Pangolins are an animal that is widely distributed throughout the continent.

There are also and more than one species in Transasia, and some parts of their bodies are used as basic materials by alchemists, but due to the ten years of war, there are not many hunters in the local area to hunt them, so this animal that is good at hiding is almost flooded in the mountains and forests.

Jackals used to eat rabbits, wild boars and deer, but when they were hungry, they would catch pangolins if they couldn't catch humans.

The problem is that pangolins have a lot of scales that are difficult to handle, and even for the sharp teeth of jackals, they are quite unfriendly.

Hogg didn't like the smell of pangolins, just as he couldn't understand why his code name was called that.

Actually, it's not just Hogg who can't understand.

Lady Adele, who had come to deliver the order, could not understand why Master Murphy had given Hogg such a strange code name.

If it is taken from the characteristics of the reclusive, wouldn't it be more figurative to call it a "night bat" or a "snake"? And it's more in line with the vampire's aesthetics of animals.

Although Lord Murphy explained that it was an association that came from seeing a litter of pangolins when he was out yesterday, Adele guessed that the truth should not be so simple, as a blood-related heir, she could sense Lord Murphy's emotions more clearly.

When the owner said the name "pangolin", he obviously had an inexplicable sense of pleasure in his heart, and he didn't know what he was happy about.

But what is certain is that this code name is by no means arbitrary.

Now, the freshly baked Blood Vulture "Senior Agent Pangolin" Comrade Hogg is waiting in the cave on the third floor of the sewers, which has been replaced by an old set of cut leather armor, with two wave-bladed assassin knives and two throat-slitting eagle claw knives stuck in his waist.

This dress is slightly different from that of a normal gnoll.

In general, the gnoll's armor is made by itself, so it is imbued with a crude "clan style".

However, they are savage, but they also learn.

Especially after the Fourth Black Plague swept across the continent, the Gnolls learned a lot from all over the continent that they overturned most of them, which led to the leather armor made by some skillful old Gnolls was not even worse than that made by human craftsmen.

Overall, however, the Tranche gnolls have not developed their own system of survival, which results in a fairly small number of them possessing armor.

The armor is also a status symbol among the gnoll tribe.

And now, the fifteen tall, short, fat and thin "clansmen" behind Hogg are all wearing armor, and although they are only old goods from the Blood Rat Gang, they are already well-equipped.

Hogg chose for himself a clan in addition to the gnolls and kobolds.

Seven kobold elites would be mixed in with them, and these cowardly but widely distributed aliens were not as fierce and powerful as the gnolls on their outward appearances.

They are always slumped, with long, bare tails, a head similar to that of a wild dog, and a pair of "big eyes" that glow in the dark.

Kobolds are also quite an amazing race.

They can still give birth to more than jackals, a dozen litters and three or four litters a year, which leads to the number of kobolds that even the most knowledgeable psionists on the continent can't say.

But kobolds are able to live well under the noses of other races because they are not aggressive, and are adept at burrowing and content to live in dark caves.

Their food is also readily available, and omnivorous kobolds are so hungry that they can even survive on grass.

This fairly easy to feed trait makes the kobolds a favorite vassal race of the aliens, and the kobolds' civilization system is even more backward than the clan gnolls, they don't even have their own language and writing, so they don't have a sense of honor and loyalty, and even in the dwarven mines, there are a large number of kobold laborers to help them mine.

However, kobolds have a very disturbing trait.

Part of their cowardly habits is very similar to that of "domestic dogs", that is, they are not threatening when there is no owner, but once they have the command of their owner, kobolds can quickly become aggressive and cruel.

Until their owner dies, they offer loyalty and are very obedient.

But as soon as their masters die, these fierce creatures will scatter and become harmless again until the next master who conquers them appears.

The Gnoll clan tends to domesticate a large number of kobolds as slaves, helping them dig out burrows to hide, help them smelt crude weapons, help them serve as cannon fodder in battle, and even in catastrophic years, kobolds are also very good "food for hunger".

The cost of feeding them is basically negligible anyway.

In addition, some of the bizarre legends about kobolds have been said to anger the dwarves, and it is said that the kobolds have lived under the earth for a long time, which has led to the attention of Gaia, the mother of the earth, so that some individuals who can use rough earth psionic powers are often born among the large number of kobolds.

Such individuals are revered as land occupiers, and often serve as the leader of kobold tribes.

