Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

"Young master, this is the forest marked on the map." A guard from the Earl's manor approached Philip with a map.

"Is this the place?" Philip didn't even look up, but instead took out a bottle of insect repellent and sprayed it on himself. "How far are we from our target?"

"Look at the map, we'll be there soon after we cross this forest," the guard said.

"Let's take a break." Philip looked up at the tall, rustling tree. "This tree is so tall, it feels almost as tall as the castle tower."

"The tower is taller than these trees, young master." The guard brought over a thick blanket, spread it on the ground, and then took out some food and placed it on the blanket.

Philip took the water pouch handed to him by the guard and sat on the blanket. "If it weren't for your people, I wouldn't have wanted to enter the Nightmare Forest. You should thank me for finding your family."

On the bird stand carried by the guard, the little fairy Yunxia clung tightly to the metal pillar. The humans had been rushing along recklessly, causing her a lot of jolting.

"You think they'll be happy to see you like this? You're unharmed and healthy. Your family should thank me." Philip picked up a piece of candied fruit and popped it into his mouth.

"Demon," Yunxia said bitterly.

"I've already said, I'm a human being." Philip looked at Yunxia's hateful gaze and actually smiled happily.

"Young master, we should enter the ruins later. You and a guard can wait at the entrance." A guard who was clearly better equipped came to Philip's side and advised him.

"Lieutenant-Captain, this is the eighth time you've come to persuade me," Philip said calmly, glancing at him.

"But young master, the ruins are very dangerous. Even the Brotherhood of Storms died inside. I'm afraid something might happen to you."

"We're well prepared. Everyone's armor is intact, our weapons are sharp, and they all have magical protection. The other side is just a bunch of goblins who know a little magic. They can't even handle the Blazing Glue. What do you have to be afraid of?" Philip said nonchalantly, holding a candied fruit in front of Yunsia and making a "chirp chirp" sound like he was teasing a bird.

"Then, please make sure you stand behind us, young master," the deputy head guard said, gritting his teeth a few times before reluctantly settling for second best.

"Okay, I got it." Philip waved his hand, then leaned forward and asked Yunxia, ​​"What does it feel like to be home?"

The little fairy Yunsia glared angrily at the human nobleman in front of her. If her eyes could shoot magic, Philip would probably be on the table by now.

"Alright, you've rested enough." Philip ignored the little goblin, got up from the expensive thick blanket, clapped his hands, then took a big gulp of honey water and said loudly, "Let's cross this forest and kill those goblins, ' rid the people of this menace'."

All the guards burst into laughter upon hearing their young master's words. They quickly got up from the ground, straightened their equipment, and walked into the rustling woods, chatting and laughing among themselves, showing no signs of tension about an impending battle.

"A bunch of formidable goblins," Philip kicked a rock away, "they'll become material for my bards' poems, and they'll surely be sung throughout the City of Plantagenet."

…………

"Did you still take the same route through the 'Bang Bang Forest'?" Charles looked at the goblin reporting to him, slightly taken aback.

"Philip, that's just like you. You didn't even bother to take a detour and launch a surprise attack. You just swaggered over here like this," he said, shaking his head with a smile. "Go and call back the other goblins on lookout duty. The enemy is here."

Watching his men run away, Charles immediately ordered the rest of his men to check the defensive measures: barricades reinforced with chains, mounds of earth ready to be used to extinguish fires, boxes of hand grenade fruits, and foul-smelling spore balls that he had specially sent his men to retrieve.

These items are all placed in suitable locations, so they can be picked up and used at any time.

This time, even without slimes and mind-eating monsters, he was still full of confidence.

"Cao Cao, don't squeeze these things too hard. Just pick them up gently and throw them over there." Xia Er came to Cao Cao's side and emphasized to the troll again how to use these soft black balls in front of him.

Cao Cao had been trained to throw these foul-smelling spore balls before. At first, the troll had a strong grip and immediately tore them apart, causing the black liquid to explode and splash everywhere. If it weren't for the promise to make the troll several times roasted venison covered in spices, Cao Cao wouldn't have been willing to throw these things to play with.

Charles had already experienced the effects of the foul spores firsthand. He deduced that neither grenade fruit nor fiery glue could effectively harm the opponent, and magic was even less effective. The only thing that could make the guards of the Earl's mansion suffer was these foul spores. As long as they could affect their judgment and put them in an extremely uncomfortable situation, the scales of victory would tip in favor of the goblins.

"Chief, have I been hiding here all this time?" The lame man sat behind the stone pillar, looking up at the chief beside him.

