Chapter 151: Throne Tribe Fortress Transformation

Li Meng raised his head slightly and looked toward the south.

“Do we really have to withdraw the southern tribes?”

A trace of reluctance flashed in Li Meng’s eyes.

Withdrawing the southern tribes was to avoid fighting on two fronts.

This could effectively delay the war with the Ratmen Tribe.

However, deep in his heart, Li Meng was unwilling to withdraw the southern tribes.

It was hard to establish a foothold in the south.

If they withdrew now, it would not be easy to return in the future.

Once the goblins withdrew, the Ratmen would surely expand northward.

At that time, both sides would engage in a protracted tug-of-war in the Goblin Forest.

Neither side could easily locate the other’s main camp.

Even if the main camp was conquered, it would be difficult to annihilate the enemy completely.

Li Meng did not hope to eliminate the Ratmen Tribe entirely.

Instead, he wanted to wage a war of attrition, destroying the Ratmen Tribe's active forces so they wouldn’t dare attack again in the short term.

“Then we’ll mass-produce soldiers!”

Li Meng grinned ferociously and stood up.

Once the tribute from the Black Mountain Tribe arrived, the three thousand female Lizardmen would allow the tribe to mass-produce soldiers.

Within half a year, they could produce seventy to one hundred thousand goblins.

“Looks like I can’t relax!”

Outside the door, Li Meng strode toward the depths of the northern forest.

In the following days, the Throne Tribe was bustling.

As more and more goblins arrived at the Throne Tribe, a new round of expansion began.

On the first day, nearly a thousand goblins were cutting down trees in the forest surrounding the Throne Tribe.

By the third day, the number increased to two thousand.

By the fifth day, it had grown to five thousand.

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Half a month later, the goblins numbered ten thousand.

The forest around the Throne Tribe became a hive of activity.

The forest was disappearing at a visible rate.

The sound of trees being felled echoed twenty-four hours a day.

Goblins would sleep when tired, eat when hungry, and continue working when full.

Li Meng was also not idle. At the Iron Cavern, he tried every method to increase production.

Another new day arrived, in the afternoon.

At the underground riverbank of the Iron Cavern.

The cavern bustled with activity.

The constant clanging of ironwork filled the air.

Looking toward the underground river, water-powered bellows stretched as far as the eye could see.

Each water-powered bellow was connected to a blast furnace.

The blast furnaces, towering nearly ten meters high, radiated astonishing heat.

Each had a spiral staircase leading to the top.

Like the bellows, they stretched into the distance.

Nearly three thousand goblins were toiling throughout the cavern.

Some were forging iron, while others bustled around the blast furnaces.

Beside each furnace was a square pond.

The molten pig iron from the blast furnaces flowed into these ponds.

Through rapid stirring, oxidation, and decarburization, steel could be obtained.

The key to producing low-carbon and high-carbon steel lay in the stirring time.

To pinpoint the exact time, Li Meng experimented for several months before finding a method.

The stirring rods in the goblins’ hands were made from specially selected wood.

Each few rotations would burn off a segment.

The number of burned segments was used to precisely measure time.

“Prioritize the production of weapons and arrowheads. Armor can wait for now.”

Wiping the sweat from his face, Li Meng headed toward the cave entrance.

“Boss, don’t worry, we’ve got it covered,” said Gobuge, who was trailing behind with a fawning expression.

“And stock up on as many arrowheads as possible. The more, the better.”

With war approaching, military supplies were the most important.

Having soldiers without weapons was useless.

Goblins were simply too weak.

Without quality weapons, no matter how large their numbers, they would be of little use.

“Boss, are we going to war?” Gobuge could sense this from Li Meng’s words.

Since learning to forge iron, Gobuge seemed to have grown much smarter.

Things that were once hard to remember now came easily.

“Yes, we’re going to war!”

After consuming a Ghost Beastman, Gobuge had changed significantly.

Not only had it evolved into a Goblin Warrior, but it was also just one step away from becoming a Goblin Champion.

Its once small and thin frame had grown into a hulking figure.

It was now nearly 2.4 meters tall.

“Benben, come back with me. You’re not needed here!”

For over a month, Benben had been helping Gobuge with odd jobs in the Iron Cavern.

Trailing behind the two, Benben lowered its head and looked at the helmet in its hands.

“Boss, I want to go into the mountains!”

Walking out of the cave entrance, Li Meng bathed in the scorching sunlight.

He turned and looked at Benben.

“Will it be dangerous?”

Benben shook its big head and donned its helmet.

It patted its chest armor with its massive hand.

“Boss, I’m strong!”

Li Meng grinned and waved his hand.

“Then go. Remember what I told you.”

“I remember: If I can’t win, run. If I’m tired, run. If I’m out of mana, run!”

Satisfied, Li Meng nodded.

“Come back soon!”

Benben hefted its massive wolf-tooth club onto its shoulder and strode into the forest.

To the north were mountains, where Benben’s subordinates had been found.

Watching Benben’s large figure disappear into the forest, Li Meng stood silently.

It was hard to say when Benben would return.

Not until Benben’s towering figure vanished into the depths of the forest did Li Meng look away.

At the cave entrance, Gobuge also watched Li Meng leave.

Only after Li Meng’s figure disappeared into the forest did Gobuge turn back to the Iron Cavern.

As the boss of the Iron Cavern, Gobuge could not leave for even a moment.

Otherwise, the underlings would slack off.

It had to supervise them to fulfill the tasks given by the boss.

Time passed quickly. Before long, more than half a month had gone by.

Not long after entering the forest, Li Meng heard sounds of commotion up ahead.

“It’s the boss!”

“Boss! Boss!”

Soon, Li Meng saw the goblins chopping down trees in the forest.

The arrival of the boss excited the goblins.

They looked at Li Meng’s tall figure with both fanaticism and fear.

Li Meng grinned and waved his hand.

“Boys, keep working hard. Soon, I’ll let you eat Pigmen!”

These words sent the goblins into a frenzy, cheering loudly.

Pigmen meat was delicious.

It was even greasier than forest boar meat.

One bite and their mouths would be full of oil.

Many of these goblins had never tasted Pigmen meat before.

But they had heard stories from other goblins who had.

The goblins enthusiastically continued chopping wood, drooling at the thought.

Leisurely, Li Meng continued walking toward the tribe.

By the time Li Meng returned to the Throne Tribe, half an hour had passed.

On the way, Li Meng climbed the wooden walls and observed the logging work outside.

The initial phase was simple.

It was merely about clearing all the trees in designated areas.

The second phase would use the felled trees to build wooden walls.

Once the walls stood at the outermost boundary, construction of internal buildings would begin.

“Goblins!”

As Li Meng stepped through the gates of the Throne Cave Dwelling, he heard the dark elf’s resentful cry.

Inside the wooden house, the dark elf was no longer hanging.

She was tied to the bed in a cross-like position.

Her belly was round and full; it wouldn’t be long before she gave birth.

Facing the dark elf’s hateful gaze, Li Meng grinned.