On the clearing outside the forest, the cheers of the greenskins still echoed. A cold mechanical sound suddenly rang in Kurzadh's mind—this was the system settlement notification, which always sounded promptly after every major battle.
[Campaign Settlement: Defias Brotherhood Extermination Battle]
[Campaign rating: Crushing Victory (Complete tactical deployment, excellent enemy elimination efficiency, minimal self-loss)]
[WAAAGH! Energy Reward: 972 points]
[Special Reward 1: Giant Squig (Infant) * 1 — Already placed near the Blackrock Spire mushroom field, Skarsnik is responsible for feeding him.]
[Special Reward 2: greenskin Shaman Exclusive Magic · Itching Invasion — Can project intense itching onto a designated enemy within 50 meters via a Shaman Totem, lasting 10 minutes. The afflicted will lose combat ability due to scratching.]
[Self-Loss Statistics: 7 Orc Boyz, 15 hobgoblin spearmen, 9 night hobgoblins, no other casualties]
[Enemy Loss Statistics: 613 enemies eliminated (including 482 Brotherhood bandits, 131 refugee bandits), 297 captured]
Kurzadh curled his lips into a smile and raised a hand to rub his brow—972 WAAAGH! Energy was enough to upgrade Stonewatch's forge. The Giant squig could serve as a charging mount when it grew up, and the Shaman Magic was an excellent tool for ambushing people. As for the losses... thirty-one greenskins were merely a drop in the bucket for the current Blackrock Clan.
He looked up toward the other side of the clearing, where Bone Tree stood with his hands on his hips in front of the group of captives.
Over two hundred captives were squeezed into the circle temporarily enclosed by wooden palisades. Most were ragged refugees, along with dozens of bandits wearing worn leather armor. Every one of them was emaciated, their eyes filled with terror.
A few goblins behind Bone Tree were squatting by the bonfire, cooking something in a gigantic iron pot—inside the pot were stolen flour, wild vegetables, and a few pieces of cured meat found in the bandits' camp. Although it was cooked into a mush, it emitted an enticing aroma.
"Line up, all of ya! One by one!" Bone Tree roared in his rough voice, holding a wooden ladle and scooping a bowl of hot porridge for each captive.
A small, thin refugee child dared not step forward. Bone Tree frowned but didn't get angry; instead, he bent down and handed the bowl to the child, muttering, "Eat quickly! Don't dawdle!"
Greenskins generally bully the weak—in their world, only opponents who can fight deserve respect. Winning against unarmed captives who don't even dare to resist provides no sense of accomplishment.
However, under Kurzadh's leadership and indoctrination, the greenskins of the Blackrock Clan were not particularly friendly to humans, but they would not randomly slaughter them either.
Since Kurzadh had already instructed him, "Don't kill captives casually," Bone Tree followed the order, even though he found it troublesome.
The captives held the hot porridge, drinking it carefully, the terror in their eyes gradually fading.
They had originally expected the greenskins to chop them up and feed them to wild beasts. They never thought they wouldn't be harmed and would even be given food —a rogue who had previously robbed merchant caravans was drinking the porridge, tears almost falling. He recalled the caravan guards he had killed and looked at the greenskins before him, suddenly finding the situation ironic.
Kurzadh walked over, stood beside Bone Tree, and looked at the captives.
Half of these people were refugees coerced by Edward, and the other half were habitual bandits, but to him, there was no difference—they were all "Goods" that could be exchanged for money.
"When Antonio's people arrive, hand all these captives over to them," Kurzadh whispered to Bone Tree. "Sell the refugees for five copper pieces each, and the bandits for ten. Just say they are 'vagrants rescued while clearing the trade route,' and have Antonio sell them through the merchant guild channels to the southern plantation owners."
Bone Tree scratched his head: "Sell them? I thought we'd make them mine."
"We have enough goblin for mining," Kurzadh smiled. "Selling them to Antonio means we don't have to feed them, we make a profit, and Antonio owes me a favor—these captives will at least survive in his hands, so I count it as saving them."
