Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

"Still the smoked fish rice bowl?" The waitress stood to the side with the menu.

"Oh no, let's change it. Smoked meat and cheese bread, please." Little John took the menu, glanced at it, and then ordered an inexpensive option, "plus a light beer."

After saying that, he took out a few copper coins from his pocket and placed them on the menu.

"Okay, please wait a moment, I'll be right there. You can call me if you need anything." The waitress's attitude changed drastically as soon as she saw the copper coin; her icy expression thawed instantly.

"Money really can make the people around you happy." Little John sat in his usual spot in the corner of the Ear Cleaner's Tavern, watching the waitress walk with a brisk pace, and couldn't help but sigh. This was the first time he had given a tip. When he came a while ago, the waitress would only say "What?" and "Wait" when she saw him. Now he had actually cured her aphasia and depression. The boss was right. If someone is unhappy, just throw money at them. If you haven't cured them, it's just because you haven't thrown enough money.

"Mary said someone's coming to Gieseckeard soon?" He rested his hands on the table, scanning the tavern's customers. Some of them were familiar faces, and some were new, but none of them were as new as the tavern's tables and chairs, so it seemed they had been replaced a few days ago.

"I saw those goblins again. Luckily we ran fast, or we would have been killed." A wheat-skinned archipelago man slammed down his mead mug. "It's getting harder and harder to survive on the outskirts of the forest these days."

"I heard the Storm Brotherhood all died in the forest," his teammate said, instantly igniting the entire tavern, with everyone chattering away.

Little John listened quietly to their discussion. Some talked about infighting, some about encountering demons, and some about dying in mysterious ruins. But they all mentioned one thing—the equipment looked good and was now lost in some unknown part of the forest.

"It's not exactly unknown; you guys are regular customers, and you even say Miss Mary is very beautiful and kind," John muttered under his breath.

"I heard from the security team that the Earl's Mansion is sending people to Goat's Horn Town, probably to deal with those goblins," an adventurer suddenly shouted.

Little John pricked up his ears, hoping someone would tell him the information he wanted to know.

"I saw the Earl's guards arrive yesterday; I saw their armor at the association."

"I saw it too. The people from the association were very respectful. They must be someone important."

"Their lightweight steel armor looks very expensive, even better than the Storm Brotherhood's equipment."

The clinking of dishes interrupted John's listening. The waitress put down several plates and said, "Your food is all here."

"Thank you," John nodded, then looked at the bar, waiting for his light beer.

The discussion continued, now delving into whether the guards or the Storm Brotherhood were more powerful. Some said the Earl's guards had never been to the forest and would definitely suffer, while others said the enemy was well-equipped and highly skilled, and would only be able to roam freely on the outskirts of the forest.

"Walking sideways, thinking he's a crab on the beach?" Little John chuckled to himself. He had indeed seen crabs in Torch City a few days ago.

"Hmm, what's the boss doing?" He looked at the bar. From his angle, he could see a small corner around the bar where the bar owner had placed a glass of wine.

It was a transparent glass wine glass less than 10 centimeters tall, with a very narrow diameter, and filled with a bright red liquid as vivid as blood.

Not long after, a bat flew in through the small window at the back, with two silver coins clutched in its leg.

"It looks like there's a very dark alley outside that window." Little John watched as the bat placed the silver coin on the table, then crawled over, hugged the wine glass, and began to slowly sip.

"Your pale beer." The shopkeeper approached Little John with a large wooden mug. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"I went out to run some errands," John said, then pointed to the corner of the bar. "What's that?"

"What do you mean? Wine?" The shopkeeper remained expressionless. "Our specialty, red fruit wine made from wild berries like raspberries and berries from the forest. Two silver coins for a small cup. Would you like one?"

"I meant the bat." Little John glanced around and noticed that the bat had almost finished its red wine.

"Him? A regular customer, he doesn't come often." The boss kept his eyes on Little John, without turning his head.

