Those two goblins snuck away on their own a few days ago.
Zhang Nu didn't really think much of it then.
Two goblins didn't really matter all that much on the larger scale of things.
However, he never imagined that they'd come back on their own. And not only did they come back on their own, they also brought a huge group of their goblin brethren with them.
By the time Zhang Nu showed up before them, those goblins all fell to the ground, prostrating themselves while crying and begging to be taken in.
[Notice: 212 goblins have come to join you. Will you accept?]
Zhang Nu was rather stunned.
He couldn't possibly have imagined that something like this would happen.
It seems that those two missing goblins didn't actually run away.
Instead, they snuck off to the forest to recruit the goblins drifting nearby to come join the Demon King. Really, what a thing.
No wonder Zhang Nu couldn't imagine this.
After all, he did kill about ? of all the goblins in their village!
Then he forcefully relocated those goblins here as basically plantation slaves.
Think about it for a moment.
What kind of person do those actions make him?
That's obviously the actions of a tyrant, a Demon King.
But not only did those goblins not hold a grudge, they even ended up trying to recruit more of their brethrens for him.
Truth be told though, Zhang Nu was simply limited by his own common sense.
Different races have different values.
Goblins are one of the weakest races there is.
It's normal for them to be on the bottom of the food chain. Being slaughtered or enslaved by other races is the norm for them. They only survive thanks to their high breeding rates and adaptability.
Following a terrifying powerhouse is equivalent to gaining said powerhouse's protection.
That's something that most goblins could only dream of. It means that they won't need to be bullied around by other tribes.
Besides that, Zhang Nu's farms are utterly miraculous.
For goblins, life in the Darkness Valley is not only safe, they also don't need to worry about hunger. That's basically paradise for them.
"Please accept us, master!"
"We'll swear loyalty!"
"We'll offer up our very souls to master!"
Over two hundred goblins prostrated on the ground while begging furiously.
Each and every one cried and wailed like they'd commit suicide on the spot if they were refused.
For goblins, joining a Demon King, even if it's as lowly farm slaves, is still an enormous bout of fortune.
Zhang Nu shifted his gaze upon the two goblins at the head and asked, "Where'd you find these guys of unknown origins from?"
"Master, they're goblins from a nearby village."
"That village was destroyed by the minotaurs of the Bloodhoof Tribe a bit ago, so they've been wandering about in the nearby forests."
So that's how it is.
Zhang Nu calmly stated, "The farms are indeed in need of laborers right now, so I am willing to accept you. However, this kind of thing is not to happen again without my permission, got it?"
"Yes, yes!"
"Thank you master!"
"We'll farm with all we have!"
"..."
The goblins were grateful and overjoyed to have been taken in by a Demon King.
Now that Zhang Nu has recruited over 200 more goblins, he now has over 300 goblins in total. Gaining this additional source of labor is obviously a great boon for him.
The farms' productivity will definitely rise a great deal from this.
That said, he does still need to give out a warning, so as to keep them from doing something like this for the time being.
It's not that Zhang Nu didn't want to recruit more wandering gobins or other natives that might want to join him, but there's a certain risk associated with that.
Who knows if the natives who try to join are actually loyal?
Who knows whether or not a Hero might try to infiltrate by hiding among those groups?
The territory isn't complete yet, and everything is still steadily developing.
He doesn't want to see some uncontrollable circumstance interrupt the current rate of development.
Zhang Nu used his cheat to do a quick check.
After confirming that there weren't any Heroes mixed in, he had the draconian soldiers bring them to the farms.
After returning to the castle.
With several thousand gold in hand, Zhang Nu decided to use it on summoning.
Right now, he has 300 or so draconian laborers. That's enough for construction, stone quarrying, and wood cutting, so there's no need for more for the time being. However, his fighting force is obviously lacking.
Right now, other than the skeleton soldiers, he only has 30 draconian soldiers.
The Castle, canyon, farms, and various patrols all need to be protected.
Zhang Nu decided. Within the next two or three days, he's going to increase his number of soldiers to over 100.
Draconian soldiers are elite level combatants. In the current period, that's more than enough to protect the castle and his territory. It's even reached the basic requirements for expanding outwards.
Besides that, right now, he does have a resource shortage.
The Darkness Valley is closed off and safe.
Plus, it's quite rich in wood, stone, animal, and water resources.
However, common ores like iron and copper are also very important.
Not only are they construction materials, they can also be used to forge or strengthen equipment. As the territory continues to develop, his need for them will obviously also increase by the day.
And rather than spending money to buy it all, it's better to take control of a mine instead.
Building a mine would indeed stabilize his supply.
The Chaos Forest is vast and resource rich, so finding a decent mineral vein shouldn't be too difficult.
Zhang Nu decided to try asking the old goblin chief for information.
The goblin chief answered, "Oh great master, there is an extremely large and rich mine nearby. It's just that it has been unusable for quite some time."
Zhang Nu asked, "Why?"
The goblin chief replied, "Supposedly, way back then, they dug too deeply and excavated an ancient demon, which ended up causing a terrible disaster."
T/N: And thus we have our first real dungeon (I don't really count the ruins. Too small and weak). After all, what fantasy novel would be complete without a dungeon crawl?