Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 24

As morning arrived, I mounted my horse and rode northeast.

My companions were Calliope and one other Familiar I had created during the journey.

When asked if we should add more guards, I shook my head.

‘Even with several guards, if Calliope can’t protect me, no one can.’

At my words, Calliope’s cheeks flushed slightly red.

Conversely, her thoughts churned wildly.

“······.”

After a full day of riding, we arrived in Lagoa.

Olymus was in the center of my territory, while Lagoa was at the northeastern edge.

Lagoa was a small frontier village nestled at the foot of the Gray Mountains, where the mountain range began.

The scale of Lagoa was similar to Olymus when I first arrived.

Seeing Lagoa after witnessing the rapid development of Olymus felt strange.

It was like losing all the progress I had made and starting anew.

‘There’s so much to do.’

Just thinking about it made me sigh.

I can’t develop all the territories equally, nor should I.

However, it shouldn’t be this extremely underdeveloped.

The distance between Olymus and Lagoa was a day’s ride on horseback.

What lay in between?

Nothing.

‘An army could pass through here without anyone knowing.’

If there were mountains or rivers, it would be different, but it was just a plain.

It was perfectly habitable land, yet it lay empty.

Having so much empty land was like leaving the gates wide open.

‘It would be difficult if a group disregarding the Council made a deliberate attack, especially.’

Even with Familiars, there were only a few of us.

If enemies scattered in all directions and attacked the villages, it would be very difficult to defend.

‘With someone like Ugdashi already ignoring the Council, I need to increase migration quickly. Expand existing frontier villages and resettle new settlements on habitable land. We need to increase the population density to eliminate this empty land.’

A process that would have taken generations in my previous life.

But I had the accumulated knowledge of the future from countless iterations.

And the foundation to support it was right here.

I looked at the Gray Mountains further beyond Lagoa, visible in the distance.

“Oh… Lord…”

As I entered Lagoa, the villagers bowed their heads and prostrated themselves.

They had been watching me since I first appeared on the horizon.

Were they anxious because of the monsters occupying the mountains?

Even though there were only a few households, many were standing guard.

When they realized I was the lord, their faces relaxed with relief.

“Who is the representative?”

A man claiming to be the village chief stepped forward.

“I heard from Kistler that there are monsters blocking access to the mountains.”

“That… it’s not monsters, but Orcs and Goblins.”

I scoffed inwardly.

To think that monsters who only focus on venting their violence and lust with their limited intelligence, like Orcs and Goblins, are considered civilized beings in this world.

“When did they start appearing in the mountains?”

“They’ve been appearing for quite some time.”

The village chief pointed to the mountains.

“Goblins were often seen beyond the valley over there. Fortunately, they weren’t aggressive, so we were fine as long as we were careful.”

“And they didn’t block access?”

“No. It’s only recently that they’ve come over to our side of the valley and blocked access to the mountains.”

“Have they attacked the village?”

“Not yet.”

Orcs and Goblins are monsters who are usually crazy about humans.

Not far from here, Olymus suffered a miserable fate due to their attacks.

But they’ve been seeing humans, keeping humans close, and just leaving them alone?

“Have any outsiders come here?”

“Yes? Yes… there are occasional visits for tributes.”

Tributes. I narrowed my eyes.

“Actually, the people who come from outside often say that we’re not being attacked because of them.”

“Indeed.”

‘Was this place left alone because it was a base for tributes?’

It must have been a transit point for collaborators paying tributes to Ugdashi.

Even if Orcs and Goblins are barbaric, they know how to distinguish between friend and foe.

‘The outsiders must be Pinto’s merchants.’

In the previous iterations, Pinto was always the only human who traded with Ugdashi.

The reason Pinto became a great merchant in the first place was because he monopolized trade with Ugdashi.

‘He was trying to create a trade route from Lagoa to Olymus and then to Turan.’

When talking through Gerhard, Pinto had said he would relay through Olymus.

‘This was going to be that Golden Road.’

Like the Silk Road in my previous life, the trade route with the Steel Mist Tribe was called the Golden Road in this world’s history.

Pinto monopolized that road, and that was the source of his wealth that allowed him to buy the title of a great noble.

‘I’ll monopolize it this time, so it’ll be a shame you can’t become a noble, Pinto.’

Secretly ridiculing his future, I gestured to the village chief.

“I’m going up the mountain.”

With the village chief as my guide, I ascended the Gray Mountains.

As the name suggested, faded plants grew on the Gray Mountains.

The grass and trees had lost their jade color as if they had been hit by snow.

‘It’s because the energy that Tiamar [a powerful, slumbering entity] emits settles here.’

Recalling the reason for the faded color, I also remembered that Tiamar’s power was still intact.

A strange being that would be a disaster if it woke up, but beneficial to me while it slept with its power.

If Tiamar is intact, the Council won’t encroach on human territory.

‘The saying that poison depends on how you use it applies in times like these.’

Even though Tiamar is a more terrifying hazard than poison.

I chuckled to myself and followed behind the village chief.

At that moment, Calliope, who had been walking almost alongside the village chief, stopped.

“······.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Quiet.”

Calliope raised her hand to cover the village chief’s mouth and surveyed the surroundings.

In response, the Familiar behind me also became alert and moved closer.

I couldn’t hear anything, but I followed Calliope’s gaze.

The gray bushes ahead rustled even though there was no wind.

Soon, a rustling sound followed.

What emerged from the bushes was a group of Goblins.

