The day after he finished his conversation with Bigwitz, Haggard escorted the goblins back to Gadgetzan.
To Li De's surprise, Bigwitz came to the territory again that day. The only difference from last time was that he was driving a goblin dune buggy and carrying Haggard and several others.
Li De was very interested in this kind of vehicle with high speed and large capacity, but after asking about the price, he gave up the idea of using this kind of locomotive for transportation.
Bigwitz told Li De that after he went back and explained the situation to Noglfogg, Noglfogg decided to agree to cooperate on the spot. He also appointed Bigwitz to come here again to jointly formulate a development plan.
Moreover, three days later, after Noggenfogg has arranged the affairs of Gadgetzan, he will personally bring people over to negotiate with Li De on the specific details of cooperation.
The reason why Bigwitz was asked to come over first and to formulate a plan before formal negotiations was to express Nogfogg's sincerity in cooperation.
Li De really felt the sincerity of cooperation in this.
It has to be said that as a trading race, goblins are indeed very efficient. Cooperating with such a race puts a lot of pressure on the craftsmen in the territory.
At the same time, Li De also had a new view of Noggenfogg. It is true that goblins have bad qualities such as greed and cunning, but their courage should not be underestimated:
After realizing that Gadgetzan and Shining Plains might be failed projects, Noggenfogg showed no sign of reserve in the face of Li De's "life-saving straw", as if he was not afraid of Li De's big talk at all.
This is a taboo in negotiations, but between facing this huge mess alone, and being slaughtered after Gadgetzan regains its vitality, the specific choice is a matter of opinion.
In fact, when both parties have a strong intention to cooperate, formal things are not so important.
Li De also attached great importance to this cooperation, and personally led a team to escort Van Cleef and Birgwitz to the Qingquan Plain the next day for on-site investigation.
After arriving at Qingquan Plain, professionals assessed water sources and surveyed the landforms, while Li De led his subordinates to clean up dangerous animals in the area.
Because of the high-quality water source, there are quite a lot of animals living in this area. One or two hundred of them were hunted and killed, such as giant scorpions and hyenas. The accompanying skinners were all smiles.
There will be such a high cleaning efficiency. In addition to the heroic warrior Li De, he brought ten soldiers: Andel, Madin Lei, Jaxson, Pumillo, Brad, Macluer, Samuel
Sen, Gastin, Jason, Greco...these great guys are all elite fighters!
In the army, each one has the ability to become a captain or even a higher level. But Li De gathered them together and forged them into the strongest fist in the territory.
And I also want to thank one person, that is the armor-making master Adler. Yesterday, he led his people to make more than a dozen sets of armor overnight.
After it was delivered to Li De early this morning, he changed hands and equipped this elite team with all the equipment.
The cleanup work went on for more than two hours. After almost all the giant scorpions and hyenas nearby were cleaned up, Li De encountered a magical creature:
This is a huge lizard that is four to five meters long and as high as a human waist. It has three pairs of legs, a thin face, sail-like fins on both sides, and a slender snout. A row of large scales grows on its back.
Ore crystals also grow between the fine scales on the epidermis.
This kind of monitor lizard is not as aggressive as other dangerous creatures. On the contrary, it is very timid. As soon as it saw Li De and the others approaching, it ran away immediately, and its running speed was not slow, reaching a speed of twenty or thirty kilometers per hour!
The moment he saw this giant lizard, Li De came up with the idea of domesticating it. Tanaris lacked large livestock, and the transportation volume was still a major problem that restricted the development here.
If this giant lizard can be successfully tamed, it will be easier to connect the beach to Gadgetzan.
Therefore, Li De specifically went to ask Bigwitz for advice. However, Bigwitz really didn't understand this time. Goblins had no tradition of domesticating livestock, and he had never seen any examples of successful domestication of monitor lizards.
Hearing what Bigwitz said, Li De had no choice but to give up and turn to ask about the serious matter of the water canal.
When asked about the aqueduct, Birgwitz and Van Cleef all became energetic and talked about the sky and the earth. Li De could understand it at first, but later he could only nod along vaguely.
After the two men introduced the development plan, Li De could not make any suggestions except dozens of "hmm".
Of course, Li De is still very self-aware. As long as he has a clear direction and ensures that two canals can be built, he will not interfere too much in other matters.
