Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Gnoll Warrior

“There are still a hundred pieces of raw meat left in the warehouse, caught over the past few days while hunting. We need to save some for dinner, and the kobolds we recruit will consume some too…” After a brief consideration, Jia Zhengjin first recruited four kobold miners, consuming fifty-two pieces of raw meat, then recruited a kobold warrior, using up another twenty-six pieces. Only twenty-two pieces of raw meat remained in the warehouse.

He distributed gathering tools to the four kobold miners, pairing the six kobold miners—including Little Grey and Little Black—into three groups. He sent them off to fell trees, mine iron, and mine copper.

The kobold warrior stood about one meter forty tall, larger and fiercer than the ordinary kobold. Its eyes were savage, and it wielded a bone spear, carved from beast bones, looking both sturdy and razor-sharp.

Its head resembled that of a bull terrier, distinct from the common kobolds. Another difference was that this kobold warrior came with its own name: Flock.

“It looks pretty impressive! But I wonder how it performs in combat?” Jia Zhengjin examined Flock closely, then issued an order: “Before night falls, come hunt with me near the house!”

“Aw!” Flock opened its mouth and let out a deep growl in reply.

“You lead the way!” Jia Zhengjin donned his beast bone helmet, pulled on fine leather armor and perfect beast-hide boots, and armed himself with bow and arrows—looking much more heroic than when he first began.

“Aw!” Flock, fearless as expected, raised its bone spear and charged into the forest ahead.

Jia Zhengjin hurried after him, man and kobold moving swiftly together.

After a few minutes, Jia Zhengjin still hadn’t spotted anything, but Flock suddenly raised its bone spear and leapt, hurling it forcefully.

“Whoosh!” The bone spear shot into the bushes, and immediately a startled land bird burst out.

With a clatter, as one land bird appeared, a whole flock followed, green waves rolling before Jia Zhengjin’s eyes as the birds scattered in panic.

“Aw!” Flock lunged forward, agilely clamping his jaws around the neck of a land bird.

The plump land bird struggled briefly before dying in an instant.

[Message] Flock killed a land bird. You gain fifteen experience points!

“Kobold warriors are amazing!” Jia Zhengjin rejoiced, especially since the experience from the kill went to him. “Flock, chase them!”

“Aw!” Flock snatched up his bone spear, ignored the dead bird, and swiftly pursued the fleeing flock.

“How impressive!” Jia Zhengjin drew his dagger, harvesting the meat and feathers from the land bird. “If kobold warriors are this strong, how powerful must werewolves be? When is the next full moon? I must recruit a werewolf as soon as possible!”

While he was thinking this, Flock returned, carrying another land bird, and let out a call.

Jia Zhengjin knew Flock couldn’t catch the rest, but two kills in such a short time was already remarkable. “Well done, Flock! Keep it up! We need more raw meat to recruit more kobold warriors!”

“Aw!” Flock roared again in response.

By sunset, Jia Zhengjin happily returned home with Flock.

In just that brief outing, they had gathered a hundred thirty-five pieces of raw meat and hundreds of feathers, all thanks to Flock’s hunting—Jia Zhengjin merely collected the spoils.

That evening, Flock and the kobold miners returned to their den and the beast pen to rest. Jia Zhengjin went home, cooked fragrant meat in coconut broth at the stove, and woke Tina to share the meal.

“Tina, you won’t have to stay home tomorrow!” Jia Zhengjin said cheerfully over dinner. “I’ll recruit some kobold warriors to protect you. As long as we’re careful, it’s safe to hunt nearby!”

Tina hadn’t yet mastered the complex language, so she simply smiled and blinked, eating her dinner.

The next day, Jia Zhengjin led her to the kobold den, used yesterday’s haul to recruit four more kobold miners and a kobold warrior, and handed her an ebony staff. Only then did Tina realize what was happening. She was delighted, clearly having grown restless from being cooped up so long. Yet some fear lingered, for the forest held terrifying memories—if not for Jia Zhengjin’s rescue, she might have become kobold food.

Fortunately, she saw that these kobolds were recruited from the strange den that appeared last night, not wild tribes from the forest, and they obeyed Jia Zhengjin. Her guard lowered, and she allowed a fierce-looking kobold warrior, named Bonk, to protect her closely.

Now there were ten kobold miners and two kobold warriors, so the consumption of raw meat increased. Jia Zhengjin aimed to recruit a werewolf, which required over a thousand pieces of raw meat. Thankfully, the forest was rich, teeming with countless animal populations. With diligent hunting, he could gather enough meat before the full moon! Of course, he also had to consider recruiting more miners and warriors, and account for meat spoiling.

“Tina, stay close and don’t get separated, all right?” Jia Zhengjin felt uneasy as soon as they set out, worried Tina might get lost while hunting. He repeatedly warned her and instructed Bonk, the kobold warrior, to keep a close watch—she was not to be harmed.

Tina could only exchange the simplest phrases with Jia Zhengjin, still unable to fully understand him. But she seemed to grasp his meaning and gently took his hand.

That worked too! Jia Zhengjin happily led Tina, letting Flock and Bonk hunt ahead while he followed at a leisurely pace with Tina, focusing on gathering meat, feathers, organs, and animal pelts.

If danger arose, Flock and Bonk would stand in the way, giving him time to escape with Tina. Should the kobold warriors die, he could simply recruit more with raw meat from the den. Though these two now had names, Jia Zhengjin still saw them as mindless beasts—expendable at any time.

The kobold den blueprint was a product of the system itself. So, the kobolds recruited were actually game units, likely nonexistent in the world before being created by the system! They only obeyed Jia Zhengjin’s orders and had no autonomy.

In truth, even if these kobolds were real creatures native to this world, Jia Zhengjin would not hesitate to flee with Tina at the first sign of mortal danger, ensuring their survival above all else.