"Yes, you stay here and release your 'big treasure'," Charles said with a smile. "Secure it inside the blue glowing mushroom on the ceiling, and be careful not to let anyone see it."

The lame man nodded vigorously to indicate that he understood. Although he was a little disappointed that he hadn't fought the ants today, the leader said that he was still very important.

Inside the fortress, the goblins chatted and laughed, mostly about what to eat after the victory and when their beds would arrive, showing no sign of the tension that the battle was about to begin.

"What do you need us to do?" Sansio flew onto Charles's shoulder, adjusted his wings, and asked casually.

"No need, you can stay with your father and mother." Charles kept his hands behind his back, looking at the entrance of the fortress.

"Are you sure you don't need it?" Sansio stood with his hands behind his back, just like the goblin. He wanted to say something grand and impressive, but he couldn't come up with any words after thinking for a long time.

"Your mother needs you more; she hasn't fully recovered yet," Charles said calmly. "If we fail, you'll need to help your mother escape with your father."

"Uh." Shan Xiao didn't expect the other party to say such a thing. He originally thought it would be some kind of sure thing that he could get the job done.

"There's no shame in running away for your family," Charles said with a smile.

Sansio fell silent. He wanted to refute the statement, but he also felt that it made a lot of sense. In the end, he could only stand quietly on Ciel's shoulder with his hands behind his back.

"Chief, they're here." Broken Tooth ran over quickly and loudly reported that the humans had emerged from the rustling forest.

"Your task remains the same: monitor them with binoculars, but don't get spotted." After saying this, Charles helped Broken Tooth straighten the grass ring on his head, which was a bit crooked from running too fast.

Seeing his subordinate running out of the fortress with one hand on his head and the other gripping a telescope, Charles took a deep breath.

"They're here."

Sansio also took a deep breath.

…………

"This is the entrance." Philip looked at the passageway in front of him and peered down.

Although he had been making grand pronouncements on the way, he became somewhat hesitant once he arrived at the entrance to the ruins. "Deputy Chief of the Guard, arrange personnel and prepare for battle."

The deputy guard shouted orders to deploy the troops, arrange them into battle formation, and sent men down to the entrance of the stone chamber to tear off two magic scrolls of the Light spell.

Then several guards filed in. Everyone carefully looked around, especially at the ceiling. According to previous intelligence, this stone chamber was filled with slimes, and the floor was covered with various pitted and corroded marks.

"Scatter carefully, watch your head and feet!" the deputy captain of the guard shouted.

Soon, all twenty guards entered the stone chamber, while Philip stood alone at the entrance, carrying a bird stand with Yunsia's anklet.

"Safe!" "Safe here too!" "No slimes!" Multiple reports confirmed that the stone chamber was no longer dangerous. Philip walked into the chamber with a smile. "Looks like those goblins have all gone into hiding. They don't have any means of defense."

The deputy captain of the guard nodded in agreement. It seemed that what the young master said made some sense. To maintain the defensive method described in the intelligence, a lot of supplies would indeed be needed, and as "3 silver coins" walking in the forest, those goblins would not possibly have those supplies.

"Defensive formation, advance!" he commanded loudly, then instructed Philip again to stand behind them.

The guards formed a standard small military formation and slowly approached the entrance to the room of the mind-eating monsters. Intelligence indicated that there were a large number of mind-eating monsters here, which had even consumed half of the Storm Brotherhood's strength. However, they had specially prepared light spells and a large number of torches to deal with the sudden appearance of the enemy.

"Clang, clang, clang," the sound of armor clashing echoed continuously in the quiet, narrow stone chamber. The guards looked around, afraid that a few brain-eating monsters might suddenly jump out from the shelves and pounce on their faces.

Philip stayed close to the deputy captain of the guard, unconsciously gripping the handle of the bird stand. He was completely unaware that his trembling hands were causing the bird stand to sway back and forth. Yunxia could only hold onto the pillar tightly, looking at the other man with anger and disdain.

"There don't seem to be any more brain-eating monsters here," a guard said boldly.

The others chimed in, and as they walked to the middle of the stone chamber, they found that there was indeed no sound except for darkness. Ricardo explained that the only sound was the "rustling" footsteps of the brain-eating monster.

"Goblin, humph." Philip said contemptuously, swaying his body and stretching. He felt a little embarrassed by his earlier fear, even though no one paid much attention to him, he still felt uncomfortable.

"I really want to capture that goblin leader alive, tie him to the castle gate, and tease him every day." Philip smirked, thinking that this was the only way to maintain his perfect image.

"Squeak, squeak!" A mouse scurried past, and Philip immediately yelled.

"ah--"

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