After the preliminary survey, the experts marked the first construction point near the water source, and the skinners there had already peeled off all the carapace fur.
Only then did everyone embark on their return trip full of harvest.
And when everyone reached the border of Qingquan Plain, Li De finally saw the scene Haggard said:
There were about dozens of trolls with khaki skin and ragged clothes, standing at the foot of the Great Pyramid, muttering words of worship, and not far away, Haggard was leading two small groups of soldiers, staring at him with a wary face.
These trolls.
Most of them now wear light armor made by Adler. Those who were not assigned light armor simply went back to plate armor, so they had no pressure at all when facing these ragged trolls.
Li De first ordered Jason and Greco to send all the master craftsmen back to their territory, while he led an elite team to join Haggard.
"What exactly is going on?"
Haggard also looked confused.
"I don't know either, but these guys came early in the morning not long after you set out, and brought a bunch of things with them, and placed them under the Great Pyramid, and that's how it started.
I arrived with my people and saw that they had no intention of fighting us. I followed your instructions and did not actively provoke a conflict, but I didn't know how to deal with it."
After listening to Haggard's details, Li De looked at the trolls again. After some thought, he made a bold decision.
"Come with me, all of you."
As he spoke, Li De led everyone and walked towards the trolls.
When the trolls saw people coming from a distance, they all became nervous and subconsciously wanted to take up weapons. But their leader stopped them.
It was a troll who looked like he had just grown up. If you were to tell the difference from the facial features, both humans and trolls were face-blind, but by the size of the troll's teeth, you could almost guess the age.
This newly adult troll, with everyone following and guarding him, could almost guess that Li De was the person with the highest status, and took the initiative to approach Li De.
This also caused Haggard and others behind him to become nervous, but Li De signaled them to restrain. He saw that the troll was not armed.
The troll walked in front of him, and Li De couldn't help but feel dizzy. He was considered tall among humans, but he was much shorter than this troll.
If it weren't for the troll's habit of walking hunched over, Li De might not even be able to look at him at eye level.
The troll babbled at Li De, but Li De didn't understand a single word. Only then did he remember an embarrassing fact, he didn't know troll language!
Seeing that there was no response from Li De, the troll became more and more anxious as he talked. Li De quickly calmed him down and sent Brad to invite Bigwitz from his territory. He probably knew troll language.
After waiting like this for a long time, Bigwitz came belatedly with Brad. Seeing that Li De wanted to ask him to be the translator, he felt a little reluctant.
In his opinion, completing a great development plan quickly is much more valuable than being a translator for some troll.
The relationship between trolls and goblins was not friendly. Seeing a new goblin, the troll frowned, but then he heard the goblin speak to him impatiently in troll language.
"I am the translator between you. If you want to say anything, say it quickly. Don't waste my time. Time is money!"
Bigwitz's words were very unkind, but they sounded extremely pleasant to the ears of the troll. He seemed a little excited and started chatting with Bigwitz.
Li De looked on with excitement. Bigwitz was really a talent! He was able to speak three languages proficiently in Common, Goblin, and Troll, and he also had superb engineering skills.
"Mr. Bigwitz, what did he say?"
Hearing Li De ask, Bigwitz made a wait gesture to the troll.
"He is praising the Great Pyramid, calling it a miracle of the Desert God, and asking if you are the high priest of the Desert God."
This question couldn't help but make Li De laugh. At the same time, he lamented the trolls' ten thousand-year tradition. For trolls, belief in gods is extremely important.
But Li De turned around and thought again. The Great Pyramid appeared out of thin air in the desert. There was no other explanation other than a miracle.
Thinking of this, Li De nodded.
"Please tell him that I am the high priest who witnessed the miracle of the Great Pyramid. What can I do for him?"
In fact, there was no need for Begwitz to relay it. When Li De nodded, the troll had already obtained the answer, and he said a lot of words even more excitedly.
Birgwitz was doing simultaneous interpretation.
"The gods really have not abandoned the sand trolls! For thousands of years, the sand trolls have never given up worshiping the gods, but the gods have never given us a real response.
We saw a great miracle here today, and we know that we have not been abandoned!
Please allow the high priest to allow us to express our respect to the gods, and we will make offerings without hesitation!"
