Chapter 290 – Re: Cruit

Day 32

"Why do you no want to fight humans, Rou?" Kichi asked.

"Hah! It's not just humans, Kichi, but anyone. I see no need to fight anyone, unnnlessss they come looking for it. Hah!" John replied. The pair of them were in the workout yard with most of the goblins, hobgoblins, and a few human women, performing their morning exercises before they started the day in earnest.

John had weighed himself down with nearly 2000 pounds of Dig blocks and was doing squats. His new body was incredible, and while he didn't think he was anywhere near as strong as Yu was, he was sure most of his stats would push him beyond Rumi's now. Sadly, he couldn't check what those stats looked like beyond their letter designations. That would have to wait until he returned to DEN. 

The list of skills he had gained from eating monsters was nearly as long as his arm at this point, and he had barely begun to understand how they all worked. There were a few that stood out to him; the ones he received from eating bear meat the other day.

[Lord of the Mountain's Stout Hide]

[Lord of the Mountain's Strong Muscles]

[Consecutive Raging Strikes]

[Lord of the Mountain's Piercing Roar]

[Intimidating Glare]

[All Elemental Resistance]

[ The [Demigod of Fire]'s Divine Protection]

[Complete Fire Resistance]

They basically levelled up his body even further, making him stronger and tougher, and giving his voice a quality any drill sergeant would envy. He also figured out what the Metamorphosis skill did, allowing him to make an appendage of slime for his missing limb, or to throw out tendrils of slime. It wasn't like having an actual arm, but he found he could at least use it to hold things. 

He hadn't realized how tough he was now until last night, when he slipped a bit getting out of the hot tub and fell down the fake rock hill into the pool. He didn't have a scratch from the accident, one that would have probably killed him a month ago. He didn't even bruise. Thankfully, he was alone at the time, and no one saw his blunder, but he vowed to be more careful in the future.  

"Okay. I thought with all the training we are doing, that you wanted us to go fight someone."

"No. Hah! We are doing this so if we’re attacked, we can defend ourselves. It's dangerous beyond our walls, and I don't want anyone to die because they didn't know how to use a spear, or were not strong enough to use it well. I think we cleared out most of the dangerous monsters already, but there are still a few bears and wolves nearby. Hah! Not to mention the orcs and kobolds. I will be surprised if the humans ever come this deep into the woods, but it would still be good to be ready in case they ever do."

"And elves."

"And elves." John agreed. According to Sei, elves lived a few days' journey away. They had no love for goblins, but as long as the goblins didn't bother them, they left them alone. Apparently, the nest had captured a few female elves in the past, but for the most part, it had left the most powerful people in the region alone so they wouldn't get wiped out in retribution. 

He had learned much from her over the last week, about their surroundings and what is expected of a goblin leader. The nest seemed to run on a meritocracy; the one who could prove themselves the best in combat was usually the leader of their little tribe. John wasn't sure he wanted to try fighting her again, but with his new fire immunity, he could probably just stroll towards her now, eating up the fireballs as he closed the distance. Thankfully, she had no interest in being the Chief; she and Sato were more than content to just follow whatever he said.

"Okay. I still want to get as strong as you are."

"Hunt enough beasts in the woods, and I'm sure you will become an ogre too." 

"Okay. I'll do that." He said, then set down the stone weights he was lifting, picked up his big axe and strode out of the clearing towards the gate.

"I didn't mean this instant," John muttered, then laughed. Kichi was the strongest hobgoblin in the village; if he wanted to go hunt to get even stronger, it would mean the surrounding land would become even safer. That would work well for the village in the long run, especially when they started felling even more trees to create more farmland outside their new wall.  

"KICHI! Where are you going!?!" Kia shouted, chasing after Kichi with Aya in tow, the two women now wielding the long spears they used for hunting. The three of them were the first to receive weapons from the forge, John turning down the offer from the weaponsmith to make him a sword for now. He had no use for one at the moment, his fist and feet more than strong enough for anything he would find beyond their village's walls. Spears and axes were much more useful weapons for anything they needed right now, and he didn't want to waste the ore they had here for a vanity piece he didn't need. 

"My Lord, do you have some time for us today?" Jean asked, the green-haired woman moving up beside him. She was covered in sweat from the morning training, her bunny suit struggling to contain her massive breasts. Her skin had regained a much healthier tone over the last few weeks, though she was still quite fair.  

"Of course. What did you need?"

"There are a few things on the agenda, and it will probably take most of the day. However, I think we should start with the baths."

"The baths? What is wrong with them?"

