"Names? Why do we need names?" The kobold raised an eyebrow at Thorian's unexpected proposition. The other kobloids also stared at Thorian, their eyebrows furrowed, clearly not understanding the purpose of his suggestion.

Thorian let out a sigh before explaining, "Imagine one of your comrades is injured while battling a monster. How would you inform me about it?"

"I would tell you that he was injured..." The kobold replied, the incredulity in his voice unmistakable.

Hearing his subordinate's reply, Thorian clicked his tongue and said, "And how would I know who 'he' is? It could be anyone."

The kobold's expression froze, and after a few seconds, he looked away in embarrassment. The other kobloids also began murmuring amongst themselves, their confusion shifting to intrigue.

The stocky warrior raised his hand and said, "But we will know who got injured when we bring everyone together."

"That only works when we're this small," Thorian immediately responded. "When we become a hundred, a thousand, or even more, do we need to gather all of us together just to know who we're talking about?"

Hearing the explanation, the kobold cleared his throat and said, "I understand. These names seem very important. Will you be the one giving them to us?"

"Yes, I will name you first," Thorian nodded and scratched his chin in thought before an idea came to him. "You are a strong moon kobold. From now on, your name shall be Forlune, which means 'strong moon' in the ancient language."

Hearing the meaning of his name, the kobold grinned. "Forlune, I like that name. A strong name for a strong warrior!"

The kobloids cheered and roared as the kobold received his name, causing Forlune to blush slightly.

"Congratulations, Forlune," one of the warriors slapped the kobold's back with a hearty laugh. "You got a good name."

As the kobloids cheerfully joked around with one another, Thorian's eyes shifted toward the magi.

They are the easiest to name, I will just use their elements.

"You, fire magus," Thorian pointed at one of the magi. "Your name shall be Ifrit."

The fire magus was initially confused, but his expression quickly morphed into joy. "That is a great name. Thank you, King!"

Thorian then named the rest of the magi Ventus, Aqua, and Saxum, respectively. Each name represented the element of the skill they possessed.

Turning his attention back to the kobloid warriors who were expectantly waiting for their names, Thorian let out a sigh.

This is truly spreading my creative spirit thin.

Thorian pointed at the warrior who had placed second after Forlune in the woodcutting competition. "Your name shall be Caedar."

Caedar smiled and nodded gratefully at the name he had been given. Thorian then looked at the rest of the warriors, bestowing them with names as follows: Bellafor, Crimen, and Inly.

After finishing his naming spree, Thorian took a deep breath. This is even harder than slaughtering a full army of orcs.

"King, thank you for gifting us these names," Caedar, the stocky warrior, took a deep breath and expressed his gratitude.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Thank you, king," the rest of the kobloids followed.

Seeing all the kobloids bowing down to Thorian, Forlune was flustered before he too joined them and bowed down.

"Raise your heads," Thorian ordered with a relaxed voice. "I need to take a look around the village and see what Nox has been doing. He can't possibly protect all sides with just the small team that he has."

Thorian shared his thoughts aloud, and upon hearing them, Forlune suggested they retreat to a more private location. With a nod of agreement, Thorian addressed the team of kobloids, "All of you take a breather. Pace yourselves throughout the night to avoid dying from exhaustion."

Leaving his instructions echoing behind, Thorian followed Forlune through the trees. After a short walk, they were sufficiently distant from the rest to have a private conversation.

"So, you wanted to discuss something?" Thorian inquired.

"Yes, indeed," Forlune affirmed. "It's about the humans, when are we going to kill them? We need to complete that quest; it's too good to pass up."

"Yes, it is. And we will kill as many as we need," Thorian agreed. "But doing it now will be a truly foolish thing to do."

Forlune's brows knitted together in confusion. "Why is that? If the humans are like the ones we captured earlier, we could kill thousands of them without any problem."

"The humans aren't the issue. They're disposable," Thorian explained, shaking his head. "Our problem lies in leaving our territory unprotected. There would be no one to oversee the orcs. Even if they behaved, other monsters might intrude and wreak havoc on everything we've built."

His gaze shifted towards the Village Hall. "I don't mind if they damage the wall. We can repair it. But if they infiltrate, demolish the Village Hall, and kill Melina, we would be in serious jeopardy."

Forlune asked in confusion. "Why? Can't we just repair it or build another one? With the orcs helping us, we can gather enough wood very quickly."

"It's not about the hall. It's about Melina," Thorian sighed. "If she dies, we'll have to wait an entire month for her replacement. That means a full month without Village Hall Quests, since there won't be anyone to authorize them."

Forlune was taken aback, and after processing Thorian's explanation, he curiously asked, "How do you know all this?"

"I have my ways," Thorian cryptically replied, allowing no room for further questions. Seeing Forlune avert his gaze, Thorian softened his tone, "That doesn't mean we're disregarding the Human Quest. We just need to prepare appropriately first."

Forlune seemed reassured by this. "And what would those be?"

Thorian detailed his plans, "Firstly, we need to properly man all gates to fend off monster hordes. Then, we need our tribe to evolve. The third and fourth steps involve integrating the orcs and recruiting more monsters to our cause, ideally other kobloids and kobolds."

Forlune took a moment before recalling, "There was a pack of brown kobloids earlier, but they fled when they saw us."

So brown kobloids are nearby. That is good to hear.

Thorian nodded, "It's good to know they're close. We should try to recruit them if possible." He then delved deeper into his strategy. "Once we integrate them, we need to help them evolve into formidable warriors. Finally, we need to fortify the village walls and defenses. Only when all of these steps are complete will I consider our village relatively secure."

"That... is a lot of preparations," Forlune observed.

"It is," Thorian agreed. "But it's our best course of action. This village is worth more than a thousand Human quests. Chasing after the Human quests is like going after a single gold ingot, a one-time reward. The village, however, is like a gold mine providing a steady income. It allows us to acquire new skills, discover rare evolution paths, and these benefits are continuous."

"I see what you mean," Forlune admitted, scratching the back of his head. "So, what should I be doing now?"

"Focus on hunting," Thorian advised. "Your teammates, not yet evolved, will have a greater evolutionary advantage thanks to their classes. To maintain your power ranking, hunt more than them, and keep leveling up. Compensate for any lack in powerful skills with superior stats."

Forlune's expression paled. To the moon kobold with pure white fur, the change was startling. "Don't be intimidated," Thorian counseled. "Fear and doubt will only lead to mistakes. You need to trust that your hard work will yield results, even when you witness the power shift among your comrades. Stay focused, keep hunting, and keep honing your skills."

Taking a moment to digest the advice, Forlune nodded, "I understand, Thorian. Thank you for your counsel."

"You're welcome," Thorian replied with a smile, patting the moon kobold's shoulder. "Now go, do what you need to do."

Forlune nodded and strode off towards the rest of his team. Thorian watched him go, reassured by Forlune's steady, confident stride. Satisfied with their discussion and the progress in this part of the village, Thorian turned his attention to the wall. He quickly scaled it, positioning himself on the ledge. This gave him an advantageous vantage point to scout the perimeter of their settlement.

Monster corpses littered the ground beyond the walls. At first, the corpses were mostly charred with fireballs and hacked by the warriors' axes, but as Thorian continued to walk, the wounds became much less obvious. Some had their throats slit, while others had their backs hacked by axes. This was the work of the assassins.

However, the wall was far from spotless. Cracks, chips, and dents adorned it in a constant stream, revealing the efforts of the monsters trying to break in from all sides.

As Thorian walked for a few minutes, he noticed movement far in the distance. Goblins were using ropes to scale the wooden wall.