Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

"It smells delicious, it's so good, it's heavenly."

Charles was hugging a pot, his face almost completely buried in it.

After so many days of "roasted potatoes," he now sees his goblins as giant potatoes with wooden sticks on their heads.

Today, we finally got to eat some normal food, even though it was just a pot of meat porridge, it still brought tears to Xia's eyes.

On the way back, Charles carefully watched over Little John's backpack, afraid that his men might drop it and spill the rice or salt.

He even thought that if they encountered a deinonychus on the road, he would have his men charge at it while he ran away with his backpack.

Fortunately, they made it back to the cave safely.

After that, he happily processed the ingredients, not letting the goblins touch the food, and even tossed the large pot to his men to cook wolf meat soup, while he washed and scrubbed the small pot four or five times.

After the pot was boiled, Charles ordered his men to move the smoked meat porridge to a distance, fearing that the smell from the white-haired man's cooking would pollute the air on their side.

He peeked out in a very ritualistic manner, gently waved his hands in front of his nose a few times, and said, "Hmm—"

Next, Charles pinched up some fine salt with three fingers and, mimicking the exaggerated movements he had seen in previous videos, rolled his fingers together.

"Please have a seat." He walked to the side, turning aside as if he were a hotel waiter.

Then he returned to his original spot, picked up a rag, wrapped it around his neck, straightened his chest, and nodded slightly: "Thank you for your service."

Hearing the noise, the group of men who were scrambling for the wolf meat soup in the distance stopped and stared blankly at their leader sitting on the ground in front of the pot. He had even burned his leg because he was sitting too close. Seeing that Charles didn't give any orders, they continued to scramble for the wolf meat soup.

Charles picked up a wooden spoon, scooped up some meat porridge, and elegantly put it into his mouth: "Hmm, this chef's skills are quite good. The rice grains have been cooked until they've burst open, and the smoked meat has completely absorbed the porridge, releasing its aroma bit by bit. Most importantly, the salt is just right, not overpowering, but elevating the whole pot."

Another spoonful, and Charles, ignoring the heat, chewed it a few times and swallowed it.

Then he scooped one spoonful after another, faster and faster, feeling like a swift swordsman in the martial arts world, leaving afterimages in front of the pot.

Anyone who dares to try and steal this pot of porridge will be killed by me. Even a Deinonychus would die; not even the gods could save it. I'm telling you.

As the meal drew to a close, Charles lay sprawled over the pot, the "napkin" around his neck long since tossed aside. He was making fierce "humph" sounds, which quieted down his henchmen who were scrambling for food, as they feared he would devour them like the goblin bear had done before.

With a clang, the iron pot tilted to the side. Ciel, holding a wooden spoon, pressed down on the edge of the pot and scraped the last bit of porridge clean with a squeaking sound. He then put it in his mouth, satisfied, and lay back down.

"That feels good."

Seeing that their leader had finished eating, the dozen or so goblins started chattering and scrambling for food again.

Ciel stroked his belly, which looked like he was three months pregnant, and grinned as he watched his subordinates "perform." He began to understand how the bear goblin felt.

Red-eyed man grabbed at the meat while kicking a goblin away.

Bucktooth, on the other hand, was pulling a goblin's leg backward.

The broken tooth couldn't squeeze in at all, so it could only wander around the crowd, occasionally managing to snatch a small piece of meat that flew out.

The most cunning one was Scarface. He seized the opportunity when Red Eyes was being dragged away by four goblins, and instantly took his place. He ignored the goblins pulling him from behind and just swung his hands to grab the meat.

"Good, very energetic," Charles said with a smile.

He added a few of the same mushrooms from last time to the wolf meat soup this time.

The last experiment went very well; the goblins remained energetic even after eating their fill. Shire believed that only some improvements needed to be made to the dosage and preparation method.

This mushroom grows on fallen trees in the shade, and he calls it the "Red Bull Mushroom".

Winter is not suitable for mushroom growth, so Xia Er considered transplanting them into burrows to cultivate them himself, and then air-drying the mushrooms before grinding them into powder.

In this way, he can keep his subordinates highly motivated at work every day.

Previously, they would enter a period of "reflection" after lunch. From now on, your good days are here.

Working only 5 hours a day? There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Mature goblins must learn to be responsive to their leader's needs and concerns, proactively address challenges, work together, and prove their worth through concrete actions. Nothing can stop you from moving forward.

