Chương 105: Proclaiming King

To withstand the approaching host, the overall quality of the army had to be upgraded. Li Qinwu recognized that his current forces were far too raw; Goblin recruits made up the vast majority, and their organizational cohesion was practically non-existent. At the very least, he needed to elevate all of them into Hobgoblins. While the surrounding wilderness was bereft of wandering targets, they had fortunately secured ten fortified castles.

According to the mechanics of Mount & Blade II, every castle could garrison 100 to 200 soldiers, and if the stronghold possessed a training field facility, these garrisoned troops would steadily accumulate experience points over time. Without a moment's delay, Li Qinwu distributed his fresh Goblin recruits among the captured castles, allowing them to soak up the passive training modifiers. The later the enemy arrived, the more elite soldiers he would successfully forge!

While this passive system handled troop quality on one front, Li Qinwu initiated rigorous military drills in the physical world. The 2, 500 Hobgoblins served as his core backbone; he outfitted them with the finest heavy plate armor retrieved from the armories, organizing them into a dedicated heavy infantry corps. He forced these heavy infantrymen to drill day and night in close-quarters combat techniques, intending to anchor them at the battlements and city gates to crush the enemy's vanguard.

The remaining Goblin recruits were organized into crossbowmen and spearmen, positioned strictly as line-filler assets to absorb the initial shock. Furthermore, the grand barracks inside Poloia was recognized by the system as a Tier 5 Barracks, capable of holding up to 500 system troops. Li Qinwu lost no time in recruiting this quota to maximum capacity. Yet, even with these extensive preparations, Li Qinwu still lacked confidence.

Consequently, he began transferring his most vital strategic assets out of harm's way. He assembled a logistics convoy composed of 500 Goblin recruits and 200 oxen pulling heavy flatbeds. This caravan carried the disassembled components of the Mana Tide Observation Device, the delicate equipment from Western Hayden's magical laboratory, and a massive archive of books and documents.

As the convoy finished assembling under the command of Gobu Run, Li Qinwu gave him a final, strict directive: "Dispatch your swiftest riders back to the Union territory. Have them transport every available musket, batch of gunpowder, and artillery piece produced by our workshops directly to the front!" Li Qinwu fervently hoped to secure a massive shipment of Union firearms before the main enemy host closed in.

"Rest easy, Boss! I shall oversee this matter personally," Gobu Run assured him, slapping his chest.

"I will ride two giant spiders in rotation, pushing at maximum speed back to the tribal center. I guarantee the reinforcements will arrive before the enemy sets foot near our gates!" Li Qinwu clapped him on the shoulder.

"Go forth. When you return, it will be time to place a heavier mantle upon your shoulders!" Gobu Run departed with his convoy in a state of immense excitement. He was currently a battalion commander; if a heavier mantle was placed upon him, wouldn't he leap straight to regiment commander? After seeing off the logistics convoy, Li Qinwu began formulating a plan to seize the initiative.

Currently, the enemy coalition had not yet converged into a single host, and Count Fischer's military grain had not been distributed to the regional lords. If he could deploy his forces to strike now, he might successfully annihilate several uncoordinated contingents, drastically reducing the tactical pressure for the impending siege. The bottleneck, however, was that Li Qinwu lacked the confidence to march his grand army over a long distance into enemy territory.

The quality of his current host was simply too poor; apart from the original ten veteran companies of the Punisher Army, the remaining Goblin forces had never undergone long-term military training. If he dared to march this army down open roads, they would use the latrines three times a day, and half the host would desert before they even caught sight of the enemy's frontline. There was clear historical precedent for this.

Back then, Dragon Tooth had assembled an immense horde of Kobolds, but due to a total lack of organization, they could only wait passively at their own doorstep. When Li Qinwu first arrived in Poloia, the city's original lord similarly lacked the capacity to march his forces outward, forcing him to wait passively at the gates.