Little John watched as the bat finished its drink, then licked its lips and nose with its tongue, crawled a few steps on the bar, and then wobbled as it flew out of the small window.

"Uh, I'll have a drink too," he said, turning to the two-meter-tall owner.

"Just a moment." The tavern owner said this and returned to the bar. A short while later, he came to Little John with a small glass in his hand.

"It's strong." Little John downed the glass of fruit wine in one gulp. The intense stimulation was completely different from that of light beer or ale. He had to drink a sip of light beer to relieve it.

"That bat has a pretty good alcohol tolerance," he muttered to himself after catching his breath.

The adventurers' discussion had escalated to the point that even the Earl's guards were nothing; if several of them attacked together, they could definitely take one down.

Little John watched with a smile as those guys rolled up their sleeves and tore at their clothes, brazenly proving how powerful they were and how many goblins they had recently killed. He was sure that in time, they would be able to roam freely in and out of the forest.

He picked up a piece of bread, put it in his mouth, and chewed slowly. "A bunch of guys who brag when they're drunk."

With a "bang," the tavern door was violently pushed open, and everyone looked over, including the expressionless tavern owner in front of the bar.

"Click-clack," the armored boots clattered on the wooden floor, making a dull sound like the heartbeats of everyone in the tavern.

The newcomer was about 1.9 meters tall, with a fair complexion and no beard. His golden hair was neatly styled, and his hawk-like eyes slowly swept over every adventurer present.

The adventurers watched him in silence, while Little John stared intently at his gleaming armor, especially the black lion's head on his chest.

"Who's Buck?" the newcomer asked. A disheveled guy at the next table slowly stood up and raised his hand to indicate that it was him.

"Come with me, the young master summons you." The man glanced at the guy named Buck, then turned and walked straight out of the tavern, completely ignoring everyone present as if they didn't exist.

After they had walked away, the green-haired elf spoke up sarcastically at a small table against the wall: "Who was it that said they could handle those guards? They're like a grouse hiding under the grass in the forest."

"What are you saying, you hermaphrodite?" the dwarf roared in anger.

He slammed his fist on the table, and several cups jumped up.

John immediately adjusted his posture and looked over there excitedly, "The show to watch while eating is here."

However, as he chewed on the smoked meat, he pondered to himself, "That guard said the young master summoned me. Could it be that the young master of the Earl's mansion has come to Girdlehorn in person? This is very important. I'll report it to the boss as soon as I get back."

"Brilliant! That dwarf really cleverly used the groin-grabbing technique." He slapped his thigh and exclaimed.

…………

"Squeak!" A cave spider rushed forward and slammed a giant bee on the ceiling into the ground.

It tried to pin the giant bee down with its body, then spread its chelicerae and forcefully stabbed at the giant bee's abdomen. At the same time, it felt a pain in its abdomen, clearly indicating that something had pierced it.

However, it did not hesitate at all, immediately injecting venom and digestive juices into the giant bee's body, ignoring the fact that its eight legs were twitching.

Around it, many cave bees and giant spiders were fighting each other, and new combatants kept pouring into the stone chamber from the passages on both sides. They started fighting as if they had seen their father's killer.

Some spiders and giant bees were dragging the huddled corpses on the ground back to their own tunnels and caves, where they would feed their soon-to-hatch offspring.

This stone chamber is like a meat grinder, where life constantly rushes out, dies, is eaten, and new life is born.

Those two passageways were like hospital corridors, one end connecting to the nursery and the other to the morgue.

"Did you see that clearly? It was a fierce fight?" Charles patted his lame back and asked in a low voice.

"Yes, the entire stone chamber is full of giant spiders and giant bees, and new ones keep rushing out," the lame man replied immediately.

At this moment, the two were hiding behind a tree not far from the entrance of the stone chamber. The lame man was closing his eyes and "watching" the fight inside the stone chamber.

Charles also peeked out of the stone chamber entrance. Because it was too dangerous inside, he didn't send Broken Tooth to check this time. Instead, he sent the lame arcane servant to sneak in and hide to the side. "I have to say, his big, 'big treasure' is really useful."

