Chương 97: Chapter 96 Iron and the Living Map

"Now that everyone is here, we will discuss something important." The morning after Berners and the goblins became members of the alliance, Root's advisers gathered in Karath's house once again. Berners was among them. As the leader of a clan, his presence was only natural.

"Berners, do you remember the question Karath asked when we first met?"

"Yes! You ashked where we found the stone used to make our knivesh!"

"Krahahaha! Good. Then place that knife here."

"Here it ish!" Without hesitation, Berners removed the crude iron dagger from his waist and placed it on the table.

"What is that, Grand Chief?"

"Is it not merely a knife made from stone?"

"It looks so weak that a single strike would break it!" The advisers shouted their impressions one after another. Karath still did not understand why orcs felt compelled to shout everything. He had long since accepted that this was simply how orcs behaved.

"The truth is that before meeting Berners yesterday, Karath received a revelation from the ancestors." Every orc stiffened.

"The ancestors warned that a great secret was hidden inside the stone used by the goblins and commanded Karath to secure it."

"Then you did not visit the river to catch fish! You went there to meet Brother Berners!"

"Gasp! W-wash that truly your purpose?" The orcs reacted with their usual astonishment to Karath's shameless fabrication. For some reason, Berners looked just as shocked.

"W-were you testing me yesterday?" Now the hobgoblin had also begun assuming that every one of Karath's actions possessed some deep meaning. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. The irreverent thought was absurd enough to make him uncomfortable.

"A-ahem. Naturally." Karath improvised again to avoid being placed among the frauds.

"In any case, the ancestors also taught Karath how to reveal the secret hidden inside this stone!"

"Wh-what is the secret, Grand Chief?"

"Karath will show you once we gather as much of this stone as possible. However, he can promise one thing with certainty. Once its secret is revealed, we will obtain a material far stronger than ordinary stone."

"Then we will be able to make new weapons from it, Grand Chief?"

"Exactly!" The advisers' eyes widened at the promise of stronger weapons.

"Th-thish object?" Berners stared at the crude dagger he had used, his already large eyes growing even rounder.

"C-could it produce weapons stronger than drake bone, Grand Chief?" Even Parker, who rarely stammered, struggled to ask the question. Parker had eventually returned the two drake-bone axes he borrowed during the relocation. The village warriors hunted another ogre during winter, so he now carried axes made from ogre bone instead.

"Karath cannot promise it will surpass drake bone. However, if crafted properly, it should become stronger than ogre bone." Every orc reacted with shock.

"There is another advantage. Even if its strength remains below drake bone, this material possesses an important benefit." Karath looked around as though presenting a question.

"Ah! Unlike bone, stone can be gathered in enough quantities to make as many weapons as we need!"

"Now Dagon understands! To obtain strong bone, we must kill creatures like ogres or drakes. Stone can simply be collected!" Krog answered first. Dagon understood from his explanation and expanded upon it.

"Correct. If we locate a place containing enough of these stones, every warrior will be able to carry a powerful weapon!"

"Krahahaha! Excellent, Grand Chief!"

"Hunting will become much easier!" The greatest weakness in Root's military power was the imbalance between its warriors. Those originally from Bloodclaw carried drake-bone weapons, while warriors from the other tribes possessed vastly inferior equipment. The advisers looked delighted upon realising that iron could solve that problem at once.

"Berners, mark the location upon this map." Karath pointed toward the enormous monster hide spread across the table. The map contained everything the Bloodclaw Tribe had originally charted, along with information gathered while absorbing the other four tribes. Since moving to Root, they had added every region discovered during their hunts. It had become a remarkably large and detailed map.

"Um... what ish a map?" Silence filled the house as Berners scratched his head. Of course he did not know.

"Krog." The moment Karath called his name, Krog understood his intention and began explaining maps in detail.

"Ah! Now I understand!" After hearing Krog's explanation, Berners approached the map.

"The distance from here to that enormous tree ish about thish much..." He muttered while comparing distances.

"The cave should be around here!" Berners placed his finger upon an empty section of the unfinished map.

"There ish also a swamp around here. I have been there before."

"A group of Owlbearsh livesh around thish area. Another hobgoblin told me several daysh ago."

"And here there ish..." He did not stop after marking the cave. Berners continued identifying the locations of every terrain feature he knew and steadily filled the blank regions of the map. The goblins had wandered endlessly through the forest. Combined with the information shared between hobgoblins, Berners possessed knowledge of nearly every major location within at least three days' travel. A walking mobile phone with a map-revealing cheat function? Karath watched in a daze.

To preserve his dignity as Grand Chief, he wiped the drool beginning to escape the corner of his mouth. Hobgoblins appeared to be far more useful than he had ever imagined.