Now, that exact tactical boomerang had struck Li Qinwu square in the face; his forces had ballooned nearly tenfold in a brief span, reducing his army's organizational cohesion to absolute zero. Unless he was granted six months to nurture an officer corps and conduct field exercises, this army simply could not execute long-range offensive campaigns.

To resolve this issue, he needed to aggressively increase the ratio of system troops within his rank and file, utilizing system soldiers who possessed 100% absolute obedience to serve as officers and control the common conscripts. However, his current maximum capacity sat at a mere 110 system troops—the numbers were simply insufficient.

"It is time to proclaim myself King," Li Qinwu murmured under his breath. In Mount & Blade II, the moment a player's clan tier reaches Tier 3 or above and successfully occupies a town, they can officially found a kingdom! Once a kingdom is established, the player unlocks sovereign status, instantly granting the King an additional +100 to his party size capacity.

Furthermore, founding a kingdom unlocks the national policy system; by enacting the King's Guard policy, one could secure another +100 to party size capacity! (Note: In the original game, founding a kingdom required collecting the Dragon Banner, and the troop capacity bonuses were far less extreme; this constitutes a modified system rule.) In addition, a King could dispatch his companion NPCs to lead independent parties or directly elevate them to vassal lords.

Once a vassal lord possessed their own castle, they could independently develop their own forces. In short, by proclaiming himself King, Li Qinwu would unlock a massive surge in system troop quotas, reaping endless benefits! A few days later, Li Qinwu returned to Poloia with his host. He assembled his entire army within the grand courtyard of the Governor's Manor to initiate the coronation ceremony. Li Qinwu stood tall upon the high parapets of the manor walls.

Beneath him, nearly ten thousand Goblins were drawn up into immaculate, rigid phalanxes. A sea of banners fluttered violently in the wind, exuding a chilling aura of martial discipline that caused any lingering dissent to instantly vanish. Gobu Spear, Gobu Bow, Shaman Doggy, Miss Hana, and Knight Leo stood with solemn, reverent expressions directly behind Li Qinwu.

Within his consciousness, Li Qinwu selected the settlement of Poloia, opened the governorship interface, and officially appointed Shaman Doggy as the Governor of Poloia. He turned to Shaman Doggy and declared, "Shaman Doggy, the hour has come. We must establish our own nation!" Shaman Doggy immediately dropped to his knees, crying out at the top of his lungs, "Your Grace is profoundly wise! What shall be the name of our sovereign realm?"

Shaman Doggy appeared to be guided by an unseen systemic force, reciting the lines in a rhythmic, mechanical cadence. Simultaneously, a prompt interface materialized within Li Qinwu's consciousness: Name your sovereign realm: [The United Nations of Intelligent Creatures] Shaman Doggy roared once more, "Your Majesty! Which culture shall our kingdom uphold?" Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Two distinct cultural options flashed within Li Qinwu's mind: one was the ancestral Goblin Culture, and the other was the culture of the land he currently ruled, Thasos Culture. Li Qinwu selected Goblin Culture without a moment's hesitation. The instant his selection locked in, a unique systemic notification chimed sharply in his ears: Ding! The United Nations of Intelligent Creatures has been officially established!

This nation shall either embark upon an epic new crusade or vanish entirely into the shifting tides of history. Sire! Go forth and forge your destiny! Shaman Doggy flung his arms wide to the heavens, screaming with fanatical fervor, "The Great King of the Goblins, Enslaver of the Ten Thousand Races, Scourge of the Known World, Destroyer of the False Gods, the Sole and Legitimate Sovereign of the Monster Forest— Arthur Louis Romanov Qin Shi Huang!

At this monumental hour, pray deliver your sacred words to your undaunted warriors!!" Standing upon the highest precipice of the fortress walls, Li Qinwu cast his gaze outward. Beneath him sat an incredibly orderly sea of military phalanxes, their assorted blades, spears, and plate armor gleaming brilliantly under the harsh glare of the sun. At the absolute vanguard stood four massive cannons alongside the Ogre Dang Dang. Directly behind them were ten compact phalanxes composed of Goblin musketeers.