"Nothing. We just stink right now, and I would like to get clean. I was hoping you might join me."

"You're not going to ambush me with more breast milk, are you?" He asked, raising his eyebrow at her. 

"No, my Lord. I stopped producing a few days ago. Most of us have. No, we want to discuss expansions to the village and a few other things."

"Sure. I was just going to check on Riana's progress today, but she is resting after finishing the wall yesterday, so it can wait." He replied.

Riana, bless her heart, worked the last two days in the downpour, pumping magic into the wall, forcing it to grow even beyond what they had intended. He fed her as much of his Ki as he could last night, and she was still sleeping when he left the bedroom this morning. The wall was massive, a twelve-foot-tall mass of cedars and wild roses, with wicked-looking thorns mixed in with beautiful red and white blossoms. It stretched on for over a thousand feet, easily enclosing all the village in its defensive barrier. She said that she had added other magics to it, to help with its defence, but hadn't explained what those were before she had fallen asleep. 

The gate was wide open right now, but it was another mass of vines that she could open and close with a simple spell, blocking off the entrance if they needed to. He watched as Kichi and the two women disappeared outside of the gate, hoping they didn't try to bite off more than they could chew hunting beasts. 

"I should have told him to bring back another boar. I want to try making bacon." John mumbled, then turned back to Jean and offered her his arm. "Lead on, my fair lady. The baths await." 

"Are you sure that is all you want for laws, my Lord?" Jean asked, gesturing to the list they had been working on for the last hour.  

"For now. It's not like we have to worry about taxes or anything like that. It's only a small village. I wanted to include a few more in this discussion, but the goblins will follow whatever I decide." John replied, taking a drink from the wooden stein full of beer that was in front of him.

They were sitting at the massive dining table, along with several other women from the original batch he rescued, Chi and Mi from the goblins, and another green-haired woman from the new rescues called Spinel. She was fairly tall and lithe, with most of her hair tied back in a short ponytail. Her bangs framed a cute face, but her glasses, pale skin and cool demeanour gave him the impression of a strict librarian. She was seated beside Jean and took all the notes during the meeting.

Ruby was also there, but instead of sitting down, she stood to his right and kept his beer stein topped up. He hadn't asked her to do that, but she just smiled at him sweetly and shook her head when he asked her if she would rather just sit down, so he left her to it.

They had been in here most of the day, working on the next steps to develop the village, making laws, and trying to decide what goals they wanted the village to strive for. It was all fairly important, but rather mundane things, and he was trying his best to power through it. It didn't help that he hadn't had his morning release with Riana and everyone in the room other than Chi was wearing a sexy bunny suit. 

We really need other fabrics to make different clothing, or else Little John is going to make me go insane.

"So, the death penalty for murder, rape and other heinous crimes. Working in the mines for pretty much everything else?" Spinel said, 

"It seems appropriate. Minimal rations for the duration of the sentence, and no creature comforts like a nice bed or proper plumbing. We will have to stand up a proper guard if it happens, but our numbers will have to increase for that to be feasible. For now, we will have to make do with what we have." He replied. They wanted to cut off a hand of anyone who was a thief, but he shut that down immediately. You could get much more work out of someone with both hands, and being a thief was something that could be corrected. 

"That brings me to my next topic. I want to send some women to a few of the poorer human settlements to recruit more people for our home." Jean said, shifting the subject from laws to recruitment.

"Do you think that is wise? You all only recently gained your freedoms. After you told me how many of you have lived, I won't force you to leave here, but to go out and recruit? That seems a bit... hasty."

"I know many of these towns, my Lord. The prospect of clean water and a full belly far outweighs many other concerns for these people. Deeper in the nation, you will find it to be more prosperous, but many on the outskirts are denied what you called basic human rights.

It's true, some are bad people, but many are just serfs trying to survive under an uncaring lord. A few dozen missing people will go unnoticed in those places, but would become a boon to our growing village here. Not to mention, I know several women who were in a similar situation as we were but were rescued. If they still live, they deserve the chance to live on in peace as well." Jean said at length, adjusting her suit slightly.

John thought the idea had merit, though he wasn't sure it was the best of ideas. He didn't want this village to be discovered by the wrong people and become a target for some upstart adventurers. He wasn't worried for himself so much as everyone else. Still, they would need more people if they wanted to expand, and short of making more, they had no reasonable way of doing that. 

"Whoever is going, I want them armed and guarded. No travelling alone through these woods, and keep our location a secret from anyone you recruit as best you can." He said, making a decision. 

