Chapter 181: Underworld (3)

Su Lun frowned as he continued forward. The kobolds already smelled awful individually, and with so many gathered together, the stench was unimaginable.

It was like taking all kinds of waste, putting it into a sealed jar, fermenting it, then adding fermented fish and heating it up. It was practically a chemical weapon. The air here stung the eyes. He really did not understand how the kobolds could stand it.

The Drow Elf Aydin beside him showed no reaction, as if the smell did not exist. Indeed, these rigorously trained rogues made the best assassins, capable of enduring all sorts of extreme environments.

“Ugh!”

Su Lun: “…”

Entering the kobold camp was easy. These creatures had no concept of guarding their gates. A few guards were probably off slacking somewhere. They passed through the camp uneventfully. However, as they approached the largest tent in the center, the security suddenly became much tighter. Pairs of kobold soldiers patrolled the camp. This camp was also not as dirty and messy as the others.

It was at least within acceptable limits. The patrolling kobold soldiers were much larger in stature. They wore simple leather armor and carried various weapons. These kobolds were far stronger than the ordinary ones.

Bypassing the patrols, Su Lun and his group headed towards the central tent.

“The gold and gems are stored in the building ahead,” a kobold whispered.

Su Lun glanced over and nodded, signaling them to proceed.

Soon, they reached the building and entered directly. This was likely the kobold chieftain’s dwelling. The floor was covered with a rug made from some unknown animal hide. The structure the kobolds built was ugly, but the interior was relatively clean. The room was not large, and Su Lun quickly found the gold inside.

The gold had undergone preliminary refining. Although it looked somewhat rough, there were at least two to three hundred kilograms of it. Many gemstones and crystals were scattered around the gold. The quality of the gems was good, most of them uncut. Next to these gems was a box.

Su Lun picked up the box and opened it directly. Inside was a ruby the size of a pigeon’s egg. The ruby was crystal clear, blood-red in color, and looked very beautiful. It contained abundant magical energy. This was a top-tier magic gem.

“I didn’t expect to find such good quality here,” Su Lun smiled slightly and directly pocketed all the gold and gems.

He searched around a bit more. Finding nothing else, he prepared to leave. Just as he stepped out, he saw an old kobold walking towards the building. This kobold had brightly colored paint on its face, a bone necklace around its neck, several bird feathers stuck in its hair, and held a curved black wooden staff.

One glance was enough to recognize this as a shaman warlock.

Kobold Warlock. Kobolds had a very small chance of awakening a dragon bloodline to become a kobold warlock. It was perfectly normal for a large tribe like this to have one. Now he understood that this building did not belong to the kobold chieftain, but to this kobold warlock before him.

As soon as the kobold warlock entered the building, its nose began sniffing constantly. Seeing its actions, Su Lun immediately thought of the smell on the three kobolds. Invisibility could hide their forms, but it could not eliminate their body odor or the traces they left. Clearly, the stench from those kobolds had exposed them.

Su Lun’s mind raced, and he made a decision. He stepped forward directly and kicked the kobold warlock, who hadn’t reacted yet. The kobold warlock was sent flying several meters high, then crashed heavily to the ground.

The kobold warlock felt as if its intestines were ruptured. It lay on the ground, howling in pain, tears and snot streaming down its face. It took a while before it recovered slightly. By then, Su Lun’s invisibility had worn off. He placed his sharp sword directly against the neck of this kobold wizard.

“Are you the shaman of this tribe?” Su Lun said slowly.

Feeling the cold chill on its neck, the kobold wizard dared not move at all. “Sir, I am the shaman of this tribe. Please spare me… I’m just a weak kobold. I’m willing to give you all my treasures.”

“Treasures? What a pity. If you mean the treasures in the back room, I can tell you I’ve already taken them,” Su Lun said with a smile.

“Ah!”

“Do you have any other treasures? Bring them out, and maybe I’ll let you go,” Su Lun continued.

“No, all the treasures were in that room,” the kobold warlock said with a tearful face.

“That’s too bad. In that case, you’re useless.” As he spoke, Su Lun made a move as if to finish it off.

Seeing Su Lun preparing to strike, the kobold warlock was terrified out of its wits and begged for mercy frantically. “Don’t kill me! I’m still useful! I can make the tribe’s kobolds mine for you. Every month, we can offer you a large amount of gold.”

Su Lun’s sword paused.

“I can command the kobolds to dig for gold, mine for gems, and deliver them to you every day,” the kobold warlock hurriedly added, sensing Su Lun’s hesitation.

