With Diao Chan leading the way, Zhou Yan and his group moved through as if no one was there, pushing in with great success.
This was a vast cave, with passages branching out in all directions, leading to many places, much like a labyrinth.
"Don't split up."
With their small numbers, staying together was their safest option. No one knew if there were any stronger monsters among these goblins.
The goblins within this cave were quickly eliminated. At the bottom was a large cavern, which seemed to have been a living area for some goblins, filled with many daily necessities.
There were things like animal hides, weapons, cotton cloth, and linen clothes. These items were not of high quality. What he was after were the iron ores that had been transported back and the location where they forged their weapons.
However, he still collected everything. While he didn't need them, there were many lords who did at this stage.
Even the smallest mosquito is still meat; no resource could be wasted.
"Let's check the other paths."
The caves here branched out in all directions, like a complex maze, and they had to explore them one by one.
Zhen Mi possessed a high level of spiritual power. Any path she walked once, she could remember, so there was no need to worry about getting lost.
Zhou Yan even praised her for this.
He, himself, did not have such a good memory.
The goblins had already begun searching for them everywhere. Diao Chan, who was at the forefront, engaged the goblins again. Unfortunately, these goblins were too weak and were soon all killed.
They explored several caves in succession, but without much significant gain. They did, however, kill many goblins and received substantial Soul Coin rewards.
"This passage seems different."
Zhou Yan discovered a relatively large passage. Upon closer inspection, he noticed the marks of cartwheels on the ground.
"Everyone, let's go this way."
This place should be where the goblins forged their weapons. They quickly charged forward.
Along the way, they encountered many goblin guards. Their strength was greater, and their weapons were of slightly better quality than those of ordinary goblins.
"Whoosh!"
A cold arrow shot towards Zhou Yan, aiming directly for his forehead.
"Lord, be careful!"
Si Teng drew out a vine and, with a flick, sent the arrow flying.
Even without Si Teng, Zhou Yan would have been fine. He had been constantly aware of his surroundings and had not let his guard down.
They looked towards the goblin archers hiding behind large rocks, who were attacking Zhou Yan and his group.
"Charge! Kill them!" Zhou Yan ordered.
Zhen Mi quickly unleashed her spiritual power, causing the archers to lose consciousness. Then, Si Wu and Si Hu stepped forward and slew them.
They collected a few bows and a good number of arrows.
However, they generally preferred fighting with cold weapons. These were stored away by Zhou Yan.
There were truly many goblins here. Along the way, they encountered many goblins around level 16, but the gap in their strength compared to Diao Chan and her companions was too great; they were defeated at the first encounter.
Before long, they began to feel the temperature of the cave rising, and then they heard the clanging sounds of blacksmithing.
"It's indeed the forging room!"
Zhou Yan was delighted.
They had finally arrived at the place where the goblins forged their weapons.
As they entered the forging area, they saw a group of goblins wielding whips, overseeing a group of dwarves wearing chains.
Various ores and finished weapons and armor were piled up around them.
"There are even dwarves here!"
Zhou Yan was greatly surprised.
He immediately understood what was happening.
It turned out that these goblins themselves could not forge weapons. They had captured dwarves as slaves, chained them, and forced them to forge weapons and armor for the goblins.
"Kill those goblins!" Zhou Yan commanded.
"Yes!"
These goblins were no match for Diao Chan and her companions. They were quickly routed and fled.
The dwarves, having suffered long-term abuse from the goblins, began to help Diao Chan and her group create obstacles for the fleeing goblins.
The goblins were quickly eliminated, but the dwarves were still fearful of Zhou Yan and his group, unsure of how Zhou Yan would treat them.
Zhou Yan stepped forward and asked, "Which one of you is the leader? I have something to say to you."
"Esteemed human, I am the chief of the dwarf clan. I thank you for killing these greedy and cruel goblins."
A dwarf with a full beard, dragging a long chain, approached Zhou Yan and spoke respectfully.
Zhou Yan quickly checked the dwarf's information.
[Name: Jerry]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 42]
[Race: Dwarf]
[Quality: A]
[Level: 18]
[Charm: ???]
[Luck: ???]
[Strength: ???]
[Constitution: ???]
[Agility: ???]
[Spirit: ???]
[Talent: Forging]
[Skill 1: ???]
[Skill 2: ???]
"He's an A-quality dwarf too."
His subordinates were all S-quality individuals, mainly due to the evolution abilities of the Colored Lord.
It was not easy to encounter high-quality races outside. This dwarf's quality reaching A was quite remarkable.
Apart from the common dwarven forging talent, nothing else was visible.
However, the fact that the dwarf chief possessed two skills already proved his considerable ability.
These dwarves all had wounds to varying degrees, clearly showing they had been whipped by the goblins.
Zhou Yan quickly asked, "How did you get captured by these goblins?"
The dwarf chief sighed and said, "These goblins attacked our village at night. Not only did they destroy our village, but they also killed many of our clansmen. We were captured by the goblins. They valued our forging skills, which is why they didn't kill us. They are extremely brutal and greedy."
Zhou Yan nodded in understanding and said directly, "Since you have no home, are you willing to pledge loyalty to me? I am a lord, and I'm sure you've witnessed the strength of my subordinates."
"If you pledge loyalty to me, I will not only provide you with a safe homeland in the future but also allow you to live a life ten times better than before."
He could recruit races like these directly.
However, newly recruited individuals would not have very high loyalty, which would require lords to find ways to increase their loyalty.
The dwarven race's talent for forging equipment was extremely powerful. Every dwarf here was a valuable asset.
"As long as you can eliminate these goblins and help us avenge our clansmen, we will pledge our loyalty to you."
Jerry's emotions were intense, filled with great anticipation.
They deeply desired revenge and wished they could personally annihilate those greedy goblins.
"Of course, that's not a problem. We never intended to let these greedy goblins go in the first place!"
Zhou Yan said.
"Lord, a large wave of goblins is rushing this way," Zhen Mi reported urgently.
"Let me go deal with them," Diao Chan volunteered.
"Let's go together and eliminate all these goblins," Zhou Yan said.
First, he had everyone break the chains on the dwarves' hands and feet, and then they voluntarily asked to participate in the battle.
Although Zhou Yan did not want them to get hurt, as losing even one would mean losing a blacksmith, they had endured too much torment. Thus, he agreed.
However, he did not let the dwarves take the front line. He arranged for the dwarves to stay behind so they could witness the strength of his territory, which would increase their loyalty.