That afternoon, Jack and Emerson arrived at Fort Sprout. Victor summoned them in his study.

Glancing at the wizard standing straight, Victor leaned back in his chair and asked with a faint smile, "Is the injury on your back out of the way?" ”

Imerson was flattered, nodded but pulled the wound on his back, and said with a twitch at the corner of his mouth, "It's not in the way, it's not in the way, Cooks's whip is not heavy, I have already applied the ointment, it will be fine in a few days, and I don't have to trouble the priest." ”

"It's good to stay out of the way, because you'll have to go to the Swamp soon. Victor nodded, took out a map of animal skins from a drawer, spread it out on the table, motioned for the two of them to come closer, and said, "Help me point out all the spheres of influence, including the swamp scouts, on the map." ”

This map, made of whole calf skin, depicts the swampy terrain that alchemist creatures have discovered, covering an area of about 20,000 square kilometers, and a narrow strip of land 700 kilometers long and 30 kilometers wide near the western line of the Lark Mountains.

Alchemy militia Jack did not hesitate to point out on the beast skin map, "The swamp scouts are divided into three teams, namely the first regiment stationed in the southern fortress, with a total of more than 500 people and an activity area of 600 square kilometers, the second regiment stationed in the central fortress, with a total of more than 600 people and an activity area of 700 square kilometers, and the third regiment of the northern fortress, with a total of more than 500 people and an activity area of 900 square kilometers...... This is our forward base, located between the Southern and Central Fortresses, with 6 dragon lizards, 28 ferocious wolves, 80 arcane warriors, and an area of influence of more than 6,000 square kilometers. ”

Victor withdrew his gaze from the map, looked up at Emerson, and asked, "What is the current number of half-dragon tribes and goblin slaves?"

Imerson had a look of embarrassment on his face and muttered, "My lord, I'm ...... I haven't dealt with a half-dragon in a year. Seeing that Victor's face was not good, he quickly remedied it and said, "The last time I came into contact with the half-dragons, their number is close to 4,500, the number of half-dragons is more than 1,600, and the goblin slaves are about 7,000 or more, and they are divided into three races, the largest group has more than 5,000 goblins, and the remaining two have 600 and 400 goblins respectively, but they all obey the rule of the half-dragons." Now, I don't know......"

Emerson was reluctant to deal with orcs any longer, which made him feel like an anomaly, and he lost his status as the Randall family's head of hunting. But he was even more afraid of losing the favor of his master, and took the initiative to say, "My lord, I can leave at once to see what is going on with them." ”

Victor ignored him, frowned and said, "At first, the half-dragon tribe only had more than 1,000 members, and according to their reproduction speed, it is impossible to have more than 1,300 warriors now, is there something wrong in the middle?"

"I know that. Before Jack could speak, Imerson said, "About two years ago, a group of half-dragons who had lost a bloody battle fled from the west to the east, and some of them were swallowed up by our half-dragon tribe. ”

Under normal circumstances, half-dragons do not take in their own kind, unless they have their own totemic beasts, and the tribe has a very large territory and plenty of food.

Of course, the half-dragon tribe controlled by Emerson did not have totemic beasts, but with the help of the power of the alchemy dragon lizard, they occupied a vast swamp.

Nature's swamp dragon lizards are powerful and ferocious creatures with territories ranging from 500 to 800 square kilometers, they do not serve hydra lizards, and usually prey on half-dragons and lizardmen, and the two sides can hardly coexist. Due to the wild instincts of swamp dragon lizards, it is difficult for half-dragon hunters to kill them, and often actively avoid the territory of swamp dragon lizards, trying not to provoke the other party.

The alchemy dragon lizard, on the other hand, has an omnivorous talent, and all the plants in the swamp can fill their stomachs. Although the alchemy war mastiff eats meat, their food consumption is limited after all, and it does not pose a competitive pressure to half-dragons and goblins. Six alchemy dragon lizards and 18 alchemy mastiffs form three teams to patrol the territory borders of 6,000 square kilometers, providing shelter for the half-dragon tribe and goblin slaves.

The Forward Base, the Half-Dragon tribe, and the Goblin Slaves form a wonderful symbiosis. Alchemy dragon lizards and alchemy mastiffs protect their territory and drive out powerful and ferocious beasts; half-dragons mine underwater mineral deposits, hunt six-legged crocodiles, giant oysters, and giant shadow spiders, eat the flesh of beasts, and give leather and shadow spider glands to the advance base in exchange for metal throwing spears and harpoons; goblin slaves contribute a large amount of Zesheng resources to the advance base on the premise of eating a full stomach, including the seeds of a thousand curved reeds, various herbs and mushrooms, shellless clams, capybara meat, ore, and so on. However, they are attached to the Half-Dragons and are not directly controlled by the Forward Base. Once the number of members of the goblin clan exceeds 5,000, the goblin leader will drive some goblins out according to the orders of the half-dragons. These goblins are not protected by the Half-Dragons and are reduced to rations for carnivorous beasts. However, the territory patrolled by the alchemy dragon lizard was too large, and the exiled goblins were still providing resources to the half-dragons in exchange for the right to stay in the territory to live, gradually forming two small groups.

