After the battle ended, we decided to return to the village as quickly as possible. Honestly, leading about 2,000 troops back is quite a daunting task. For that reason, I entrusted the command to Hakuro and had him lead them back. I quickly returned using Shadow Travel and instructed Soue to report the victory. We needed to prepare a large number of tents and other necessities, so it was quite busy.
After sending Soue off, I chose those who would return ahead of time. One Langga and one Star Wolf, along with two others, could fit three people in total. There was a dispute over who would return first. Shion shouted, "I'm the attendant!" and Benimaru argued, "I need to guard!" Geld also insisted that he could help with the transport and refused to back down. Honestly, I didn't care either way.
"Wait! Then I realized that I can also use 'Shadow Travel.' I decided to return first, and the argument ended there. Langga, who wanted to carry me, and Shion, who was eager to go with me, were disappointed, but that's not my problem.
"Then, I'll go first!" I declared and used 'Shadow Travel.'
Wow, what a convenient skill. It creates a straight path to the destination, like a two-dimensional space. I flew along this path using 'Flight Magic.' The speed was incredible, and I arrived at the village under construction in no time. This skill can create a path to a place I've visited before, even if there are no people or monsters there. The journey that took three days felt like it took less than an hour. It must have been faster than the speed of sound. My 'Flight Magic' can't reach that speed yet, but I think this is a very efficient way to travel.
The experiment was a great success. Langga and the others would take 2-3 days to return, and Hakuro and the Hyorks would take at least a month. In any case, I needed to prepare the living spaces before they arrived. When I reached the village, I was greeted by the village and the Hanyou. Although there were some issues left, the major problems were resolved. For now, I wanted to rest.
From then on, everyone returned to the village smoothly, received their assignments, and settled down. The village was rapidly taking shape. The Hyorks, who arrived in less than a month, quickly learned the skills under the guidance of dwarves and skilled goblins. According to Kaijin,
"If we train them, they might even match the skills of dwarf craftsmen!"
The village, now with a labor force, saw a surge in construction. At the same time, the transportation of materials was carried out systematically. We dismantled the tents we no longer needed and sent them to the orc settlements. The goblins, scattered in various places, were also settling down and establishing a foundation for their lives. A system for exchanging local specialties was also being developed. It's like a return to the barter system of ancient times, but it's great that they are thinking and acting on their own. While large-scale agriculture isn't possible yet, they are gradually learning. A few varieties of potatoes, which can grow in harsh environments and are quite nutritious, have been developed. They can sustain life without luxury. I guided the cultivation of these potatoes, hoping that we could achieve self-sufficiency in a couple of years.
Geld worked hard on transporting the tents and seedlings. As he claimed, he swallowed the dismantled tents and materials and delivered them to various places. The ability to ride on Langga's 'Shadow Travel' was a significant factor. Geld took it seriously and was the first to endure 'Shadow Travel.' From then on, it was much faster. Delivering to mountainous areas on foot would take months, but now it could be done in a day. This led to the establishment of a major communication network between the settlements, similar to the early postal service. We wrote messages on wooden boards and circulated them among the settlements. The lack of literate individuals was a concern, but we hoped that the messages wouldn't be too distorted as one person delivered them to all the settlements. Learning to write would be ideal, but 'Telepathy' is too far-reaching to be practical. It's a future challenge.
Thus, the connections between the tribes and settlements became more solid. I almost forgot about one person: Gabiru. That fool suddenly appeared in the village and said,
"Hey, hahaha! I, Gabiru, have come to serve Rimuru!"
"Should I call you?" Shion asked seriously. His face was genuine and sincere. Gabiru turned pale and said,
"I was too cheeky! I'm sorry! Please make us your subordinates! We will definitely be of help!"
It seemed he had been disowned by his father and had nowhere to go. Feeling sorry for him, I decided to take him in as a subordinate. He would probably be cheeky again soon.
Suddenly, I noticed that some of the lizardmen's personal guards were mixed in with the others.
"Hey? Leader, why are you here?"
"I admire Soue and want to serve him!"
"What? Weren't you supposed to follow me?"
"I'm different from those with muscle brains! You'll see!"
They started arguing. Most were following Gabiru, but a few were personal guards. If they wanted to serve Soue, that was fine too.
"If you want to serve Soue, I can talk to him. But he's a ninja; will you be of any help?"
"It's fine! We're different from those tofu heads!"
"Wh-What! Don't look down on me! Brat!"
What a pair of troublemakers. They probably had a grudge from when Gabiru rebelled and was captured. I decided to ignore them. Later, I heard that Gabiru had a sister who admired him and was pretending to be a man. She, like Gabiru, was a bit strange. Her father was a great person, though.
"Soue's subordinates will be called Souka. The other four will be:
Touka, Saika, Nansou, and Hokuso.
The women will have 'Hua' and the men 'Sou' in their names. It's just a convenient choice. These five will be the personal guards. I'll leave them to Soue."
