Chapter 27
After the fiasco with the poor Maghazz, Xiao Chen can now relax a bit with his prestige and respect established among the old and new members of his army. He was observing his men from a distance, their breathing being ragged, their bodies covered in sweat and tired but their eyes had a determined look to become stronger and tougher than ever before.
Xiao Chen watched the stern looking Sakh’arran taking lead in the physical training, his scrutinizing gaze spread out among the warriors of Yohan, from time to time with large and quick strides he would approach a warrior to guide and teach them the proper executions and the sloppy ones earned punishments from him.
Like his good old drill instructors during his trainee days in his past world, Sakh’arran was quick at meting out punishments. Even sometimes joining the punished warriors to oversee them closely so that they do their sentence correctly.
Observing his men from a distance Xiao Chen hummed one of the songs that was engraved in his mind, the first song that accompanied him during his first training days
“It’s about a year ago
A welcome was just an open show
It made me tour the fields and plow
With rifle liners and combat shoes
.....
Those days were daring
The nights were cold
Water scanty yet sweat profuse
Food is blessing, rest is playing
But all these seems very long
Then gradually lost privileges restored
Actions more refined yet brittle
Like a wild horse turned to pony
Pristine ones were called to be
A group comes in and group comes out
Some may leave without their ranks
Some return after a year of pass
It’s good thing to be a brother
All throughout those restless days
Some may leave with sweat and pain
We never retreat we never yield
Always aim for the best and give the rest
Courage, Honor and Loyalty”
Xiao Chen gave his everything to his homeland, he sweated, he bled, he suffered and endured pain and came near to the end of his temperament all for his love for his native land. But what did he receive in return, nothing but just betrayal.
*****
After being satisfied with the progress of his army’s training, Xiao Chen went out to explore the Lag’ranna Mountains just behind the Yohan Tribe. The ever-silent Aro’shanna and the ever-curious Rakh’ash’tha accompanied him to the mountains to search for any natural resources that they could utilize in forming the foundation of his orc city.
After passing by the area where they fell many trees for the palisade surrounding the tribe, Xiao Chen, Aro’shanna and Rakh’ash’tha arrived at the unexplored parts of the mountains. With careful steps, Xiao Chen and his companions trudged forward towards the Lag’ranna Mountains’ paths full of thickets and unknown dangers.
Unknown flora and fauna greeted Xiao Chen’s sight, they were strange and odd but some of them are useful like the medicinal herbs that Rakh’ash’tha identified. Xiao Chen was staring at a very strange tree; it wasn’t that tall or out of place but what got his attention was its black spherical fruits and the very familiar scent of rubber originating from them.
“What’s this tree called?”
Xiao Chen asked the approaching Rakh’ash’tha with his finger pointing towards the strange tree with black spherical fruits that had the odor of rubber.
“We call that a Bufas Tree and its fruits Bufas Fruits, chief.”
Xiao Chen was surprised with Rakh’ash’tha’s reply, Bufas in Orcish means ‘bouncy’ and he can’t help but chuckle upon the new knowledge that he just acquired.
“Bouncy Tree and Bouncy Fruit”
He muttered, amused and amazed. Walking forward he picked up one of the Bouncy Fruits lying around the tree trunk, brought out his sword and sliced it open. Inside the Bufas Fruit were huge seeds like that of a jackfruit and a lot of rubber, the very strong smell of rubber irritated Xiao Chen’s sense of smell and he can’t help it but cover his nose.
“That is inedible chief, only the Curale can eat them and not die”
Rakh’ash’tha worriedly cautioned Xiao Chen as he thought that the chief would curiously take a bite out of the poisonous fruit.
“Well, it isn’t edible but there is something that we can use it for”
Xiao Chen said with a grin, staring at the numerous Bufas Trees scattered further away, he was thankful for the strange yet magical things of this new world. Now he knew where to get rubber and a lot of it which were commonly just ignored since they didn’t know what it is used for.
Marking the location of the Bufas Trees on his roughly drawn map, they march further to explore the other areas.
Somewhere two kilometers from the location of the Bufas Trees, Xiao Chen smelled the aroma of roasted meat along with the scent of spices that he had tasted before. Signaling the two to crouched down and spread their gaze out, they cautiously moved forward hiding their presence behind the numerous shrubs, with knees bended and walking like ducks.
Rakh’ash’tha and Aro’shanna didn’t knew what their chief was up to and they just followed him and move like he did.
Somewhere in a clearing a few paces away, Xiao Chen spotted a small creature, few inches short of being four feet tall, short hands and legs, long hooked nose, bat like ears and moss green colored skin.
Xiao Chen panned left to right many times, trying to find any sign that can tell him that this was nothing but a trap by the devious goblins but there were no such signs. Observing the lone goblin’s actions, Xiao Chen can’t help but feel confused, the goblin was humming a song or shrieking softly a song or whatever it was uttering since he doesn’t speak their language.
Taking some spices from the spread-out little pots lying around, the lone goblin sprinkled some white substance on the meat that it was roasting which Xiao Chen suspected to be salt, sprinkling a few more different colored powders and brushing it with a sparkling watery substance with the use of some grasses tied together, the lone goblin continued on with its work and was oblivious of those who are observing him.
The lone goblin’s actions reminded Xiao Chen of something, one of the shows that he saw to past his time called ‘Chef of the Wilds’ where a chef will cook delicious and mouth-watering meals with just the things available in his surroundings without the aid of modern technology and tools.
It was really strange for a goblin to be alone since they are known to be social creatures that heavily relies on their massive numbers and cooperation in order to survive in this brutal world. They often lived together in tribes much like the orcs and sometimes even kingdoms if they have a very strong leader and had a very huge population.
“A goblin chef, huh”
Xiao Chen softly muttered in order not to alert the busy lone goblin chef who was still busy creating its art. He was contemplating whether to recruit the strange goblin or not.
‘Grrr....’
The growling sound of his stomach and the tempting and mouth-watering aroma of the roasted meat finally convinced Xiao Chen’s mind. He wants the goblin chef to work for him, who knows, the goblin might have some secret recipes that can help his army.