Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

"The army has already arrived in Gieshorn?" Charles held Mary's intelligence report in his hand, while Agatha was flipping through "The Plantagenet Nobles Behind the Bed Canopy" in front of her.

"The fortress's reconstruction isn't finished yet, is it?" Agatha was engrossed in her book, not even looking up.

"Yes, they just filled in the entrance to that tunnel. Yunxia is currently leading her people there to grow grass to cover up the traces." Xia Er picked up his pen and circled several important points on the intelligence report. "The new tunnel is still being dug. This time, it needs to be a large tunnel, and it needs to be straight to facilitate the entry and exit of worker ants and soldier ants."

The original passageway was very narrow, and the newly dug one was even narrower. The worker ants could not get in or out after carrying cargo boxes on their backs, which is one of the reasons why Shire was preparing to open a new entrance.

"A lot of people have come, and they've brought a long line of wagons full of supplies. It seems Valentine is going to take care of both the giant spiders and the giant bees in one go."

"Will this affect us?" Agatha looked up at Charles.

"Not for now. The main construction focus is on the Treant District. I've already had Red Eye and his men urgently gather all the herbs in this area of ​​the fortress. For the time being, we'll just hunt there. With the small fish in the underground river, it shouldn't be difficult to survive for half a month. Anyway, we can transport supplies through the portal."

After finishing his sentence, Charles added, "We need to have Mary buy some small carts for transporting goods, so that it will be easier to move around in the fortress."

"Remember to have your men look for mutated magical beasts. We're running out of materials for the rune headbands," Agatha turned a page and continued, "I need some more magical beast hides."

"Okay, no problem," Charles nodded to indicate that he understood. "The potion is selling very well."

"Yeah?"

"Hmm, the healing potions and insect repellents are selling the best. I'll go check on Little Paws." Charles stood up and left.

Soon he saw the wriggling claw brewing medicine. It was currently soaking in a small vat with a diameter of half a meter, scrubbing each of its bones to clean itself.

Currently, the Claw Master mainly makes healing potions. Other potions are made in smaller quantities, and potions like insect repellent, which can be made without magic, are now brewed by goblins.

"How is it? Can you get used to three crucibles?" Charles asked as he walked to the shelf. He had bought a basin stand for Little Paw and then placed the short jar on it, making the Crawling Paw look a bit like it was lying on a "cat tree".

"No problem, it's just right now." Little Claw removed the finger bone from her thumb and rubbed it clean, like she was giving herself a bath.

"Alright." Charles glanced at the three bubbling cauldrons. It seemed that Chief Engineer Claw had reached his limit. "I will explore northwards in a while, and I will let you know immediately if I make any discoveries."

"Okay, thank you." The little paw stood up and bent its middle finger a few times toward Ciel, indicating that it understood.

"We've gathered all the herbs in this area, and we're gathering them in the Treant area now," Sharl said, bidding farewell to the Crawler Claw. "Once Valentine has dealt with those two behemoth races, I can gather herbs in the ant area."

"If only I had a few more employees as good as Little Paw." He looked at the little goblins taking care of Red Bull in the distance. "If I could find his owner, it would be even better if that lich gave me a few skeleton soldiers."

"Integration of military and agricultural work."

…………

Nighttime at the Moonlight Inn in Giethoorn.

Alma set up the summoning circle on the ground again, and she chanted the incantation. Soon after, a puff of white smoke rose from the circle.

"Goblin, haven't you found my target yet?" She stared coldly at the gradually revealing scarred face.

"You've interrupted my enjoyment." There was a hint of displeasure in Scarface's tone. He had just been watching his men "play games" when he was forcibly summoned here, interrupting his enjoyment.

"Goblin, you seem to have forgotten who you are?" Alma smirked and slowly raised her left hand.

"Me? I am Scarface, the leader of the goblin tribe." Scarface flew around the room, letting out a piercing laugh.

"You're nothing but a pathetic wretch." Alma didn't even glance at the cheerful goblin; she immediately activated her magic, and the red birthmark on her left hand began to glow again.

"Ah, stop!" Scarface slammed into the wall, dissipating like smoke. The white smoke then settled in the corner and slowly coalesced into a rolling goblin, with several red arcs of electricity constantly shooting out from its body.

"Who told you that you don't have to call me master?" Alma walked over, coldly looking down at the scarred man struggling on the ground.

"Master, I know." Enduring the excruciating pain of his soul being burned, Scarface had no choice but to kneel on the ground and beg for mercy.

"I've given you enough time, but you still haven't brought me even the slightest bit of useful information." Alma raised her head slightly and said arrogantly, "I feel like you're no longer necessary."

"No, Master, I will find it. Please let me continue. I will have news soon." The scarred man kowtowed frantically, begging the other party.

