Chapter 23

The position of a leader comes with many privileges, some of which Zhou Tian already knew, such as the ability to forcibly command nearby subordinates to come to his aid when in danger. For example, as long as his subordinates had achieved enough merit, Zhou Tian could also elevate them to the status of a Half-Orc Warrior or a Half-Orc Fighter.

At the same time, apart from the powers that Zhou Tian already knew about, the Half-Orc Leader had many other privileges that Zhou Tian was unaware of.

At the very least, before becoming a leader, Zhou Tian would never have thought that all the monsters were actually independent branches. Although they were currently under the control of the Blood Moon Overlord, if Zhou Tian had the intention, he could break away at any time and establish his own force.

Of course, although Zhou Tian did have such thoughts, he was also well aware that he did not yet have the strength to act. Therefore, although he had such thoughts after learning about the situation, he quickly suppressed them in his heart.

Although it might sound easy to break away, if Zhou Tian really did so, not to mention how the Half-Orcs would sustain their current domain without the support of the Blood Moon Overlord, no one could guarantee that the Blood Moon Overlord would not be enraged. The anger of a king is no small matter. Given the Blood Moon Overlord's strength, if he really got angry, he wouldn't need to do anything else; just sending out a few high-level monsters would likely lead to the annihilation of the Half-Orcs. According to the information Zhou Tian had, such events had already happened many times. Therefore, if Zhou Tian really wanted to do that one day, he would at least need to have the strength to stand up to the Blood Moon Overlord. Otherwise, the idea of breaking away would be out of the question.

Although the ability to break away was not something Zhou Tian could use temporarily, the other abilities of a leader still had some use for him.

Monsters vary in strength. The Blood Moon Overlord's branch is at the top, with even the weakest monster in their clan being stronger than Zhou Tian. The Half-Orcs, on the other hand, are the lowest of the low, and under normal circumstances, they are only controlled by higher-level monsters.

While low-level monsters are controlled by high-level monsters, they are not without the chance to change their status. However, the process of change is extremely difficult, and without a capable leader, it is impossible to achieve.

According to the information Zhou Tian had, the strength of monsters is actually determined by the size of their territory. The Blood Moon Overlord's branch, for example, lives in a small area but has a territory that covers nearly an entire continent. Because of the vast territory, they have the current strength.

The Half-Orcs, on the other hand, have a territory that is less than a county, and in the game, that area is probably smaller than a city. In such a situation, the weakness of the Half-Orcs is naturally to be expected.

In the past, due to the limited intelligence of the Half-Orc Leader and the weakness of their clan, Zhou Tian did not understand the relationships between monsters. Now that he has become a leader, he understands that monsters are actually in competition with each other.

Although the size of this world is similar to Earth, the land is still limited. After monsters have occupied more than 90% of the territory in this world, internal competition for territory is inevitable.

It is no longer possible to trace how the monsters were initially divided into different levels. However, by the time the monster faction developed to this point, the division of territory had already become a fixed pattern.

When a monster's territory shrinks to just one city, other monsters generally cannot occupy its territory. The Half-Orcs are currently in such a situation.

When the territory is still relatively large, monsters can change the size of their territory through three methods.

The first method is when a clan achieves great merit, and the race they are attached to will allocate a portion of their territory or that of other vassal races as a reward.

The second method is when two monster races have a grudge, they can bet on territory. Given the nature of monsters, there is no need to worry about the losing side reneging on the deal.

The third method is to directly occupy the territory of other monsters. Although the monster faction does not explicitly prohibit this, doing so can easily offend the occupied race, leading to a conflict. In such a situation, a race like the Half-Orcs might face the risk of annihilation.

In short, no matter which of the three methods, it is not easy to implement. It is likely because of these reasons that even though the Half-Orc Leader has changed many times, there has never been a leader with the intention to truly enhance the strength of the Half-Orcs.

Zhou Tian, however, is completely different from the previous Half-Orc Leaders. Given his ambition, he has always been thinking about building a grand empire. Therefore, a position as a Half-Orc Leader is far from satisfying him. Expanding his territory and making the Half-Orcs a stronger monster race has become his goal.

Based on the information in his mind and his experience with the game, Zhou Tian chose his target for his next move.

Among the three methods to enhance the strength of the Half-Orcs, Zhou Tian chose the third method. Given the current situation of the Half-Orcs, the first and second methods are both very difficult to achieve. In such a situation, if Zhou Tian does not use his existing capital to take a risk, he will not have the ability to change the situation.

The target Zhou Tian has set his sights on is not another monster but the Skeletons, whom the Blood Moon Overlord had planned to reincarnate but was rejected by Zhou Tian.

The situation of the Skeletons in the Skeleton Cave is similar to that of the Half-Orcs. The structure of their race is also similar, with members ranging from Skeleton Warriors, Skeleton Archers, Skeleton Warriors, to Skeleton Kings.

Although the structure is similar, the Skeletons are stronger. Even though they are not as strong as the powerful monster branches, they are still stronger than the Half-Orcs. A Skeleton Warrior, for example, could match a weak Half-Orc Warrior.

Given the situation of the two races, no matter how you look at it, Zhou Tian's decision to attack the Skeletons seems like a death wish. After all, the strength of the two sides is clear, and in a real battle, Zhou Tian has very few subordinates who can match the small soldiers of the Skeletons. In such a situation, how can Zhou Tian defeat them?

If there were other options, Zhou Tian would not rush to attack the Skeletons. There are monsters weaker than them, and Zhou Tian would naturally prefer to deal with those weaker targets. However, the problem is that if Zhou Tian does not act against the Skeletons, there are no other targets to choose from.

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