MC's career as foreign lord

"Bugbears! If we take this and sell it, we'll be rich!" Voices from the crowd reached Zhou Ren's ears, letting him know the situation.

"Heh, why don't you take it then? That bugbear corpse has been here for half a day, who dares to take it?" someone sneered.

Zhou Ren curiously asked the sentry beside him, "Is a bugbear corpse worth a lot of money?"

The sentry nodded, "My lord, you may not know, bugbears are usually the leaders of a den of goblins or even several dens, and they have at least the combat power of intermediate professionals or above. If this were taken to Val City and sold, you could get immense benefits!"

"Then why do they all look like they're itching to move but don't quite dare?" Zhou Ren continued to be curious, with some speculation, "Bugbear... does it mean a goblin that looks like a bear?"

They parted the crowd and saw the dead, ugly, and strange-looking bugbear on the ground, and couldn't help but nod. No wonder it couldn't be a normal trading creature, it was so ugly.

Zhou Ren didn't continue to complain, but instead focused his attention on another group of people. They were a group of fierce mercenaries, their bloodlust almost palpable. They came before the bugbear, their eyes flashing, seeming to be restless.

Zhou Ren continued to ask, "You still haven't said why they don't dare to touch the corpse of this big guy!"

"Goblins hold grudges and are extremely prolific. If you take the bugbear's corpse but don't become the goblin lord, they will know you are an enemy of the goblins!" the sentry explained.

"This is a special mark, belonging only to the goblin race. Once you take it, it will exist, and if you appear before goblins again, you will be surrounded and attacked. They consider this a humiliation to the goblins!"

"Oh?" Zhou Ren said curiously, "Doesn't that mean I can take the bugbear's corpse and become the goblin lord?"

"Yes, but all the humans who thought that have had their heads quietly cut off by the goblins!" the sentry continued.

Zhou Ren understood, "So it's just being a hooligan! It's okay for me to kill you, but if you kill me, just wait for revenge!"

The sentry was speechless, "What you said is actually not wrong."

Zhou Ren shook his head with a smile. Mossa had told him about this goblin. Now that he thought about it, if Mossa hadn't acted, when this bugbear arrived on the front battlefield, Pine Leaf Town's defense line would have collapsed!

"This thing, our Soyas Mercenary Group wants it!" There were always brave ones who wanted to take things. Zhou Ren was also happy to watch the show, wondering what this so-called goblin mark was like.

"Soyas Mercenary Group?" The sentry was slightly surprised, "An elite mercenary group from Val City, the kind with two professionals. They really have guts!"

"Oh? Do they have the strength to take on this curse?" Zhou Ren asked. Rather than a mark, it was more appropriate to call it a curse.

"Hard to say, maybe during normal times, but now it's the Great Wind Period!" the sentry continued, "They seem to be coming towards us!"

Zhou Ren's arrival also caused a stir. The huge iron golem behind him indeed made people feel a sense of unease, making the mercenaries feel ominous.

"Greetings, my lord. Do you want the corpse of this bugbear? If you do, we can withdraw." A elf walked out from the Soyas Mercenary Group. Judging by his attire, he seemed to be an elven mage.

Such a gentle and refined demeanor was really unlike the image of those crude and rough mercenaries in Zhou Ren's impression.

Zhou Ren shook his head, "I'm just a passerby, you continue!"

"Then, please excuse us, my lord!" He politely led his people back, and only then did they begin to clear the area while setting up a perimeter.

In the morning, Mossa had informed Zhou Ren that the corpses of those lord-level creatures had been sent over and then turned into materials in his hands, which were put into the monster corpse box.

What else could Zhou Ren say? He could only praise the other party's initiative. Mossa the lich's learning ability was truly strong. He could rest a little now.

As for those materials, Zhou Ren didn't need them, and he gave them to the lich as a reward.

So he had no intention of taking the bugbear's corpse, but stood by and watched them act, while asking the sentry a question.

"Do you think it's possible that when they are transporting these corpses, goblins will come to attack?"

