The man didn't want to lead a ruined army. Clung understood that much, and he shared the feeling. For that same reason, he made sure to follow Thom's instructions, and observed the development of his settlement closely. The things the king had asked for would seem simple and easy to obtain at a first glance, but it became complicated when the hobgoblin began to search for answers to his questions.

After three days of barging into other goblins' business and bothering his hobgoblin companions, the poor youth was able to gather enough information to answer Thom's questions. With a pleased smile and bags under his eyes, the black hobgoblin entered the treehouse where the humans were staying.

They gathered on the carpet once again, sitting down with Thom in the middle. Clung cleared his throat and reviewed the information in his head before speaking. Before the group became impatient, he opened his mouth.

The first thing that Thom had asked for information about was how many goblins lived in the settlement. Basing himself off the supposition that all sections of the horde possessed 500 goblins in their ranks, the settlement they were in should have close to a thousand goblins when combining the ones Clung and Kulung were chieftains of. Both their armies lived in the same spot, after all.

Taking this into account, the average residents of a single building were between eight and nine goblins, which put the number of houses at a low 120 or close. Thom took a mental note of this, since he sadly did not have a place to write it on, nor a quill.

Next thing would be their food source. Clung explained that, since the goblin tribes were divided before into dozens of small groups, food wasn't exactly a problem. However, ever since they had banded together under the same purpose, it had become a bigger responsibility to feed their ranks. Up until now, they had survived by hunting boars and eating fruits from the trees, but boars had steadily begun to decrease and fruits became sparse as winter closed in. The noar herbs they cultivated weren't yielding as many results as before, either.

Thom was particularly interested in this specific topic of food resources. He seemed to pay utmost attention and occasionally closed his eyes to picture something, as if already making plans to solve this issue. Clung secretly sighed in relief after seeing such a decided face on that man.

Then came the talk about the buildings. It seemed like everything was crudely built in a rush with spare stones, sticks, logs and vines. Thom wasn't an expert, but he was sure buildings needed some kind of foundation to sit on, or they would fall apart as easily as the goblins' did. The fact that the wood was covered in moss and the goblins never did any sort of cleaning also influenced in the deteriorated aspect of the constructions.

Although she didn't think it was necessary, Erina explained that the condition in which they lived gave leeway to many diseases spreading. The fact that they resided in such overcrowded communities meant that the diseases would spread even faster. It was probable that many of the goblins were already sick with some kind of sexual disease of some sort.

Clung reflected on those ideas.

Armament was the next issue on the list. Goblins didn't seem to be armored with any kind of leather or wooden armor, and they didn't seem to carry any sort of actual weapon. Stone picks, basic slingshots, spears and nets seemed to be their go-to arsenal at the time of engaging in fight or hunting. Thom didn't think this was exactly a bad thing, but it was severely lacking when it came to iron weapons, bows, stationery crossbows, and most importantly, stone walls. Those, of course, were all things that Pontya counted with.

The black-haired group began to ponder what kind of information had the goblins' master given them, and why they thought that attacking Pontya would be a good idea of any sort. They didn't voice this thought, and allow Clung to continue.

Their water source was mainly the river. They recollected it with basic stone tools and some clay utensils that their master had lent them, but they had slowly decreased in number since they broke with ease, and the goblins weren't at all delicate.

Regarding violence, Clung stated that there wasn't really any trouble with dispute between the goblins. There had been about a dozen murders in the last two months, but that was more or less normal in their community. The perpetrator would be forced to do the dirtier jobs of the horde for a while, but that was it. The human party frowned slightly at this. It seemed like the cultural gap was still too wide.

For Thom and Suu who did not have any kind of prejudice, this would be an unexpected occurrence. But Erina more or less expected the goblins to be barbaric. Still, since she was following Suu and Thom at the moment, her slight discomfort on helping the goblins wouldn't be expressed. She did not think the goblins would actually win the war by any means— and that all Thom and Suu were doing was creating a gap to escape safely from Kulkus.

She looked at Clung, who was enthusiastically explaining the information he had gathered. At least the more humanoid hobgoblin didn't seem to be as aggressive as the goblins. For now, she could cooperate as long as it was with Clung or Kulung, and not the pig-like beasts of the forest.