“How can I trust you?” Su Lun slightly pulled back his sword and released the aura of a legendary power.

“I can make a contract with you,” the kobold warlock said, nearly suffocated by the pressure of the legendary aura.

“Sounds acceptable,” Su Lun muttered, stroking his chin. “Then let’s begin.”

“Master… could you let me get up? Otherwise, I can’t perform the spell to make the contract,” the kobold warlock stammered dejectedly.

“Fine.” Su Lun moved his foot and withdrew his sword, allowing the kobold warlock to stand up. However, it seemed the earlier scare had left its limbs weak and shaky. It barely managed to rise, trembling.

The kobold warlock then used its chicken-claw-like hands to retrieve a piece of somewhat old animal hide from a nearby chest. It then dejectedly drafted a master-servant contract.

Several times, the kobold warlock thought about secretly altering the contract, but each time it met Su Lun’s knowing, faintly smiling gaze, its heart felt like it had been doused with ice water in the dead of winter, instantly sobering up. It honestly completed the contract and handed it to Su Lun for review.

“Finished?” Su Lun did not look at the contract but stared intently into the kobold warlock’s eyes.

“Yes, it’s finished,” the kobold warlock said, its heart pounding.

“Really finished? Good. Aydin, you check it.” Su Lun waved for the Drow Elf to come forward. As a Drow Elf, he was well-versed in all sorts of tricks and verbal traps. He intended to have Aydin examine it.

“Master, I just remembered something! There are a few details not fully specified!” Seeing Aydin’s approach, the kobold warlock’s face instantly turned pale. It hastily grabbed the scroll and continued writing on it.

Su Lun was not surprised by this development. Soon, the kobold warlock handed over the revised contract. After having Aydin inspect it, Su Lun finally signed the contract. Then the kobold warlock began casting the spell.

Creating a magical contract did not require very advanced magic. Soon, a flash of light occurred, and the signed parchment suddenly burst into flames, turning to ash. However, the flame did not extinguish; instead, it flew directly onto the kobold’s arm, leaving a mark there.

“Alright, tell me about the situation in this underworld and the mineral resources nearby,” Su Lun continued questioning.

“Near our tribe, there is a gold mine, a silver mine, two iron mines, and a gem mine. Each month, we can mine about two hundred pounds of gold, over a thousand pounds of silver ore, and several dozen gems,” the kobold warlock reported dutifully after the contract was signed.

“There’s a Gray Dwarf tribe and a Goblin Tribe nearby. Further away, there’s a Minotaur Tribe. Many areas are also infested with numerous monsters…”

“Are there any Drow Elves in this underworld?” Su Lun asked.

“Drow Elves? I haven’t encountered any. This sir is the first Drow Elf I’ve met,” the kobold warlock shook its head.

After learning more, Su Lun gained a general understanding of the situation here. This underworld was somewhat remote. The Drow Elves had not come here, which relieved Su Lun considerably. After all, if he really confronted the Drow Elfs with his current strength, even if he won, it would be a costly victory.

The Drow Elves of the Underground City were not weak. Moreover, their legendary class members and priests of the Spider Goddess were very troublesome. Now that he confirmed there were no Drow Elves here, Su Lun felt a bit more at ease. Given some time, once his territory developed, even if the Drow Elves really attacked from here, Su Lun wouldn’t be afraid of them.

Besides the Kobold Tribe, there was also a Goblin Tribe and a Gray Dwarf Tribe here. Further away was the Minotaur Tribe. Su Lun didn’t care much about the Goblin Tribe; they could only serve as common slaves. But the Gray Dwarf Tribe was different. Gray Dwarves were cousins of the dwarves, though their personalities differed greatly.

Ordinary Hill Dwarves were bold, straightforward, stubborn, stubborn, fond of drinking and fighting, etc., but they still tended towards a lawful good or neutral alignment. However, Gray Dwarves were different. They were selfish, greedy, evil, and cunning. But their forging skills were no weaker than those of the surface dwarves.

It was said that after the Gray Dwarves were exiled by other dwarves, they were enslaved by Mind Flayers. They finally managed to break free, but the long period of enslavement gave them high mental talents. Living long-term in the underworld also gave them strong poison resistance and invisibility abilities. Of course, because they had stayed in the underworld for so long, these Gray Dwarves feared sunlight.

A tribe of Gray Dwarves would be an excellent choice, whether captured as slaves to forge equipment for the territory or sent to mine. Su Lun had already decided to completely subdue this Gray Dwarf Tribe.