novelhk Page 23
Page 23
[Ding! Weekly expenses are as follows:]
[Taxes in Storm's Lair: 400]
[Liu Tianyu's military salary: -700]
[Net Income/Expenditure -300]
Previous assets: 42933
New assets: 42633
Well, this is really not good news. Today is the last day of the week, which is payday. This made Liu Tianyu raise an eyebrow.
It's true that the military pays weekly wages, but the taxes are also paid weekly. In reality, the taxes for the Storm Regime are collected quarterly, and these taxes seem far too little!
No, if it were weekly taxes, it would actually be much more, since if taxes were collected quarterly, it would only amount to about 4000 dinars per quarter.
To maintain the weekly budget standard, both the host's soldiers and the soldiers provided by the system are subject to weekly income and expenditure.
Seemingly to dispel Liu Tianyu's doubts, the system spoke up at this moment.
"Won't this cause any uncontrollable consequences?"
Liu Tianyu didn't care. His only concern was the impact on reality. After all, who would pay taxes on time every week? Was he really not afraid of his subordinates rebelling?
Don't worry, host.
Since the system has spoken like this, what else can Liu Tianyu say?
Actually, what he's most worried about right now is the [Goblin Apocalypse] mission. Once the mission is completed, the 2000-strong army will probably drain his money in an instant!
"Fine, we'll deal with whatever comes our way. Hmm? The mission progress shows it's 6/10 complete. Where are the troops you rewarded me with, system?"
Liu Tianyu shook his head, then glanced at the mission progress again and found that a lot had been completed, but there was still no sign of the troops.
[This is the mission progress. Once you complete the mission, you will be directly handed over a force of 2000 men!]
"Ok."
Liu Tianyu didn't really have anything to worry about.
"We have confirmed that we have destroyed three goblin lairs. Inside the lairs, we only found some goblins and goblin cubs left behind, as well as some prisoners."
Clearly, the goblins had come out in full force to ambush passing adventurers; they obviously knew that someone was coming to hunt them down.
However, we arrived just in time and saved them. They were probably the first adventurers to be ambushed, because we didn't find any loot or fresh corpses inside the lair.
Just as Liu Tianyu was lost in confusion, the sound of iron boots treading on snow, accompanied by a cold voice, brought Liu Tianyu back to his senses instantly.
"Captured women? They're all pitiful women!"
Liu Tianyu glanced at the six women behind him, whose bodies were dirty, whose eyes were lifeless, and whose figures were as thin as skin and bones, and sighed.
More than a hundred goblins could not possibly be conceived by six women. Liu Tianyu knew without even thinking what would happen to the remaining women.
They probably either got a "Mom, you smell so good" from a goblin, died from exhausting their life force due to overbreeding, or lost the will to live and were killed with a single blow.
Looking at their miserable state, Liu Tianyu could imagine the situation inside the lair. Fortunately, he had entrusted the task of siege and destruction of the lair to his subordinates, just like in a game.
Otherwise, he worried that if he went in, he would either vomit from the smell or from seeing the terrible scene inside.
Neither of these situations will work! After all, besides his own troops, there's also the Goblin Slayer squad here. If he were to give them up, it would damage his reputation!
“Young nobleman, you have it easy! You’re just sitting around a fire outside your lair with your men, while we have to go deep into the cave to smell those awful odors and see some unpleasant scenes. Honestly, it doesn’t even feel like we can enjoy drinking anymore.”
The miner-Taoist priest complained as soon as he emerged from the cave.
"After all, it's just some simple finishing work, so there's no need for me to go in. I'll explore the next nest with you then!"
Liu Tianyu smiled calmly.
As for you, please wait a moment. I will summon some kingdom riders to escort you to Stormwind Territory.
My people will shelter you through the winter; whether you stay or leave is entirely up to you.”
Liu Tianyu didn't say much to these poor women. Comforting them now, who had been subjected to both physical and psychological rape by the goblins, would only add fuel to the fire.
Let's take them to a safe place first and see if they can find their way out on their own!
Although the difficulty is certainly not small, their determination to continue living is something that is beyond the reach of ordinary people.
After an unknown amount of time, the sound of horses' hooves approached. Three riders from the kingdoms had received orders from Liu Tianyu in the troop interface and had arrived at the scene.
"Lord Viscount!"
As soon as they arrived, they quickly dismounted and bowed to Liu Tianyu.
"Well, perfect. You three are brave in battle and loyal and reliable, meeting the standards of divine grace. In the name of the God Emperor, I will upgrade you!"
The three summoned riders were none other than Kingdom Riders who had already met the upgrade requirements. Judging from their quest progress, it was clear that the adventurer teams they were with had all wiped out the goblin lairs.
They either personally went up and killed a lot of goblins, or they gained a lot of experience points.
[Confirmed upgrade of Kingdom Riders to 3 units, 240 dinars deducted!]
The moment the system's mechanical voice gave the prompt, golden light shone brightly on the three kingdom riders, enveloping them and their horses.
"What? Why are they suddenly glowing?"
"Is this...is this a miracle?"
"Could this be new nectar?"
The Kingdom Riders Goblin Slayer squad were all dumbfounded when they suddenly burst into golden light, especially the Priestess, who looked like she was undergoing a test of her faith.
She was an orphan from a young age, and her life and studies were all in the temple of the Earth Mother Goddess. Over the past ten years, she has witnessed very few miracles from the Earth Mother Goddess.
Such a dazzling miracle was truly the only one she had ever witnessed in her life!
"The God Emperor?"
The priestess muttered something under her breath, her expression towards Liu Tianyu filled with a strange look.
The golden light came quickly and went quickly.
Soon, three brand-new kingdom cavalrymen appeared before Liu Tianyu.
