Chapter 48: Professional Division of Labor (Please keep reading)

"Good." Gawain's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but shout in approval. From the opponent's recent tackle, he had just learned another move.

Fangya did not just push off with his legs; his tail curled and snapped in sync, acting as an auxiliary accelerator. While running, he swung it rhythmically, which not only allowed him to maintain excellent balance but also enabled more flexible changes in direction. This made Fangya appear to flicker left and right, making it difficult to judge where his attacks would land.

Gawain realized that the "tail strike"—a unique skill he thought he had unearthed—was nothing more than a routine skill in the hands of a kobold warrior. In this regard, the kobold was the professional; Gawain was merely a self-taught amateur.

Upon realizing this, Gawain was no longer in a hurry to defeat Fangya.

Holding his twin blades in a reverse grip, he entered a defensive stance and experimentally parried two of Fangya's attacks.

Fangya's strength and agility were both superior to his own in his transformed kobold state.

However, the margin was limited and did not form an overwhelming advantage.

Especially during passive defense, the disadvantage in agility would be further compensated for. After all, the range of motion for an attacking movement is far greater than that of a defensive one; as long as one predicts accurately, the defense becomes impenetrable.

One attacked fast, and the other defended fast.

Amidst a series of clanging metal impacts, Gawain and Fangya's weapons collided over a dozen times in the blink of an eye. The two sides shifted positions several times in a blur, and their tails also collided with several loud cracks.

The spectating kobolds felt dazzled, finding it difficult to tell who was who.

The more Fangya fought, the more frantic he became. His strikes grew faster and faster, yet he could not inflict even a scratch on his opponent.

His strength was clearly greater, and his speed was clearly faster, yet he was always one step behind. It was as if the opponent could predict his attack direction with one hundred percent accuracy, with the blade already waiting there.

After another dozen rounds of combat, Gawain had basically figured out Fangya's attack patterns. Fangya was fighting entirely based on physical attributes without any specialized combat techniques. There were almost no uses of momentum or attacks on vital points; most notably, his footwork consisted basically of charging, retreating, charging again, and retreating again, with no sign of close-quarters grappling.

And footwork is the essence of melee combat.

If fighting beasts or ordinary warriors, Fangya's moves might have been effective. But against a reborn legendary warrior like Gawain, who was battle-hardened and had studied under many masters, they were ineffective; he was being completely outplayed.

"Hold your ground well. It's my turn to attack," Gawain reminded him consciously.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he lunged forward using the same technique as Fangya—using his long tail to assist his leap—and swung his twin blades down like a violent storm.

Fangya only managed to withstand eight strikes before both blades were knocked from his hands. His scapula also took a hit from the back of Gawain's blade, leaving it aching.

Fangya looked at his hands in disbelief. His strength was clearly greater; how did his blades slip away?

And why was the opponent's strength growing with every single strike?

Not to mention the opponent's shifting form, dodging left and striking right, which left him in a state of total disarray.

"Your blade work is good, but there is still a lot of room for growth," Gawain said, stepping forward and putting an arm around Fangya's shoulder. "If you want to know why you failed, wait for me here tomorrow after sunrise. For now, let's drink. Come, a toast to Fangya!"

"To Fangya, woof!"

"To Black Well!"

"To Black Well, woof!"

After two rounds of drinks, the atmosphere was lifted again, filled with a chorus of "woofs." The constant barking gave Gawain a bit of a headache; he realized that promoting the use of Standard Common would have to be put on his agenda, as they were meant to venture out into the world in the future.

The banquet lasted until the moon reached its zenith. Half of the beverages Gawain brought were consumed before the kobolds began to trickle into the Black Well mine. As for how to divide the mine, Gawain didn't have the energy to manage it for now; Gorse and Zack would naturally negotiate it themselves.

Regarding the kobold tribe, Gawain only intended to control the general direction; the remaining minor matters would have to be resolved by the former chieftains themselves.

Fangya stayed awake almost all night, constantly thinking about where exactly he had lost. As soon as the sky began to pale, he couldn't help but jump up and run to the meeting spot he had agreed upon with Gawain.

To his surprise, the other man was already there, soaked in sweat. He had no idea how long Gawain had been training, but he was performing movements that Fangya didn't recognize.

Seeing Fangya arrive, Gawain stood up and said with a smile, "You arrived even earlier than I expected. Close-quarters combat relies on more than just strength and speed; it relies on footwork. Without the coordination of footwork, your power will be reduced by more than half. Today, you won't practice anything else—just practice footwork with me. Once you have mastered this, we will discuss other things.

By the way, the footwork I am teaching comes from humans. How to integrate it into your race is up to you. Especially the tail-spring; for races without tails, it is an unexpected variable. If you develop it well, it will form your own unique combat style and become the key to victory."

According to Gawain's original plan, he was going to select a guard unit from among the kobolds and, combining kobold characteristics, summarize and integrate combat techniques suitable for them to train them.

Now that he had Fangya, that was no longer necessary. This task could be handed entirely to him; the kobold might even do better than Gawain, as he would invest one hundred percent of his energy into it.

One taught earnestly, and the other learned diligently.

Time passed quickly. Unknowingly, kobolds began to gather around them, many of them mimicking the movements. Gawain naturally didn't mind; before long, many would have to learn whether they wanted to or not.

The addition of Fangya's tribe did not disrupt the pace of Gawain's plan.

Professional division of labor proceeded as usual.

Although the number of people had nearly doubled, efficiency had more than doubled because Gawain had more professionals at his disposal.

Zack, in particular, possessed management experience with kobold tribes that Gorse could not match, especially regarding professional division of labor; Fangya's tribe was far superior to the Black Well tribe in this aspect.

Fangya's tribe had at least ten kobolds who were professional miners with extensive excavation experience.

Including Fangya, there were eight combat-oriented individuals. The remaining seven, while not professional classes like Fangya, had at least undergone specialized combat training under him and possessed rich hunting experience.

It was only because Fangya's mine was too barren and nearly exhausted; if they had the abundant iron resources of the Black Well tribe, their tribe's scale would be far greater than this.

These two groups formed excellent foundational frameworks. Gawain could simply select suitable kobolds to fill them.

Nominally, Black Well had annexed Fangya.

Structurally, however, Fangya had swallowed Black Well.

Not only was Gawain not bothered by such trivialities, but even Gorse, who should have been the most concerned, didn't care. His heart and mind were entirely filled with Gawain's grand plan, thinking only of how to expand Black Well.

With the arrival of Zack and Fangya, Gorse felt that his status by Gawain's side was seriously threatened. He was searching for ways to make himself more useful to Gawain, determined to hold onto his position as the "number one loyal hound."

Zack himself was also a construction-support talent that Gawain urgently needed. His most proficient spells were the second-circle spells *Soft Stone* and *Locate Object*.

*Soft Stone* could turn a boulder over three meters in diameter and half a meter deep directly into soft clay, turn wet soil into a marsh, or dry soil into sand.

Whether used for mining, leveling land, or excavating foundations, this spell was extremely helpful.

*Locate Object*, as the name suggested, could directly pinpoint the location of certain items. When used in mining, it was equally useful, helping to locate the direction of ore veins to extract more ore in less time.

As for professional expertise in mining, Zack was beyond reproach.

In just half a day, he delivered a floor plan of the Black Well mine to Gawain. The style was concise and the situation was clear at a glance; even the future expansion and excavation directions of the Black Well mine were clearly marked.