Further back sat the massive heavy infantry phalanx formed by 2, 500 armored Hobgoblins. Positioned at the very rear were the massed Goblin recruits drawing crossbows and leveling spears, closed out by the 500 human soldiers of the local militia. Every single pair of eyes was locked onto Li Qinwu. At this exact moment, a mysterious systemic force rippled through the host, compelling them to look up at the figure standing upon the parapet.

Staring down at this grand assembly, a surge of profound pride erupted within Li Qinwu's chest. No matter how many hardships he had endured since arriving in this foreign world, he had finally managed to forge a formidable force capable of violently shaking the foundations of the world! Yet, precisely as this pride surged through him, a relentless string of crimson system alerts flashed rapidly before his eyes: The Kingdom of Thasos has declared war upon you. The Kingdom of Resamond has declared war upon you.

The Kingdom of Akuxi has declared war upon you. The Kingdom of Donovan has declared war upon you. The Elven Empire has declared war upon you. The Dwarven Kingdom has declared war upon you. The Orcish Coalition has declared war upon you. A single glance revealed that he was now surrounded by a world of absolute enemies! Yet, Li Qinwu felt not a single shred of fear; instead, he looked upon the grand empires of the world and saw nothing more than clay chickens and pottery dogs!

He fixed his gaze upon his soldiers, his resonant voice booming across the courtyard like rolling thunder:"To every Goblin assembled here! To every monster! To every intelligent creature who has ever been reviled by the self-proclaimed 'superior mainstream races,' and cursed by the so-called 'compassionate and benevolent' gods!"

"For thousands of years, the hypocritical and deceitful humans have cloaked themselves in the raiment of wisdom, using the insulting moniker of 'monsters' to define our existence! The arrogant and conceited elves have shrouded themselves in the raiment of nobility, using the vulgar term of 'base beasts' to describe our bloodlines! The wicked and tyrannical gods have wrapped themselves in the raiment of divinity, using the discriminatory language of 'worthless weeds' to evaluate our worth!"

"If an individual utters:'I have raided a human village!' —they are instantly branded by the world as a vile criminal! Yet, if an individual proclaims:'I have slaughtered a Goblin tribe!' —they are universally hailed by the masses as a glorious hero!"

"By what right?! By what right?! By what right is their aggression deemed righteousness, while our retaliation is condemned as wickedness?!"

"By what right is their slaughter of our kin hailed as a wise and just triumph, while our self-defense is reviled as a treacherous and malicious ambush?! By what right is their genocide against us celebrated as the purging of evil, while our military counter-offensive is branded as a demonic invasion?!"

"By what right?! By what right?! By what ultimate justification?!"

"In the days before this hour, I pondered this fundamental question endlessly, yet could never unravel its core. But standing here today, I have finally grasped the absolute truth."

"The answer is simple: because they do not fear us!! They are not afraid of us!!"

"Because they possess no fear, they arrogate to themselves the titles of grand, wise, and courageous intelligent races! Because they are not afraid of us, they relegate us to the status of wicked, shameless, and base monsters—treating us as mere wild beasts meant to be harvested to fuel their expansion! Ever since their gods foully assassinated our ancestral deities through the most despicable means, they have cast off all restraint!"

"They drape every beautiful virtue in existence across their own shoulders, while stamping every vile and despicable trait onto our heads! They can perpetrate countless acts of unmitigated cruelty against us without a single shred of remorse, hailing it as absolute justice, yet refuse to accept a single counter-stroke from our hands, branding it as absolute evil!