If you don't improve, how can I improve? If you all work overtime, I can get promoted.

However, transplanting requires new space, which means finding the right time to dig a new burrow.

"It's alright, let them dig it up in a few days, they'll definitely be able to dig it up in an afternoon." Charles patted his belly. "Then we'll have Bucktooth take care of the Red Bull Mushrooms, it'll save us a lot of trouble."

"From now on, we need to start dividing up the work; we can't all go hunting anymore."

Charles decided to assign different tasks to his subordinates.

He led the male goblins on the hunt, while the female goblins stayed in the burrow to prepare lunch and make smoked meat jerky.

He observed the three female goblins today and found that they were indeed having some difficulty moving around.

In that case, it would be better to stay in the cave and do some easy things, and let White Hair manage them later.

As for the goblin's unborn child, Sharl felt that it was important to ensure its survival. This was the new blood of the tribe and the new hope of the goblins. Sharl believed that it was necessary to raise it carefully and let it work 12 hours a day from a young age. When they grew up, they would think that this was how goblins should strive.

Charles even wanted to give them a phrase he often heard as a child: "Work hard, and a bright tomorrow will be yours."

How inspiring!

"Anyway, we'll continue hunting this afternoon. There's something new now, making it easier to operate."

Charles, full of ambition, propped himself up on his arms to get up, but the meat porridge was too filling, so he had to lie down and turn over.

"I'm too full. Let them stay excited for a while, then I need to digest."

Then he felt uncomfortable lying there, so he rolled back over.

…………

In a forest clearing, several large-antlered deer were vying to lick a rock.

They abandoned their wary nature and acted recklessly, solely to monopolize the stones.

Other small animals that tried to approach were driven away; the male deer even pushed away the female deer and fawns.

The screams of animals echoed all around; they were all driven mad by the stone.

Two male deer were even butting heads over a rock.

The entire open space seemed to have been enchanted by dark magic that drove creatures mad.

Charles held his crossbow and quietly aimed at the head of a stag.

With a "bang," he pulled the trigger, and the buck fell to the ground with a mournful cry. At the same time, he shouted to his men, "Quickly, lower the net!"

With a few "whoosh" sounds from the surrounding trees, a large ring-shaped net made of vines crashed down.

The deer herd was startled and scattered.

However, the vine netting blocked their way. The adult deer jumped over the net in a few steps, while the young deer were still running around.

The goblin slid quickly down from the tree, and Red Eyes charged into the deer herd with a spear in hand.

"You're dead, you're dead!" He pierced a large deer with his spear.

Sharl bestowed the [Primary Power] he obtained from the forest gray wolf upon Red Eyes, and the effect is now quite evident.

The goblin's hunt terrified the deer herd, causing them to smash through the vine netting and scatter in all directions. However, they left behind seven prey, three large and four small.

"Chief, so much meat!" The white-haired man's voice trembled with joy.

"Yes, quite a few." Charles was also very happy; this should be considered his first successful hunt.

In the forest, herbivores are more likely to run away than fight back when attacked, and the difficulty in hunting them is that you can't outrun them.

He learned from his previous experience of running until he was panting like a dog without even seeing the deer's rear end, so this time he directly set a trap for them.

He had previously watched wilderness survival videos that showed herbivores and omnivores compete fiercely for salt resources; once they smelled salt in the air, they would search for it and monopolize it.

Shire would pour salt water onto the stones to attract animals.

He also spent a considerable amount of time having his men make this large net out of vines and secure it to the surrounding trees beforehand.

Finally, the reward was plentiful. The three adult deer each weighed more than 100 kilograms, and the three smaller ones were also quite heavy. Moreover, the deer hides were much better than wild boar hides.

"Chief, we can't finish it all. There's too much meat, it'll go bad." Although the white-haired man was worried, he was still very happy.

"Let's go back and have another meal," Charles said cheerfully, already imagining the taste of roasted venison. "I'll teach you how to make smoked meat."

"From now on, we'll eat two meals a day. I'll get you through the winter safely. We won't eat goblins," Charles said.

"You, good leader." The white-haired man looked at Charles with eager eyes.

After instructing his men to carry the prey back, Charles began to review the hunt in his mind. The results were remarkable, but there was still room for improvement.

"We can give each of our men a long tree branch to use as a javelin, and throw it directly. A dozen or so of them will be quite lethal."

