C29 Friendly Conversation with the Goblin
Wang Changqing, caught within the Plane Teleportation Array, experienced a fleeting lapse in consciousness, his vision overwhelmed by a kaleidoscope of distortions and bizarre luminescence.
Though mere seconds ticked by in temporal terms, spatially those seconds spanned an unfathomable distance, whisking him to an Alien Plane far removed from the Initial Continent.
A blinding flash suddenly erupted before him, stinging his eyes into a swift shut. Only once the disorientation subsided did he dare to slowly reopen them, his sight steadily returning.
Everywhere he looked was awash in verdant hues—trees, the earth, even the sky, though glimpses through the thick canopy revealed it wasn't green. The landscape bore a striking resemblance to the tropical rainforests of the Blue Planet. If not for the colossal serpent, several meters thick and dozens of meters long, pinned by over a dozen Giant Iron Men, Wang Changqing might have doubted whether he had been transported back to the Blue Planet before the Cataclysm.
Yet the presence of the serpent was an unmistakable sign that this was no Blue Planet, but a Rank Two Plane, potentially under the watch of a Level 20 titan.
A soft breeze caressed Wang Changqing's cheeks, drawing him out of his reverie. He couldn't help but drink in the scenery more intensely. Such splendor was unseen on the Blue Planet or in the Dawn Territory, and he intended to savor it before any harm could come to it.
Regrettably, his Mechanical Butler, Rafe, strapped to his wrist, lacked any sense of humor or appreciation for beauty.
"Master, should we commence with the plan?" Rafe inquired.
Mentally grumbling about Rafe's lack of finesse, Wang Changqing gave a subtle nod.
"Begin," he commanded.
With that, he knew the landscape would undergo a dramatic transformation. Trees would topple, becoming lumber for the production lines that would take their place. Grasslands would be stripped away, replaced by the steel underbelly of Engineering Machinery.
At Rafe's directive, swarms of scouting robots set out on their mission, embarking on a meticulous second survey of the forest, a task that promised both thoroughness and extended duration.
Combat Robots and Giant Iron Men fanned out from the Plane Teleportation Gate, systematically eliminating any element of instability, transforming the gate's vicinity into a lifeless expanse.
As the Combat Robots and the Giant Iron Men marched off into the distance, the stationary Engineering Machinery sprang into action. The figures on Wang Changqing's Resources Panel began to plummet, swiftly replaced by burgeoning production lines and factories...
The overhaul continued until dusk, marking the completion of the Forward Base at the Rank Two Plane. The defensive, residential, production, and energy sectors were all fully established.
Meanwhile, the dispatched Mechanical Soldiers and Giant Iron Men had their first encounter with the local sentient beings.
They stumbled upon a Goblin settlement, home to over two hundred of the creatures. Despite their numbers, their combat abilities left much to be desired; the strongest Goblin barely reached Level 3. Moreover, these little creatures, barely over a meter tall, were incredibly skittish. Just the sight of the Giant Iron Men caused several to faint, with even more succumbing to their thunderous roars.
Now, these Goblins were confined in a newly constructed prison, with Rafe diligently deciphering their language.
Upon his arrival at the Initial Continent, Wang Changqing had braced for communication barriers. On the Blue Planet, a world with a population in the billions, there were over five thousand six hundred languages.
He imagined the Initial Continent, a vast realm where billions could be cast without causing a ripple, would have languages numbering in the hundreds of millions. The mere thought was overwhelming.
Yet to Wang Changqing's astonishment, the information he had gathered revealed that while the Initial Continent was indeed home to numerous languages, only one was commonly used for communication: the Continental Common Tongue. Shockingly, this was a universal language shared by all species, and even the Lords from the alien world were imbued with it upon their arrival.
The other languages were magical in nature, developed by the Initial Continent's natives over eons to resonate with the world's rules, such as Dragon, Nether, Hera, Elf, and High Elf languages...
However, this Rank Two Plane appeared to lack the Initial Continent's universal tongue.
At least, the Nano Reconnaissance Robots had not detected it among the Elves, Frogmen, Snake People, and other intelligent species inhabiting the forest.
Rafe, the Mechanical Butler, was diligently working on deciphering the language of the indigenous people. Once he completed the analysis, we could move on to the next phase.
This might be Wang Changqing's inaugural campaign across planes, but he understood that to truly dominate a plane, making enemies of all the natives was not an option. Integration, division, and alliance were key strategies. The true art of conquest lay in winning some over while fighting others.
Unless one could overpower the natives and resort to a policy of massacre, as the United States did in North America, the alternative was a protracted 'people's war'. The 'Empire's Graveyard' on the Blue Planet was a testament to this, where guerrilla warfare bled empires dry, toppling them one by one.
Wang Changqing's mission on this Rank Two Plane was to secure resources and foster development, not to meet his downfall.
"Master, the language analysis is complete," Rafe reported. "I've gathered 364,512 language samples from 1,350 individuals across seven races. They all match the common language of this Rank Two Plane."
"Great work, Rafe. Send it over," I replied.
As a Level-9 powerhouse, assimilating a new language was a swift task for me.
In under an hour, I had fully mastered the common tongue Rafe had parsed.
"Oh, if only I had such incredible technology when I was struggling with English, I might not have missed out on a top university due to my poor language skills!"
Currently, I stood atop a newly erected platform, looking down at two hundred Goblins. I was ready to engage in 'friendly' dialogue with these creatures.
The Goblins were a sight, with their dark green skin and barely meter-tall statures. Their disproportionately large heads made them look rather unattractive, and their red eyes didn't help their appearance.
The Mechanical Legion's thorough search of their encampment had uncovered vast quantities of gold and iron ore, along with rudimentary smelting equipment. Clearly, these unsightly creatures were adept miners.
"Listen up, little ones," I called out to them. "You have two choices: live or die!"
