Chapter 61 - 61 58 Raising the Enemy Empowers Them Please Follow_1

61: Chapter 58: Raising the Enemy Empowers Them (Please Follow)_1 61: Chapter 58: Raising the Enemy Empowers Them (Please Follow)_1 The hesitant Goblins all bristled and scattered, following Andy toward the direction from which the Goblin Tribe had fled. The wicked need the torment of their own kind. A small villain must be governed by a greater one. The fleeing Goblin Tribe obviously hadn’t expected anyone to chase after them, and once they were out of sight, they slowed their pace considerably, heading back to their lairs dispiritedly, in small groups. By the time Andy led his tribe to the attack, not all the Goblins of that tribe had returned, and there were no defenses in place; they were overwhelmed as invaders stormed into their lair. Who knows Goblins better than Goblins themselves? Their defensive traps were of limited threat to them. The calculative against the unprepared, the outcome was obvious. This lair of Goblins was directly uprooted; those that fled stumbled upon the steadily advancing Cangya Warband, resulting in the majority being taken captive. Gaven truly kept his promise, not only did he give all the Goblin captives to Andy, but he also sold all the worthless bits and pieces found in the Goblin lair to him—still on credit with Spirit Crystal Stones. Andy was nearly delirious with joy, nearly blinded by it. Compared to the rich income, the loss of a dozen or so Goblins in the process was negligible. To prevent other Goblins from settling there, after clearing out valuable items, Gaven directly ordered the place to be set on fire, burning it down completely. Following this event, Andy had tasted the sweetness of success. It was no longer Gaven coaxing him into warring with other Goblin Tribes, but Andy himself initiating contact with Gaven to attack other Goblin Tribes. With him at the center, Goblin wars he incited within a ten-kilometer radius caused complete chaos. With the support of Gaven, the Spirit Crystal Mine Tribe could be said to have won every battle against those Goblin Tribes; in just over twenty days, they had annexed seven tribes, with a population nearing a thousand, their development momentum seeming to even outpace the Blackwell Tribe. In the end, there was no need for the Blackwell Tribe to send troops; they could trample any ordinary Goblin lair by themselves. Gaven, on the other hand, sat back and reaped the benefits like a fisherman. The spoils scavenged from those Goblin Tribes, whether directly or indirectly, ultimately ended up in their hands, to be sold to human merchants by him. Gaven did not give Bede and the others any chance to get involved with the Spirit Crystal Mine. Beyond these direct benefits, there were also indirect ones. When the war broke out, the Gnoll Tribes within a ten-kilometer radius were also affected. To avoid being caught in the war, they had to seek refuge. The Blackwell Tribe was naturally, inevitably, and ultimately, their only choice. Especially after Andy accidentally led his men in wiping out a Gnoll Tribe, the remaining Gnoll Tribes almost unanimously and hastily joined the Blackwell Tribe. In the ancient military strategies of Zhang You, this tactic was well-known—nurturing a foe for self-advancement. When there are no enemies, to establish a controlled enemy within one’s domain brings unity to all under one’s rule. The faster the development and the greater the power of the Spirit Crystal Mine Goblins, the more united the Blackwell Tribe became, and the less likely those Gnoll Tribes who had come to them dared to make any reckless moves. As for the issue of the Goblin Tribe in the Spirit Crystal Mine going out of control? Gaven was not the slightest bit worried. The primary reason the goblins in the Spirit Crystal Mine had developed so rapidly was the plentiful food they obtained from him. From the beginning, the amount of food Gaven sold to the Spirit Crystal Mine was carefully calculated, and this was even more the case later on. The food he sold them was enough for at most ten days’ consumption, and even with the utmost frugality, it wouldn’t last more than fifteen days. Once Andy could produce Spirit Crystal Stones past this time limit, Gaven would come up with various pretexts to exploit them, with outright robbery being the most unsavory tactic. Gaven had plenty of strategies, and the simplest was trade. He would entice them with exquisite and beautiful jewels and clothes to satisfy their vain pride on the cheap, which, so far, worked very well on Andy. With this lifeline in his hands, Andy, unless he was incredibly foolish, would not wage war against the Blackwell Tribe, but rather focus his expansionist gaze in another direction. As the Blackwell Tribe grew larger and larger, Gaven not only became less busy, but he appeared to have more leisure time than at the beginning, enabling him to spend more time on his own affairs. This was, of course, thanks to the initial delegation of duties, which meant he no longer had to attend personally to everything as he had done at the start. As the tribe grew stronger and the number of personnel increased, more elites emerged among the Gnolls, and Gaven only needed to manage them well to keep the entire Blackwell Tribe firmly in his grasp. “I’ve leveled up, I’ve leveled up, Leader, I’ve leveled up… I can cast the Stone Shaping Spell now…” Accompanied by a burst of excited shouting, a Gnoll rushed into Gaven’s tent. The visitor was none other than the former Leader of the Cangya Tribe, Zack. This normally mature and wise old Gnoll now had an irrepressible excitement on his face. “Good, good, good.” Joy that couldn’t be hidden likewise filled Gaven’s eyes, The Stone Shaping Spell was not only a milestone for Zack himself but also for the Blackwell Tribe. They had too many construction projects that needed developing, and with this spell, the progress would be greatly accelerated. “Come, come, come, let’s see which construction project is the most urgent.” Gaven spread two simple plans out on the table, one of the Blackwell Mine and one of the aboveground Blackwell encampment. “Our current two most pressing construction tasks are, first, the expansion of the main mine. Leader, your previous concerns were valid; the size of the main mine has become a bottleneck. Our miners have trouble entering and exiting the mine each day, and although we’ve opened up two additional side mines, this hasn’t alleviated the pressure. seaʀᴄh thё nôvel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Expanding the main mine is imperative, and if necessary, I suggest we add two more side mines.” Zack spoke with authority, having a thorough understanding of the current situation in the Blackwell Mine. The original master of the Blackwell Mine, Gos, had been completely kicked out. All mining, planning, and personnel assignments were under Zack’s control, or more precisely, under the mining team led by Zack. Zack was now far from fighting a lone battle; he had at least ten Gnoll foremen under him to help with the management tasks. “The more side mines we have, the more defensive positions we’ll have in the future,” Gaven remarked, tapping the tabletop. “Can we separate people and goods? Use one mine exclusively for the miners to go down and another exclusively for transporting the mined materials.” “Once the main mine is successfully expanded, the flow of people and goods will naturally separate. But right now, we have too many workers, especially during shift changes. The two side mines are under heavy strain,” Zack answered. “I have already seen this issue and thought of a few solutions; consider these,” Gaven said, counting on his fingers. “First, divide the Gnolls into teams and shifts, staggering the times each team comes up for meals and rest. Second, send part of their meals down so that some shifts can rest and eat underground without having to enter and exit the mine. This would not only reduce the pressure on the mine’s entrance and exit but also save the time spent going up and down, especially for teams working at the greatest depths.” “The Leader’s two suggestions make sense and are very feasible. With this approach, there is indeed no need to add two more side mines. I will arrange for shifts to have designated resting areas in the mine, but as for delivering the meals…” Zack looked somewhat troubled, as this matter was outside his control and Supervisor Gos, who was in charge of this aspect, seemed to have a bias against him.