This symbiotic structure resembles a simple small kingdom, with the advance base at the apex of the kingdom, controlling the kingdom's territory, occupying large resources through unequal trade, arming the half-dragon tribes, squeezing goblin slaves, and controlling their numbers. But in the eyes of the half-dragons, this is similar to a social relationship of serving totem monsters, and the six alchemy dragon lizards patrol the borders of the territory and act as totem monsters.

The problem is that alchemy dragon lizards are not totemic beasts of half-dragons, and they are not the slightest attraction to half-dragons.

The cannibalism of the Half-Dragons around the Hydra Lizard will always affect many Half-Dragons tribes, and each tribe wants to seize the opportunity to desperately get closer to the territory of the Hydra Lizard, thus triggering a larger-scale bloody battle - this is the bloody battle of the Half-Dragons.

The half-dragon tribe that advanced to the base obviously smelled the smell of bloody war, and became ready to move, intending to leave the kingdom built by Victor and fight for their own position.

They play their brains with their kind, and Victor doesn't care, the vanquished will always fill their place. But who would have thought that this group of half-dragons would actually know how to absorb the defeated on the front line of the bloody battle, first increase their strength, and then join the bloody battle of the half-dragons and lizardmen.

The reason is actually very simple - their lives are too comfortable, they have a lot of supplies in stock, and they can raise new members.

If the Half-Dragons clan pulls all the vanquished away, the structure of the small kingdom advancing to the base will completely collapse, and the goblin slaves will become a terrible big problem.

Victor got up from his chair, propped himself on the map with one hand, and said angrily: "It seems that a bloody battle between the half-dragons broke out in the swamp, and the half-dragon tribes we control definitely want to participate in the war...... These stupid bones don't have to be put in a good territory, they have to run over and lick the ass of the Hydra lizard!" He paused and asked, "Jack, if I want to clean up all the goblin slaves in the swamp, do you think it is possible to do it with the power of the forward base and the swamp scouts?"

The alchemy militia thought for a moment, shook his head and said: "These goblin slaves have adapted to the swamp environment, the goblins have intelligence, the bear goblins have a dangerous instinct, we can hit them hard, and the possibility of completely destroying them is almost none." ”

Victor pondered for a moment and said, "I agree with you...... Then I wonder if if I order the slaughter of goblin slaves, cut their numbers, and wait for new half-dragons to attach themselves to us, will those surviving goblins come back?"

Jack replied without hesitation, "They won't come back, we can catch some of them, but the other goblins will flee in all directions and multiply their own groups." ”

Victor nodded, faced the wizard, and said with a pleasant face: "Imoson, you heard everything. If the Half-Dragons leave the territory, there will be no one to control these goblin slaves for us...... Goblin slaves have a very bad habit of enslaving each other as long as they outnumber and outnumber their slave owners. The number of dragon lizards I have domesticated is too small, and once the half-dragon tribe leaves, these goblin slaves will definitely live one litter after another. In order to eliminate the potential threat posed by the goblins, I have developed three plans, first you go to the half-dragons and try to persuade them to keep 1000 members and continue to control these goblin slaves. If they don't, I want you to be the goblin king for a while, provoking them to kill each other until the void is filled by the defeated half-drakes...... Neither of these plans worked, so I had to devise a concentration of goblin slaves and then slaughter as many of them as possible. ”

Imerson pleaded with a sad face, "My lord, the first plan will definitely not work...... I, I really don't want to be a goblin king...... You can just clean up the goblin slaves, they're going to spread anyway. ”

Victor smiled slightly and said, "To tell you the truth, in fact, I am not worried about the spread of goblins in the swamp at all, even if their numbers increase by 20 or 30 times, when the ant tide comes, they will become the first defensive barrier of the Centaur hills, which can weaken the scale of the ant plague and buy me more time." This trick I learned from the fish-man. So I'd rather disperse them than slaughter them. In that case, why don't you let these goblins continue to gather resources and create wealth for me?"

Imerson was dumbfounded and said, "My lord, you were playing with this idea from the beginning?"