The sentry shook his head and subconsciously said, "It's unlikely, right? Monsters on the wasteland shouldn't come out to ambush during the day!"

In front of them, the members of the Soyas Mercenary Group had already started moving the goblin corpses. Because of the bugbear and the mark, this area was still intact, untouched.

Zhou Ren shook his head and pointed to the distance, "That group of black figures over there, they wouldn't be out hunting, would they?"

The sentry followed his finger and looked over. The sight of a large mass of monsters there was indeed somewhat terrifying.

After all, it was a wasteland. After a series of devastating battles, the environment here had long been in disarray, and the goblins had no intention of hiding their tracks, approaching them aggressively.

"It's a goblin tribe!" The voices of the crowd also rose and fell. The mercenaries who were watching had slowly retreated to the back, letting the people of the Soyas Mercenary Group stand in front.

They hadn't anticipated this scene either. These hateful little creatures seemed to have no fear, only endless madness in their eyes!

There were many goblins, about sixty of them, while the Soyas Mercenary Group, at most, had only twenty people. This was already the strongest force among all the mercenary teams present.

This wasn't a particularly disadvantageous situation—if the other mercenaries joined in, but rules were rules. The Soyas Mercenary Group had just cleared the area, so the many mercenaries had no obligation to help them.

They gathered on a high ground in the distance, keeping a distance from Zhou Ren, waiting for an opportunity.

If the Soyas Mercenary Group won, from a human standpoint, they would applaud and send them off. If they lost, the mercenaries would rush up like hyenas, dividing the weapons and corpses.

They didn't have the ability to take it all, but once a fight broke out, who would care about so much?

"Is this the philosophy of mercenaries?" Zhou Ren watched clearly from the side. He also found it very interesting. He was already surprised that these people could maintain such rules. He wouldn't be surprised if they killed people and stole goods.

Rules were exclusive to nobles, while ordinary people struggled to survive! So it was rare and commendable that these mercenaries could abide by the rules.

"Now, whoever wins will take the bugbear's corpse, take his weapon, and be crowned the goblin chief!" the sentry introduced, "That's why they are so crazy!"

Zhou Ren sighed, "As expected, power still moves people's hearts! The scent of desire is really obvious!"

Just as they were still sighing, three people finally walked out from the Soyas Mercenary Group. One was the elven mage, one was a warrior with a large shield, and the other was a short man with brown skin. He was a dwarf!

"Leader!" the surrounding people shouted. In such a kingdom of elves, a dwarf who could become the leader of a mercenary group must have some ability.

He walked out, holding a strangely shaped large hammer, "Soyas Mercenary Group, charge!"

"He's actually a dwarven paladin! Such a rare profession!" the sentry exclaimed. Seeing Zhou Ren's gaze sweep over, he quickly explained.

"My lord, paladins are the rarest profession on the continent!" the sentry said, "They are not affiliated with certain gods or forces, but belong solely to the side of justice!"

"They are eternally lawful good, representing absolute kindness and pure freedom, and he's a dwarf!" Zhou Ren understood. It meant that dwarves were very selfish, and paladins needed selfless people, so he was also very rare among dwarves!

The dwarven paladin hadn't finished speaking when he had already charged out. The power of absolute holy light and faith in light made him like a bulldozer, charging into the group of goblins who were even shorter than him.

Both groups of goblins had a leader as their chief. They became leaders not because of kindness or status, but because of sheer power!

They revealed their fangs and showed their strength, blocking both the mercenary leader and the shield warrior!

"Two intermediate professionals!" Zhou Ren was a little surprised. In such an obscure border town, even a dilapidated goblin tribe had such strength?

The iron golem behind him was restless. As a creature targeting dark beings, it seemed unable to resist attacking these goblins, but was stopped by Zhou Ren.

In fact, when it came to actual combat, Zhou Ren realized how absurdly powerful every strong paladin was in battle!

The aura called "Courage" emanating from the dwarf was simply a terrifying weapon for legion combat.

But paladins wouldn't join the army to fight for the king, otherwise they would fall. This seemed to be a patch to prevent them from being used by those with ulterior motives.

