Gnut.

Rino decided that this goblin chief should be named Gnut and was given the rank that nobody else could understand. If Erika was the Royal Secretary and Fowler was the Royal Hunting Squad Commander, the goblin chief that everyone liked and followed was now a Baron.

What is a Baron?

Gnut's transformation wasn't as impressive as Fronzo's, Erika's or Fowler's. If anything, he looked more human-like after his transformation. The evolution from a goblin chief to a goblin lord was a huge jump and took a long time.

First, the skeleton structure was stretched, and Gnut grew taller. He wasn't as tall as Fronzo now, but if Fronzo was still a teenager, they would be about the same height. Then, he filled in nicely with denser muscles and bones. The classic green goblin skin remained, and Rino wondered if that would ever change.

Like a classic warrior, the goblin chief was muscular with almost zero fat percentage. His body was built like a seasoned fighter, and Rino was amazed by just how much a person could glow up from just a name.

Goblin Lord Gnut was a powerful monster by himself. If he was still alive and had his own will, Gnut would not hesitate to terrorise villages, plunder fields and commit many other heinous crimes with his advanced intelligence, management skills and superior leadership. 

However, serving under a more powerful ruler meant that his area of influence was contained to the territory he received. As a Baron, Goblin Lord Gnut had control over the internal matters and people within this village and province. That included the obnoxious Fowler that most people disliked.

What surprised Rino more was Gnut's followers, who were not given names. They did not remain as weak goblin skeletons. Everyone in the goblin clan who pledged loyalty to Gnut received some of the naming benefits as his subordinates. This had never happened before. Even Fowler transformed without his friends showing any signs of evolution. The lich thought that naming only applied to the individual and not the people around them.

The goblin shaman still remained the shaman he was. However, Rino sensed that there was an explosive increase of mana within his small body. Ok, maybe he was a little wartier in outward appearance now that he had his green skin back. His hair was white, and Rino could not tell how old the shaman was because he looked like he was over a hundred with that many wrinkles.

Looking at the subordinates, Rino found that all these goblins were now covered in green skin. That was a huge level up from the other farmhands that remained as skeletons. Even Fronzo was still a skeleton even if he grew taller. The only difference was how the farming goblins and crafters did not look any bulkier than they did before. They only looked more alive. The warriors and hunter goblins had an upgrade. They were now hobgoblins and looked like Gnut without the fancy chieftain tattoos all over their bodies. What an army! Rino was glad that he chose the right person as the Baron of this land.

"From henceforth, Goblin Lord Gnut, you are entrusted to make this province flourish under your care."

The highest position of this village belonged to the favourite goblin chief. Although nobody really knew what a Baron was yet, they cheered. How could they not rejoice? The only people looking a little dispirited were Fowler and possibly Mutt.

Was it not good enough that Mutt brought only four king toads back? Just as the sabre tooth wolf was sulking. Rino turned to his very first spare body and loyal hound.

"Mutt did well too. However, he is still young and has much to learn. You are strong alone, but together, you can be stronger. Learn from Gnut and Fowler. For now, you shall serve by my side as my mount and retainer."

With that, the winners were named, and the celebration officially began. Rino sneakily snatched that king toad leg in the stew pot he had been eyeing and teleported away. The cave was too rowdy for him, and he wanted some peace in his farmhouse.

Oh, yes. On that topic, Rino decided that the next three days should be spent on exploring that swamp. He was interested in the rumoured magic tree in the swamp. There was also the possibility of recruiting a large number of wisps, and Rino couldn't pass up that opportunity for another powerful spare body even if it was not as powerful as the World Tree.

At the same time, Rino decided that it was not wise for the undead to loiter or cluster in the cave all day when there was the sun. He should start looking into making dwellings for them with some tasks for them to work on during the day.

Seeing how this will be an undead civilisation from now on, building a complex sheltered walkway or underground passage for travelling was not too over the top. However, this was going to be a very huge project, and Rino simply did not know if they had any engineers in his army with the expertise to design those. Honestly, the best kinds of people to ask about obstructing complex architectural structures would be the dwarves.

He just did not know where to find some dwarves or if they existed. Dead dwarves were the best.

The food was great, and these king toads made tasty morsels. However, something else still felt missing to Rino in his farmhouse. The stew that Rino stole was getting cold, so he quickly dug in. The cat basket in the corner near the fireplace reminded Rino about who he wanted to build this empire for. Unfortunately, Noir wasn't always around, and Rino found him missing his cat friend terribly.

Food usually tasted better with company, and while the lich had no idea how awful his mashed potatoes were, he would prefer eating that with Noir than this tasty toad leg stew alone in this empty farmhouse.