Chapter 76: Recruiting plan

My goblins were more than happy with my suggestion.

"YEAH! More citizens mean more workers! And more workers mean a bigger army!" Gopuro pumped his fist enthusiastically, already excited.

"That’s not all!" Gopuran added, her eyes sparkling like stars. "With hundreds more goblins like us, we could gather so much food that nobody would ever have to go hungry again! And those Dark Giant Spiders wouldn’t dare come near our home!"

Unlike her brother, who was already dreaming about the army, Gopuran seemed more excited about the prospect of building a prosperous community.

Meanwhile, Gopugiga let out a hearty laugh and slapped his thick chest.

"BIG BOSS! Let’s build the strongest Super Goblin Kingdom! The biggest! The strongest! Nobody will be able to bully us ever again!"

"And Big Boss will become the God of all Goblins! HECK YEAH!" Gopushadow chimed in.

I couldn’t help chuckling at their enthusiasm.

"Haha, I hope so!"

After all... an army of hundreds of Super Forest Goblins?

Now THAT would be awesome! Unstoppable, even!

And it wasn’t just about military strength, either. With that many more workers, my castle’s development would accelerate dramatically. Construction would become faster, resource gathering would become more efficient, and I could finally start working toward some of my bigger plans.

Naturally, everyone seemed to be in favor of the idea.

However, just as I was beginning to feel optimistic about our prospects, Gopuran’s expression suddenly changed. She lowered her gaze in thought, her earlier excitement giving way to a hint of concern.

"Hmmmm..."

"Oh? What’s the problem?" I asked.

"I’m just thinking... which tribe should we invite?"

Her question seemed to dampen the mood almost immediately.

Gopuro’s grin faded, while Gopugiga scratched his head, looking as though the problem had never even occurred to him. Others narrowed their eyes in thoughts as well.

Then, after a brief exchange among themselves, I finally understood why they were acting this way.

It turned out that not all goblin tribes in this forest were on friendly terms with one another. Quite the opposite, in fact. Many had been bitter rivals or outright enemies for generations, constantly fighting over territory and resources.

Their former tribe had maintained alliances with several nearby tribes, but those allies had already been attacked and wiped out by the Dark Giant Spiders.

As for the other tribes...

Well, let’s just say they weren’t exactly on friendly terms with my citizens.

"I see... So that’s why you never sought refuge with the other tribes while fleeing from the spiders, huh?" I said.

"Yeah..." Gopuro murmured, his usual boisterous voice noticeably subdued. He stared into the fire. "Some of them would’ve driven us away. Others might’ve attacked us outright."

A heavy silence settled over the group.

For a moment, nobody seemed eager to speak.

Then Gopuberry, the blue haired girl who had been sitting quietly at the edge of the group, raised her head.

"Well... it’s not like every other tribe is our enemy!" she said. "There are still some neutral tribes we could approach, right? Maybe they’d be willing to listen?"

Everyone turned toward her.

Gopuro’s ears perked up, and his expression gradually brightened.

"Right! There must be some decent tribes out there! Like the Bright Red Nose tribe!"

Gopuflammy gave a firm nod, while Gopugan finally relaxed a little.

The atmosphere began to lighten.

And then...

"Nah! Screw those enemy tribes!"

Gopugiga suddenly rose to his feet, his booming voice cutting straight through the conversation. He clenched his massive fists, looking more excited than angry.

"We’re strong now, so why should we be afraid of them? If they don’t want to join us willingly, we can just force them to!"

And hearing that...

"RIGHT!!!"

"LET’S GO!"

Gopuro immediately sprang to his feet, while Gopuflammy grinned, rolling her shoulders as though she were already looking forward to testing her strength.

Meanwhile, Gopushadow’s lips curled into a sly smile.

Even Gopuran’s now fired up.

"Haha, it’s join us or die! There’s no other option!"

...Wow.

I couldn’t help feeling impressed by how quickly the mood had changed.

One moment, everyone was worrying about old tribal rivalries. The next, half of them were practically ready to march into enemy territory and start a war.

Well, people always said that violence couldn’t solve everything... And it wasn’t like I was someone who tended to resort to violence, either.

But sometimes, I guess a little violence really was necessary! And this might just be one of those times!

Besides, I had plenty of confidence in my own abilities.

After all, joining my castle came with so many benefits. My citizens had access to a steady supply of food, better living conditions, and most importantly, opportunities to grow stronger, to evolve into a much more superior variant.

Seriously, with benefits like these, who wouldn’t want to join?

And so, we spent a few more minutes discussing which tribe we were going to recruit next.

Unsurprisingly, everyone agreed with the Bright Red Nose tribe.

*****

The next morning...

"Big Boss, what are we gonna do today?"

Gopuro asked with his usual cheerful energy, his massive iron axe already hoisted over his shoulder. Judging by the eager look on his face, he was ready to spend another day chopping wood.

Dude probably expects me to say, "Go chop some more wood."

But nope!

Today, I had a different task in mind.

"Gopuro, would you like to accompany Gopuran to recruit the Bright Red Nose Tribe?"

The moment I asked, Gopuro’s eyes lit up.

"WOOOOH! YES!!! BIG BOSS, LEAVE IT TO ME!!!"

He flashed a huge grin, so excited that his body literally shaking. It seemed the prospect of meeting another goblin tribe was far more appealing than another day of swinging his axe.

Of course, he wasn’t the only one interested.

"Big Boss, send me too! I wanna go!" Gopushadow immediately chimed in, raising a hand.

"Big Boss, take me!" Gopugiga also declared, pounding his fists together with a heavy thud. "Me is strong! If they try anything funny, I’ll crush them!"

...And there it is. I knew someone would bring up the possibility of a fight, haha...

"Sorry, guys, but I still have work for you to do here," I explained. "We need to finish building the Charcoal Kiln and the Cookhouse!"

That was one reason.

The other was that I didn’t want to intimidate the Bright Red Nose Tribe by sending an entire squad of heavily muscled Super Forest Goblins to their doorstep, especially with someone as big as Gopugiga. Plus, his enthusiasm for crushing anyone who looks at him funny makes him a terrible choice for a diplomatic mission.

They were a neutral tribe, after all. If my goal was to establish friendly relations, showing up with too many people might make them suspicious or put them on guard.

Besides, Gopuran was probably the most mature and level-headed goblin I had. If anyone was suited for the job, it was her.

As for Gopuro, well...

He might be a little muscle-headed, but he was Gopuran’s brother. I figured the two would work well together, and his cheerful, outgoing personality might even help put the other goblins at ease.

Still, convincing everyone else to stay behind proved a little more troublesome.

Eventually, I ended up adding Gopushadow to the group, because perhaps a scout might be useful.

"Don’t worry. If anything happens, I’ll know about it and send reinforcements right away." I assured the rest.

That finally seemed to ease their concerns.

"Alright! Big Boss, trust us!" Gopuro declared, thumping his chest confidently. "By the end of the day, we’ll have hundreds of new goblins joining our castle!"

Haha... That’s a pretty ambitious promise, buddy.

But why not???

Seeing his confidence made me feel a little more optimistic.

Alright, then. Let’s see how this recruitment trip goes!