Aponia's words revealed the truth, and Niu Zida also had a sudden realization. Indeed, there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. The small Goblins suddenly becoming incredibly strong and tall was abnormal no matter how he thought about it; it was impossible without paying any price.
"Hmm, Aponia is right, but this method still has meaning. If we need to confront enemies head-on and surprise them in the future, we can enhance a portion of the Goblins to act as a suicide squad and charge forward."
"Master, I'm thinking, is it possible to control the speed of life burning to prolong their time before death? It might not need to be such an exaggerated enhancement. Judging by the strength of these Goblins just now, it must be several times that of humans. Could we make them not so tall, perhaps around 1.7 meters, and their strength just a bit stronger than humans? Would that prolong the time the Goblins' lifespan is burned? This way, they could be active longer and complete more combat missions."
Aponia's words reminded Niu Zida, who then directly ordered the two Goblin Priests to ask if they could control the degree of enhancement to prevent and delay the burning of life for the Goblins receiving the BUFF.
Unexpectedly, after communication, it was just as Aponia had guessed; they could indeed control the enhancement's magnitude. The intelligence level of these Goblins was truly concerning. If Aponia hadn't discovered the problem, these two Goblin Priests would have foolishly not known to communicate and explain the effects to Niu Zida. Niu Zida had to ask himself, and it took several repetitions before they finally explained it clearly.
Next, Niu Zida brought in several more Goblins and ordered them to receive the enhancement BUFF as Aponia had previously suggested. The two Goblin Priests, following Niu Zida's instructions, began to apply the BUFFs to these Goblins again. This time, as Niu Zida had instructed, they grew to about 1.7 meters, the height of an adult, and their strength was also similar to an adult's.
Niu Zida carefully observed these enhanced Goblins to see how long they could last. This time, these Goblins lasted a very long time, at least an hour without any problems. It seemed that as long as the enhancement's magnitude was controlled, this enhancement BUFF could be used as a regular weapon.
Finally, after about an hour of observation, these Goblins began to show signs of fatigue and successively died. Although seven or eight Goblins were lost as experimental subjects in two batches, it was all worth it. Now, he could temporarily possess a large number of regular Goblin troops to fight against human regular armies. However, this tactic could only be used occasionally, as his precious Goblins, born by himself, could only be used once with this consumption method.
"Let's try another experiment. This time, only enhance the Goblins to about 1.6 meters, and control their strength to about 70-80% of an adult's. Let's try."
Perhaps they weren't confident in such precise control, as the two Goblin Priests chattered for a while. Niu Zida listened and gathered that they weren't sure what level of fine control they could achieve.
"Just start, I won't blame you even if you fail."
Another five or six Goblins were brought in as experimental subjects. The two Goblin Priests reluctantly applied the BUFFs again as Niu Zida commanded. The two Goblin Priests were also sweating profusely from exhaustion; it seemed that frequently applying this enhancement BUFF was a huge drain on their stamina.
Goblins themselves mature very quickly, reaching their "adulthood" in about a week. However, the cost of such rapid maturation is that their lifespan is relatively short. A normal Goblin's lifespan of about 15 years is very common, and living to 20 years is already considered old age. This strategy of rapid birth and death prevents an excessive elderly population from monopolizing survival resources, and their high fertility allows for quick reproduction.
Of course, everything has its pros and cons. The downside is that Goblins' physical and intellectual abilities are the lowest among all "races with a certain level of intelligence," even inferior to the reckless and brutal Orcs. Because of their short lifespan, it's also not conducive to the transmission of knowledge, so Goblin civilization is rated as the lowest among all races on the continent, probably just a bit better than livestock.
Now with the enhancement BUFF, the Goblins' weakness of poor physical ability was instantly compensated. As for burning lifespan, Goblins don't live long anyway, so burning a bit is fine. This at least gave Niu Zida the ability to instantly burst out troops and surprise enemies, unlike before when he could only rely on ambushes, exploiting the opponent's underestimation and information asymmetry for tactical advantages. But this only works against small territories. If he encounters a great lord in the future, in the face of absolute power, schemes and tricks are useless. Even if he captures Duōléi City and defeats the punitive army in a string of victories, Niu Zida knows he still needs to strengthen his fundamental power.
"Master, it seems this time it can last for a very long time."
"Hmm, let these Goblins stay here for observation. Come find me when there are results."
Niu Zida watched for a while and saw that the third batch of experimental Goblins lasted for a long time without any issues, so he had others observe them and took his people back. The two Goblin Priests were also with the Elite Goblins. Niu Zida had specially built the Elite Goblins' residence in the barbican, serving as the Goblin command center. This way, even if an accident occurred later and the castle couldn't contact the barbican, the Elite Goblins could command the ordinary Goblins to take over the city's defense.
"Lululu's belly is quite impressive; I didn't expect her to give birth to such useful Elite Goblins on her first try."
Back in the castle, Niu Zida specially praised Lululu in front of all the maids. This time, even Misato Shizuku couldn't say anything. After all, she wasn't an unreasonable woman and understood the significance of this enhancement BUFF for future battles. So, even if she was still unconvinced, she didn't argue further.
"Oh, Master, you flatter me."
Lululu was a bit embarrassed by the praise, lowering her head. At this moment, Niu Zida had already been embraced by Aponia. Stroking the golden-haired beautiful girl's long golden hair, as smooth as silk, he kneaded her large breasts and said with a lewd smile:
"Since Lululu's belly is so impressive, how about we continue making babies?"
"Hmm, then please be gentle, Master."
Lululu obediently raised her head, narrowed her beautiful eyes, and showed a fawning smile. Then, she actively took Niu Zida into her arms. After they kissed, the two went into the inner room. Soon, the maids outside could hear Lululu's joyful moans, mixed with humiliation, and pleas for mercy coming from inside...