"You could also try making a double-ball zipline."

This rope, with stones tied to both ends, can be thrown out and entangle the prey's legs, making it a good hunting tool.

Moreover, he now has three abilities that can be granted.

[Available Ability: Basic Endurance x3]

[Basic Endurance: Slightly increases an individual's endurance. This effect does not stack with other endurance-related abilities.]

"Not bad. In a while, each of my men will have basic stamina." Charles stroked his chin and smiled. "With two meals a day and Red Bull training, I believe they will definitely be able to successfully establish their foundation and become qualified oxen and horses."

"But those three guys are something else." Charles glanced sideways, noticing Scarface and the other two goblins huddled at the back of the group, looking around nervously.

"They always hide in the back and don't contribute, but they're incredibly fierce when it comes to fighting for food at lunchtime. Now that hunting is no problem, it's time to build up the team."

"If you won't do it, plenty of goblins will."

"Find an opportunity to bring out their greatest value."

Even if someone feigns surrender, they are still subordinates; how can we waste their remaining value?

…………

Adventurers' Guild Hall.

"Luna, how's this mission? Bluethorn leaves, 10 silver per kilogram."

Lila approached her sister with a collection request form and asked her a question, but Luna acted as if she hadn't heard her. She simply twirled the end of her hair with her fingers and looked up at the sky.

"Luna, did you hear what I said?"

"Ah, I heard you, what is it?" Luna immediately reacted when her sister raised her voice.

"Hey, what were you looking at on that bluethorn stalk list just now?"

"Look at the clouds, don't those clouds look like a pig's head?"

"You're hopeless." Lila rolled her eyes.

"Sister, it's your decision." Luna, the younger sister, continued looking up at the clouds. "Sister, do you think we can find it?"

Lila paused for a few seconds, then said, "It's definitely possible."

"But Uncle Jules said..."

"He's our father," Lila interrupted her sister. "Although Uncle Jules said there's a chance to become a lady-in-waiting in the Earl's mansion, Luna, have you forgotten what our father looks like?"

"How could I forget? He used to always hug me and then poke my face with his beard," Luna pouted.

"We'll find it," Lila suddenly said out of the blue, but it seemed more like she was trying to encourage herself.

"Excuse me, may I interrupt?" A polite adventurer approached them. "My name is Coulson. Were you talking about Bluethorn Grass?"

"What's wrong?" Lila neither said yes nor no.

"Well, it's like this," Coulson said shyly, scratching his head, "we're also going into the forest to collect this bluethorn grass."

"you?"

"Yes, this is my teammate, his name is Grant." Coulson pointed a few steps away to a one-eyed man sitting on the ground eating snacks.

"Is it just the two of you?" Lila asked.

"We..." Grant mumbled.

"Yes, the two of us," Coulson answered quickly.

"I'm sorry, we haven't decided whether to accept this commission yet." Lila thought for a moment and decided to decline for now.

"Oh, alright then." Coulson bowed slightly politely. "I was also thinking of asking where we could find bluethorn grass; it would be safer if we went together."

"You know?"

"Yes, I just saw it a few days ago, a huge clump. But you know, the forest is a bit dangerous right now. The tavern said it's either monsters or reapers. I see you have a healer, so I was wondering if we could team up."

"I have heard about it." Lila nodded.

"See you then, let's get together next time if we have the chance," Coulson said, raising his hand.

"Well, I think this time is fine too. If you know where we can team up, we can." Lila thought for a moment and agreed.

"Oh, that's great." Coulson smiled and nodded. "Let's meet here tomorrow morning; the forest is dangerous at night."

Not far away, Luna leaned down and asked Grant, "Could I have a few to try?"

Grant didn't say anything, but simply held up the bag of snacks, gesturing for Luna to take it herself.

"Luna, don't..." Lila tried to stop her sister, but she had already grabbed her.

"Thank you, my sister is just that silly."

"It's alright, I'll have Grant bring some extra snacks tomorrow," Coulson said with a smile.

"Sister, it tastes good!" Luna popped a nut into her sister's mouth.

"Is this the staff issued by the Church of the God of Light?" Coulson asked.

Luna was focused on chewing on a nut when she realized what was wrong a few seconds later: "Oh, right, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, it just looks amazing, no worse than what one of my Evocation Mage friends uses," Coulson said with a smile.