Chapter 337: A Player Guild with a Full Hundred Thousand Members

Exactly, just as the Goblin Chieftain is genuine goods, compared to Sha Ge who stands three meters tall like a green iron tower, this Goblin Chieftain before us is estimated to be under 1.6 meters tall.

Although his build is more proportionate and his face more kindly, this fairly sturdy physique, bolstered by wisdom, can still have decent combat power, yet standing before Sha Ge it is still rather weak—his thighs aren't even as thick as Sha Ge's arms.

Nonsense, because this is the true 'Goblin Chieftain'.

After over a month of getting along, Feng Wang has fully adapted to the role of a personal old master, occasionally popping up to offer guidance, just like now, taking on the role of spreading knowledge.

The so-called 'Goblin Chieftain' is actually a branch race that forms when many goblins gather, with the strongest among them automatically transforming; it's a basic defense mechanism, so the one before you is what a Goblin Chieftain ought to look like.

So what am I now……

I'll say it again—this is my body!

Feng Wang habitually emphasized his sovereignty, then spoke righteously.

I don't know what's going on either; my old memories have mostly faded away.

Because I can't tell this is a temptation.

Keep cursing! I can hear every word you say in your heart!

Ah ah ah, don't think about this!!

But now isn't the time to dwell on this; Sha Ge didn't let the chieftain's dignity fall to the ground, but warmly reached out and shook his hand.

... Damn, I don't know why it keeps popping up to nag and show off— is there any cheat more embarrassing than this?

Of course, Sha Ge, being human, still didn't feel this was some beautiful maiden; had he not noticed the other goblins at the table staring dumbfounded, he wouldn't even know what this was about, and would have thought those few little green skins were performing some rough war dance.

……No, actually I like dark-skinned beauties.

Actually, I've long heard of the great name of your Qingguo Tribe; seeing you today, you truly are an excellent chieftain.

Oh, you flatter me too much, please come this way, sir; we've prepared a modest feast, and hope you'll honor us with your presence……

Feng Wang here didn't indulge him either, immediately shouting.

At this very moment, on the other side of the map, Ji Ming was busy crafting talisman armor: 'Boss, could you please stop sneezing in my head, and especially in text form?'

Tsk……

How is that possible? My taste isn't like that at all; my taste is……

Who else would I ask if not you? Are we still bros or not? Why didn't you remind me about something this important? I have to figure it out myself.

How could that be? You're a goblin too—those guys' eyes are practically popping out; it must totally match your taste.

……

Afterward came a grand banquet; to entertain this honored guest, the Qingguo Tribe spared no expense—besides all kinds of mountain delicacies, they had the tribe's most beautiful maiden dance on a lovely blanket, with a few other maidens as accompaniment, her posture graceful and elegant.

The Goblin Chieftain hastily bowed.

Couldn't it be a dashing knight lass or an inviolable holy maiden? Fair skin, beautiful face, a curvaceous figure with long legs—that's really too traditional.

Ask me?

This this…… could it be that they're pulling an extremely bold beauty scheme?

You're sick.

Sha Ge also couldn't stand those constantly wriggling little green skins any longer, so he decided to cut to the chase and get straight to the point.

After three rounds of drinks, when the table's atmosphere was at its liveliest, he proactively asked the Goblin Chieftain about the purpose of his invitation to visit the Qingguo Tribe.

You're indeed sharp, sir; I see we've come to you with a request, so I'll just say it straight.

But before this 'straight talk' could even begin, the chieftain's eyes welled with two streams of hot tears as he wailed.

Sir, our tribe is just…… too miserable!

It turns out these goblins seem to have formed a tribe, but as a inherently weak non-human race, even when everyone else bands together, if they cling tight they can only remain the weakest of the weak.

Thus they've constantly suffered oppression and exploitation by other forces, bearing ever‑higher protection fees, to the point they were forced to learn farming and husbandry, yet still couldn't fill their own bellies, scraping by in a hand‑to‑mouth existence.

So if Sha Ge hadn't arrived, the chieftain, feeling hopeless about the future, actually planned to announce the tribe's disbandment next month, letting everyone go their separate ways to make a living as best they could.

