Chapter 459: Chapter 353: Future Plans, Part 2

’You show up for your "ear-picking" before I kill the Magical Beast, and you come back for more "ear-picking" after I’m done. Doesn’t that mean I killed it for nothing?’

’I have to learn Magic. It’s a must.’ This was a future goal Shire set for himself. He even dreamed of one day building a Magic Academy near the forest to teach Magic to talented humans or goblins.

In this era, magical knowledge was primarily passed down from master to apprentice. Old Mages would seek out children with Magic Talent, take them in, and teach them Magic. Strictly speaking, it was still at the level of an oral tradition.

Take his younger sister, Vivian, for example. If their father hadn’t spent a fortune to hire the Advanced Great Mage Victor to put on a "Magic performance," her Magic Talent would never have been discovered. As the old Mage himself had said, "If I hadn’t been a little tempted by those Gold Coins, I might have missed such an excellent prospect."

But Shire had always felt this system was highly inefficient—or rather, that it was more of a monopoly. Although some Mages liked to gather and form so-called Magic Schools, for an ordinary person, the opportunity to learn Magic was rarer than being crushed to death by a giant bag full of Gold Coins.

More importantly, the ones who needed to learn Magic were a bunch of goblins. At the very thought of it, a vein on Shire’s forehead began to throb.

Just imagine: an old Mage in a blue robe, his white beard reaching his waist, says to the students before him, "Everyone, please turn to page 30. Today we will discuss the origin of the Magic Field." And below, a horde of goblins squawk and jabber while tearing apart books they can’t even read. The image was just too "lovely" to contemplate.

’This is hard.’ Shire sighed. ’I guess Hogwarts wasn’t built in a day.’

’The Magic situation will have to be a long-term project,’ he thought as he opened his notebook and began to write. ’The best way to defend against Magic in this world is with Magic. Even if some Anti-Magic Runes or Scrolls exist, they’re a luxury and can’t be deployed on a large scale.’

’For now, while the city is being built, I can start by consolidating our fighting forces.’

’So what if we don’t have any Mages? Those High Tier Great Mages won’t bother with goblins at the bottom of the food chain anyway. The most we’ll encounter in the near future are Mage Apprentices. Such Low Tier Mages have limited power; we can beat them with Bow and Arrow, Long Spears, or even Bang-Bang Fruits.’

However, now that the tribe had grown stronger, its forces had become a motley crew. The stronger goblins, like those who followed Red Eyes, preferred to brandish their weapons and charge headfirst into battle. The weaker goblins, on the other hand, liked to hide in the back, taking potshots with Hand Crossbows or shortbows and operating the Rune Mortars. Then there were the Centaurs. They had sworn allegiance, but they were best suited for archery and swift assaults. Their inability to ride the Giant Ants limited their capacity for long-distance campaigns.

Most critically—the tribe lacked a Supreme Commander.

This was a realization Shire had after his clash with the Feathered Serpent God. Despite being the tribe’s leader, he had very little experience commanding troops. After all, before he’d transmigrated, he was used to just right-clicking to drag a selection box over his units on a computer screen and attack-moving them forward. You couldn’t do that in real life.

For instance, during the battle with the Feathered Serpent Evil God, when the Evil God suddenly appeared, the entire goblin force descended into panic. If the Skeleton Warriors hadn’t held the line for a time, more than half of the thousands of goblins might have been killed.

At the time, Shire himself had frozen for a moment before charging forward recklessly. Although he, with the help of Pazani and Lust, ultimately drove off the Feathered Serpent God, it was absolutely not the action a Supreme Commander should have taken.

’If we face a real army in the future and are still just a disorganized mob, we’ll be routed.’ Shire didn’t want to see that happen. For one, he still wanted to reclaim Torch City, which rightfully belonged to the Merlot Clan. For another, he wanted to live openly in the sight of humanity, even in the form of a goblin.

But at this stage, the only way for goblins to earn humanity’s recognition was through victory. No one would readily respect a Race whose ears were once worth a mere 3 Silver Coins apiece.

’I just have to keep looking for a suitable Supreme Commander.’ Shire raised a hand to rub his temples. ’Red Eyes and Little John are excellent fighters, but they lean toward being solo combatants. Oreco and Pazani can lead small units, but both are only familiar with their own race’s fighting style. Uncle Musa would be a good choice, but he’s constantly shuttling between Torch City and Plantagenet City and has no time to be with the troops.’

Speaking of which, Shire’s ideal candidate was the Grand Commander of the Holy Order Army.

The young woman with the high ponytail, who wielded four Longswords and could even take on the appearance of an angel, had left a deep impression on Shire.

But what truly caught Shire’s attention was the title of Grand Commander itself. It wasn’t a position one could hold through martial prowess alone. The Holy Order Army was the sole military arm of the War God Church, just as the Druid Association was the armed force for the Life Church. When war was called for, the Holy Order Army was expected to take the field.

Just as during the Battle of Withering Flowers, the armed forces of the Four Great Churches had all participated to some degree.

To become Grand Commander, one had to possess extraordinary ability in strategy, battlefield command, and other related areas. The fact that this young woman had managed to attain such a position had truly astonished Shire when he heard of it.

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