Lord: Starting with Summoning the Regular Army of Earth

As the sun set, Lei Hu's reconnaissance team appeared at the mouth of the rift valley. They were no longer just wearing simple leather skirts to cover their bodies, but had a lot of crude leather protective gear. There seemed to be a lot of bone and stone decorations on their necks and wrists, and they were carrying all kinds of weapons.

If Lei Hu hadn't given a "safe" signal from a distance, the soldiers on guard near the rift valley entrance would have almost thought it was goblins from the mountains.

As their squad approached the defensive fortifications on the west side of the town, they immediately attracted the attention of Li Yuangang, Chen Mo, and others.

"Is it the Tiger Team returning?"

"Holy crap, where did they get these weapons from?"

"Yes, you've changed your outfit?"

Seeing the surprised looks from his comrades, Wang Xun proudly brandished the machete he had snatched, its blade gleaming in the setting sun: "Brother Gang, look at this, isn't our gear alright?"

"Tsk tsk..." Li Yuangang circled around them and punched Lei Hu's sturdy breastplate, or rather, a simple piece of hard animal hide.

"Wow, Lei, you guys have upgraded your equipment after this trip! What happened? Did you take down the goblin's lair?"

Lei Hu chuckled, wiped the dust off his face, and said with the roguish air of a veteran soldier, "My ass! We were lucky to run into two groups of green-skinned idiots fighting over a dead sheep. They were getting all bloodied and bruised. I just led my brothers to watch the show, waited for them to be exhausted, and then went down to pick up the scraps."

He spoke casually, but the glint in his eyes hinted at a "I did a great job" attitude.

They even threw the goblin's left ear that they had cut off onto the ground to show off their achievement.

The soldiers working nearby, along with young men like Carl and Bob, gathered around, curiously examining the "renewed" scouts and the goblin ears on the ground.

For some reason, they also subconsciously touched their own pointed and large ears.

"The Tigers are awesome!"

"Such a remarkable achievement on your first mission! Impressive!"

"They still have to be from our old unit; they know how to manage a household!"

Hearing the praise from the crowd, Lei Hu laughed smugly a few times and patted Li Yuangang on the shoulder forcefully: "You guys are pretty amazing, the basic structure of this project is already out in just one afternoon!"

"Lei Hu, you're back!" With a strong voice, Sun Zhengwu walked over. Although he also had the appearance of a goblin, his posture and gait still exuded a powerful aura.

Matthew, Will, Conrad, and others accompanied him.

Seeing the Thunder Tiger Squad's "full-loaded" appearance, especially the weapons in their hands and the goblin ears on the ground, Matthew's eyes flashed with surprise.

Conrad's pupils contracted even more; as an old knight, he knew all too well what these weapons and those goblin ears meant.

The goblin army Your Highness summoned is too strong!

Upon seeing Sun Zhengwu and Matthew approaching, Lei Hu immediately suppressed his smile, straightened his back, saluted, and said, "Reporting, sir! The reconnaissance team has completed the initial reconnaissance of the area within five kilometers of the Misty Mountains, and the situation is basically clear."

"Very good, how is it going?" Sun Zhengwu asked.

Lei Hu took a spear from Sun Xiaochuan, squatted down, and deftly drew a simple map on the muddy ground, the spear tip drawing clear lines.

"We mainly discovered two large goblin tribes." He pointed to a marker in the northwest direction with the tip of his spear. "This one is the closest to us, about four kilometers away. It's entrenched in a cave in the rock wall, easy to defend and difficult to attack. We call it 'Dark Green Axe Fang.' The size is estimated to be fifty to seventy. The goblins in this tribe are relatively strong and have considerable fighting ability. Some are even nearly as tall as a person and extremely robust."

"It's a goblin!" Matthew blurted out. The original owner's memories immediately surfaced. The kingdom had books that recorded the goblin race in detail. The mutated goblin race was close to or even larger than ordinary humans, with amazing strength, thick skin, and tenacious vitality.

Fortunately, they belong to the type that are all brawn and no brains, possessing only brute force.

Lei Hu nodded and continued, pointing to another marker in the southwest: "Another tribe we call the Gray-skinned Mongoloids is nestled in a large valley. They are more numerous, at least a couple hundred. But they are generally small and weak in combat, though... there are a few big goblins stationed there."

He Rui added from the side, "In terms of weapons, most of them are still wooden spears and stone axes. Only the main elites use these kinds of weapons."

He brandished the short sword in his hand.

"Furthermore, based on our initial observations and analysis, conflicts between the two goblin tribes should occur frequently. Today, we witnessed them fighting over a forest goat." Lei Hu gave a detailed account of how they ambushed, seized weapons, and tracked down the other side's lair.

"The mission was completed beautifully, pointing the way for our next move," Sun Zhengwu said solemnly. "Let's take a short rest, replenish our food and water, and then infiltrate the Misty Mountains again after dark. This mission has two objectives."

"First: conduct close reconnaissance to understand their activity patterns. How to deploy defenses, how often patrols rotate, the location of sentries and their shift changes—you need to know them as well as you know yourselves."

"Second, assess the surrounding terrain to identify the most suitable locations for ambushes, traps, and other terrain features that we can utilize."

"However, this time, any form of close combat is strictly prohibited. Your mission is to be eyes and ears, not fists. Exposure will not only lead to mission failure but may also alert the enemy and cause unnecessary trouble. Maintain the highest level of concealment and vigilance. Report any unusual activity immediately!"

Lei Hu snapped to attention and saluted: "Yes, sir! We guarantee to complete the mission! We are your eyes and ears in the mountains, and we will make sure you see exactly what these two green-skinned tribes are really like!"

His slightly humorous response made the team members chuckle softly.

Sun Zhengwu's lips curled into a slight smile as he tapped Lei Hu on the head: "Go on—by the way, use these weapons you captured for now. We'll get you a better batch tomorrow!"

"Yes!" Lei Hu turned around and immediately led his team members to the temporary cooking point, preparing to use the precious rest time to quickly replenish their energy and prepare for the upcoming night raid.

Dinner was again a simple wheat and bean porridge. Although it didn't taste very good, it was enough to fill our stomachs.

As night fell, Lei Hu led his team on another journey, entering the Misty Mountains.

Meanwhile, the goblins and villagers in the town began to eat in an orderly manner.

During this process, Matthew also made a surprising discovery: after the goblins he summoned ate something, the rate at which the magic power in the magic pendant was consumed immediately slowed down significantly.

This means that the energy from food can also replace magic power. Although it cannot completely replace it, it can help save a lot of magic power.

This is definitely good news.

Although the pendant's automatic absorption of magical energy from the world to replenish itself is quite fast, it's best to conserve it whenever possible, since food is much easier to obtain than magic crystals and magic cores.

After dinner, the soldiers continued to build fortifications and assist the craftsmen in forging weapons, so that the nights at Emberstone Ridge were no longer just silent and dark.

Matthew, meanwhile, gathered with the heads of each group at the lord's manor for their first meeting.

They jointly discussed topics such as farmland management, soap making, geological resource exploration, and the assessment of flood control measures for the Qixue River.

Will served as Matthew's secretary, responsible for recording important information.

……