He knew that if the female mage disrupted the summoning ritual, he might be sent back to the Nether Sea, and he wouldn't be able to remain the goblin leader. He'd only been leader for a short time, and the feeling of having the power of life and death, of absolute authority, had already filled him with immense power. (We highly recommend this book: *The Forest Doesn't Keep Idle Goblins*, available here.) Scarface doesn't want to lose all of this now.

"I'll give you five more days. If there's still no news..." Alma said coldly, and then the Soul Burning took effect again, causing the goblin in front of her to writhe and twitch on the ground in agony.

"Get out of here." After casting the spell, she didn't even look at the scarred face. "Remember, five days."

"Yes, Master." Scarface slumped his head and slowly floated out of the wall. As soon as he was outside, he gritted his teeth and looked back at the window. "I am the leader, I am the leader, no one can threaten me."

After uttering a few vicious words, Scarface flew towards the forest, trembling all over.

"Goblins are so stupid, they're really useless," Alma said resentfully. She walked to her bed, intending to read a few more books before going to sleep.

"Really?" the other Alma in the mirror said with a smile.

Alma immediately turned to look at the person in the mirror, her face looking very unnatural.

"I've been waiting for my things for a long time too," the person in the mirror sighed, their tone somewhat resentful.

"Master, I'm already trying. Those were the goblins I summoned. There are many of them in the forest. They will search for me." Alma bowed respectfully.

"You have a good idea," the person in the mirror chuckled. Then her left eye turned into a deep black hole, while her right eye changed from purple to a mix of red and blue. Then a flash of red light appeared on her right, and Alma collapsed to the ground in pain.

"That's an interesting move, Agatha, or rather, Alma," the person in the mirror said with a chuckle, her tone even sounding quite gentle.

"Master, we'll find it soon." Alma crossed her arms, her teeth chattering, and managed to utter a few words in fits and starts.

"Alright, I'm still very patient, after all, I've waited for thousands of years." The person in the mirror turned and walked into the depths, gradually disappearing from sight. "Don't disappoint me."

Alma bit her lip hard, grabbed the fruit knife on the table, and slashed her face with a "whoosh." Blood immediately dripped down her cheek onto her skirt.

"It's all your fault, it's all your fault."

She made several cuts in succession, her voice low and guttural, like the howling of a female beast.

But a few seconds later, the scars on her face healed on their own, leaving no trace, and her face was as smooth as ever.

Alma stared at her hand, which she had accidentally cut and was now bleeding profusely. She sat there blankly for several minutes before getting up to find something to bandage the wound.

…………

"My lord, the footprints are very fresh; they should be up ahead," a soldier approached Valentine and reported the findings.

"How many?" Valentine asked casually, his target being just a group of goblins, which didn't interest him at all.

"Approximately fifty or more."

"Chase after them and kill them all." Valentine waved his hand impatiently, dismissing the soldiers.

Soon, the conscripted soldiers, led by the knight, advanced rapidly forward.

"Gibberish!" Cries of agony echoed through the forest as the goblins were attacked by the soldiers.

Scarface immediately charged toward a soldier, preparing to possess him, but a blinding light flashed from behind the human ranks, and soon a golden arrow pierced through his body.

"Ugh!" Scarface was in excruciating pain from the burning arrow of light. He saw a person wearing a white robe with gold patterns walking towards him.

The staff in the man's hand was flashing with a dazzling white light, as if it would soon shoot out another magical arrow.

Scarface was so frightened that he didn't care about anything else. He turned around and burrowed into the ground, running forward as fast as he could. The damage he had just suffered was no less than the soul-burning pain he had endured the night before.

"Shackles of Light." The person in the short robe extended his staff, and a bright light flew forward and disappeared into the ground.

After a while, he frowned, shook his head, and turned to walk toward Count Valentine, who was surrounded by several soldiers.

"I'm sorry, Earl, that goblin has escaped."

"Priest Xavier, is there any potential danger in doing this?" Valentine asked anxiously.

"Rest assured, Your Excellency, I will continue to track him down until I eliminate this goblin for you," Priest Xavier said, bowing with his hand on his chest.

"That's wonderful, Priest, we're counting on you." Valentine said with delight, and stepped forward to help the other up.

"By the light above, I will go after him now, you don't need to worry about me." After saying that, Priest Xavier turned around and walked into the forest without looking back.

Valentine smiled as he watched the priest walk away, then his smile immediately vanished. "Idiot, I told you to kill a ghost, and you actually kept your eyes on it."

"Order everyone to ignore these goblins; someone will handle them. Form ranks immediately and set off."

"Order everyone to ignore these goblins; someone will handle them. Form ranks immediately and set off."

Soon, the soldiers assembled and immediately turned north.

After the soldiers left, a white figure emerged from the shadows. Scarface, clutching a burn wound on his shoulder that was glowing with golden light, followed them.