But now they have obtained a hope that both could exist and must exist.

Thus Sha Ge pondered a moment.

I see—you want our warband's protection so you can regain a foothold here?

People change; once you possess an organization so huge it can't be simply called a tribe or guild, one that players tacitly acknowledge as the 'Non-human Warband,' Sha Ge is no longer the clueless newcomer who just started learning how to be a boss at a juice‑company clerk; intense real‑world trials have taught him a bit of the way of kings.

Thus, after guessing their intent, he didn't outright say yes or no, but played coy, planning to first probe their negotiation bottom line.

This matter, well, it's not impossible, but our warband currently has plenty on its plate—splitting focus might not be wise, after all, as you know, we have a lot going on.

However, just as that damn contraption began to turn, the chieftain suddenly sprang to his feet, and all the goblins in the hall rose with him, like students greeting their teacher before class.

What the hell!?

If it weren't for the fact that goblins even when serious look utterly ridiculous, and each standing is still shorter than when seated, the startled Sha Ge would have grabbed his axe and chopped off their heads.

And in the next moment, whether nobles or servants, this bunch of little green skins all dropped to their knees before him.

Please, seeing that we're of the same kin, take us in—we truly don't want to be oppressed any longer!

Exactly, compared to adopting a foster father and practicing 'tribute is the high form of alliance,' the Qingguo Tribe went further, directly proving 'annexation is the high form of tribute'!

If this were the real world, Sha Ge would surely point at their noses and yell, 'Stinky outsiders coming to our warband for a handout, wanting to act all high and mighty with a smack of the lips—fat chance! I'm an old‑school underground green‑flag veteran; even raiding bandits' homes for free loot doesn't get you a share!'

But this is a game; Sha Ge really doesn't want to think too much about it, and besides, lice are no worry—anyway, he already has over twenty thousand mouths under his command, so adding another couple thousand is no big deal.

Just……

Wait, isn't the Goblin Chieftain supposed to exist as a leader? What happens if a leader submits to another leader?

……I don't know.

Still don't know—hope you approach your life with the same attitude!

You!

If we were underground, Sha Ge could still go to the library to look up related info, or save trouble by telling a story to the Snow Leopard Person Mo Shou in exchange for another chance to ask, but here in the wilds, many things aren't convenient, so we can only shelve it for now.

If you insist, our warband would also welcome you with open arms, as long as you're willing to follow our rules and laws, simply be a friendly non‑human.

After receiving permission, the goblins immediately burst into a loud cheer, followed by a mountain‑shaking, sea‑like roar that spread throughout the tribe.

Then…

Then everything fell apart. After hearing that the demihuman warband had actually annexed an entire goblin tribe, the other demihuman tribes not only weren't afraid, but the next day they filled Sha Ge's desk with their invitation letters, all vying to join the demihuman warband.

Moreover, after the guild's clerks went through the letters, they were surprised to find that the applications included not only traditional demihumans, but also weaker beast‑folk such as mole people and dwarf lizards.

【Please, sirs, seriously consider our sincerity; if that's impossible, at least give us a channel to communicate with your rat tribe, please please please please QWQ】

「Chairman, should we take them or not? There are just too many people! If we added them all, our warband's numbers would probably shoot past a hundred thousand and never stop. 」

Sha Ge also wanted to refuse, but things had come to this point—he was riding a tiger and couldn't get off, so he could only grit his teeth.

「Accept! If we can hold out through this wave, our warband will be the players' number‑one force in the game! 」

Thus, more and more titles were added before the name 【Goblin Slayer】, such as 【Goblin's Heavenly Mandate Protector】, 【Gnoll's Legendary Protector】, 【Dwarf's Sacred Guardian】, 【Leader Revered by Cave‑dwellers】, 【Friend of the Rat Tribe】……

Oh, of course, there's also 【Every demihuman maiden's dream lover】.

【Damn, don't mess up my body】

「Never mind whether I can bring myself to lay a hand on this bunch of green and black; even if I wanted to, I can't get out of this bitter tea. 」

But the longer the title grew, the heavier the burden on Sha Ge's shoulders, and the demihuman warband's members officially exceeded a hundred thousand, becoming a huge, loose confederation; just maintaining its existence already had the players racking their brains.