But he could heal injuries and illnesses, alleviate pain, and greatly boost morale. These were all incredibly absurd abilities!

Even a novice paladin could cause significant damage to special creatures like goblins.

As for the other side, the shield warrior was taciturn but immensely strong, wielding his shield to block another goblin warrior, and then the elven mage was heard chanting spells.

He first cast a layer of armor on his two professional companions before slowly chanting attack spells.

In fact, for creatures like goblins with low magic resistance, even a first-level spell could cause good damage. Novice professional mages usually considered the applicability and convenience of their spell slots, and wouldn't force in a few high-level spells for power.

After all, a mage's spells and power were closely related to certain special spell slots. If you stored powerful magic, you couldn't store less powerful minor spells, and the number would also drastically decrease, which was somewhat not worth it.

And under the shield warrior's blocking, they fought back and forth with enemies several times their number, and were surprisingly not at much of a disadvantage!

The remaining mercenaries were already restless. If they acted now, they could still get a little soup to drink. If they really waited until the elven mage used magic to take down those two goblins, they could only watch!

A group of mercenaries were really good at seizing opportunities. Before anyone could even rush up and touch the bugbear's corpse, they had already joined the battle, starting to separate and surround the goblins of the Soyas Mercenary Group.

Zhou Ren shook his head, "Let's go! It seems we are not needed here!"

Just as he finished speaking, it was as if he had triggered some taboo. A mercenary accidentally slashed at the bugbear's corpse!

As for whether it was truly accidental or if greed had masked fear, the many mercenaries didn't know!

At least everyone could see a gray mist suddenly appearing, then covering the entire battlefield. Except for Zhou Ren and the sentry who were far away and not affected, almost all the mercenaries were covered!

"The curse from the goblin tribe... has it descended?" Zhou Ren said, and then saw another team of goblins coming from the distance. The leader was actually a huge goblin with a hideous face but a string of bones hanging on its body!

"Hobgoblin!" the sentry exclaimed, "And it's an intermediate professional level hobgoblin! Is he also here to compete for this?"

No one could give him a correct answer, but these cursed mercenaries knew that today would likely be a fight to the death!

"How long will such a curse last?" Zhou Ren continued to ask curiously.

The sentry replied, "My lord, it mainly depends on the number of people. If so many people are affected, it will probably disappear in about three days, but such a huge curse aura is likely to directly attract bugbears!"

He looked at the hobgoblin in the distance, "Not good, I need to report to the town lord. A goblin shaman has appeared here!"

Regardless of the profession, a mage's threat is always greater than a warrior's. This is determined by the nature of the profession. An intermediate professional shaman's destruction will probably be no less than that of the two-headed giant!

Zhou Ren shook his head, "I guess I know why no one dares to provoke creatures like goblins or hobgoblins!"

While they were talking, this group of goblins and the hobgoblin shaman merged and confronted the mercenary team. The black aura on the mercenaries made all the goblins' eyes turn red!

"Roar!" A terrifying roar came, and the hobgoblin shaman finally made way. A group of goblins carried out a huge creature much larger than themselves!

"Bugbear!" Zhou Ren narrowed his eyes. This was a bugbear even larger than the corpse lying on the ground. It should also be the true leader of this team. It appeared before Zhou Ren like this, its gaze gloomy and bloody!

The goblins carrying him were slapped to the ground. Then a goblin handed over the leg of an unknown creature, which the bugbear grabbed in its hand, took a bite, and then held the bloody side towards the mercenaries!

"Such an aura and oppressive force..." The sentry was somewhat trembling, "High-level professional! It's a high-level professional! We need to report to Val City immediately!"

Under such pressure, the mercenaries immediately scattered like birds and beasts, leaving only the Soyas Mercenary Group holding firm.

The dwarf leader's eyes were firm, "We can't let him pass. If he passes, the town will be in trouble! We need to buy time for the town lord!"

PS: Going on a business trip tomorrow, updates might be a little late... ORZ