“There is no issue,” said the Collector. “I shall restore this damaged core with little issue.”

“Impressive,” said Kui coolly. “An Overloaded core is considered a death sentence for any martial artist, adventurer, or sorcerer. It cannot be healed with magic, and those that survive Overloading are rendered cripples that can barely breath.

Yet here you are standing tall, capable even of healing an Overloading.”

“The Sovnar is made different!” said Thokk. “He strong, and he always win!”

“The regenerative process will still take significant time,” said the Collector. “And during this time, my capability to provide healing to your bodies is nullified. I have also lost the capacity to restore your forms from severe injury. I will send a mental signal to the Conquering Force to caution for additional alertness.

The swarm here, however, will remain adequately defended by the shell I have created around us.”

The Collector clicked its mandibles as it analyzed itself. 

The core’s spirit roots were completely deadened, and because explosive regeneration required mana to use, only natural healing could work on the heart. However, the damage of ‘Overloading’ was both corrosive and debilitating, preventing the Collector’s natural healing factor from working well either.

It would take two days before the Collector could use the core again, though this, the Collector had predicted and formulated a plan against. Its biomass level was full, so all it had to do now was evolve once more.

The process of evolution was one the Collector knew possessed immense risks now because it took enormous amounts of time. Thus, the Collector had created the Fortress, for with its dimensionally sealed chamber, the Collector could evolve with all of its troops, golems, and the durable shell of the Fortress Vanguard to guard it.

The Collector could even interface with the Fortress Vanguard while in its evolutionary cocoon, thus allowing it to have offensive capability even as it evolved.

Thus, the Fortress was the perfect defensive adaptation that the Collector could currently utilize, optimal in both housing troops, developing forces, and defending the Collector during moments of vulnerability such as evolution.

Certainly, the Collector could have used the mana infused into the mountain for other purposes. It was still ‘colored’ by Jotnar magic, so it would have been compatible with practically all of the Jotnar core variations. The most notable other usages of the mountain’s mana would have been with the Legion or Self Breath cores, creating immensely powered golems nearly on par with the Collector or several copies of the Collector.

However, none of those provided the level of security and functionality during evolution as did Fortress, and in higher metamorphosis levels like now, the Collector needed functionality as its evolutions, particularly in synthesizing magically charged biomass of high caliber, would take far longer than usual.

Thus, the Collector finished the creation of the Fortress, and the rumbling and shaking hallway cavern stilled. It had finished creating the Vanguard Fortress outside, fully generating the grooved internal pathways, functional localized warp points, spawning pools, evolution chambers, and the like. It also had taken into account the needs of the goblins and created private quarters for them and many more for additional troops. There were also the presence of several bays that could be used for storage purposes or function as recreational arenas for sparring.

The Collector estimated it could house up to 10,000 troops comfortably within the Fortress Vanguard with another additional 5,000 for golems.

The golems, though generally significantly larger than any goblin specimen, could be compacted into cocoons or embedded in the walls of the Fortress Vanguard because they did not require any space or consideration of quality of life to function effectively.

Of course, the Collector did not possess nearly enough troops to reach 10,000.

At best, if it united every single goblin tribe, it estimated that there was potential to have between 1000 and 2000 troops, but any remaining space would be filled by additional loyal specimens or mass construction of golems. If most of the empty space was taken up by goblins, then the Collector estimated it could have a war-capable force of 10,000 golems once the spawning pools consistently created them.

To that end, the Collector had to find raw materials. The spawning pools could create golem cores, but the actual raw material the Fortress Vanguard had to create them was limited.

As of now, the maximum amount of troops capable of being fashioned was up to 2000.

Yet, there was plenty of raw material in this land. These mountains alone possessed massive deposits of Everfrost and Truefrost, and these, the Collector would harvest before it left. 

“To be more specific: I have created a mobile holding unit known as a Vanguard,” said the Collector as it floated downwards, touching the ground. “It is easily capable of housing every single being within this cavern and thousands more. To explain its specifications and internal pathways would take significant time for none of you possess the processing power to instantly memorize the layout and abilities of the Vanguard.

In time, I will impart the knowledge into the elite units, and they will teach the rest of you which warp doors to take in order to navigate the innards of the Vanguard properly. For now, I require isolation.

The Collector swiped the air with its claws, and a portal opened up generated by the power of the Vanguard. It crackled with blue energy, its outer rims lined in rapidly spiraling blue.

“This warp door leads out to a holding bay,” said the Collector. “Gather there and collect yourselves. Do not wander outside lest you risk losing your sense of direction.”

“Yes, Sovnar,” said Goromir immediately with military training while the rest of the goblins were wide eyed and awed at the sheer amount of magical energy the Collector had been outputting. “You heard the Sovnar! We must leave! Go! Go!”

Goromir waved the goblins in, and they complied, until finally, the elites themselves left, leaving the fighter specimen known as Kui.

Kui watched the Collector with arms crossed and a brow raised. “First, you obtained a crown, thus making you Sovnar. Now, you have a fortress befitting that crown.” He nodded to the Collector before stepping towards the portal. “Looks like I chose my champion right.”

Kui stepped into the portal and disappeared.. With that, the portal closed, fizzling away.