"That is fine, my Lord. I was planning on sending two teams of five. Four of our craftswomen and six fighters. Lina will remain here to run your household in my absence."

"Craftswomen? Why?"

"To gather more materials we can't get here, such as seeds and fabrics. There was a rather large stockpile of coins here, but the goblins seemed to have no use for them. They were not exactly trading for things." The Woodworker said. 

"One of my friends is a weaver. Things might have changed for her, but if she is still struggling, I might be able to convince her to join us." The Tailor added. "Also, I will be using my contacts in the traders' guild to purchase some sheep, chickens, and pigs. Ruby has volunteered to take the lead on caring for them once they arrive, so we should be able to start breeding our own livestock by next spring. We just need to prepare the land for them before then." 

"I'm planning on reaching out to a few adventurer friends. If they are still alive, they might want to consider settling down somewhere their lord doesn't tax them to death." The scarred Berserker said, adding to the information that was being tossed at him.

He raised a hand, silencing everyone. Using his Scouter, he looked down both sides of the table, judging everyone's expressions for a few moments as he weighed the wisdom of what they were attempting. 

To his right, Jean looked resolute; she believed that this would be good for the village's growth. To his left, Mi frowned slightly, drumming her fingers on the table as she weighed the pros and cons of Jean's proposal and worried they might be discovered. Everyone else appeared to have similar lines of thought; that this might be dangerous, but it could provide a significant boon to the village.

He arrived at the last person who had joined them for this discussion, one that had surprised him when she came out of her room. Angel, his mother, had seated herself at the far end of the dining table, watching the proceedings but not joining in. She barely left the women's quarters, at most watching over them from the balcony during morning training, and hadn't been willing to talk with him since he had returned from killing Grak and rescuing the new women. He could feel the fear coming off her in waves whenever she had looked at him since his last Evolution, and frankly he couldn't blame her. While many of his features looked even more man-like now, he was a massive horned monster, something people in this world rightfully feared. 

Their eyes met for a moment, hers searching his for something before she closed them and nodded. 

{Please, help those you can, my son.}

John nodded back at her, then turned his attention to Jean. "If Lina is in charge, I assume you mean to lead one of the groups yourself?"

"I am. My work with the temples taught me much about helping those in need and where they go when their options are few. Besides, I am one of the strongest warriors of our group, so it would make sense if I protect everyone during the expedition."

"When will you depart?"

"Three days, my Lord. Providing you give us your blessings to go. The smiths need that much time to prepare enough weapons and armour for the six of us."

"My Lord, with the mithril Ee and her team are mining, we should have them kitted out in equipment that is top-notch, beyond the means of all but the most senior adventurers or palace guards," Spinel said, laying down the pen she had been using to write the notes with and adjusting her glasses slightly. "Emery, that is the blacksmith that came with us, has been working with the spirit stones as well, and is hoping to imbue the gear with some interesting properties."

John nodded, then looked back to Jean. "I have concerns, but you have my blessing. Go help whatever people you can and bring them back here. But hear me now, Jean. Do not take any unnecessary risk; I would rather see you all back here in one piece than gain a few extra people at the expense of any one of your lives."

"Yes, my Lord. We will be careful. It has been some time since we have travelled, but the six guards that are going are all powerful fighters. We learned our lesson about remaining vigilant the hard way; we will not be caught unaware again." Jean replied, bowing her head to him, the two rabbit ears on her head making her serious statement almost comical. 

"Make sure you talk with Sei and Sato before you leave. They had just made the journey, and might be able to provide you with some sort of map."

"Already have, my lord. Please, worry not for us. We will be fine. You, on the other hand, should make some time to relax; you seem on edge these days." 

"I plan on it." He said, then stood up. "If there is nothing else, let's adjourn for the day. I'm sure you have plans to make and equipment to gather."

"One more thing, my Lord. After dinner, would you join us down in the baths? There is something we would like to give you, as thanks for all you have done for us."

"A gift? You didn't need to do anything, Jean. I was just happy to help you all out of a terrible situation."

"Please, my Lord. This is something we feel is important that we do for you, something I wish to do for you before we depart for human territory."

John was a little wary of what she might have planned, but at that moment in time, he was more curious than anything. "Should I ask, or just wait for the surprise?"

"It's part of a ritual we would like to offer our lord, to show our faith in you," Jean said, a warm smile growing on her lips. "Please, it will mean much to us if you participate."

He held back a sigh, remembering just then that most of these women were considering him not just the lord of the manor, but an object of worship now. "I would be honoured, Jean."

Please, don't be something crazy. 

The fervent look in her eyes didn't give him that much comfort in that regard.