Considering the exaggerated total number of kobolds, even if this ratio is low, it is enough for a lot of kobolds to occupy the division. There is also a rumor that the Gnoll Mystics first learned how to manipulate psionic energy from kobold minions, but this rumor is unfounded.

In short, at this point in the history of the continent in 1111, the gnolls and kobolds have become a symbiotic group.

Both sides take what they need.

Oh, and by the way, all kobold legends don't lack kobolds and candles

They need light to live underground, so the world's first candle to bring light was made by kobolds.

Even the most self-respecting elves can't deny this.

It can be said that it was the kobolds who brought the first rays of light to the unsettling darkness of this world, and this was their greatest, and probably only, contribution to this world.

Candles are a symbol of status and status in kobold society, and they will always put their favorite candle on their head and light it only when necessary.

For example, the 7 kobold elites of the Hogg clan are now sorting out their precious candles and helping each other put the best candles in strange hats on each other's heads.

The hat had a special pedestal for the candles.

It was like a strange ritual that satisfied the kobolds who were about to embark on their escape and quickly soothed the fear in their hearts.

This is the "supply" that Hogg has received from the Blood Rat Gang in exchange for them, and just these candles that are thick and large enough to burn for a long time are enough to make these elite kobolds with not very good brains offer their loyalty to Hogg.

After all, the other gnolls wouldn't bother to take the initiative to find candles for the kobold minions.

"Hogg, are they still coming?"

Just as Hogg was preparing for the "escape" that was about to begin, Nash, the toothless gnolla beside him, approached him with some restlessness and asked:

"It's been seven hourglasses, they haven't moved, I suspect they're all dead, let's go first."

Nash's words immediately sent several other gnolls howling in agreement.

They were all Hogg's hand-picked clansmen, stronger than the average gnolls but not to the level of elite leaders, and each had cunning traits and better brains than the average clansman.

Hogg loves such gnolls.

It doesn't like fools who use their power to do nonsense, those guys can't control it at all, but these compatriots can.

They can understand their own plans and why they are doing it, and they can get things done on their own without even Hogg oversight, knowing that everyone's interests are aligned.

Hogg clearly thought this was what a good clan should look like.

"Be patient, Nash, my brute leader."

Hogg imitated the tone of voice of Master Murphy, and said unhurriedly to his anxious fellow citizens:

"Of course we can leave now, but even if we make it back to the Andman Hills alive, we won't be taken seriously by Lord Kenpot. Do we have to go back and continue to be cannon fodder?

No!

We, the poor people who have lost our own clans, have reorganized the Bloodclaw Clan, and we have agreed to live, and to live better.

We need them!

More and more capable clansmen, just like hunters need fierce hyenas. ”

It is not yet adept at drawing bread for its people, and it says:

"If each of us has three barbarians under our command, then we can hold together and not be bullied by other people, and if each of us has five barbarians under our command, then we can make King Kenpot look the other way.

We are all strong fighters who have survived three fights in the gladiatorial arena, and this is our strength, and we have to strengthen this advantage if we want to be recognized. ”

Nash, who was next to him, immediately let out a strange cry.

It thought Hogg was right.

But it really doesn't want to stay here anymore, it's been killing ghouls and changing its compatriots here for seven days, and the disgusting rotten meat has almost made it lose interest in eating meat, and it will probably go crazy if it stays any longer.

But seven days had already allowed Nash to see Hogg differently.

This isn't your average gnoll, it's more intelligent than the average gnoll, and maybe Hogg has been boasting that its bloodline comes from the Moss Valley Sanctuary probably wasn't a joke.

It really comes from the Dark Mountains, from the place where the Bone King, who is as powerful as a god, was born.

This invisibly adds a bit of "mystical legitimacy" to Hogg in the eyes of the gnolls, and in their rough and wild worldview, places like Transcia are only the edge of the world, and only the Dark Mountains are the "center of the world"!

As for Mossy Valley, it's definitely the center of the world.

"They're coming, I hear them."

The Bloodclaw Clan's hunter "Old Blind" howled, and the blind gnolll hunter grabbed his vampire crossbow and aimed it forward, and the other gnolls grabbed their flail weapons one after another.

Under their wary gaze, a dozen gnolls gladiators were jumping from the fault in the second layer of the sewer to the third floor.

"Stupid! Go and stop them! This sound will attract ghouls! ”

Nash shouted.

Immediately two brutes rushed to meet their poor compatriots, who had clearly suffered in the arena, and each of them had a bloody squeeze.