"I wonder how long they've been fighting. They're evenly matched now," Xia said quietly, leaning against the tree trunk. "Both sides are protecting their eggs, so it seems they won't be out foraging for the time being."

"Chief, should I let my 'big darling' go into their nest and take a look?" the lame man asked Charles, looking up at him.

"No need. Although your arcane servants won't die, there's no need for them. Let's go back now; we still need to patrol the area along the way." Charles rejected his subordinate's suggestion. He wanted to look around to see if any giant spiders or bees were still coming out of their burrows to forage.

Before long they ran back into the forest, where several goblins were waiting for them.

"Everyone, get on the ants!" Charles shouted, then put on his rune headband.

More than a dozen giant worker ants rushed into the forest, running at high speed. Xia Er was in the lead, gripping the ants' carapaces tightly and trying to keep his body close to them. He then looked up and scanned the area ahead, trying to see if any other enemies might appear.

When I met the queen ant earlier, she said that the number of giant spiders and giant bees had decreased significantly. Although her children would still occasionally encounter them, they no longer posed much of a threat to her offspring.

However, Charles didn't think so. Although the two predators were currently locked in a fierce battle, one of them would inevitably emerge victorious in time. When the victor appeared, it would be the end of the ant colony. Therefore, he had to ensure that both of these enormous creatures were wiped out before he could take over the area with peace of mind.

After a safe journey back to the anthill, Shir jumped off a worker ant, patted its leg joints, and let it go to the fungal cultivation chamber to find something to eat.

He then carried a torch and joined his other men to search for the queen ant.

"This canteen is a very good development; the client should be very satisfied." He leaned against the edge of the cave and slowly walked down. "I need to talk to the queen ant about the follow-up."

Soon, the goblins arrived at the underground space where the queen ant was located. Sharl walked over and stood in front of the queen ant.

Just as he was about to express his thoughts, the queen ant's antennae touched his forehead. "Wait a minute, goblin, wait a moment."

Then, Charles watched as she swayed her body and twisted her legs, seemingly in some pain.

The worker ants around them crawled quickly, circling the queen as if performing some kind of ritual.

Finally, the queen ant collapsed, exhausted. A worker ant brought a pure white, glistening egg to her.

"These eggs are different from those pale yellow ant eggs," Charles said, stroking his chin. "Could they be the eggs of the next queen ant?"

"Goblin, thank you." The queen ant stretched out her tentacles and touched Ciel's cheek. "I have finally given birth to a successor."

"Congratulations," Charles said happily, knowing that his ant plan had taken another big step forward.

"Thanks to you, for bringing us honey and controlling those giant bees and spiders, our colony has been able to continue." The queen ant's voice revealed a hint of weakness.

"Cooperation is mutual." Charles reached out and grasped the queen ant's antennae, then offered his ideas: one was to continue employing worker and soldier ants, and the other was to create a space in the ant's underground kingdom where he could place teleportation stone rings to facilitate the exchange of resources.

Although the queen ant did not understand what the other party meant, she did not sense any evil intentions. In the end, she agreed and issued an order to the ant colony that the underground space would be excavated soon.

"Then, I'll come see you again in a few days." Charles waved goodbye to the queen ant, as he needed to return and prepare the cargo box, ant saddle, and the supplies to be exchanged as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, in the "Undying Alchemy Workshop," Mary is studying a grammar book.

She felt she needed to learn more to meet her boss's demands, from various alchemical potions to the making of tools, from the daily habits of adventurers to news from all over the kingdom brought by merchants, from official documents brought by the security team to secrets among nobles—she needed to become familiar with all of these.

However, Mary enjoys learning, which is much more interesting than her previous life of simply washing clothes in the yard. She is very satisfied with her current life.

"Ding-a-ling," the workshop door was pushed open, and a customer walked in.

"How can I help you?" Mary asked with a smile.