【Lv. 5】

【Lv. 7】

【Lv. 3】

“Human.”

Long, pointed noses and ears, beady eyes, and small stature.

Their skin was green, their teeth were sharp, and they drooled from their open mouths.

Their movements were jerky, like broken clockwork dolls, giggling and grinning.

“Why come, human.”

“Never seen before.”

“Trade. Do?”

Calliope placed her hand on her waist.

She must have read my emotions, which had sunk upon hearing the word ‘trade.’

I instructed her to stay put and stepped forward.

“I’ve come to trade. Where is the chieftain?”

“Do! Trade!”

“Human! Woman!”

“Me, like human. Tasty.”

The group shrugged their shoulders and giggled loudly.

They were saying things like, ‘Where are the human slaves? I’ll choose first,’ and ‘Humans are tasty.’

I raised my hand to silence the Goblins who were spouting nonsense.

“Not you lot. Guide me to the chieftain.”

At those words, the Goblins puffed and stamped their feet.

They rattled on with more nonsense: ‘Show me the humans, I’m hungry, I want to eat!’

But when I stared down at them without any reaction, they soon quieted down.

“Ugh… alright. Follow me!”

The Goblin group sang ‘human, human’ and quickly climbed the mountain.

I sent the village chief back to Lagoa and followed the Goblins with my Familiars.

“There.”

The place the Goblin guided me to was a mountain fortress.

Beyond the valley, there was a fortified camp surrounded by a wooden fence.

The scale would have been impossible to hide if the valley hadn’t provided a natural barrier.

Judging by the lack of insect damage or faded marks on the wooden fence, it was recently built.

As I walked along the wooden fence, I heard busy sounds coming from inside.

Clang, clang—

And the smell of burning charcoal, and smoke rising into the sky, blocked by the conifers.

‘They’ve completely settled in.’

It was clear that this wasn’t a temporary camp.

“Stop. Who is it?”

A shirtless Orc blocked the entrance to the fortress.

【Lv. 20】

The knight of Count Dorin, whom Raeragon killed, was level 21.

By Germania standards, that was considered a low-ranking level.

This guard, only 1 level below him, also belonged to the lower ranks of warriors.

So, the difference in strength between humans and Orcs isn’t that significant?

No. The numbers are different.

There are soldiers weaker than knights among humans.

But there are no warriors weaker than warriors among Orcs.

All Orcs become warriors at the level of this guard upon reaching adulthood, so excluding Orcs who have not reached adulthood, they are all comparable to human knights.

‘The population of a single Orc tribe is a few hundred at the smallest, and tens of thousands at the largest. In human terms, that’s like having that many knights.’

In a barren small territory like Turan, level 21 was a top-tier powerhouse.

Orcs were just a small tribe with hundreds of such powerhouses gathered.

‘The gap between humans and other races is too great.’

That was the world beyond the mountains.

“Merchant!”

“Merchant?”

The Orc, hearing the Goblin’s answer, examined me.

“Stupid little runt. This human is not a merchant.”

“Merchant? Not?”

The Orc kicked the dumbfounded Goblin and glared at me.

“Why did you come, human.”

“Trade.”

After hesitating for a moment, the Orc soon snorted and opened the way.

It was a sneer, implying that there was no problem letting a human like me in.

“Enter.”

The inside of the fortress was more bustling than I had expected from the outside.

Wooden buildings were densely packed in a narrow space.

All sorts of races were busily passing between the buildings.

“Move faster!”

In addition to Orcs and Goblins, there were also monsters like Lizardmen and Trolls.

However, the race that caught my eye was the humans passing through them.

“Don’t rest!”

I stared intently at the humans carrying luggage.

They were dressed in rags, their bodies covered in dirt and scabs.

Their faces were pale and bloodless, their eyes were sunken, and their wrists were bony.

Cumulative fatigue and starvation were evident, and they could barely take a step without resting.

I knew they were human slaves.

‘Hunted or sold.’

There were no restraints on their arms and legs, but there was no sign of resistance.

The humans’ eyes were like those of the dead, and their breath was as faint as if it could be cut off at any moment.

And they were all men.

There was no need to explain why there were no female slaves.

“······.”

A man, noticing my gaze, stopped and looked at me.

His vacant, unfocused eyes met mine in the air.

They were blurry and unfocused eyes.

Smack—!

A whip flew and tore his back.

“Aaaagh!”

Blood splattered from his collapsed back.

“I told you not to rest!”

The Orc wielding the whip kicked the man in anger.

The man rolled across the floor and stopped against the wall of a building.

He coughed and gasped for breath, curling up and trembling.

The Orc seemed even more enraged by the sight and raised his arm high.

“Stop!”

At my shout, the Orc stopped in the middle of swinging the whip.

“What is it, human.”

The Orc turned his fiercely distorted face towards me.

【Lv. 62】

Looking at his level, I lowered my voice and replied.

“It’s unsightly to act like that in someone else’s home.”

“Someone else’s home?”

Ignoring his question, I continued.

“Bring your father. Baguku.”

The Orc called Baguku dropped the whip and strode towards me with heavy steps.

Calliope stepped between me and Baguku to block him.

“Who are you, human? How do you know me?”

I ignored that question too.

“I came to trade.”

“Trade? You’re not a merchant I know.”

“Do only merchants trade?”

Stepping past Calliope, I took a step forward and stood in front of Baguku.

Since I was a head taller than him, I looked down at him.

“I am the owner of this land. And I represent humans.”

Kill them all.