Chapter 81 - 72: Defensive Fortifications
Chapter 81: Chapter 72: Defensive Fortifications
"Caocao, set this log up on the frame," Shire instructed, directing the Giant to construct a rack from the felled timber.
This was the second stone chamber upon entering the Fortress, and Shire planned to raise Brain-Eating Monsters here.
The stone chamber was massive, a long rectangle running north to south. If filled completely, it could house several hundred Brain-Eating Monsters, but there weren’t enough brains to feed that many.
Shire deduced that the Heart Stealer had previously used Goblin Transmuters to feed the Brain-Eating Monsters. Now, he could only dig out the brains of his hunted prey to feed them. The little things would still eat when they were hungry.
’This is pretty interesting,’ Shire thought. ’On one hand, the Brain-Eating Monsters don’t attack goblins with low Intelligence. On the other hand, they’ll actually accept animal brain tissue placed right in front of them.’
’Heart Stealer, you could open a training academy,’ Shire mused. ’The first lesson: Postpartum Care for Mother Brain-Eating Monsters.’
"Good, now get this one up there, too. Make sure it’s set in place properly," he instructed Caocao on the next step. "When you’re done, I’ll give you some meat jerky."
"Jerky tasty. Caocao love jerky," the Giant chuckled, hoisting another log from the ground.
Shire was growing more and more fond of the Giant. ’The kid isn’t smart, but he knows who treats him well, and he’s very obedient. You can get him to do anything with just a few pieces of jerky to chew on. Such a strong laborer is a huge help to me.’
He knew the Fortress would be discovered eventually. Whether it was by prying humans or by treasure hunters following the Heart Stealer’s map, a crisis was inevitable. That was why he was preparing the Fortress’s defenses in advance.
The first stone chamber was used to farm Slimes. The wooden door had been dismantled, replaced by a pile of stone and packed earth. Only a few small openings were left in the corners, which would later be used for glass tanks fitted with casters.
This way, Adventurers would enter full of anticipation, like young people clicking on a video titled *A Woman and Her Seven Men*. They’d be excited, then bewildered, and finally, as bored as if they were watching the intro to *Huluwa*. The weak-willed ones would be the first to leave.
But some would persist. They would determinedly wipe out every last Slime in the chamber, just like those people who insistently believe a video will cut to a different scene in the middle, that the part they’re hoping for will eventually appear.
These Adventurers would discover the packed earth. They would dig it away like madmen, all while loudly mocking those who had left earlier.
After digging through, they would arrive at the second stone chamber.
In the second chamber, Shire would raise a swarm of Brain-Eating Monsters. He also had his subordinates scrape away all the Blue Fluorescent Mushrooms, plunging the entire room into pitch-black darkness. Even with a torch, the visible range would be extremely limited. But the Brain-Eating Monsters didn’t need light; they could directly detect high-Intelligence targets.
And so, this group of determined Adventurers would hear the SKITTER SKITTER SKITTER of countless tiny feet filling the chamber. As they waved their torches, they would catch glimpses of small, dark shadows flitting by. By the time they could see what they were, they would already be surrounded by Brain-Eating Monsters.
Wasn’t this just like those people who stubbornly keep watching the video? They’d stare wide-eyed as the screen goes black, followed by a hissing static in their headphones. They’d get excited. ’Finally, my patience paid off!’
But it turns out that while the scene did change, the new clip was the complete series of *Huluwa 2*.
At that moment, they would surely be angry enough to punch their monitor to pieces.
Perhaps a small number of these Adventurers would be very powerful. After finally killing a large number of Brain-Eating Monsters, they would reach the northern door of the chamber. Cursing, they would glare viciously at what lay beyond it: seventeen large chests. The wooden plaques on them would read "Beast Cores," "Gold Coins," and "Magic Equipment." They would certainly approach with caution. After painstaking scrutiny, they’d open the lids, only to be greeted by the slimy, thick pseudopods of a Shape-shifting Monster.
Their despair must be like those people who, refusing to give up, search for the video again. They’d finally find another one titled *A Woman and Her Seven Men*. Muttering and cursing, they’d be about to leave a comment when they see someone else has already posted that this one isn’t *Huluwa*. So they download it, click play, and find it’s the old version of *Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea*.
"This is my first line of defense," Shire said, full of confidence.
He had abandoned the main gate. Instead, he had One-Eyed lead a team to widen the crevice where the Fulus used to hide, creating a path to the surface. They then concealed the opening, ensuring the Fortress’s security to the greatest extent possible.
As for the second line of defense, Shire planned to use chevaux de frise and the iron chains previously used to bind the goblins, combined with sharpened stakes. By then, the enemy would have penetrated deep into the Fortress, so he could only rely on these obstacles to restrict their movement. This would be supplemented by Hand Grenade Fruits and Brain-Eating Monsters dropped from above, using the terrain to eliminate the last of the intruders.
"Logs in place, Green Egg," Caocao said, looking at Shire with anticipation.
Shire grabbed two sticks of jerky and handed them to the Giant. His subordinate snatched them up and stuffed them into his mouth, chewing happily.
Caocao had now fully recovered. He stood over two meters tall, with blue skin, fiery red hair, and a body of knotted muscles brimming with power.
"We’ll build a few more racks this afternoon," Shire said, patting the Giant, who was sitting on the ground. "It’ll be time to eat soon."
"Caocao build racks afternoon. Caocao eat first," the Giant said with a laugh, his tone like a child’s.
Shire reminded Caocao to eat his meal and head to the entrance afterward. Then, he strolled out of the Fortress and saw Bai Mao leading several female goblins in preparing lunch.
Bai Mao had committed Mary’s cooking lesson from yesterday to memory. She was now meticulously following the steps, from washing the pot to the subsequent bleeding and removal of organs.
It was just that every time she saw the entrails thrown on the ground, Bai Mao would let out a small sigh.
Shire knew she hated to see them wasted. ’In her world, this is also good meat—something you eat to survive.’
’She’ll get used to it after a while.’ Shire shook his head with a sense of resignation.
A huge Star Realm Dog rushed toward Shire. When it reached him, it spat out a large, thick bone from its mouth.
Shire cradled the dog’s head, rubbing Rubus’s chin and scalp back and forth. "Agatha let you out again?"
Agatha would sometimes let Rubus out to run around. In her words, it was to "get familiar with the environment."
"Fetch!" Shire picked up the big bone from the ground and threw it with all his might. With a WHOOSH, Rubus turned, shrank into a point of light, and vanished. A moment later, a black fissure tore open next to the bone. Rubus shot out, snatched the bone, and ran back.
Shire really liked the big dog. He’d always wanted to ask Agatha if he could raise it himself. Unfortunately, Agatha had explained it was a Star Realm Beast, not a creature of this Material Plane. Back when the Twelve Bloodlines first gained the magic to summon Star Realm Beasts, they too had tried to raise them, but to this day, none had ever succeeded.
They had tried beef, mutton, fish, and even the flesh of Two-legged Flying Dragons, but nothing could attract the Star Realm Beasts’ attention. Since then, the Bloodline Warlocks had given up on trying to raise them.
"Go, Rubus," Shire said, throwing the bone again. This time, it landed a little close to where Bai Mao and the others were cooking.
WHOOSH. Rubus appeared next to the bone, but Shire noticed the big dog wasn’t even looking at it.
Instead, it was staring at the animal entrails that Bai Mao had thrown to the side.