The next morning at dawn, when Su Nian led the monsters back to the Dragon's Nest with great pomp and circumstance, almost every male monster had already "found" a "wife" they liked.
Even the kobolds and gnolls had partners.
They hadn't found proper kobolds in the outer regions of the Silvermoon Mountains, but they did find substitutes—Swamp Lizardfolk.
These Swamp Lizardfolk, though lacking dragon bloodlines, looked similar to kobolds and, like kobolds, were oviparous.
Bolikri couldn't be happier now.
He had a Swamp Lizardfolk covered in bluish-green scales on each arm, and even specifically described his feelings to Su Nian.
"Cool and refreshing, perfect for the hot summer."
As for the gnolls' mates, they found Hyena-folk. These Hyena-folk had proper dog heads—Su Nian sometimes thought these Hyena-folk should actually be called kobolds instead.
The Hyena-folk's bloodline was slightly inferior to that of the gnolls.
They were short and frail, looking like a group of little lolis facing hulking bodybuilders when standing before the muscular gnolls.
But this arrangement would have to do for now.
Later, when they expanded their territory or gained enough strength to explore the middle regions of the Silvermoon Mountains, they would find other monsters as partners for Grey Wolf and his gnolls.
Anyway, with the influence of dragon aura, the offspring born now wouldn't have poor constitutions.
The monsters, who had already established a "protect the potatoes" mindset, didn't waste a single minute.
As soon as they returned to the Dragon's Nest, before the captured monsters could even recover from their fear, a great reproductive movement began around the Dragon's Nest.
The scent of spring was everywhere.
Everywhere you looked, you could see Fireflame Rabbits working out frantically, each with a small Whirlwind Rabbit attached to their waist, exercising and breeding simultaneously. Other passing monsters couldn't help but marvel at the sight.
"Before long, the potatoes produced in the Dragon's Nest won't be enough to eat. We'll need those Sakura players to work harder..."
Su Nian lay on top of the Dragon's Nest, watching the bustling monsters below, lost in thought.
Early morning, just before dawn, when the Sakura players were sound asleep, they were suddenly grabbed and lifted up by a group of Fireflame Rabbits and kobolds who had barged in.
"Kobold-taijin, the sun isn't even up yet... Is there something important to announce today?" a Sakura player asked, holding back his anger at being woken up but wearing a fawning smile, speaking in a cordial tone, afraid of being fed excrement.
"Indeed, there is something to announce," Kobold Chief Bolikri nodded with a sinister smile.
"Since a large number of monsters will be born soon, the harvested potatoes might not be enough to eat. So starting today, you need to increase your workload."
"Your working hours will change from 10 hours per day to 15 hours per day."
"From now on, you'll wake up at five in the morning, work until noon, and in the afternoon, work from one o'clock until nine in the evening."
The Sakura players were stunned when they heard this, especially Haruta Motono. By this calculation, apart from the time at night when he was tormented by Orihime-chan, he would only have about ten minutes to sleep.
Ten minutes!!
What could you do in ten minutes? You'd barely close your eyes before it was time to get up!
These monsters had gone mad—they clearly had no intention of treating them as humans.
"Kobold-taijin, this... this working time is too long. What you're doing violates the Labor Protection Law!"
"Even the most cruel capitalist wouldn't make his workers work for 15 hours."
"Not to mention, it's unpaid labor!"
Haruta Motono, with dark circles under his eyes, was indignant.
He had lost weight during this period, and the mental torture had left his eyes bloodshot.
Now he bared his teeth, his face contorted with anger, looking quite intimidating.
"What law are you talking about?" Bolikri sneered.
"This is the Dragon's Nest. The master's word is law. Keep your human country's laws to yourself. And who said it's unpaid labor?"
"Haven't we been feeding you?"
"This... how can meals be considered payment?" Haruta Motono cried out in shock, frightened by the monster's shameless attitude.
"Well then, would you prefer to eat excrement? Or would you like to experience our newly developed experimental weapons in the mud-brick house?" Bolikri's smile grew increasingly ferocious, filled with extreme malice.
Upon hearing "experimental weapons," Haruta Motono froze and dared not speak further.
That kind of thing—experiencing it once was enough. No one would want to experience it a second time.
"In any case, I'm ordering you, not discussing with you. The working hours are set, and don't think about suicide."
"Starting today, the number of monsters stationed near you will double. You should be very clear about the consequences for anyone who attempts suicide."
After finishing his speech, Kobold Chief Bolikri snorted coldly and strode away with an arrogant gait.
Just a group of human captives, yet they dared to negotiate with him—truly ignorant of life and death.
The Sakura players had no choice.
In theory, with their numbers plus the native soldiers, they could cultivate more wasteland and wouldn't face potato shortages.
The problem was that the monsters didn't provide them with any tools.
They could only use their feet and hands to dig the ground.
This resulted in extremely slow land development.
...
The morning glow stretched for a hundred miles as the blazing sun rose in the east.
The entire experimental field had no shelter whatsoever. Any place that might provide shade was occupied by robust Fireflame Rabbits.
The Sakura players worked in the experimental field using both hands and feet, sweating profusely. Thankfully, with pain perception blocked, they couldn't feel the scorching sun burning their skin.
But the feelings of chest tightness, heat, and weakness from dehydration were still very noticeable.
From time to time, players would get a heat stroke debuff below their health bar and collapse weakly on the ground, only to be roughly dragged away by nearby Fireflame Rabbits and thrown into a water ditch to regain consciousness.
Once they recovered, they were dragged back to the field like dead dogs to continue working.
The Fireflame Rabbits monitoring them stood in the shade of large trees, emanating the aura of spring, holding carrots in their left hands with Whirlwind Rabbits attached to their waists.
Their life looked comfortable from every angle.
"When will this life ever end?" Haruta Motono muttered quietly.
Nearby, Inoue Orihime worked like a perpetual motion machine, digging the ground non-stop with her hands.
Unlike Haruta Motono, she didn't find this life difficult at all, because the person she loved was by her side.
Haruta Motono glanced at her a few times, feeling increasingly irritated. He could only continue digging forcefully at the soil, as if venting all his frustrations on the smelly earth.
Suddenly, his finger paused as his health bar decreased slightly. He raised his palm and saw that his middle finger was swollen and red.
He must have hit something hard.
Haruta Motono lowered his head, examined the hole he had dug for a moment, reached in, and felt a hard object.
"Young man! Do! You! Crave! Power?! ♂"
A magnificent voice resonated in Haruta Motono's mind.
Haruta Motono was startled and tried to put the hard object into his backpack, but was prompted that it couldn't be collected. He pursed his lips and quickly tucked the hard object into his pocket instead.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
patreon.com/BZDXG - Unlock a HUGE stash of advance chapters now!
Dive deeper into the story ahead of everyone else!