Chapter 94: The Clever Pig Da Zhi
Chapter 94: The Clever Pig Da Zhi
The moment the elders seemed to ignore him, Pig Da Qiang's mouth twitched.
"Silence!"
A deafening roar erupted from him, causing the Pigmen elders in the hall to shudder and immediately quiet down.
"Kill all those damned goblins for me! There must not be a single goblin in my territory!"
Faced with the chief's furious roar, the elders exchanged uneasy glances.
The Pigmen elder seated at the front raised his hand.
"Chief, we need to wait a bit."
"No waiting!"
Pig Da Qiang glared fiercely.
Pig Da Zhi straightened up, meeting the chief's angry gaze without flinching.
"We must wait, Chief. As the sage of the tribe, I cannot allow you to act recklessly!"
The Pigmen elders nodded in agreement.
Although the chief's strength was formidable, his intelligence paled in comparison to the sage.
Pig Da Zhi rose to his feet, turning to face the elders and the chief. He grinned confidently.
"I've questioned the clansmen who fled back. They said the goblins possess a long-range weapon capable of firing arrows. This weapon has given the weak goblins the power to challenge our hunting squads."
"Now, the question arises: why do the goblins possess long-range weapons?"
Pig Da Zhi smiled confidently and turned to the chief seated on the throne.
"It's obvious. The goblins must have taken these weapons from humans."
Under Pig Da Zhi's gaze, Pig Da Qiang's annoyance grew, his eyes glaring with frustration.
"Get to the point, you chatterbox!"
Unbothered by the chief's scolding, Pig Da Zhi grinned again.
"Any goblin capable of stealing weapons from humans is not a simple opponent. Therefore, we must not act carelessly."
With that, Pig Da Zhi returned to his seat, slightly bowing his head toward the chief.
"Chief, we should wait a little longer. Once our clansmen have all migrated to their new home, it won't be too late to sweep away the goblins."
Wasn't the conclusion the same anyway?
Pig Da Qiang grinned.
"Fine. We'll wait then!"
The Pigmen elders exchanged glances, then looked at the sage with admiration.
The sage was indeed impressive—his reasoning sounded entirely logical.
---
Goblin Forest, Northern Bank.
Throne Cave Dwelling, Iron Cavern.
It was a new day, in the afternoon.
On the open ground outside the Iron Cavern, Li Meng stood, basking in the scorching sunlight, facing the cavern entrance.
Beside him stood a massive armored figure: Benben.
Benben's armor appeared even thicker and heavier than before, weighing a staggering five tons. Every part of his body was encased in iron, including his joints, which were cleverly designed to allow unrestricted movement.
The helmet was a giant barrel-like structure with a visor slit ten centimeters wide. Though wide enough for arrows to target his eyes, a mesh guard protected the visor. In combat, the mesh could be lowered to block arrow strikes; in normal times, it could be opened for better visibility.
All ogres' helmets shared this design. The angled mesh guard also effectively shaded the visor from sunlight. As long as they didn't look directly at the sun, their eyes wouldn't be exposed to sunlight.
Time flew by, and a month passed unnoticed.
Today, Li Meng completed his blacksmithing work.
"Don't be afraid. Come out now."
Li Meng called toward the Iron Cavern.
Beside him, Benben bellowed toward the cavern as well.
Urged by the two, a massive shadow in the cavern's darkness began to move.
An ogre mustered the courage to step out cautiously. It first extended an arm into the sunlight. The scorching rays glinting off the iron armor caused no discomfort, encouraging the ogre to carefully step out of the cavern.
Under the sun, the ogre moved like a curious child, glancing around, lifting its legs, and waving its arms. It even raised its head to look for the thing it feared.
But with its new gear, it no longer feared the thing in the sky.
"Don't look at the sun!"
Seeing the ogre raise its head, Li Meng roared.
The thunderous shout startled Benben, who stood beside him, as well as the ogre outside the cavern. The latter quickly lowered its head.
"Do not look at the sun! Do not look up at the thing you fear, or you will turn into stone. Understand?"
Li Meng's words were directed not only at the ogre outside but also at those hiding inside the cavern.
"Alright, now come out. As long as you don't look up, you won't turn to stone."
Li Meng's task now was simple: to help the ogres adapt to life under the sun and train them to avoid looking upward.
Seeing their clansmen safe in the sunlight, the ogres inside the cavern began stepping out one after another.
A total of 23 ogres, all clad in full-body armor, emerged. Their massive figures cast a dark, continuous shadow.
Looking at the hulking figures before him, Li Meng grinned.
"Good. Time to trouble the Pigmen!"
A conflict with humans was inevitable, and Li Meng had no intention of retreating.
"Benben, take them for a walk. I'm heading back to the tribe."
With that, Li Meng turned and hurried toward the tribe's direction.
Watching his master leave, Benben stayed put. As the leader, he couldn't always follow his master. He needed to watch over his clansmen, who weren't very bright. Without his supervision, they might turn into stone by the time he returned.
During the months spent in the deep mountains, Benben had seen too many ogres turned to stone under the sun. He couldn't comprehend why his clansmen, despite their fear of sunlight, would hide in sunlit forests.
---
Throne Tribe.
Half an hour later, Li Meng returned to the tribe's cave dwelling.
"What's your name?"
At the entrance, he spotted a female Lizardman sitting idly. Seeing him, she quickly stood up.
"Master, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to block your way."
"No worries. You're not in my way."
Li Meng sat down where the female Lizardman had been sitting. Standing behind him, the Lizardman seemed unsure whether to retreat into the cave or remain still.
"Why didn't you go to the Iron Cavern with the others?"
Delivering milk to the male Lizardmen had become the female Lizardman's daily routine, which Li Meng had tacitly approved. Allowing male and female Lizardmen to interact wasn't a bad thing—it benefited their emotional well-being.
"I'm called Hui Shasha… I… didn't."
Do Lizardmen blush? At least, Li Meng couldn't tell.
He glanced at Hui Shasha's stomach. Seeing him look at her belly, Hui Shasha's eyes flickered with panic.
Smiling faintly, Li Meng didn't press further.