At the crack of dawn the next day, a crimson sun rose over the horizon at the edge of the Wilderness, bringing the light of dawn and setting the fields of grass, which rippled like waves of wheat, aglow.
The Wilderness was situated in the north, and with it being late July, summer meant long days and short nights. By estimation, it was only about four in the morning, yet it was already as bright as eight or nine.
A faint chill hung in the early morning breeze, and the Beastman Barbarians emerging from their tents couldn't help but shiver. They stretched their limbs, ready to greet the new day.
The first breakfast at High Cliff Castle was simple, yet exceptionally hearty.
All it took was a handful of herbs in the cured meat and potato stew for an enticing aroma to drift on the cool breeze, filling High Cliff Castle and making everyone's stomach rumble in anticipation.
The Beastman Barbarians had no culinary skills to speak of, but it was hard to go wrong with a recipe as simple as a one-pot stew.
Levi particularly enjoyed soaking his black bread in the stew on occasions like this. It not only masked the bread's natural sourness but also softened it into a tender morsel saturated with rich, savory broth.
He swallowed the soft bread, followed by a mouthful of hot soup. The lingering drowsiness instantly vanished, replaced by a feeling of warmth and complete satisfaction that spread through his body.
The Beastmen were even more delighted, their mouths greasy and their faces a picture of pure contentment.
'Following their chief is the only right decision we've ever made,' they thought.
They had never eaten so well. The feeling of a full stomach brought them an unparalleled sense of security.
The Kobolds and goblins, on the other hand, could only hold their bowls of unidentifiable black mush and gaze wistfully as the Beastmen ate.
Then, their gazes shifted to Old Neil, full of envy. A large, tender piece of stewed cured meat lay quietly in his bowl.
It was a reward from the human lord.
Old Neil wolfed down the meat in a few bites. It was so delicious he nearly swallowed his own tongue.
He smacked his lips, savoring the lingering flavor. He had never tasted anything so delicious in his life.
"See that? This is the reward for serving the Master properly! If you all work hard, you might just get a reward like this someday, too!"
After eating and drinking his fill, Old Neil patted his round belly and began lecturing his litter of pups.
A shift occurred in the minds of all the Kobolds. 'If we work hard, we can eat food like that too!'
"A job well done."
Just then, a voice rang out in praise, and Old Neil immediately began to bow and scrape.
"Later, I want you to lead them to chop down some trees and build a wooden house. Any problem with that?"
"I will complete the task you've given me, my lord," Old Neil vowed.
Levi nodded and turned his gaze to the goblins.
Compared to the Kobolds, this group of goblins appeared submissive on the surface, but a greedy light still flickered in the depths of their eyes.
'They're clearly scheming for a way to take all of High Cliff Castle for themselves.'
They were a naturally evil and treacherous species; being kind to them would only make them see you as weak and easily deceived.
In the history of Debei, there was no shortage of kindhearted women, a type of "Holy Mother," who were deceived by the goblins' pitiful act. But what awaited these Holy Mothers was not gratitude.
The goblins would feign weakness only to attack them, dragging these Holy Mothers back to their nests to be used as breeding machines, tormented day and night.
Popular legend had it that a female Sword Saint from a certain Kingdom was once attacked by goblins and dragged back to their nest. By the time she was rescued, she had already given birth to over a hundred goblin spawn.
This reminded Levi of an anime from his previous life called *Goblin Slayer*. The goblins here were almost identical to the goblins in that show.
Levi felt not a shred of pity for such creatures.
"Before you go chop down trees, take these ugly things aside and chop it all off at the root."
Levi said with a cold smirk.
'Let's see if these goblins are still consumed by lust after being relieved of their 'root of all troubles',' he thought. 'Will they still be obsessed with capturing females of other Races to satisfy their urges and breed?'
More importantly, High Cliff Castle had brought eight sheep from Bailiu City, and Levi had no desire to wake up one day and find them giving birth to little Green-skinned Goblins.
"Y-Yes."
Old Neil felt a phantom chill in his groin and nodded hastily.
...
After breakfast, Zat set out with ten Barbarians, their mission to chart the expanse of the Wilderness one step at a time. A strong wind blew across the plains, making the knee-high ryegrass ripple like waves of wheat.
They looked like Warriors from a primeval land, venturing forth to forge a path into the unknown.
"Chief, why did you give meat to that Kobold?"
As Zat's figure vanished from sight, Levi was about to turn back when Muto, who stood beside him, asked in confusion.
To a Beastman who had survived in the barren Wilderness, food was incredibly precious. 'It shouldn't be wasted on a useless Kobold.'
Letting them eat boiled roots and rotten fruit was already a tremendous gift.
That was what he had done back in his Tribe.
Although Muto wasn't a Heroic Unit, he seemed to have a better head on his shoulders than that blockhead Zat, so Levi was willing to explain things to him.
"Muto, this is called social stratification."
"Once you introduce a class system to the Kobolds, they'll turn their conflicts inward, toward their own kind. That makes them easier for us to control."
Muto scratched his head. He didn't understand, but his admiration for his chief's wisdom only grew. Every word the man spoke seemed to hold some profound truth.
"Let me put it simply. If you were one of these Kobolds, eating root mush every day while Old Neil feasted on fine meat, what would you be thinking?"
"Wouldn't you start to wonder why you couldn't be the one in Old Neil's position, eating fine meat every day?"
Muto considered the scenario from that perspective, then nodded in agreement.
"And Old Neil, of course, won't want to give up his position. So he'll suppress his own kinsmen, perhaps even more ruthlessly than we would."
Levi smiled but didn't elaborate further.
'I've given him enough to think about for one day.'
Muto was in a state of half-understanding, feeling as if his brain might actually be growing inside his skull.
"These Kobolds are pretty much domesticated; there's no need to supervise them anymore. Take some men and go dig a pit below High Cliff Castle, far from the river."
"Make it about five or six yards deep, twenty paces long, and two paces wide."
Levi ordered, then added as if remembering something, "Also, send a couple of men to take the sheep out to graze."
Muto nodded, then turned and left with the other Beastman Barbarians to gather their tools.
'Anyone can dig a pit,' Levi thought, so he had no intention of supervising the work himself.
As for herding?
That was practically one of the Beastman Barbarians' professions; you could say it was a perfect job for them.
The purpose of the pit was for a dry latrine that Levi wanted to build.
Squatting in the grass to relieve himself this morning had given him a firsthand experience of a chilly breeze on his balls, making him realize that building a proper toilet was a matter of utmost urgency.