Chapter 26: Goblin General

After practicing half a set of knight sword techniques, Owen felt his stamina waning, so he handed the sword to the first Goblin he had summoned from the game.

This Goblin knelt to the ground with excitement, took the knight sword with both hands, and then, as if fulfilling some condition, a flash of light ran through its body. It evolved.

When the light dissipated, the Goblin that reappeared before Owen had changed drastically. Its height went from less than four feet to over five feet. It was now a muscular Goblin with a heavy axe and round shield, and sturdy iron armor covering its body. Its aura transformed from cunning and sleazy to fierce and powerful. If not for its still prominent hooked nose, some might mistake it for a beastman.

Even more interesting was that this Goblin could speak, indicating a considerable level of intelligence.

“Demon Lord, the Goblin Warrior awaits your command.” The stocky Goblin Warrior knelt on one knee, head bowed, speaking in a voice filled with awe.

“Do you know where you come from?” Owen suddenly felt curious, wondering if he could learn a bit about the system’s secrets through this, so he asked.

“Demon Lord, the Goblin Warrior comes from the dungeon, to open up new territory for you.” The Goblin Warrior said without hesitation, chest puffed out.

This answer did not surprise Owen. After all, if the system’s secrets were so easily understood, it wouldn’t be called “System Daddy.”

However, judging from its answer, the Goblin Warrior’s intelligence was not low, though its strength remained unknown.

From its appearance, its strength should be no less than that of a three-point longswordsman. As for whether it could reach the level of a five-point two-handed swordsman, it was impossible to tell without a life-or-death battle. But Owen wouldn’t be stupid enough to have his two subordinates engage in a life-or-death fight.

At this moment, Owen suddenly had a new idea. Since the Hero Knight Sword could make a Goblin evolve into a Goblin Warrior, could other Hero Equipment make a Goblin evolve into a special type of Goblin?

Before, there were limitations due to the game. Now that he had exchanged for them, although he couldn’t completely exceed the game’s framework, he could achieve more combinations and variations within it.

After a period of experimentation, Owen found that his idea was correct. Moreover, Goblins were truly adaptable. By fusing different Hero Equipment, they could advance into different professions.

Goblin Warrior/Sword, Goblin Guard/Armor, Goblin Monk/Scripture, Goblin Samurai/Hammer, Goblin Witch Doctor/Staff, Goblin Blacksmith/Rune, Goblin Archer/Bow, Goblin Thief/Cloak.

And this was only one of the four types of monsters, the Goblin. The other three types also had different advancement paths. This made Owen regret choosing the wrong path earlier. He should have waited to change his profession to Puppeteer.

Owen admired the Goblin Elite Squad before him, pondering how to utilize them.

Keeping them in the castle would be a waste, as the castle didn’t lack this level of strength.

Moreover, although summoning one low-level monster a day seemed insignificant, it would accumulate over time. If he didn’t spend more progress points to exchange for underground space, the cellar would eventually be filled.

Snakes and Slimes were fine. Their size was small. Owen threw them into the gradually improving dungeon passages of the castle, serving as guards and his eyes and ears.

Goblins and Demon Sheep were different. The former weren’t known for their peacefulness, and the latter had particularly bad tempers.

As one of the four types of monsters, Demon Sheep had black fur, red eyes, and two heavy, ram-like horns. Their size was far larger and stronger than their counterparts. Although they had no hands or feet and couldn’t use weapons, a single headbutt could shatter human ribs like mahjong tiles. Coupled with their extremely irritable temperament, if he kept them in the cellar, they would demolish everything.

Therefore, Owen decisively bestowed a set of Hero Armor upon the first summoned Goblin Warrior, promoting it to Goblin General.

In addition to becoming taller and stronger, the Goblin General also automatically gained the ability to command other Goblins and had a considerable influence over other low-level monsters. This greatly satisfied Owen.

After prioritizing the construction of a dungeon passage leading outside the castle, Owen ordered the Goblin General to lead its Goblin subordinates and the Demon Sheep to Magic Horn Forest, to compete for territory with the Magic Horn Goblins there.

The two-meter tall, slender, and explosive Goblin General, carrying the weapons and food bestowed by the Demon Lord, confidently headed towards Magic Horn Forest. They would defeat and subdue the Magic Horn Goblins there, conquering new territory for the Demon Lord.

Owen didn’t plan to interfere with the movements of these monsters. Apart from regularly sending the Goblin General to collect a batch of freely summoned monsters, their achievements had little to do with him. After all, even if they occupied the entire Magic Horn Forest, what would that achieve?

Currently, Owen’s energy, besides being partially focused on researching different advancement combinations for different monsters, was also on anticipating the exchange for the Synthesis Furnace.

The Synthesis Furnace could enhance Hero Equipment and monsters in the game, turning them into Demon Lord Armament and stronger monsters. Its function was not insignificant.

Moreover, Owen still hadn’t given up on creating puppets. The Synthesis Furnace could obviously play a huge role in this, so exchanging for it was imperative. The only problem was that he needed to wait patiently.

The further along he progressed, the slower the progress points recovered. To accumulate twenty points, it would take at least ten days to half a month. This made Owen even more eager to break through the current progress point limit. Unfortunately, he had no clue how to do it. He thought about randomly choosing a neighbor and exterminating their family to test it out, but he couldn’t bring himself to make the decision.

Waiting, waiting, and more waiting. The progress points were like an oxygen tube being pinched. No matter how eager Owen was, they still increased slowly, making him anxious. Even Maya’s presence couldn’t alleviate it.

But “System Daddy” refused to loosen its grip on the progress points. No matter how anxious Owen was, he could only wait. As he waited and waited, his mood gradually calmed down.

“Master, you haven’t inspected the territory for a long time.”

Maya, who had been squatting for so long that her legs were numb, slowly stood up. She smoothed her slightly damp skirt, elegantly wiped the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief, turned around, and spoke to Owen, who was in a relaxed state, in a flat tone.

“Oh? The territory.”

Owen, who had almost forgotten that he was still a lord, finally snapped out of his reverie. He was about to reach out and rub his face, but suddenly smelled something. Decisively, he went to wash his hands and face and change his clothes before speaking to Maya in a serious tone.

“Inform Charle. Prepare the horses. I want to inspect the territory.”

“Yes, Master. I will inform her immediately.” Maya nodded, opened the window for ventilation, then swayed her increasingly plump hips as she walked out of the study, leaving Owen with more to reminisce about.

After Maya left, Owen rubbed his waist, thinking about whether he should add a bed to the study. But the bedroom was right next door, and adding a bed here seemed redundant. Even with the scene enhancement, it wasn’t necessary. Maybe he could get a swing instead…

Lost in his thoughts, Owen walked down the stairs and arrived at the castle gate. Fully armed, Charle was already waiting there with the warhorses. The Cuirassier cavalry stood in formation beside her.