Chapter 352: Chapter 104: The Strong and Sturdy Kobolds

"Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!"

After being set down, Elimon looked as if he’d been granted a full pardon.

’It seems my gamble paid off.’

Looking at the meat a human Soldier offered him, Elimon hesitated for a moment. For an instant, he even wondered if it was poison.

But he cast the thought aside just as quickly.

It wasn’t that he thought the humans had no reason to do so; it was mainly that he was too hungry, so hungry he was about to go mad.

Watching Elimon wolf down his food, the human Soldiers even kindly offered him water.

This was a testament to Robson’s leadership. Although the Frank Kingdom and the Beastman Empire had been at war for centuries, as long as Robson showed a friendly attitude toward this Gnoll, his Soldiers could cast those animosities aside.

After mumbling a few words of thanks, Elimon began to eat and drink with abandon.

Robson wasn’t in a hurry. He waited for Elimon to finish, and then the group continued deeper into the cave, led by the Gnoll.

With a full stomach, Elimon was full of energy, looking every bit the eager collaborator leading the way.

Before long, Robson and his troops arrived at the Kobold settlement.

Robson stood behind Elimon, taking it all in.

A group of Kobolds... well-built Kobolds?

When Elimon first appeared, the Kobolds were excited. When the human Soldiers appeared, that excitement instantly turned to fear.

The cave wasn’t large, but it was packed with Kobolds of all sizes—at least several hundred of them.

Robson could see clearly that the Kobolds were arranged in an orderly fashion from front to back. At the very front were the able-bodied males, behind them were the old and the young, and at the very back, a pile of eggs.

This was what made Kobolds special. Unlike other Beastmen races, they valued their clan above all else, even their own lives.

This was also why some human nobles in the north accepted Kobolds. Those with attachments are easier to control, and eventually, they might even integrate themselves into the territory.

As long as you showed Kobolds sufficient strength, they would almost never rebel, not even when their master was on the verge of collapse.

"What are you doing! All of you!"

Facing the group of Kobolds, Elimon had lost the timid, submissive demeanor he’d shown in front of Robson.

"Let me make an introduction! This is Lord Robson! The master of this place! From now on, he is our master!" Elimon roared at the crowd of Kobolds.

Of course, Elimon had no idea if Robson was actually the master of this place, but anyone can say a few flattering words. Especially that last part—"our master"—which made his stance perfectly clear.

"Lord Elimon... then, what about Prince Odoruo?" At that moment, a strong-looking Kobold stepped out from the crowd and asked weakly.

This Kobold was clearly the leader of this tribe, and also an Extraordinary.

As if on reflex, Elimon immediately lashed out upon hearing the name ’Prince Odoruo’.

"Odoruo? What Odoruo? He’s a traitor to the Beastmen! You hear me? It was that damned Odoruo who got us into this mess!

From now on, there is no Odoruo in this tribe! This right here is the famous Lord Robson, and Lord Robson will bring us a bright future! Understand?!" Elimon shouted, his words a mix of truth and lies.

He was also venting his resentment over how Prince Odoruo had abandoned him these past days, although judging from the current situation, it seemed the Prince had his own difficulties.

The Kobolds glanced at each other, and after a brief, noisy discussion, they accepted this new reality.

This made Robson look at Elimon with some surprise. ’Looks like this fellow does pretty well for himself among the Kobolds.’

After his display of authority, Elimon immediately turned to Robson with a fawning look.

"How was that, Lord? I didn’t say anything out of line, did I?" Elimon asked.

Robson nodded.

"Not bad. It seems these Kobolds listen to you quite well."

Hearing Robson’s words, Elimon immediately tried to kneel again, but Robson stopped him with a pulse of energy.

’He’s really been scared witless.’

"There’s no need for that. You’ve helped me out twice now, and I’m not some bloodthirsty demon."

"I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare. It is my duty, my duty..."

"If it’s your duty, then you can help me with one more thing."

"Thank you for sparing my life, Lord, thank... huh?"

Hearing Robson’s words, Elimon didn’t quite register them at first. He raised his head and looked at Robson in confusion.

He saw Robson smiling back at him.

"What? You’re not willing?" Robson asked with a smile.

Elimon immediately nodded for dear life.

"Willing, willing! Of course I’m willing! Very willing..."

"Mm... Gall, come over here," Robson called out to Gall.

"You two should get acquainted. This is Gall, he’s a captain under my command.

This is Elimon. I guess you could consider him your new... uh, colleague?

From now on, you will station a unit here to keep watch. And Elimon, you will be in charge of this mine. I need these Kobolds to dig ore for me, understand?" Robson said, looking at Elimon.

That’s right. Robson’s plan was to have Elimon manage this group of Kobolds.

First, based on his recent performance, Elimon clearly had some influence among the Kobolds. And the fact that he hadn’t eaten any of them despite being so starved showed that the man had some semblance of a bottom line.

Second, Elimon could speak the Kobold language.

That’s right, this world had its own minor languages as well, which is why the term "Continental Common Tongue" existed.

Aside from the few major races, many smaller clans had their own strange, hard-to-understand languages.

Since Elimon knew the language, it was simply easier to put him in charge of the mine. It would save Lord Robson the trouble of having to specifically find a Kobold who was fluent in the Continental Common Tongue.

"As you command!" Gall didn’t understand why his Lord wanted him to work with a Kobold, but since the Lord had given the order, his only job was to carry it out.

Elimon looked at Gall, then back at Robson, then copied Gall’s gesture and saluted Robson.

"As... as you command?" Elimon asked, looking at Robson.

Robson just smiled and said nothing.

With his army stationed here, he wasn’t worried about Elimon causing any trouble.

"Right, didn’t you say the Kobolds dug in the wrong place and unleashed this Demonic Qi? Lead the way. Let me see what’s going on," Robson said to Elimon.

This problem with the Demonic Qi definitely had to be resolved.

An outbreak of Demonic Qi on this scale was no small matter. If it was a large deposit of Magic Crystal Ore, then he, Lord Robson, would have truly struck it rich.

He wouldn’t even have to bother with farming anymore. He could just go catch Kobolds on the plains and sit at home counting his money.

Of course, that was just the best-case scenario. Even if it wasn’t Magic Crystal Ore, Robson still had to go take a look.

After all, the sheer density of this Demonic Qi was already severely disrupting the mine’s normal operations.

"Ah? Oh, I understand.

By the way, Lord, the Demonic Qi over there is much denser than it is here. Without an Extraordinary constitution, it could be physically dangerous," Elimon said, looking at Robson.

"Oh? In that case, the men from the third and fourth companies will stay behind. Everyone else, with me," Robson looked back and ordered Gall.

And here, the benefit of sparing Elimon became apparent. Without the Gnoll’s warning, Lord Robson would have likely lost his men for no reason.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.