Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

Xia Er had seen some interesting live streams before, in which a mother followed her son with her phone in the background.

The children rummaged through each trash can, picking out all the plastic bottles and cans, flattening them, and putting them in bags. Their mothers chatted with everyone else and didn't help.

After filling a large bag, the two went to a scrap metal recycling station to sell the items. Then, the child took the money to the supermarket, bought a bottle of ice-cold Coke, and chugged it down.

The mother also interacted with the audience: "He came out because he didn't do his homework, to experience the hardship of working."

After saying that, she asked her son, "Son, do you want to collect recyclables or do your homework?"

The child burped, tilted his head back, and said, "Collecting trash."

Charles now wants to say to this mother, "Why did you make him pick up trash? Let him come and gather bluethorn with me!"

For children, rummaging through trash cans is like a treasure hunt, full of surprises. After collecting all the recyclables, they can exchange them for a can of cola. Along the way, the surprise of the treasure hunt, the fulfillment of the work, and the satisfaction of the reward make children understand what hard work is.

Work involves repetitive labor; you have to make your child pick leaves one by one, and walk through thorns, without being afraid of the pain.

Even if you get a small cut on your hand, you can't stop, because there's only this one big clump of blue thorn grass around. If you don't pick it all now, who knows who will come and steal it from you later.

Those people were vicious adventurers who grabbed the leaves and ears as soon as they came up.

Only in this way can you successfully educate children. After he has picked the fruit for two hours, if you ask him again, he will definitely say, "I will finish my homework before eating from now on."

Charles gave a wry smile. Although he was inwardly complaining about the kid, he had actually worked for two hours straight.

"It's really painful and tiring." He stretched his arms to work up his muscles. "Almost done picking."

Early in the morning, he led his men straight to the area where the blue thorn grass grew. The ten goblins worked hard and harvested the entire area in two hours.

Now every goblin has many small wounds on its body, and even more on its hands, all from scratches on the stems of blue thorn grass.

"I need to apply some herbal medicine when I get back." Charles looked at his hands, which were covered with tiny wounds, and felt a little sad.

Although his tribe had temporarily solved its food crisis, more problems lay ahead. He wanted to arm his men, not necessarily with chainmail and a two-handed sword, but at least with leather armor and spears.

In addition, a large amount of fur needs to be prepared for winter.

These all need to be exchanged for gold coins.

Charles cannot use the stored gold coins for the time being. He and John are still in the testing phase and need to build sufficient trust before they can use them.

He wouldn't try it rashly because he knew that human nature couldn't withstand being tested.

"Chief, we've picked them all." Red Eyes reported as he approached him.

"Yes, collect them and put them in a bag," Charles instructed his men, while he went to wait aside.

Perhaps because they had eaten two meals yesterday, his subordinates worked without a single complaint today. Charles had originally thought they would slack off and try to cheat.

However, Xia Erke suffered last night. His men's snoring was deafening, like a drill, even more intoxicating than his college roommate's snoring.

"Chief." Red Eyes carried a large bundle to Sharl.

Charles tried lifting it; it was quite heavy, probably over 20 kilograms.

"That'll give us 2 gold coins, enough to buy about 2 pieces of leather armor." Sharmo stroked his chin thoughtfully. "We need to equip at least half the men with leather armor and spears before winter."

"It would be even better if we had more people."

"Alright, go back," Charles ordered.

"Coo coo coo." A bird chirped overhead.

"If someone comes at this moment, everyone climb the tree."

…………

"It's just ahead," Coulson said with a smile.

"You're a living map of the forest," Lila remarked, looking at the parchment map in her hand.

"It's nothing. You'll remember it after going into the forest a few more times. After all, a lot of things happen here."

"Luna, use Stone Skin on everyone before we start gathering the materials," Lila said to her sister.

"Thank you so much. Gathering bluethorn grass is indeed quite troublesome. With this spell, I'm not afraid of those thorns anymore, which makes things much easier." Coulson was very happy.

"It's nothing, we're all teammates, it's only natural," Lila waved her hand. "Besides, without your guidance, we wouldn't have found the Bluethorn Grass so easily."

"Luna?" she called again, turning around to see her sister taking snacks out of Grant's bag.

"Got it." Luna grabbed the nut and immediately cast Stone Skin on Lila.

