Rise Of The Hoarder

The next morning, everyone was forced to wake up early. I got up without much issue since I needed less sleep in my condition. Hearing groans and moans from those who slept around me, I sighed in slight disgust.

Leaving the tent first, I went to the gathering that was slowly forming as a result of Daniel’s call.

Not long after, the members began assembling, and in a few minutes, we were all present.

“We begin our subjugation today! I know last night was unexpected, but I hope we all had enough sleep. If we didn’t, it’s time to shake off any semblance of drowsiness or hesitation! We’ll be undertaking the real deal!” Daniel declared.

Tasha was beside him as his assistant, looking stoic. It somewhat made me remember how she used to act beside Charles back at the Camp.

“We’ll have breakfast, freshen up, and prepare for the first phase of the plan.”

The unenthusiastic response of the people ended the meeting, as those in charge of food distribution passed across the potatoes and soda we had for morning. I didn’t feel like eating such an unhealthy diet, so while everyone was focused on eating, I excused myself and ventured a little deep into the woods to have a special treat of my own._.

“Jeremy, where are you headed to?” A voice suddenly sounded from behind me.

I instantly stopped, dead in my tracks, and turned to look at the person whose voice I already recognized.

‘Tch!’ I clicked my tongue silently, staring at Daniel who looked at me with concern.

“I’m going to answer nature’s call. Nothing bad in that, is there?”

My gentle smile masked the feeling of annoyance I felt from Daniel’s interference.

“O-oh, is that so? That’s fine, then. Just don’t stray too far. And…” He paused, seeing a little hesitant to say the final parts of his warnings.

“… If you get ‘that’ urge as well, don’t do it anywhere obvious.” He said.

‘Hold up, what does he think I want to-?!’ My mind rang, staring at him absurdly.

He gave a sincere grin, turning away to address other people. I could sense there was more to Daniel’s words than just a general guideline for using the toilet.

‘Maybe he thinks I want to fap or something…’I groaned internally, wondering what about my statement made him assume that.

I ventured into the woods and had some cereal for breakfast. It was a satisfying meal. Unfortunately, I had to rush it since taking too long would attract suspicion.

***************************************

After breakfast, we all gathered before Daniel once again. He brought out a sheet, most likely filled with the detailed reports of the strategy Charles and I agreed on.

“As we all know, the Demons outnumber us immensely. A direct confrontation won’t work. Therefore, our Camp Leader has drafted the appropriate strategy we are to adopt.” Daniel began.

“Of our group of seventy-five, thirty-one of us are close combatants, so we’ll be taking on the most dangerous aspects of the plan. Of the remaining forty-four, twenty-eight are mid-range combatants. This leaves 16 members, of which 14 can attack from afar. The remaining two are Melissa and Jeremy. Melissa’s role is crucial since she’s the ultimate support. Her shield is one of the focal points of our strategy. As for Jeremy, I’m certain we all know why the Camp Leader decided on him coming with us. He’s equally as important, so let’s keep that in mind.” Daniel paused to catch his breath.

My eyes darted to the many who looked at me subtly. They were bound to think useless thoughts, but that didn’t matter. As long as Charles’ lie was true to them, none of them would be trying anything against me. Well, none except one.

“Don’t put me on the same level as this loser. Unlike him, I’m actually very useful!” Melissa sharply remarked.

Her glare was deepened as she looked in my direction. As someone who loved being the center of attraction, I already knew Melissa didn’t appreciate sharing the spotlight with me.

However, what did I care? The strategy was drafted by me anyway, so her role was my decision. After hearing her words, I slightly shrugged.

This seemed to enrage her even more.

“Now is not the time for this, Melissa. Let’s focus on the task at hand.” Daniel quickly intervened.

As he did this, the crowd jointly agreed with Daniel’s words, and many began giving Melissa angry looks.

The girl quickly controlled herself, though scoffing at everything, pretending not to care.

“Now then, let’s continue…”

And so Daniel spoke in length concerning the approach we would be taking. In summary, the plan was to draw out some of the Hobgoblin forces, slowly whittling them down. We would draw in a number ranging from 80-100 twice a day. This meant a harvest of at least 180 Hobgoblins in a day, if all went well.

Using Daniel’s calculations, the Hobgoblins were ranging from 500-700 members, some of which were already killed the previous night.

Looking at the new figure of five hundred Hobgoblins, he postulated that it would only take three days to fully wear down their forces. Since Charles explained the concept of the Boss to them from my account, the group decided to dedicate an entire day to fighting against the Boss of the Goblin horde, making a total of four days. Adding one more day as miscellaneous, as well as one extra for returning to the Camp, Daniel was looking at a total of six days to be expended.

‘Not bad, not bad…’ I mused.

The only thing wrong with his plan was the fact that he was fundamentally wrong about everything.

Even if they spend two weeks, a month, five months, etc. They were never going to succeed by using this strategy.

“We’re going to win this together!!!” Daniel finally said, raising his fist in the air to encourage the mass.

The gullible crew raised their fists in response to Daniel’s determination. Plus, after he explained the plan so well, none of them could doubt the validity of Daniel’s plan.

“Let us begin the Subjugation!”