After holding several Internet conferences, he led the high‑level officials in swiftly reforming the warband's structure.

First, the already‑formed tribes would keep their warband organization, but they must return to their original tribal form—everyone would just do what they used to do; however, when they were bullied later, they could report to the warband, and the gang would back them up.

Second, Sha Ge contacted nearly all the player guilds, insisting on taking the land nobody wanted and building on the hills everyone disliked; on the barren lands between the guilds' garrisons he set up one demihuman shelter after another, placing all the unaffiliated scattered demihumans and beastmen there, forming a temporary tribe under the warband's guidance, striving for self‑sufficiency while continually welcoming new members.

This approach aimed to reduce the concentration of people in any one area, thereby easing large‑scale conflicts and making management easier; moreover, the surroundings of every warband settlement were player forces, so even if they had improper thoughts, they wouldn't dare voice them.

Doing this, on the one hand, is to try to reduce the number of people gathered in a single area, which while reducing large‑scale conflicts also makes management easier; moreover, the surroundings of each battle group's settlement are all player forces, so even if they have any improper ideas, they would not dare to express them.

It's truly impossible to support them!

Those hundred thousand people, once productive, were like a bottomless pit; although we had stockpiled a year's worth of food for all the tribes, it was gone in just a few days.

As for what the future would hold from doing this, Sha Ge didn't know; after all, when Ji Ming and Cang Lang met him, the shelter plan had only just begun.

As the saying goes, partial hearing brings darkness, hearing both sides brings clarity; even if Sha Ge tried his hardest and studied, what he could grasp in a month was still limited, so he's recently felt rather lost.

It so happened that he ran into the two of them, and besides complaining he also wanted to ask if they had any opinions or ideas.

It just so happened that I ran into the two of them, and besides complaining and venting, I also wanted to ask them if they had any opinions or ideas.

"The idea is, you're truly badass, old iron—other guilds, to expand, have started handing out oil, rice, flour, and New Year goods offline to members; you're like you've got Long Aotian possessing you, wherever you go you have lackeys bowing, beauties throwing themselves at you, and even when you're worried you can't manage all your lackeys, what do you do?"

The idea is, you're really awesome, buddy! Other guilds, in order to expand recruitment, have started giving members offline supplies like oil, rice, flour, and New Year goods; it's as if you've been possessed by Long Aotian, wherever you go you have lackeys bowing to you, beautiful women throwing themselves into your arms, and even you're worried about having too many lackeys to manage, wondering what to do.

"Your line of thinking is sound, but your approach lacks finesse—especially with those big and small tribes, since you've already absorbed them into your force, how can you just leave them alone? Relying only on occasional correspondence when something comes up is too lax! Then they'll say yes outwardly but act otherwise, scheming against your subordinates, cheating you out of supplies and pay; you won't even be able to tell whether you can know, let alone investigate—pure clown."

Your idea is sound, but your approach still lacks finesse—especially those big and small Tribes. Since you've already absorbed them into your forces, how can you just leave them aside and ignore them? Even just keeping in touch by letter when needed is too lax! By then they'll outwardly comply but secretly defy, harming your subordinates and swindling your resources; you won't even be able to talk about investigating, let alone know for sure—you're just a clown.

「Your ambition is not yet spent—sir, how do you propose we proceed? 」

Cang Lang leaned forward slightly and raised an eyebrow.

「Do you know the Han envoy? 」

Sha Ge suddenly understood.

"You mean, let me, in the name of a warband envoy, place my reliable subordinates in each tribe as eyes and restraints, always maintaining my influence there; if anyone harbors second thoughts, let the envoy clash with them, then I'll, under that pretext, raise arms, move the six armies, push their leaders onto the guillotine, and then chop them all up."

Cang Lang was about to smile and nod, feeling that the young are teachable, but he was choked back by that last remark.

「Wait a minute—actually we don't need to go that extreme; the ancients also said 'three no‑mornings'. 」

"Wait a moment, actually…… we don't need to be so extreme; even the ancients only attended court three times."