Chapter 468 - 356: Let’s Make a Bet
Chapter 468: Chapter 356: Let’s Make a Bet
"Sigh. I should’ve just killed him back then." Shire slapped his thigh. Killing a confirmed Divine Chosen One would have definitely thrown the divine war into chaos. At the very least, he could have told Sofia and gotten some benefits from the Earth and Life Church in return.
"Regretting it now?" Diana smiled. "To be honest, I also regret not running him through when we crossed swords."
Hearing this, Shire couldn’t help but smile. ’This Grand Commander of the Holy Order Army is interesting. She’s the type to act before she thinks, but she isn’t reckless. She has decent judgment.’ Combining this with what Little John had said about his first meeting with her, Shire grew even more eager to hire the Grand Commander.
"So, what’s your answer?" Shire stood up, picked up the medicinal soup from the table, and walked over to the bed.
"Don’t you think it would be... quite ridiculous for me, a Grand Commander of the Holy Order Army, to turn around and lead a bunch of goblins?" Diana didn’t take the soup immediately, instead looking at Shire calmly.
"I don’t think so," Shire said with a smile. "Goblins might be stupid, but they have their merits."
Diana looked like she was all ears.
"As long as you prove you’re stronger than them, they’re easy to command. In fact, sometimes their obedience can be a bit... pathological." The corner of Shire’s mouth twitched. ’Perhaps it’s because the goblins have endured too many days without enough food or warm clothes. Their lives now are better than anything they could have dreamed of. A belief has even started to spread through the tribe that the chief’s enlightenment was a gift to the goblins from a Divine Being. Of course, the one promoting this idea the most is the High Priest.’ "Of course, I’m also studying military theory myself, but it takes time."
"Military theory?" Diana looked at Shire with a smile. "Don’t tell me it’s just experience you’ve gathered from hunting?"
"No. You’ve read *The Art of War Commander*, haven’t you?" Shire shook his head.
"The work of Alexander I. It’s a required text for every commander." Diana was a little surprised, but then she thought of Little John and understood that he must have bought the book for the goblins. "But just reading one book won’t make you a commander so easily."
"That’s why I’m looking for you," Shire said with a smile. "Of course, I know a few other theories as well."
"All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near."
"Therefore, the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy’s plans; the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy’s forces; the next in order is to attack the enemy’s army in the field; and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities. The skillful leader subdues the enemy’s troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy operations in the field."
He did his best to translate the knowledge he remembered from his past, putting it into Common Speech while trying to maintain a nonchalant, breezy expression.
But Diana, who was sitting across from him, felt her eyes gradually widen. At first, she’d been waiting to see what "lofty theories" this goblin would spout, expecting something like, ’First, get a huge mob of underlings, then figure out how to surround the enemy, then intimidate them, and finally, charge in and dogpile them.’ But as Shire continued to speak, Diana’s expression grew more and more serious, her shock becoming plain to see. Finally, she unconsciously reached out and took the medicinal soup Shire was offering.
After nearly half a minute of silence, the Grand Commander of the Holy Order Army lowered her head and said, "I have never heard anything like this before, but it’s clear that this is truly profound knowledge of warfare."
"Or perhaps, the art of war."
"I learned it from... somewhere else," Shire said with a shrug. "Everyone has their secrets."
"Fine," Diana sighed. "I understand what you’re trying to do, but..."
She hesitated for a moment before continuing, "I still have to refuse."
Shire raised an eyebrow, looking at her and waiting for the rest of her reasoning.
"Your force’s composition is too strange. It’s completely different from a normal army, or even the Holy Order Army. All your goblins are short-statured infantry. Even if you don’t have Mages to help, there’s nothing this group of ’Light Infantry’ can do on a battlefield of flashing blades."
"So you’re saying our unit composition is the problem?" Shire frowned. To be honest, he knew this was the tribe’s current state. They had no elite cavalry—the Centaurs were Light Cavalry at best—and they were missing the Heavy Infantry needed for the center of their formation, the backbone of any battle.
’Relying on just Red Eyes and Caocao won’t work. They can only handle brainless Petrifying Lizards; they’d be helpless against a group of humans.’
"Besides, I’ve seen your men. They don’t even have proper clothes, let alone armor. I can’t very well issue a command only to have my front line cut down by the first volley of arrows, can I?"
"Er, now that you mention it..." Shire clicked his tongue. It was true that they could only produce goblin-sized armor and weapons through the Blacksmith Shop in Yangjiao Town, but the pace was far too slow. More critically, the Blacksmith Shop also needed to produce many other iron goods, like the casings for the Hand Grenade Fruits.
This was also a major problem plaguing Shire.
But after thinking for a few seconds, he continued to try and persuade her. "I understand your concerns, but I think we can start with training first. Training and fighting are two different things."
Seeing that Diana was about to shake her head, Shire had a flash of inspiration. "How about this? Don’t be so quick to refuse. We can make a bet."
"A bet?"
"That’s right. You said my tribe doesn’t even have decent clothes. Give me five days. When the time is up, I’ll produce fifty sets of standard-issue uniforms."
As he spoke, Shire pointed to his own clothes.
"Five days?" Diana sized up Shire. He was indeed wearing a well-fitted set of clothes, and the style was a bit strange—not a human design from the continent.
"Fifty sets? You didn’t prepare these in advance just to trick me, did you?"
"Of course not. I swear on my honor as a goblin." Shire raised his palm with a smile.
"Heh," Diana chuckled. "Fine. Seeing as you did save my life, I’ll tentatively trust the honor of a goblin for now."
CLAP. The two of them slapped hands, sealing the bet.
"Well then, get some rest. And remember to drink your medicine." Shire gave a satisfied wave and prepared to leave.
"I’ve never seen a medicinal soup like this. Where’s the recipe from?" Diana looked down at the wooden bowl in her hands. The liquid inside was a vivid green and still bubbling.
"It’s a recipe from Little Book," Shire said nonchalantly. "Oh, it calls itself Little Book in front of me. Its real name is *Mushroom Spores and Life Form Variants*."
"An... an Evil Book?"
"It’s not *that* evil," Shire said with a laugh, quickly exiting the stone room.
Diana looked down at the wooden bowl in her hand, her brow furrowed. A few seconds later, she downed the medicinal soup in a single gulp.
’If I die, I die,’ she murmured, staring at the bottom of the bowl.
’It’s actually pretty sweet, though.’
...
「In the town hall of Yangjiao Town」
Yu Le was staring down at the documents on his desk.
He read line by line until he reached the part that said, "All territorial taxes are to be further increased by one-third." Only then did he sigh and put the document down.
Yu Le wasn’t that old, around fifty at most, but ever since he’d become the mayor of Yangjiao Town, he seemed to have aged a great deal.
"And we have to collect a conscription fee from the Adventurers." He frowned.
He couldn’t believe the Count would sign such an order. If the Adventurers didn’t want to be dragged into the army as cannon fodder, their only option was to pay a fee to buy their freedom.
"Sigh..." He let out a long sigh. ’It seems the Count is determined to see this disastrous path through to the end.’
An order like this made Yu Le feel resistant; after all, he too had once been an Adventurer, though that was thirty years ago.
Just as he was stewing in his worries, a pair of fair hands rested on his shoulders.