But the good news is that when they escaped, they also "ransacked" the gladiators' arsenal, leaving them with leather armor and weapons.

He even brought out some jerky as dry food on the road.

"Good, good!"

Hogg stood up, wagging his short tail.

Escorted by a group of elite kobolds, it stepped forward and looked at the miserable gnolls gladiators in front of it, mixed with a few aggrieved kobolds who had been robbed of their candles by the young players.

The "rich" kobolds under Hogg immediately stepped forward and gave the smallest and thinnest of the candles they owned to their compatriots, after all, a kobold who didn't have a candle of his own was really pitiful.

"Your presence here shows that you are determined to escape from the vampire city, and I will take you underground to escape, and we will return to our wilderness."

Hogg exclaimed:

"But I'll only take my people away! If you want to leave, you'll have to join us and join the Bloodclaw Clan! ”

"I don't like the name."

An elite brute with his arm shrugged said dissatisfiedly:

"It's like a name for a vampire! I hate vampires. ”

"It's all about vampires, my people."

Hogg snorted, pointed to the top of his head, and said:

"Don't forget where we escaped, the vampires have humiliated us and we must pay back a hundredfold! The name is a reminder that let's not forget the great lack of vampires! ”

"Okay, then I'll join, my clan is gone anyway."

The brute sighed and said:

"I've seen my chieftain beheaded by a vampire's leg, and his head is now on display in the Bloodrat Gang warehouse, where they are said to be making some artifacts."

"It's the same with us."

The other gladiators were frightened and tried to run, and they did not object to Hogg asking them to join the clan.

Soon, Hogg's clan swelled to more than 30 people.

In addition to him, they are all absolute elites who have mixed up with three victories in the gladiatorial arena, plus ten elite kobolds, although the number is small, but the quality is super strong.

"Let's go! Get out of here. ”

With a wave of his hand, Hogg led his people to run quickly along the river channel of the three-story underground cave to the deepest part, and it took the lead to jump into the turbulent water below and held its breath in search of the confirmed underground passage.

It quickly found there.

After all, it was Madame Adele who took the map and repeatedly described the location to it.

The vampires also "thoughtfully" locked up a skeleton and deliberately hung it in a strange way under the entrance of the passage as a marker.

The wretched jackals poured into it and along the dim, damp, moss-covered underground waterways.

They didn't dare to stay, they could only speed up.

After a few dozen minutes of rapid travel, we finally reached the final exit, climbed up the steep stone cave, and were greeted by the quiet wilderness in the dark night and the Cadman River, which flowed quietly through the land.

"Hah, we're out!"

Nash yelled excitedly.

It flapped its claws, revealing the mark on its shoulder that represented the gladiator slave, and the other gnolls and kobolds bore similar marks of shame.

Hogg has it too.

But it was branded by Lady Dorothy herself, and it had to bear this mark in order to lead these fierce gladiators.

"Good news, I've been here before."

Hogg pretended to climb up and look around, as if to discern the terrain, and then said to his people:

"The Under Armour Hills are just across the street, cross the river and find our people, go! We're going to get there before dawn."

"Hogg! There's someone ahead! ”

The old blind soon spotted movement in the abandoned village near the riverbank, and cried out with his crossbow in hand:

"It seems to be our people, a migrating clan, do you want to go over and have a look?"

"Of course you have to go."

Hogg rolled his eyes and ordered:

"Prepare for battle."

"Huh?"

The other gnolls looked at their chief in amazement, and Hogg explained:

"If we know that we were slaves, our people will see it as a joke, and we will hide this secret, and you see how embarrassed we are! Do you think those people will let us beggars go if we pass?

The law of survival of the law of the jungle is the survival of the jackals!

Either we annex them and equip each of us with brutes and slaves, or they annex us and turn us into their slaves.

The choice is yours! ”

"There must be females in that clan. A gnoll without a partner will be laughed at. ”

Nash bared his teeth in the darkness and whispered, and the other gnolls began to growl, their eyes shining like a pack of real wolf cubs.

"Hey, let's go, two for one person!"

Hogg waved his hand.

The gnoll gladiators immediately followed it.

"All the candles of the kobold slaves over there are yours!"

It shouted at the kobold elite of its own clan, and the kobolds became agitated.

Candle!

Ah, candles, beautiful candles

The light in the darkness is something that makes people feel enchanted, and for it, kobolds can give everything, just like the hungry and thirsty gnolls now.

(End of chapter)