Bone Tree nodded, half-understanding, and continued distributing the porridge to the captives.
The captives couldn't understand the greenskins' language, but they could feel the atmosphere relaxing. Some even dared to secretly look up at Kurzadh, confusion mixing in their eyes.
Meanwhile, the Brotherhood camp was in chaos.
The greenskins were wildly scrambling for the mountain of loot, like rats entering a granary—a dozen Orc Boyz were fighting over a bundle of faded silk, some pulling one end of the cloth, others threatening opponents with iron axes; the hobgoblins squatted beside wooden crates, searching for copper coins inside, occasionally arguing vehemently over a silver coin (purely because it looked nice); the goblins were the most nimble, quickly moving stolen bread and cured meat into their small tents, terrified of having it snatched away.
"Stop it, all of ya!" Scarface, carrying the cannon, squeezed out of the crowd and roared at the fighting greenskins , "All this stuff must be handed over to the boss for inventory! If anyone tries to grab more, I'll blast him with this cannon!"
The greenskins immediately stopped—they weren't afraid of fighting, but they were afraid of the "iron lump" in Scarface's hands.
The scene of the cannon killing the Orc Boyz was still fresh in their minds, and no one wanted to be targeted by that thing.
Scarface nodded in satisfaction and ordered the hobgoblins to sort and stack the loot: weapons were piled on the left, including rusty scimitars, sharpened wooden sticks, and over twenty barely usable iron swords; valuables were stacked in the middle, including cloth bags full of gold coins, faded silk, several jars of honey, and even spices stolen from caravans; grain was piled on the right, including over fifty bags of flour, a dozen pieces of smoked meat, and several baskets of non-moldy potatoes.
"The boss is definitely gonna be happy when he sees all this!" Scarface stroked the cannon's muzzle, his eyes narrowed in a smile.
He had already decided that when he returned, he would study this cannon with Dragu. If they could build a more powerful one, they wouldn't have to charge at the very front in future battles.
Just then, Keziaz rode his Death Crawler back from the direction of the swamp.
He flipped off the spider and quickly walked to Kurzadh's side, recounting his encounter with Kroxigor—including Edward being crushed, the lizardman's appearance, and the standoff before they retreated.
Kurzadh's expression gradually darkened as he listened. He squatted down, picked up a branch, and drew a simple map on the ground—the northern part of the Forest of Gloom, near the swamp area, was circled.
"Lizardman... Kroxigor..." Kurzadh muttered to himself.
This race was ancient, mysterious, and extremely xenophobic, treating all creatures other than their own kin as invaders.
Kroxigor, in particular, were simple-minded but terrifyingly strong. With an average height of five meters, they could crush an Orc Boy with a single slap.
The lizardman in the Warhammer lore were an extremely ancient race; their origin was linked to a group of extraterrestrial overlords.
A long, long time ago, a group of mysterious beings called the Old Ones arrived in this world aboard silver-white spacecraft.
The Old Ones wanted to reshape this world, so they first created a species called the Slann.
The Slann were bloated, resembling gigantic frogs, but they possessed immense magical talent and wisdom. They served as administrators and architects, building the various cities of Lustria according to the Old Ones' instructions, and even altering the continent's appearance and climate through magic.
The Old Ones felt that although the Slann were intelligent, their bodies were too weak and needed strong warriors to protect them. Thus, based on the amphibians of this world, they engineered the Saurus.
The Saurus were savage reptilian creatures. They were physically strong and incredibly powerful in combat, but their minds were underdeveloped, capable only of simple roars and using basic weapons. However, they were extremely reliable when tasked with defending cities and temples.
Later, the Old Ones decided they also needed flexible, clever assistants for more complex tasks, such as crafting tools and researching magic. So, they created the Skinks.
Skinks were smaller than Saurus but were agile and relatively intelligent, capable of using more complex weapons. On the battlefield, they usually formed skirmishing units, attacking enemies with javelins and blowpipes.