They have defined themselves as intelligent creatures possessing legitimate rights, while systematically casting us out from the very ranks of intelligent life!!!" Li Qinwu grew increasingly impassioned, his fervor climbing to an absolute crescendo. He brandished his fist and roared, his voice projecting across the expanse with perfect clarity, Ensuring every single soul caught every word.

The original ten veteran companies of the Punisher Army—those who had followed Li Qinwu from the very inception—bore incredibly grave expressions. They were Tier 4 and Tier 5 veterans possessing exceptional intelligence; they could feel the raw, burning fury vibrating through Li Qinwu's words.

Conversely, the Goblins born locally within Poloia felt a wave of profound unrest; the awakening of a collective racial consciousness was inherently jarring, for it violently tore them away from the carefree existence of wild beasts and transformed them into social creatures. Li Qinwu's speech pressed onward without a single pause:"They act without restraint because they believe we lack the capacity to ever pose a threat to their sovereignty!

They act without remorse because they believe that having lost our gods, we can never overturn the heavens!"

"But I say— I REFUSE!"

"I refuse to accept a single slanderous evaluation they have stamped upon our existence! I OBJECT! I object to every single inhuman atrocity they have perpetrated against our kin!"

"We shall use the raw might of steel to shatter their arrogance! We shall use the thunder of cannons to obliterate the insults they have hurled at our names! We shall use the fires of war to demand absolute justice from our oppressors and the false gods, extracting full payment for thousands of years of systemic humiliation and tyranny!"

"We shall drag their hidden wickedness into the blinding light of day! We shall permanently upend the definitions of justice and evil they have monopolized for eons! We shall raise our swords and thrust our spears against them, carving our race's name back into the ranks of legitimate intelligent life through blood and fire!"

"We shall establish true order! We shall sweep away the barbarism and wickedness they have manufactured to define us, and utilize the power of law and civilization to forge a United Nations where multiple races coexist in absolute peace!"

"I know that along this path, we shall endure an immense amount of agony. We shall make an immense number of sacrifices. But remember this: it is precisely because of our struggles today that our children will be able to walk proudly beneath the open sun! It is precisely because of our battlefield sacrifices that our children will live in a society governed by order, possessing the exact same rights as any other living creature, free to enjoy the fruits of culture and technology!"

"Perhaps in the ages to come, our individual names will be entirely forgotten by history, but the grand cause of intelligent life for which we bleed today shall remain immortal throughout the annals of time!"

"Forward, my warriors! For order! For our race! For our ultimate destiny! Forward! Forward! FORWARD!" Deep within the massed phalanxes beneath the high wall, standing at the absolute rear of the military squares, a severely disfigured Goblin tightly grasped the hand of a dazed, unblinking Leopard-kin woman. Staring up at Li Qinwu—who violently gestured with his arm beneath the fluttering banner of the Union's Rounded Star—a unique, brilliant light gleamed within the Goblin's eyes.

"Order... is it..." the Goblin murmured softly under his breath. Memories of the horrific, sadistic treatment he and his mother had endured flashed through his mind—an experience of unmitigated agony. Countless times, he had yearned for the sweet release of death, yet that maniacal nobleman had continuously used magical spells to drag him back from the brink of passing, only to sustain the torture. Under that relentless, maddening torment, he had been pushed to the very edge of absolute insanity.

Right before his mind snapped entirely, the warm embrace of his mother—the Leopard-kin dancer—had been his sole sanctuary within that pitch-black dungeon. He finally understood. Exactly as the powerful Goblin standing upon the ramparts had proclaimed, the cruel treatment he had suffered was born from a deeply rooted, systemic contempt. A total absence of order had allowed him and his mother to be caged like beasts beneath the earth, enduring atrocities that defied human comprehension. If that was the case...

"Mother," the Goblin whispered, tightening his grip on the Leopard-kin woman's hand.

"I will protect you with my life." Holding the hand of the dazed Leopard-kin dancer tightly in his own, he began to step forward out of the ranks, walking firmly toward the high stone wall.