The troll said with great excitement. His desire for gods actually moved Li De, and then he looked at the "offerings" made by these trolls to gods:
It was a pile of bloody and bloody pieces of meat cut from an unknown animal.
Then Li De remembered what he heard about the situation of these trolls when he was talking to Bigwitz before, and couldn't help but sigh. These "offerings" were probably their rations for several days.
"Please tell him that the gods accept their respect and piety, and the gods will accept their offerings. But the benevolent gods also protect everyone who survives tenaciously in the desert, and these foods will be given back to them as rewards and given to them to continue.
The courage to survive.”
When Bigwitz completed the translation, the troll looked at Li De in disbelief, his eyes changing from surprise to surprise, and then to reverence.
The trolls turned around and loudly shared "God's will" with their fellow tribesmen. All the trolls were so happy that they even cried. They all knelt down towards the Great Pyramid again. At the same time, this time they no longer shouted the word "God", but the word "God".
It's "loa"!
Li De's expression became solemn. Although he didn't understand troll language, he understood what the word "loa" meant!
"Loa" is the natural god that trolls believe in with the highest faith. Along with the trolls' faith, Loa will also give believers their own power, making them stronger!
Trolls believe in animism, so most loa are divine beasts, and some wild demigods are also loa that trolls believe in.
But today, these trolls, who have been isolated in the desert and have lost their orthodox Loa beliefs for thousands of years, worship the Great Pyramid as the god Loa!
"Ding~, please note that the Great Pyramid of Wonders (ancient times) triggers the 'Conversion Event'. Do you want to spend 500 productivity points to activate it?"
Eureka's voice suddenly sounded, startling Li De.
He only has a little over 500 productivity now, and it would be really sad if he spent all of it, and it was spent on a "conversion event" that he didn't even know what it was.
But looking at the trolls kneeling and crying towards the Great Pyramid, Li De couldn't help but sigh. Living in a harsh environment for a long time can indeed destroy a person's spirit.
'Since it was triggered by these trolls, let's just say it was activated for them.'
Out of compassion, Li De chose to activate the so-called "conversion event", and his productivity points were instantly cleared.
Li De was about to sigh, but the next scene made him swallow his sigh again.
Rays of soft light were projected from the top of the Great Pyramid, shining on these trolls! A peaceful smile bloomed on each troll's face!
"Ding~, congratulations to the leader, the Great Pyramid of Wonders (ancient times), won the conversion of the sand troll Niebuhr Sandtop, and will be rewarded with 10 points of productivity."
"Ding~, congratulations to the leader, the Great Pyramid of Wonders (ancient times), gained the conversion of the sand troll Trunuk, and was rewarded with 10 productivity points."
"Ding~, congratulations to the leader, the Great Pyramid of Wonders (ancient times), won the conversion of the sand troll Angagagu, and will be rewarded with 10 points of productivity."
…
There were 67 sand trolls in total, and Li De gained a total of 670 productivity points.
The smile on Li De's face couldn't be suppressed. This productivity was well worth it!
After receiving the response from the Great Pyramid, the expressions on the faces of the sand trolls were extremely pious.
The young troll stood up again, saluted Li De with great respect, and said in an excited but restrained voice.
"Your Highness, the High Priest, Niebuhr Sandtop pays you my respects."
Li De just returned the courtesy politely and didn't pay much attention to it. On the contrary, Bigwitz, who was working as a translator, asked in surprise.
"Niebuhr Shading? What is your relationship with Ukzi Shading?"
Niebuhr's expression suddenly looked ferocious.
"Ux Sandtop...he is my uncle...but he is a shameful usurper!"
Seeing that "that goblin" and "the noble high priest" were looking at him curiously, Niebuhr did not continue on this topic for long.
"Niebuhr will always remember the kindness of the high priest. Thank you for your acceptance today."
After leaving such a sentence, Niebuhr Sandding actually called to his tribe and left. Of course, these trolls also took the "offerings" they brought with them when they left. After all, this was a reward from the gods.
Li De looked at the background of the departure of these trolls in surprise. He thought that these trolls would hang around for a while longer, and he was even prepared for them to settle nearby.
Who would have thought that these trolls would just leave? What an amazing experience.
Li De thought this way, but he quickly put these trolls behind him. For him, this was just a small episode. What he should really care about was the construction of the territory and cooperation with Gadgetzan.