When I gave them names, they began to evolve. Gabiru looked enviously at them. However, I couldn't give Gabiru a new name because he already had one.
"Gabiru, don't look envious. You have the name 'Gabiru'!"
Gabiru looked at me in surprise. Then, his body began to glow. Hmm? This is the sign of evolution...
I thought, when I felt my mana being drained from my body. Not this pattern again!
I never thought it was possible to overwrite a name. It was probably a coincidence. The person who named him was dead, and the wavelengths happened to match. The reason is unclear, but I definitely gave Gabiru a new name. I wanted to make him reflect a bit more, but I was afraid he would become cheeky after evolving. I decided to go into a low-activity state while thinking about it.
The next day, I gave names to 100 lizardman warriors. I mixed in some letters and gave them appropriate names. I reached my limit at about 20. It seems that I can only drain mana from higher-level monsters. It took me about five days to name them all. I was starting to feel like I was working harder than I ever had before. It was all Gabiru's fault. To teach him a lesson, I shot a magic bullet at him.
"What are you doing!?"
He asked in surprise, and I replied, "Training!"
He seemed happy to accept it. He's definitely a fool. He and Gobuta will make a good pair. I didn't shoot the magic bullet aimlessly. Gabiru had evolved into a Dragonman. He was covered in tough dragon scales, and multiple barriers automatically activated. Strangely, the males and females looked different. The males were not much different from lizardmen, with wings and dragon horns, and their scales had darkened. The females had a more human appearance and were quite beautiful. They had dragon horns and wings and could transform their skin into dragon scales. They resembled a human form with black snakes, which might be a type of dragon.
I wanted to test the defensive capabilities of the Dragonmen, so I had Gabiru experiment. He was unharmed, even though the magic bullet was five times as powerful as a normal strike. Maybe he was a fool and didn't feel pain, or perhaps he inherited my pain resistance. Dinosaurs are known to have dull senses, so that might be the case.
Now that they had evolved, where would they sleep? The area around the village had only a river nearby. Building a settlement for just 100 was too much trouble. The cave had a high concentration of mana, which made it unsuitable for fish. However, could Gabiru and his group survive there? If they could cultivate Hipoktecho, that would be great.
But would it be too dangerous for them to enter the cave? I left the five personal guards to Soue. They would become excellent ninjas or kunoichi. Soue is ruthless, so I was afraid to train with them. The main concern was Gabiru and his group. If I put them in the cave, they wouldn't become food for monsters, but the evolved Dragonmen were B-rank monsters. Most could handle them, but the centipedes would be tough. They had combat skills and weapons, so they might be okay. Gabiru, who evolved to A- rank, seemed fine. He had a significant amount of mana and felt like he would soon reach A-rank.
"Gabiru, I want you to cultivate Hipoktecho in the cave. Is that okay?"
"Of course! I'll work until I'm ground to dust!"
He answered confidently. I entrusted the task to him. If they lived in the cave, they could serve as gatekeepers, which would be reassuring.
Thus, Gabiru and his group began cultivating Hipoktecho in the cave. When I checked on them, they were doing a great job. The warriors, who had fought in constant battles, had gained experience and strength. They could now handle centipedes in groups of five. They were reliable. I decided to prepare better weapons for them soon.
Time passed. Two months after I returned to the village, everyone had adapted to daily life, and work was progressing smoothly. The final visitors arrived: goblins. When I went to see them, there were about 8,000 goblins. They knelt before me and said,
"Please make us your subordinates!"
"Please, we beg of you!"
I thought about it. If I refused, it could create future problems. I had said not to look down on other races. If I rejected them, it would create a precedent of discrimination. I decided to accept them.
"Fine. I'll kick out any troublemakers. Is that okay?"
"Of course!"
They accepted it easily. The next thing I knew, the Death March was playing. I screamed as the goblins were named. I called them the Green Warriors, and the Green Army was born, a main force to rival the Yellow Army. They were still messy goblins, but I gradually gave them names over a month. It wasn't all bad; my maximum mana capacity had increased slightly. Repeatedly draining and refilling my mana had a small effect.
Thus, the naming of the goblins was completed. By the time I finished, all the monsters in the village had been assigned homes. The goblins lived in dormitory-like buildings, which were better than tents. Each household had a well, making the village quite civilized. The toilets were flushable, which was excellent. While some monsters didn't need to excrete, the smell in various parts of the village was a problem. I decided it was a non-negotiable issue.
Many fields and farms were still under development. I wanted to grow the village. Finally, I had successfully obtained the land of the Anzu. The monsters under my command were:
Oni: 6
Black Storm Wolves: 1
Star Wolf Leader: 1
Star Wolves: 100
Goblin Riders: 100
Goblin King: 1
Goblin Lords: 8
Hop Goblins: 8,657
Orc King: 1
High Orcs: 1,984
Dragonmen: 106
And 4 dwarf allies.
Over ten thousand monsters now lived on this land. Finally, the village was built.