"You really are something," Lila said, looking at her dull skin, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "I was telling you before we started collecting samples."

"Oh, okay, no problem." After saying that, Luna picked a dandelion from the ground and blew on it.

"My sister is spoiled." Lila shrugged, looking apologetic to Coulson.

"It's nothing. She's quite cute, and there are very few healers available. Being able to team up with you guys is much safer. We're the ones who benefit."

"If all goes well, we can cooperate again in the future." Seeing Coulson's familiarity with the forest, Lila couldn't help but wonder if they could team up long-term, which would make it easier to find her father's whereabouts.

Their father was a guard of the Earl of Valentine. Nine years ago, he left the city for the forest on a mission and has not been heard from since.

The two sisters were raised by their father’s friend, Jules.

After they came of age, they vowed to find their father's whereabouts, even if it was just his remains.

But when they arrived in Giethoorn, they realized they had been dreaming.

The forest is so vast that the southern region alone is much larger than the Lords of Valentine.

Moreover, nine years have passed, and everything has changed.

Just as the two of them were about to give up, Coulson, a forest expert, appeared in front of them.

Lila was delighted that an adventurer was so familiar with the edge of the Nightmare Forest; hope was rekindled in her heart.

"Actually, we're also looking for teammates. If they're trustworthy, we can team up long-term," Lila said, organizing her thoughts.

"Is that so? That's wonderful. It would be so prestigious to have a healer on the team long-term." Coulson smiled and gave a slight bow.

"It's nothing, we relied on you as our living map," Lila said with a smile, waving her hand.

A few minutes later.

"We're here, this is it." Coulson led his team to a large patch of bare grass.

"Is this it?" Lila asked, looking at the grass in front of her.

"What bad luck! Someone beat me to it." Coulson lamented that his income would be reduced again today.

"It's alright, we can keep looking," Lila encouraged.

"Wait, there seems to be something over there." Coulson, with his sharp eyes, spotted the gray object in the grass.

He strode over, opened the package, and read, "Bluethorn leaves, freshly picked."

"This should be worth about 2 gold coins." He picked up the package and weighed it in his hand.

"Who forgot this here?" Lila asked.

"I don't know. It's unlikely that so many were left behind intentionally. It's possible they were left behind during a hasty escape."

"This is a gift from God," Luna exclaimed happily.

"In that case, let's leave quickly, it might be dangerous." Coulson made a quick decision, preparing to move to another place to continue what he was doing.

"Why don't we wait a bit? Maybe those people will come back," Lila suggested.

"I think it's better not to. The forest is too dangerous, it's full of goblins." Coulson shook his head. "Gran has eaten a lot, so he's here to carry things."

Grant was about to put the snacks back in his pocket when Luna stopped him and grabbed another handful.

Then Grant walked over and brushed past Lila.

"Grant, let's go back," Coulson said.

One-Eyed Grant smirked, quickly pulled off his greatsword, turned around and swept it horizontally, sending Lila flying with a "smack".

Fortunately, Luna had previously cast Stone Skin on her, and with the addition of iron gauntlets, she managed to withstand the attack somewhat.

"You guys?" Luna was extremely surprised, but she didn't forget to immediately cast a healing spell on her sister.

"You two are reapers." Lila stood up, arms crossed, and stared at the other person.

"No, you're wrong." Coulson shook his finger gracefully.

"You aren't?"

"We are the harvesters, but we are not two."

"Ugh." Luna groaned and stumbled forward a few steps.

A fat man stood behind her, his legs below the knees hidden in the shadows.

"Shadowbringer, Luna, how are you?" Lila asked anxiously, taking the greatsword off her back and quickly approaching her sister while remaining vigilant.

"I'm fine, sister. The church's inner armor protected me from the stab, but it still hurts a lot," Luna said, while casting a Shield of Light on herself.

"Let me introduce you. This is my teammate Leo. He likes to stay in the shadows, and he has a few quirks."

"Ears, beautiful ears," Leo repeated as he rushed toward Luna.

"Damn it, stay away from my sister!" Lila raised her greatsword, ready to rush over to help. She regretted agreeing to Coulson's request yesterday. She had been fantasizing about what would happen next, but now it seemed like things were going to turn out badly for her today.