The steeds were replaced with military horses clad in chainmail, the chainmail was replaced with sleeveless plate armor, the helmets were replaced with flat helmets that protected the entire head, the leather gloves were replaced with chainmail gloves, and the leather boots were replaced with chainmail leg guards.
The long sword remained unchanged; only the lightweight rider's kite shield was replaced with a more robust and reliable knight's kite shield, and a 2-meter-long lance was carried on his back.
If the Kingdom Riders could only be considered light cavalry scouts, then the current Kingdom Cavalry have been transformed from muskets to cannons, becoming true shock cavalry.
"Incredible..."
Seeing this transformative change, even the taciturn Goblin Slayer couldn't help but utter a comment.
"Woooooooo..."
"God! Please redeem me!"
Looking at the golden light before them, and especially seeing the kingdom's cavalry emerging from it.
The female prisoners, who had been like walking corpses, suddenly burst into tears and knelt on the ground, praying to all the gods they knew.
It's like suddenly going from a zombie to a skeletal creature—unbelievable.
"Arise! The God-Emperor knows the suffering you have endured! A true warrior is one who, after seeing the truth of life, still loves it."
You have already endured immense suffering, which is truly excruciating, yet you have not given up on your lives. You have already surpassed ordinary people; your souls are incredibly powerful! They are incredibly beautiful!
Seeing that the women in front of him had suddenly returned to human form, Liu Tianyu took the opportunity to comfort them.
"Emissaries of the God-Emperor! Thank you for your salvation. We... we will certainly not let the God-Emperor down!"
The comforted female prisoners instantly rekindled their hope to survive!
"Alright, you guys, go escort them back to Stormwind Territory! Let's continue clearing out the goblins on Stormwind Plains!"
Liu Tianyu nodded with a mystical look on his face, and then quickly gave instructions.
Chapter Thirty-Two: Green-skinned Orcs and Black-skinned Orcs
"Goblins are usually nocturnal, but this group of goblins chose to leave their lair to ambush us, which is completely illogical."
At night, Liu Tianyu and the Goblin Slayer team sat around the campfire, and the Goblin Slayer analyzed the situation.
"Could it be that the goblins have mutated and evolved?"
Liu Tianyu responded by taking a sip of the grape juice in his glass.
"It's possible, but not entirely clear. If goblins mutate and evolve into orcs, then they would be two completely different species from goblins."
Although orcs can command goblins, they look down on them and will only leave their lair to seek out orcish tribes.
Goblin Slayer's otherwise calm voice now carried an unusual undertone.
"Hey, don't you need to eat? We're all gathered around the campfire now, and the food is ready. Why don't you take off your helmet and eat something? We're going to hunt goblins again tomorrow."
There's no need to worry about security. You've seen how elite my soldiers are. Is your face disfigured so you're ashamed to show your face?
If that's the case, then forget it. After all, I don't want to have nightmares tonight!
After hearing Goblin Slayer's analysis, Liu Tianyu had a general idea of who the mastermind behind the goblins was, but since he hadn't met them yet, he couldn't make any rash conclusions.
So he started making fun of the closed-back helmet that Goblin Slayer always wore.
"Yeah, I've been on missions with Goblin Slayer many times, but I've never actually seen what Goblin Slayer's face looks like."
Liu Tianyu's words instantly piqued the Priestess's curiosity, and the others couldn't help but scrutinize Goblin Slayer after hearing them.
"Yeah, Godslayer, could it be that your face is really disfigured?"
The miner-Taoist gulped down milk wine, then stared intently at the Goblin Slayer's helmet.
Are you that curious?
Seeing their curious eyes, Goblin Slayer's voice gained a slight cadence.
"Curiosity is in the nature of living beings, especially someone like you who wears a helmet even when eating and sleeping, which naturally arouses even more curiosity!"
Liu Tianyu took a sip of grape juice and said.
"is it?"
This time, Goblin Slayer didn't waste any words; instead, he removed his helmet, revealing his true face.
"Oh, surprisingly, it's a soldier's face!"
"As expected of Godslayer, he has a handsome face. He doesn't seem much less handsome than that noble young man over there!"
"What a surprise! But are those two scars on your face? They really ruin the aesthetic, otherwise you'd definitely be much better looking than that Viscount Storm over there!"
When Goblin Slayer revealed his face, his teammates immediately went wild, comparing him to Liu Tianyu.
To be fair, his face is indeed quite handsome, with short, black and white hair and a square face. Although two scars detract from his overall appearance, they add a touch of determination to his features.
If Liu Tianyu is a sunny and handsome guy, then the Goblin Slayer in front of us is a cool and aloof handsome guy.
They are all types with their own merits, but Liu Tianyu's appearance is still slightly better, only slightly inferior to the reader.
"Alright, my curiosity has been satisfied. You can put your helmet back on now! Oh, by the way, we've been traveling together for several days now, and I still haven't asked your names."
After taking another sip of grape juice, Liu Tianyu asked the question, a question he had been curious about for a long time.
In the original work, none of them had names at all; they just addressed each other by code names, professions, or even simply "you," giving it a strong tabletop RPG feel.
But of course, things can't be without names in the real world!
"Lingjie Sen." This is the name of the fairy archer.
"Lilith." That's the priestess's name.
"Taran Claw" is the name of the lizardman monk.
"Odek Beer." That was the name of the miner-turned-Taoist.
After putting his helmet back on, Goblin Slayer said calmly:
"Ak!"
"Great, after exchanging names, it's much better than calling each other by our professional names, isn't it?"
"Don't call me Viscount or Your Excellency anymore. You're not my subjects, so there's no need for that. Just call me by my name, Liu Tianyu."
Liu Tianyu nodded, then used a gentle tone to close the distance.