Victor nodded and said, "In order to prevent the ant tide from entering the centaur hills to gnaw on the purple cane, the forest centaur tribe sends hundreds of thousands of centaur warriors every fifteen years to cross the swamp and eliminate the ant tide at the other end of the swamp. And the Zesheng race can hide in the water and never confront the ant tide head-on. The Centaurs of the Forest moved westward, and we became the first line of defense against the ant plague. ”

"We didn't have enough strength at the time, so I came up with the idea of using goblins as a barrier. Who told them that they couldn't get into the water? They had no way out but to resist the ant tide. ”

Speaking of this, he was silent for a moment, then shook his head and smiled bitterly: "I must admit that I did something stupid......"

Imerson hurriedly said, "My lord, this is a brilliant idea, how can it be stupid?"

Victor sighed and said in a low voice: "If you knew that the goblins once enslaved the orcs of the Far North, severely damaged the human kingdom, killed hundreds of thousands of human soldiers, and directly led to the end of the Golden Age, you wouldn't think so...... In fact, the loss of fertile northern wilderness for the human kingdom is caused by goblins. And the orcs who enslave the goblins are also consciously controlling the number of goblin slaves. ”

"What is the Golden Age?" ...... Imerson muttered blankly.

"I'll talk about that later. Victor waved his hand and said, "In short, the goblins are very smart, and if they find that they are not Ant-Man's opponents, they will turn around and attack the human fortifications, and instead consume our war supplies. ”

Pressing his right hand on the wizard's shoulder, Victor said in an expectant tone, "Imerson, now only you can make amends for my mistakes...... Confine the goblin slaves to this area and prevent them from spreading, and when the next wave of ants comes, the Ant-Man will wipe them out completely. ”

"I want to die for my lord!" Imerson said in a deep voice, half-kneeling on the ground. The lord's weight had brought him back to his feelings as a vassal.

Victor lifted the wizard up from the floor with his own hands, and smiled with satisfaction: "I don't need you, I have lived in the forward base of the Swamp for a long time, you just need to come over regularly and meet with the goblin slaves." You still live on your own estate. ”

Imerson was overjoyed, rubbed his hands, thanked him and said, "Thank you for your kindness." ”

"Just in case, I've given you permission to raise an alien creature in the Swamp......"

The wizard's face turned pale, and Victor asked in surprise, "What, is there a problem?

"Your Excellency, will you spare me...... If wisdom guides out of control again, I'm afraid I won't survive. And...... I'm so far away from the alien creature that I often have to use wisdom guidance to check its soul state...... This wisdom guide will manifest witchcraft runes, and if I get caught by the church, it's all over. Imerson said tremblingly.

With Father Miller behind your back, you're worried about...... Victor sneered, but he couldn't say it, and said, "Okay, I'll transfer another batch of elites to assist you...... You go down and rest first, and stay in the castle during this time, and when the arcane warriors come, you and Jack will visit the half-dragon leader. ”

Imerson froze and cautiously asked, "My lord, what ......about my family?"

"I'll send someone to tell your woman that you have a mission I have arranged, and you won't be able to go home for a month. ”

Still uneasy, Emerson asked, "Your Excellency, you won't let the two of them remarry, will you?"

"Get out!"

Watching Emerson leave the study in a panic, Victor turned his head and asked, "Jack, can the swamp scouts send alchemy militia to the forward base?"

"My lord, the swamp scouts currently have 37 alchemy militia and 81 alchemy auxiliaries, scattered in the three major fortresses, and it will take at least two months to transfer them all to the forward base. Jack replied.

"Forget it...... It's useless to have such a small number of people. Victor shook his head, returned to his chair, and continued: "I'll go to the Mercury Manor later, transfer all the alchemical humans inside, and you take them and Emerson to meet the leaders of the half-dragon tribe for a while, and then place these people in the forward base." ”

"As you wish, my lord. ”

Victor pondered for a moment and then asked, "I want to send a team across the Everglades into the Everfree Forest to scout Ant-Man's lair." How many alchemical creatures do you think will be needed for this task?"

Jack shook his head and said, "My lord, during the bloody battle of the half-dragons, the swamp creatures are changing, it is best not to send people across the swamp." If you have to go, you can choose to start in the snow season this year, and arrange 10 alchemy militia with 5 alchemy mastiffs, 2 alchemy dragon lizards, and 40 alchemy crows. ”

The alchemy creatures on the reconnaissance mission will not be able to come back if they are sent out, and this configuration is equivalent to smashing down 110,000 gold soles, and the sound may not be heard...... Victor twitched the corners of his mouth and asked with a blank expression, "How long does the half-dragon blood battle usually last?"

"Two to three years. ”

Victor exhaled, shook his head helplessly, and muttered to himself.

"We'll see when the time comes......"