Chapter 46: Azure Fang Tribe

"How is the search for those more honest kobolds I asked you to find going?"

"They've been found. Five in total, all famous for being hard workers who never slack off, woof."

"From now on, have them help me with the cooking." Gawen was preparing to escape the life of a cook. He couldn't be a cook for the kobolds forever, especially with their numbers continuously surging.

"Have them cook?" Goth shook his head repeatedly. "No, no, they are our strongest and finest miners, woof. Using them for cooking is a terrible waste, woof. Please forgive me, My Lord, it is my fault for not selecting better candidates. I will pick a few more, woof."

"There's no need." Gawen waved his hand. "Do not underestimate the task of cooking. Especially cooking for hundreds of people, it requires a great deal of knowledge. Also, after the meal tomorrow, tell them to stop digging in the mines. I am going to start intensive training."

In Gawen's eyes, the current kobolds were all at the same starting line; even those with some skill had relatively limited abilities.

Starting tomorrow, he would reshape them according to his will, implementing professional specialization.

A cook is a cook, a warrior is a warrior, and a miner is a miner.

One cannot be a warrior one moment and a miner the next; while such a jack-of-all-trades can do everything, they are masters of nothing.

Being a jack-of-all-trades is suitable for races like elves or dwarves, who have long lifespans but relatively small populations and low birth rates.

For a race like kobolds, who can reproduce and raise offspring rapidly, specialization is the best way forward.

Just as Goth was about to ask further about the training, a series of barking sounds rose from the distance.

The kobolds working in the Black Well stopped their tasks, picked up the weapons beside them, and scurried toward Gawen. Some even cautiously followed behind the half-ogre, Hou.

Gawen's previous battle with the half-ogre, combined with the half-ogre's subsequent joining, had significantly boosted the morale of the Black Well tribe.

They no longer immediately scrambled into the Black Well mines at the first sign of trouble.

This kind of morale was superficial. Once Gawen or the half-ogre were defeated, they would surely scatter just as they had before, at which point any assistance provided would be extremely limited.

Gawen knew this deeply. Changing this would be a long and arduous task, requiring extensive military training and tempering through blood and fire to truly forge it.

Even though he had guessed their purpose, Gawen did not dismiss the gathered Black Well kobolds.

The source of the commotion was a group of kobolds, quite numerous—estimated to be over fifty, perhaps even exceeding the original number of the Black Well tribe.

This group of kobolds brought their families along; they clearly didn't look like they were here for war.

The group stopped at a distance. A kobold who appeared somewhat short and aged approached slowly, calling out loudly, "Please do not misunderstand, we are not here to wage war. We are here to join, woof. Our Pale Fang tribe is willing to give up our name and join the Black Well tribe, woof."

Gawen nodded to Goth. "Let him come over and speak."

"Understood." Goth nodded and called out, "Chief Zack, the Lord wants you to come over and speak, woof."

Goth knew that before long, kobold tribes would merge into them as entire units, but he hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.

Even more unexpected was that the first to merge was not a smaller nearby nest, but the Pale Fang tribe, which was originally stronger than Black Well. This tribe possessed two kobold professionals, and the one before them, Chief Zack, was one of them.

"There is no chief, only Zack. As long as Chief Goth agrees, from this day forward, there is no Pale Fang, only Black Well." When Zack spoke, there was no trace of grief or indignation on his face; there was only a sense of inevitability.

It was unclear whether it was because of his great magnanimity and ability to let things go, or if he had simply grown accustomed to the law of the jungle where the strong prey on the weak.

After approaching, Zack merely nodded to Goth. His gaze swept over the half-ogre Hou before finally settling on Gawen. He knelt composedly and said, "Zack leads his kin to seek your patronage. If you agree, My Lord, from this day on, our tribe will follow you unconditionally, woof. Wherever your sword points, we shall fight, woof."

Mature, experienced, and wise.

This was the first impression the kobold gave Gawen. If one set aside his race, he felt much like the sages in human villages, radiating the wisdom of age.

His Common was also much more standard than Goth's, especially with far fewer of the characteristic kobold "woof" sounds.

This kind of wisdom was not something that Goth's petty calculations and small cleverness could compare to.

He was also a professional, possessing at least three class levels. He was likely a Sorcerer, the most common profession among kobolds.

Although kobolds were weak, they claimed to be the race closest to dragons, a fact most evident in their awakening as Sorcerers.

Among all races, kobolds had the second-highest proportion of Sorcerers; no other race dared claim the first.

They worshipped dragons. If a dragon existed near a kobold tribe, they would consider themselves the dragon's servants and worship it like a god.

This was the second reason Gawen had chosen kobolds.

As it stood, his choice was correct. With only about a hundred kobolds by his side, a kobold Sorcerer had already appeared. At this rate and proportion, it wouldn't be long before he could organize an army of kobold Sorcerers.

"We welcome you more than we could ever refuse. Get up quickly. From today on, we are one family." Gawen hurried forward to help Zack up, showing no disregard for the difference in race.

"My Lord is indeed as merciful as the legends say. It seems my choice was not wrong, woof," Zack praised sincerely.

"Have your people all come over. Today is a joyous day. Not only will we have an extra meal, but we shall also have a drink. Anna, bring the wine. I want to have a good drink with the two chiefs." Gawen did not neglect Goth, taking one by each hand and leading them toward the cooking pots.

This area was the first to be renovated.

There were still two large cooking pots, but the roasting racks had increased to three, and the fires beneath them had not been extinguished since they were first lit.

There were also ten temporary tables constructed from stones and long wooden planks.

The outline of an open-air canteen was beginning to take shape.

After living and eating with the kobolds for nearly ten days, Gawen had gained a deeper understanding of this small race.

Due to living in caves, their living space was relatively limited most of the time. Like dwarves, they were extreme proponents of collectivism.

They worked together, rested together, and ate together.

They possessed concepts of tribe and race, but no concept of the nuclear family.

This was because the eggs they laid were all handed over to the tribe for collective rearing.

That's right.

Kobolds were oviparous and ectothermic, so they relied heavily on underground caves; during the winter, they spent the season hunkered down in the caves.

Their growth cycle was very short; a kobold would grow from an egg to an adult in about five years, yet their potential lifespan was quite long, sometimes exceeding that of humans.

The caveat was that if they could actually live that long; the dangerous environment kept their average lifespan low, not exceeding twenty.

To show his loyalty, Zack had brought his entire tribe, including all unhatched eggs, intending to integrate them into Black Well's hatchery.

The kobolds who had already grown up might still hold the concept of "Pale Fang," but the kobolds hatched in the Black Well hatchery would know only Black Well, not Pale Fang.

This single point made Gawen respect him even more. This kobold Sorcerer clearly possessed great wisdom; his decisiveness was something not an ordinary person could achieve.

Had Gawen not absorbed the Black Well tribe first, it was likely that Black Well would have been swallowed by the Pale Fang tribe before long.

However, there was no way to prove that.

(End of Chapter)