Shortly after the black hobgoblin was done with his exposition, Thom let go of a sharp smile.

The girls looked at him curiously, followed by Clung. Had a sudden bright idea popped into his head?

"Well, to begin with, let me say that I'm not a smartass. But, even I know that I can't judge your society based on my own experiences." The man said. "The rate at which your people die and the amount of goblins living together is not something I can solve for you. After all, I'm nothing but a farmer. Masons and doctors would have a better say in that, and a scholar... A scholar may be better for your communication issues."

"Is that so...?" Clung muttered, disappointment surfacing on his expression.

"It is true. However, my incompetence in the more specific details doesn't mean that I cannot help you with something that I do know a whole lot about. Something that is essential in winning a war, and essential in just about anything that includes living beings, really."

The hobgoblin looked at him with eyes full of hope, a smile starting to form on his face. "R-Really? Tell me, king, what is it?!"

"Hmm..." Thom closed his eyes and smiled. "The only thing a farmer's good for, I'd say."

And so, the agricultural expansion of Clung's section, named by Thom as the Black Horde, begun.

The days passed quickly and quietly inside the forest. Flames burned down the trees and nurtured the land with their ash.

•••

A pair of impatient fingers tapped on the armrest of a grody throne, long thick nails stabbing against wood that sounded like violent summer rain.

One golden face shifted in place. Its sharp canine teeth were showing from the ultimate expression of displease he was making, his gaze traveling through the room like an arrow to land on the trembling body of the other present person. Up until now, that person had been giving a detailed report to his liege. The amount of food they were using, the state of their soldiers, the number of weapons they counted with. Those were things the one on the throne had been hearing up until now.

He had been pleased to listen, but the room had turned cold as soon as one name was mentioned.

"Why did you shut up? Weren't you going to report something about Clung?" The man on the throne spoke, bearing his sharp tusks.

"Y-Yes..." The other one shyly nodded. "It's been two moons already since the hobgoblin Clung told us to halt operations. I have information... About how he and his section have been faring since then. I, I believed it to be relevant information, after all."

"Hmph. If it's news that they've fallen into doom because of their lateness, I don't want to hear it, Hulung." The man clicked his tongue.

"No, it's... Quite the opposite." The one named Hulung nervously stated.

The man on the throne raised his eyebrows, revealing his golden pupils to his servant. He was more than surprised about the news, apparently. Hulung, the servant, let out a small smile of relief as he saw Hlung's surprised face. Then, he continued.

"You see, sire Hlung, Clung reported an encounter with a king from the human world that was willing to betray his kind and help our army. He and his aides repeatedly call him Lord Thom, so it is my supposition that such is his name. It's also to note that the human male was accompanied by two powerful beings, probably his vassals. One male and one female, basing off the size of their chest."

"The size of... Idiot, that's not how humans work!"

"Eek!" Hulung jumped on the spot.

"Ha... It doesn't matter. Go on." Hlung swayed his hand and leaned back on his throne, waiting for the report to continue.

"Yes... It seems like these humans were capable of using potent magic, too. There are many unsettling things, but I'll start with..."

The forest fires.

Up until now, Hlung had believed that the columns of smoke that extended from the forest going in Clung's direction were only mistakes from the black goblins' foolishness. He had no way to know that the truth was far from that.

In reality, they were controlled fires created from magic. The process and their course of action seemed complicated and pointless at first, but it soom became evident what they were attempting to achieve.

The humans cut down trees and plucked the stumps out of their roots. They proceed to burn them until they turned to ash, and fertilize the earth with it. They had done this for over two weeks until they cleared a big area of the forest— what came close to three hectares. With the help of the goblins, they had used sticks and vines to create a perfect square around the area, as if to delimitate a zone.

Hlung asked with confusion to what purpose had they done this. The answer was that they had decided to grow crops.

"Ha..." The golden-faced hobgoblin sighed. "It is true that winter is the rainiest season if it doesn't snow, but it is also the one where the sky is the darkest, and the cold is strongest. Have they taken this into consideration? Their plants will most probably not last the winter, they should have invested in the buildings to protect from the landslides on the hills instead."

"Well, thing is... They've already sowed their harvest, haha..."

