! In his previous life, he had eaten too many big promises and was driven to death by KPIs.
Seeing Su Li’s nonchalant look, as if he didn’t mind at all, Lauren couldn’t help but raise his voice: "Simple?! You have no idea how slack Belos was during this time! He was listless every day, like the walking dead, especially after putting on that giant skin coat. He would wander around without working, scaring who knows how many slaves."
"I cursed him several times, but he was completely indifferent, just muddling through each day, never doing a little more! Yet, you haven’t been back for even half an hour, and they’re like a completely different person, all fired up, in stark contrast to how they were this morning!"
Su Li calmly waved his hand and said, "Maybe he found a business he likes, so he’s enthusiastic."
Just like Su Li, when stuck doing a job he disliked, working felt like a burden. But when engaged in a beloved endeavor or hobby, like farming or ’Knight training,’ he couldn’t get enough of it.
Su Li then said, "My Minister of the Seal, let’s put this matter aside for now. First, report to me about the state of the territory. How has the territory developed while I’ve been away? I hope you have detailed data, such as the state of our tools in the territory? If we add a new batch of serfs, will the tools be sufficient?"
"Of course, my esteemed Lord." Lauren straightened his chest, his expression proud and confident. As a distinguished student from the Modheim Empire’s Griffin Military Academy, this was his moment to showcase his value.
His face beamed with a smile: "Regarding the development of the territory, I happen to have some good news to report to you in detail."
Good news?
Su Li couldn’t help but smile at the corners of his mouth. Nothing cheers him more than returning in triumph, only to have good news awaiting him back in the territory.
Su Li asked Hilude and Knight Oerstein to settle down the troops and the spoils, then turned to Lauren and said, "Come with me to the castle hall and tell me in detail about the situation in the territory and your good news."