Keziaz stared intently at Kurzadh, his eyes full of anticipation, his breathing quickening—he was waiting for Kurzadh to hand over the arachnari giant spider egg, after all, this was a sacred relic of the night hobgoblins and one of the main reasons for his submission.
But Kurzadh's next words instantly stunned him.
"Oh, by the way, Keziaz," Kurzadh didn't mention the arachnari giant spider egg at all, instead changing the subject and pointing to the depths of the mine, asking, "You just said there was an iron ore here? Where exactly is it? And what's its scale?"
The anticipation on Keziaz's face instantly crumbled. He scratched the back of his head, nodding somewhat dejectedly: "Yes… yes, there's iron ore. It's in the innermost area of the mine, an old vein that the dwarves used to mine, and there's still a lot of iron ore inside. But our tribe doesn't have enough manpower, and we night hobgoblins don't like mining either—for us, riding spiders and ambushing enemies from the shadows is much more interesting than chipping away at rocks in a mine, so we haven't really mined it much."
As he spoke, he secretly observed Kurzadh's expression, hoping he would remember the arachnari giant spider egg, but Kurzadh's attention had already been captured by the words "iron ore" and he didn't notice Keziaz's disappointment at all.
"Not enough manpower? Don't like mining?" Kurzadh's eyes lit up, his heart filled with wild joy—this was incredibly good news! An old dwarven mine, plenty of iron ore, and no large-scale mining—wasn't this prepared just for the Blackrock Clan?
He could no longer contain his excitement. With a wave of his large hand, he roared at the greenskins behind him: "Orc Boyz! Follow me! Let's go check out the night hobgoblins' tribe and find out the exact location of the iron ore!"
"WAAAGH!!"
The 150 Orc Boyz instantly let out a thunderous roar, raising their axes and spiked clubs, and followed Kurzadh charging into the depths of the mine.
The hobgoblin archers and spearmen also followed closely, their footsteps echoing in the mine shaft, shaking loose fragments of rock from the ceiling.
Keziaz and the night hobgoblins stood frozen, staring at the mighty greenskin Army, unable to react for a long time—they just charged in? Without even a word of greeting? But they didn't dare to delay, quickly mounted their spiders and followed, as they had already submitted and had to follow their new boss' pace.
The night hobgoblins' tribe deep within the mine was even more distinctive than imagined.
The architectural style here was entirely dark-themed. Unlike the chaotic layout of ordinary hobgoblin tribes, the night hobgoblins' wooden huts were built with pitch-black hardwood, their surfaces coated with an unknown black viscous liquid to prevent moisture and insects; the roofs were covered with thick spider silk and dry grass, looking like black beehives from a distance.
The paths between the wooden huts were paved with smooth flagstones, and glowing moss was embedded in the cracks of the flagstones, emitting a faint green light, allowing them to see the way without torches—this was the "Glow Moss" that the night hobgoblins had specially cultivated to adapt to their underground life.
In the center of the tribe was a circular open space, where several huge spider web disks were laid out, drying various animal furs and bones, as well as some clay pots filled with black poison, emitting a pungent odor.
The tribe was surrounded by naturally formed caves. Stalactites hung from the cave ceiling, and stalagmites rose from the ground. Some caves even had standing water, with the green glow of the Glow Moss reflected on the surface, appearing particularly eerie.
The night hobgoblins' homes were scattered among these caves; some lived directly in the caves, while others built wooden huts next to them, forming a scattered and orderly underground tribe.
"This place is good, very hidden and quite tidy," Kurzadh observed the surroundings, nodding with satisfaction. If this place were transformed into an iron ore mining base, it would be safe and convenient, and they could utilize the night hobgoblins' familiarity with the terrain—it was perfect.
"Bone Tree! Come here!" Kurzadh shouted behind him. Bone Tree immediately ran over, still clutching his axe, his face full of excitement: "boss, what's up?"
"You know about iron ore, go and see which part is iron ore, and show us!" Kurzadh said, pointing to the nearby rock wall.
Bone Tree instantly perked up, swung his thick arms, and walked to a rock wall, observing it carefully for a moment—there was a dark brown area on the rock wall, with a metallic sheen on its surface, distinctly different from the color of the surrounding rocks.