No matter what, we must keep those three occupied so my sister can escape; I'm willing to risk my life for her.

With a clang, she and Grant clashed swords, and the pain in her hand made her even more anxious.

"Luna, run!" Lila suddenly unleashed several sword strikes, forcing Grant back, and prepared to rush towards her sister.

Whoosh! A throwing knife landed in front of her, blocking her path.

"Leo, hurry up," Coulson said with a smile.

Fat Leo stabbed the shield of light rapidly, and cracks began to appear on the shield.

"Luna, run! If we all die, no one will be able to find Daddy!" Lila shouted as she fends off Grant's attacks.

Luna, meanwhile, simply continued casting spells to buff Lila, healing, speeding up, and blessing, constantly chanting and casting.

"Luna!" Lila shouted.

"Stop calling me, sister. I don't want to live without you."

"Tsk tsk tsk, what a touching sisterly bond. I used to fantasize about having a younger brother, so that I could push him out of danger." Coulson gently applauded the two sisters.

Then, he casually walked towards the package: "But there's no other way. Your sister is worth much more than you. You both have to stay here."

After saying that, he picked up the package: "I've made quite a bit of money today."

"Bang!" A bowstring twanged, followed by a muffled groan from Coulson as a crossbow bolt lodged in his shoulder.

Although he reacted quickly, he was still hit by the arrow.

Immediately afterwards, several ropes fell from the surrounding trees, and a group of goblins slid down and rushed towards him. The goblin in the lead had a scar on his forehead.

"Goblin?" Coulson exclaimed in alarm.

He had killed so many goblins, and this was the first time he had seen something like this. But he immediately reacted, "Leo, come and kill the goblins. I'll deal with that priest."

Leo ignored him and continued cracking the eggshell: "Ears, give me your ears."

"Damn it, you're getting carried away now, Grant, don't hold back." Coulson drew his longsword and shield and faced the goblin.

Grant roared loudly, and a faint red mist appeared around his body.

"You're a berserker from the Salo Islands." Lila's eyes widened; she knew berserkers were difficult to deal with.

"Ah—" Leo cried out in pain as he too was struck by a crossbow bolt, but this only fueled his ferocity. "Ears, ears!"

"Thud!" The next crossbow bolt pierced his neck.

At the same time, Charles in the tree shouted, "Throw spears at the two greatsword warriors!"

With a whoosh, six spears flew straight over, hitting Grant and Lila at the same time. However, Lila was protected by Luna's Devout Shield, so the damage was minimal.

Grant, however, was struck by two spears, one of which pierced his back chest. He suddenly became fierce, sweeping his sword across Lila's greatsword and then turning to charge at the goblins.

"Throw it." Charles ordered, and two double-ball grappling hooks were thrown out, directly tying Grant's legs. He lost his balance and fell to the ground, whereupon several goblins rushed up and started hammering him.

Coulson was entangled by the two goblins, Scarface and Red Eyes, and was extremely anxious.

These two dwarfs could easily be defeated by me in a one-on-one fight, but now that they are injured, I am at a disadvantage in every way.

Seeing that his two companions had been killed, he panicked and unleashed several vicious attacks. Then, spotting an opening, he turned and ran.

He hadn't run two steps when he screamed and collapsed to the ground, two short knives stuck in his back—the double blades of Abbott thrown by Charles.

Charles slid down the rope and came to Coulson.

"Don't kill me! Do you speak Common Tongue?" Coulson pleaded in panic as he staggered backward on the ground.

"Damn adventurers, how dare they steal my grass!" Charles said through gritted teeth.

"Ah, you speak Common Tongue. Don't kill me. I'll give you money, how about two gold coins?" Coulson said with a fawning smile.

Charles killed him with a single spear thrust, "You poor bastard."

On the clearing of the bluethorn grass, the fighting ended. Charles glanced back, but the two sisters had already vanished.

"You guys got off easy."

He walked over, preparing to check the belongings of the three men one by one.

Just then, a series of birdsongs came from a tree not far away.

"Coo coo coo coo coo—"

"Why the rush? What terrible thing has arrived this time?" Charles ordered everyone to climb back up the tree.

Then he saw that Scarface was hiding something behind his back, which looked like the throwing knife Coulson had thrown earlier.

"The three of you stay."