In total, three months had passed since Kyle had bought the land. It truly was a lot of land, although most of it was farms.

  In that time, three textile plants had entered full production, and the steel mill was finally running at full capacity. A small manganese vein had been found during the first exploratory mining mission. Manganese was a critical element for steel production-it boosted the steel’s durability in several ways. Now that some had been found, Kyle was finally satisfied with the steel he could make.

  Kyle suspected the mountains had once been submerged, similarly to the Terran Alpine Mountains. It would explain the many volcanic ores like copper, iron, and lead as well as manganese he’d seen traces of using his radar. Perfect for industrial mining.

  Food production slowly smoothed out. The amount he had to import had decreased by nearly 15 percent each month, and after meeting with local merchants, he hoped to finally stop bleeding money from the hoard.

  ———

  The plaza where the slaves had first arrived was once again packed with wagons. These were more personal transports. The merchant wagons were covered in decorative finishes and some were equipped with an enchantment for stability during rides.

  A long “U” shaped line of display tables covered in products glittered in the rare late autumn sun. The plains surrounding Altrai were very windy, and most of the merchants and their attendants were covered in woolen or monster-fur coats.

  “Welcome, everyone. Thank you for accepting Elnomaga’s invitation to my small exposition. Let me show you some of the products I plan to offer soon…”

  The group collectively harrumphed and walked over to the tables. A few of his better-looking overseers manned them and answered a few questions.

  At a table covered in metal tools, many of the merchants gathered and talked loudly. “110 imperials?! Just the steel used could sell for several tethrels!” “Unbelievable…” “There must be some mistake. Each of these is countless hours of work for any normal smith!” That and more carried over the air into Kyle’s cybernetically enhanced ears. He walked over to help the overwhelmed overseer. “I assure you, gentlemen, the prices displayed are what I’ll sell them for.”

  He chuckled and added, "Unless you want me to raise the prices? Are they too low?” Some of the merchants chuckled at the joke, and others genuinely and panickedly told him they were fine.

  The textiles were less interesting to the merchants. While the quantity and not-bad quality were interesting, the prices weren’t low enough to be too far out of the norm. They were still low enough to acquire a few deals in return for materials to weave.

  Later, Kyle would go back and refine the process, but he was leaning towards mining and steel production for the city anyway. Textiles would be secondary, just enough to supply the citizens with decent clothing.

  At the end of the display session, all of the prominent merchants had both promised to connect his burgeoning Department of Trade and Governance to more merchants with greater funds.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  All in all, a huge success. Kyle immediately drafted plans to dedicate the rest of the empty factories to steel forging, or more Bessemer Process facilities.

  —————

  Goruag had been hunting one of the plentiful plains rabbits. The little furry beast had been giving his stubby legs some trouble, but he had finally caught it.

  Leaping onto the gasping animal, he drove his spear into its flank, crushing the ribcage. He picked up the animal, and almost ate it right there-but as his teeth crunched down on a leg, he remembered why he’d hunted it.

  The bosses were hungry… The goblin resumed its run back towards the distant woods.

  ——

  Goblins were usually barely aware of their surroundings. They moved in huge packs, and only survived by that metric, and the fact that they were totally inedible.

  They only posed a threat to the more civilized races when they gathered in excess of the tens of thousands. They would only gather like so for one reason.

  A Goblin Lord. Any goblin that for one reason or another, could lead an army of goblins together. Some were naturally intelligent or strong goblins, and others were magically manipulated and released onto enemies’ lands to cause damage. Whatever the case, goblins were plentiful in the world. Only when they gathered an army and marched, or rather crawled, to war were they a danger.

  Goruag was in no way a shining example of goblin kind. He was a short, rather simple, and dim-witted specimen of their already weak species.

  The camp was a huge area covered in living holes for the goblins. They could live anywhere, but digging holes was the simplest. In the middle, the goblin lord himself lived in a small fenced off collection of actual tents.

  There, the hobgoblins and shamans lived next to the lord. Hobgoblins were larger, orange-skinned goblins who had been alive for more than 10 years. It didn’t sound like much, but when it came to goblins, it was.

  Hobgoblins could participate in more liberal human or elven societies, and could use magic in many cases. They were the ruling class of goblinkind.

  Goruag stepped around piles of excrement and trash, and finally reached the entrance of the fence. A hobgoblin in metal plate armor stopped him. “You got food? Give it here. I’ll take it to the Boss.” “B-but da boss sed not to give anyone but ‘im food!” “Just give it to me, rat…”

  A voice called from a tent. “Food? Send him in!” The hobgoblin grumbled and pushed the goblin into the largest tent. Inside, a hugely fat, man-sized goblin sat on an ottoman.

  “A rabbit? Good catch. You! Stick it in the pot!” Another hobgoblin took the catch and tossed it, fur, intestines and all, into a huge soup pot in the corner.

  After noticing that Goruag hadn’t left, the lord looked down at him. “Awww. Want some food, do ya?”

  Unbeknownst to the goblin, the much smarter shamans surrounding the lord snickered.

  Goraug nodded his head up and down.

  Faster than he ever could have seen, the lord’s hand swung towards Goruag's small green neck and snapped it in an instant.

  “Throw this one in the pot too! Waste not want not…”

  The goblin’s twitching corpse was unceremoniously thrown in the pot. Goblins were among the most prolific cannibals in the world, and were one of the only species who could actually eat goblin.

  “Awright. Get this show on the road. We need to conquer an ‘uman city before winter, got that?”

  The hobgoblin advisors nodded sagely.

  Shifting his bulk, the lord leaned back into his cushions and fell asleep. The shamans and more intelligent hobgoblin advisors left the tent to gather up their retinues.