"This is it!" Bone Tree roared, raised his fist, and smashed it hard against the dark brown rock.
With a loud "bang!", his fist hit the rock wall, fragments of rock flew, and a rock the size of a washbasin detached from the wall and fell to the ground.
Bone Tree bent down, picked up the rock, wiped off the dust, and excitedly held it up: "Boss, look! This is iron ore! Look at its color, its weight, it's definitely good ore!"
Kurzadh quickly walked over and took the iron ore—it was heavy in his hand, with a smooth surface, and subtle metallic veins could be seen on the dark brown ore, exactly like the iron ore he had seen in past records.
"Hahahahaha! Excellent!" Kurzadh couldn't help but burst out laughing, holding up the iron ore and roaring at the greenskins behind him, "Boyz! See this? This is iron ore! With this, our future armor, axes, and great hammers will all be taken care of! We'll be able to forge sharper, sturdier weapons, fight bigger battles, and WAAAGH to our hearts' content!"
"WAAAGH!!"
"Weapons! We want iron weapons!"
The greenskins instantly erupted. The Orc Boyz waved their axes, wishing they could smelt the iron ore into iron and forge new weapons right now; the hobgoblins also cheered, their eyes full of anticipation—iron bows and spears were much more powerful than Kurzadh ones, and they would no longer have to fear human chainmail in future battles!
Keziaz and the night hobgoblins stood aside, looking at the excited greenskins , their faces bewildered.
They didn't understand what was so exciting about iron ore; in their eyes, ambushing enemies and fighting on spiders was the most interesting thing, while mining and forging weapons were utterly boring.
Just then, Kurzadh suddenly turned around, looked at Keziaz, and smiled: "Keziaz, I almost forgot something."
Keziaz's heart tightened, thinking Kurzadh was about to make another demand, and quickly said: "Boss, just give the order, and we'll definitely do it!"
"The arachnari giant spider egg, you all will be in charge of taking care of it from now on," Kurzadh said, "You are familiar with the underground environment and know how to raise giant spiders. I trust you with this matter."
Keziaz's eyes instantly lit up, unable to believe his ears: "Bo… boss, are you serious? You're giving us the arachnari giant spider egg to take care of?"
"Of course, it's true," Kurzadh nodded, adding, "Not only that, but any weapons and equipment your tribe needs in the future, whether it's iron shortbows, bone daggers, or cloaks woven from spider silk, you can tell me, and I'll have the tribe's blacksmiths forge them for you!"
"Re… Really iron weapons?" Keziaz and the night hobgoblins were thoroughly excited, chattering around Kurzadh. For the night hobgoblins, iron weapons meant stronger ambush capabilities; poisoned arrows with iron arrowheads could easily pierce enemy leather armor, which was more important than anything else.
"My word is my bond!" Kurzadh thumped his chest, assuring them, "As long as you all follow me well, help us mine iron ore, and take good care of the arachnari giant spider egg, you won't be lacking in benefits!"
"That's great! Thank you, boss!" Keziaz was so excited he was incoherent, and quickly shouted at the night hobgoblins behind him, "Did you all hear that? The boss is letting us take care of the sacred relic, and he'll give us iron weapons! From now on, we'll follow the boss well and WAAAGH to our hearts' content!"
"WAAAGH!!"
The night hobgoblins finally understood the importance of iron ore and felt the sincerity of their new boss, cheering loudly, their voices even louder than the greenskins of the Blackrock Clan.
Kurzadh looked at the cheering greenskins of both tribes before him, his heart filled with satisfaction. Subduing the night hobgoblins' tribe, securing the iron ore, and uniting the two greenskin tribes—this trip to the mine yielded far greater rewards than he had imagined.
He walked to the iron ore, squatted down, and gently stroked the cold ore. In his mind, he was already planning—first, he would have Bone Tree lead the Orc Boyz to clear the mine shaft, then have the night hobgoblins help mine the iron ore, and then forge a batch of iron tools and weapons. Once the tribe's strength increased further, he would go and subdue more greenskin tribes.