Leo had expected the Bloodtusk clan to recoil, but their pride was a thick, stubborn hide. Instead of backing down from Frost's lethal chill, the axemen erupted in a unified, frenzied roar. ''Cowardly woman! To strike our brother from the shadows is a disgrace! If you have the soul of a warrior, face us in the light!''
Frost's eyes turned into chips of frozen sapphire, and the moisture in the air began to crystallize into jagged shards around her. Leo had enjoyed the spectacle so far, but the time for games had passed. The new recruits needed a leash.
''Malphas,'' Leo murmured.
The Crimson Knight didn't move a muscle, yet a suffocating wave of killing intent washed over the courtyard. The Boar-kin slammed to a halt, their knees locking as their primal instincts screamed at them to flee. The Stonegut Slingers trembled, their eyes wide with sudden realization. 'This pressure... it feels like the Great Chieftains of the old world,' the lead slinger thought, her grip tightening on her belt as she struggled to remain upright.
Leo stepped forward, his hands buried in his coat pockets and a sharp, predatory smile playing on his lips. ''You talk a lot about the strength of warriors. Fine. Let's put that muscle to the test.'' He gestured to the Goblin Captain, who was vibrating with fanatical loyalty in the wings.
The goblin bounded forward, his red skin gleaming. ''My Lord!'' he chirped, puffing out his muscular chest.
''Go. Show them what real strength feels like,'' Leo commanded. The goblin's grin widened, revealing sharp, yellowed canines as he rolled his neck and shoulders—a swaggering habit he had clearly mirrored from Leo himself.
Malphas retracted his aura, allowing the axemen to finally draw a ragged, desperate breath. They looked at the small red creature before them with pure, unadulterated disdain. ''You mock us?'' the leader growled, glaring at Leo. ''We are Bloodtusk. We would sooner fall on our own blades than serve a master who sends a child to do his barking.''
''A simple wager, then,'' Leo said, his voice smooth as silk but cold as the grave. ''If you defeat my friend here, you walk out of those gates as free men. But if you lose... your lives, your loyalty, and your very souls belong to me.''
The Boar-kin didn't hesitate. They pushed forward their champion—a titan of a male whose skin was a roadmap of jagged scars and throbbing veins. He looked like a mountain of angry meat shaped into the form of a man. He tossed his iron axe aside, the heavy metal thudding into the dirt, and loomed over the Captain like a storm cloud.
''What are you supposed to be, little red rat?'' the brute sneered, his shadow completely swallowing the goblin.
By now, the entire stronghold had gathered to witness the clash. Luna stood near the front with Ren, holding her interface up to record the encounter. 'Hye-na needs to see this,' she thought, her fingers steady as she framed the shot.
High above on the workshop roof, Selene watched with a bored expression while Z perched on her shoulder. ''They never learn, do they?'' the small creature hissed.
The Goblin Captain simply chuckled, dropping into a loose, agile stance. Despite evolving into a mutated hobgoblin, he stood at a mere four feet. 'His intelligence has skyrocketed,' Leo observed. Back when the mutation first took hold, the goblin could barely string a sentence together. Now, he was expertly baiting his opponent. Leo felt a spark of pride; he was watching a champion rise from the dirt.
The muscular Boar-kin didn't wait for a signal. He roared, his massive feet pounding against the earth like a runaway carriage as he charged. He didn't bother with a weapon, intending to crush the small goblin with his bare hands. ''I'll break your bones, little rat!'' he bellowed, reaching out with hands the size of dinner plates.
Captain Goblin didn't flinch. He stood his ground, his red skin glowing under the dying sun. He clenched his fists, his smile never wavering even as the giant closed in. As the Boar-kin launched a massive fist toward his face, the Captain slipped the strike with a ghost-like blur. His eyes traced the motion with terrifying precision. Before the attacker could even register the miss, the Captain's fists ignited with a crimson glow.
''Savage Cleave,'' the Captain whispered.
Though he lacked his hammer, the skill's power was undeniable. The Captain's fists slammed into the attacker's fur-covered chest with the force of a battering ram. A visible shockwave rippled through the air, echoing off the stone walls.
The Boar-kin's eyes bulged, the air exploding from his lungs in a sharp, wet gasp. Despite being twice the goblin's size and triple his weight, the champion was sent hurtling backward.
He skidded across the training ground for ten meters before crashing through a wooden fence in a shower of splinters.
The courtyard plunged into a heavy silence. The other Boar-kin axemen stood frozen, their arrogance shattered. Their champion, a monster of pure muscle, had been discarded like a broken toy.
'Faster than I anticipated,' Leo thought, watching the Captain casually roll his shoulders. 'The strength density in that small frame is incredible.'
The Boar-kin champion groaned, clutching his shattered ribs as he struggled to breathe. He looked up at the goblin with genuine, soul-deep fear. Captain Goblin walked over, his expression one of mild disappointment. ''Who's next? I've got all evening to show you why the Lord named me Captain. Hahaha!''
Grakul's tribe erupted in a chorus of high-pitched cheers and mocking laughter, their earlier fears forgotten. Luna lowered her interface slightly, her jaw dropped in shock. ''I had no idea that goblin was so... that was pure physical dominance,'' she whispered to Ren.
River, the leader of the workers, murmured to his companions, ''To think that the scrawny goblin who used to order us around has become such a monster. Following Lord Leo might be the greatest blessing of our lives.''
Before the fallen champion could even crawl away, the rest of the Bloodtusk clan—axemen and slingers alike—dropped to their knees. Their foreheads pressed into the dirt in a gesture of absolute submission. ''From this day forward, the Bloodtusk clan pledges to follow the Sovereign until our last breath!''
''OHHHH!'' they bellowed in a thunderous choir.
Leo shook his head with dark amusement. He tapped the Captain's shoulder in approval, and the red hobgoblin beamed before running off to brag to his brothers. With the population now sitting at 253/300, Leo had to be strategic. He directed the new recruits to the barracks, praying the tension between them and Grakul's tribe would hold until morning.
'I want to see what other races have to offer, but I need to save room for the elite units,' he mused.
While Leo managed the recruits, Verdict was operating with lethal efficiency. As the head maid, she saw the logistical gaps that Leo's inexperience overlooked. She immediately pivoted the workshop's production, ordering the temporary staff to focus entirely on bone arrows to replenish their stores for the undead archers.
She moved with cold precision, organizing the potion stocks and overseeing the hauling of massive stone boulders to the ramparts for defense. She established a clear evacuation plan for the non-combatants and distributed the surplus gear Leo had stored in the warehouse. Rare-grade armors and weapons from fallen foes were handed out to the ogres and lead warriors, ensuring every hand was armed with something lethal.
As the night deepened, a heavy sense of dread hung over the Origin. The lords were restless, haunted by the looming shadow of tomorrow's conflict. No matter how much they prepared, the Origin was famous for its cruelty and unpredictability. The strange blessings of the last three days were a harbinger of something massive. Every lord was pushing their territory to the limit, but deep down, they all knew the truth: tomorrow would be nothing short of a bloody massacre.