Besides these types, the Old Ones also created the Kroxigor. They were massive and very strong, primarily responsible for heavy lifting, such as moving huge stone blocks when building temples, and could also be used to crush enemy forces on the battlefield.
In short, the lizardman were created by the Old Ones according to their needs, and their mission was to execute the Old Ones' "Great Plan" and guard this world.
After the Old Ones departed, the lizardman remained steadfast in Lustria, fighting repeatedly against the forces of Chaos and other invaders, striving to complete the tasks assigned to them by the Old Ones.
"It seems the northern Forest of Gloom hides a lizardman tribe," Kurzadh stood up and threw the branch onto the ground. "Keziaz, have someone scout the north. Don't get too close, just figure out their range of activity."
"I understand!" Keziaz nodded. "I'll send night hobgoblins riding spiders; I guarantee they won't be discovered."
Kurzadh nodded, calculating in his mind—the Blackrock Clan's focus now was expanding its influence and opening trade routes; there was no need to clash head-on with the lizardman.
These guys had lived in the forest for thousands of years and understood the terrain better than greenskins . If a real fight broke out, even if they won, they would pay a heavy price.
"Don't engage with them for now," Kurzadh stated firmly. "As long as they don't actively provoke us, we'll pretend we haven't seen them."
Keziaz acknowledged the order and turned to organize the scouting mission.
Kurzadh then walked toward the Defias Brotherhood camp, seeing from afar that the greenskins were still arguing around the loot, some even having started fighting again.
"Be quiet, all of ya!" Kurzadh roared, his voice drowning out all the noise.
The greenskins immediately stopped moving and turned their heads to look at the approaching Kurzadh, their eyes filled with awe.
"The loot will be distributed according to tribe rank!" Kurzadh pointed at the mountain of valuables. "Orc Boyz get weapons, night hobgoblins get silk, hobgoblins get grain, and goblins... goblins move the stuff, and each gets a piece of bread when they finish!"
The greenskins immediately cheered and began dividing the spoils according to their boss' instructions—the Orc Boyz excitedly showed off their iron swords and scimitars; the night hobgoblins draped silk over themselves and rode their Death Crawlers in circles; the hobgoblins carried bags of flour back to their tents; the goblins were the most proactive, pushing the pump pump cart and transporting goods again and again, their small faces full of anticipation.
Kurzadh watched the scene before him, a smile appearing on his lips.
This extermination battle not only eliminated the cloth Brotherhood and opened the trade route on the Khyprian road but also yielded a substantial amount of loot. More importantly, it allowed the greenskins of the Blackrock Clan to taste the sweetness of "fighting with a plan"—no longer relying on chaotic charging and hacking, but on tactics and coordination, enabling them to win, minimize casualties, and seize more goods.
In the distance, Antonio's messenger was on his way—after receiving Kurzadh's letter and learning that the cloth Brotherhood had been wiped out, he immediately rushed over with people from the merchant guild, partly to take custody of the captives and partly to thank Kurzadh for clearing the obstacles on his trade route.
Kurzadh looked up toward the northern Forest of Gloom, where mist hung thickly, and the faint roars of the lizardman could be heard from the swamp.
He knew that this forest contained not only greenskins , humans, and bandits, but also older, more dangerous races.
The Blackrock Clan still had a long way to go, and this great victory was just the beginning.
By the bonfire in the center of the camp, Skarsnik was holding a Giant squig infant the size of a basketball—the little creature was covered in green fuzz, its round body like a ball, and it was gnawing on a poisonous mushroom Skarsnik handed him.
Skarsnik's eyes narrowed in a smile as he muttered, "Grow up big... and help me fight when you're older..."
Kurzadh walked over and patted Skarsnik's shoulder: "Feed it well. When we go to war later, we'll rely on it to charge the lines."
Skarsnik nodded and hugged the squig infant even tighter.
The sunset shone through the leaves, sprinkling onto the camp and coating the greenskin with a layer of gold.
The laughter of the greenskins , the clatter of loot, and the whimpering of the squig infant intertwined, forming the most vivid scene of the Blackrock Clan.