Hlung stared at his servant with a serious expression. The later swallowed dry, feeling that he had deeply annoyed his liege. Hlung was wearing a face that stated, very clearly: "I'm not in the mood for jokes.", but Hulung wasn't joking in the slightest.

Although a big portion of the land they had plotted was used for cultivating berries and random vegetables they had found in the forest, one whole hectare had been dedicated to growing the Noar herb.

The berries and leaves they had planted had already been recollected twice or thrice, and were soon to be sowed again. That on itself was strange enough, but what was actually concerning was the rate at which the Noar herb had begun to grow. On regular conditions, said herb would take two months to grow to its full extent, and would require strict and time-draining attention. It was the same with all the magic herbs that the hobgoblins had been cultivating— they were extremely hard to grow. Not only that, but they would also only recover about 120% of the planted material. It was a tiringly slow process, which couldn't be rushed no matter what.

"They have already harvested six times since they finished making the field... which was a singular moon ago. Not only that, but each time they have harvested, they recover the full lot and the same amount in benefits, plus a whole other lot out of nowhere. They plant one hectare worth of herbs, and recover three. Worst thing is... this happens with everything they plant, too."

Hlung was silent. He couldn't believe what his servant was saying, and honestly, he didn't want to believe it. Planting during the close of fall and recovering twice the expected result without any kind of setback? It seemed like Clung was feeding him erroneous information to make the horde think that their situation was favorable. Hlung simply smirked. He wasn't going to let his disappointment show on his face at the moment, a simple set of lies didn't seem important enough when he needed to get ready for the war with Pontya.

He was, however, interested in these humans that the hobgoblin kept blabbering on about. He would keep it in mind, but it would probably not keep him awake at night.

"Anything else to report beside our little friend's fable?" Hlung closed his eyes and awaited a response.

"Yes." Hulung bowed. "Putting aside good news, there are still a few issues with the state of the horde. There have been a few skirmishes with the orcs as of late, this past month alone we've lost seventeen goblins to the orcs. And yet, we have barely managed to make any damage to their ranks. If this drags on any longer, we'll have heavy losses soon."

"What about the slimes?" Hlung raised his chin.

"They keep stuck to their cave. There haven't been any more issues after the first incident, since the goblins are too scared to go into the cave again. I think it is a good development." Hulung smiled slightly.

He was speaking about a dangerous lifeform they had found not long ago, deep into the forest. A blue blob of ooze that covered the walls and the ceiling of a massive cave as if it was eternal, and melted even the rock from the stalactites. A group of gatherers had entered the cave looking for food, but almost the whole party had been turned into composte. Only two returned and told the story.

They were already low enough on manpower, so they couldn't allow for similar things to keep happening. If their numbers were decimated before they attacked Pontya, it would be utter disgrace for everyone involved. How would Hlung look at his master once he returned if such a thing happened?

"A good development... It is indeed." Hlung sighed, tapping his fingers on the armrest once again. "And the crystal people?"

"We have confirmed that one of them perished in their last battle. Only one of the crystals remain, but it doesn't seem to be looking for a fight. The figure stands at the top of the hills all day and baths in sun, nothing more."

"Quite mysterious. And annoying." Hlung sighed.

Other problems included the decreasing amount of boars in the forest. They were a good source of food and distraction for the goblins, so having them disappear was a matter of concern without a doubt.

Hlung was almost certain it was due to the excessive punishment and strain the put on the species, but still denied it because it was an important asset to maintain in constant use. If they could obtain food from another source and diminish the amount of meat they were eating, it wouldn't be as hard to keep the boars as tools.

But then again, that would mean having to rely on agriculture, and they had demonstrated to be miserable at working the soil several times. Not only was there the matter of their incompetence, but winter was extremely close, too. Food was starting to become an even bigger issue. And they would have to quickly get rid of Pontya before things got any worse.

Hlung was also aware of their lack of preparation, but he couldn't drag the situation any longer, or the army would die of hunger before they could even try to conquer the city.

He was aware that there were a great range of choices, but only one particularly called his attention. It hurt his pride perhaps more than just slightly, but there was something more important than his petty sense of self-esteem. If he failed this mission, it would be on him and the horde that they disappointed their master.

"Hmm." Hlung let go of a pitiful smile. "I guess curiosity has gotten the best of me. Let's pay a visit to our black-skinned brothers, shall we?"