“WHAT?!”
The shaman exclaimed as he looked at the chief, wondering if this was some kind of joke.
Everyone knew that the role of training the young and adolescents was usually given to the tribe’s trainers.
“Alruk hasn’t even passed the Maturity Ceremony—”
He was interrupted by the chief.
The chief already knew his concerns, but he was not finished speaking.
“Quiet.
You will not speak while I am speaking,” he said, authority clear in his voice.
He did not even look at the shaman as he spoke.
“That is not all.”
Ruft, who had been relieved by the earlier announcement, frowned.
The chief continued.
“Yesterday, I watched our females struggle to bring water back to the tribe.”
At those words, the older goblins nodded in agreement.
It was no surprise that they struggled.
The tribe’s need for water had increased greatly.
Whether it was for the crops they now cultivated, cooking, washing ingredients, or cleaning utensils, the tribe required far more water than before.
This had greatly increased the females’ workload.
“Seeing them struggle so much, I decided to do something about it.
But I did not know how.”
He looked around at his people.
“So I asked Alruk to think of a solution, and he truly came up with one.”
As he said this, he stepped slightly aside so Alruk could move forward.
Alruk looked at the gathered tribe.
It was the first time he had addressed the entire tribe at once.
He was not nervous.
After all, in his past life, he had addressed crowds far larger than this.
He cleared his throat.
“We hear of soft skins using captured beasts in battle,” he said.
The tribe nodded.
The news had already spread among them.
“Why not catch beasts to carry heavy loads?”
His words were met with silence.
He continued, explaining the benefits.
“We catch some adult beasts and a few young ones.
“The adults work.
“The young we keep and feed until they grow.
“When the adults become too old to work, we kill them for food.”
The villagers began murmuring among themselves.
“What if beasts finish?
We keep capturing more?” one of the males asked.
The difficulty of capturing beasts far exceeded that of simply killing them.
Alruk looked at the goblin before answering.
“We not need capture forever.
“The adults give birth to young. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
“We raise young until they become adults.
“They give birth too.
“One pair becomes many.”
“If we have one male and one female…”
He paused before continuing.
“They become many beasts.”
Understanding slowly spread through the crowd.
Even the chief looked surprised.
If this worked, they would no longer need to carry heavy loads themselves.
More importantly, they would have a steady source of meat.
Their dependence on hunting would decrease, and eventually they might only hunt when necessary.
That meant more warriors remaining in the village to defend it.
The tribe would become both stronger and safer.
“Nonsense.”
A voice rang out behind Alruk.
Ruft stepped forward.
“A method like that will make our warriors weak,” he said in a condescending tone.
“If the females struggle, it is because they have become weak.”
He turned to Alruk.
“And this new method of yours will make our warriors weak as well.”
Several of the older warriors nodded.
These were experienced fighters.
They believed true strength could only be earned through battle.
After all, only by killing could combat classes gain experience.
The chief remained silent.
He wanted to see how Alruk would respond.
Alruk sighed.
“You right, Captain Ruft.
“Warriors should fight.
“But warriors not need fight all time…
right?”
He spoke calmly and confidently.
In truth, he knew his answer was incomplete.
One day, he intended to introduce organized hunting expeditions and eventually gate raids.
But that would come much later.
Before that, he first needed to locate a nearby gate and prove the concept.
His words eased the crowd somewhat.
But Ruft remained unconvinced.
‘Fine,’ he thought.
‘I’ll just wait until this foolish plan collapses’.
“Now that this is settled,” the chief said, turning toward the shaman, “what is your complaint?”
Gulk swallowed.
His earlier confidence had vanished.
“I…
I say Alruk not ready train warriors.
Warriors trained by trainers.”
His concern was reasonable.
Under normal circumstances the training of the warriors should be in the hands of the experienced trainers.
But this was far from normal.
Unknown to everyone present, Alruk possessed more experience than anyone else in the village.
The chief turned toward the tribe.
“How should we settle this?”
The crowd fell silent.
Then Ruft spoke again.
“Some adolescents already follow Alruk’s training.
“The others follow the tribe’s trainers.”
He looked around before continuing.
“Let one from each side fight.
“Then we will know which training is better.”
Whispers of approval spread through the crowd.
The chief considered the suggestion before nodding.
“Very well.”
“Alruk will choose one among those he trains.”
“The trainers will choose one from their own students.”
He paused.
“This match will help determine part of the tribe’s future.”
“Choose your strongest.”
“We will use wooden weapons.”
“No one is to die.”
After giving his order, he returned to his throne.
The trainers immediately began discussing among themselves, choosing the strongest of their students.
Alruk gathered the adolescents who trained under him.
There were eight of them.
Two were females.
Draz would not participate.
He was still too young.
Alruk looked over the group carefully.
Every one of them had talent.
But he needed more than victory.
He needed to change the tribe’s way of thinking.
After a moment, he raised his hand…
…and pointed at one of the females.
The entire tribe froze in shock.