Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

At the entrance to the cave, ten goblins were tied together with ropes. They knew what was about to happen to them, and instead, they stopped struggling, their faces ashen.

Gradually, a rustling sound came from the depths of the cave, and the torches on both sides of the road seemed to be extinguished by something.

The goblins stared wide-eyed into the depths of the cave. As the torches went out one by one and disappeared, a pair of yellow "lights" slowly grew larger and larger.

Soon they saw the huge, green-scaled snake head. Just as they were all trembling and trying to escape but were stopped by the ropes binding them and fell over, the feathered serpent raised its huge head and then shot over like lightning.

It was so fast that the ten goblins were swallowed by the feathered serpent without making a sound, and as it swallowed, the "offerings" quickly slid down its esophagus.

The feathered serpent shook its scales, raised its head to survey its surroundings, and then swam back into the depths of the burrow.

It wasn't until it passed by the old goblin again that it spoke in a cold voice: "There are goblins in the south of the forest toying with my power."

"Great Feathered Serpent God," the old goblin bowed respectfully, "who dares to blaspheme your power?"

"Just a harmless fellow. Go, send someone to capture them," Quetzalcoatl said lazily, then swam deeper into the cave, ignoring the old goblin.

Once the giant feathered serpent disappeared, the old goblin raised his upper body, looked deeply into the dark cave, and then sighed silently, "Ten more."

Then, with faltering steps, he stumbled out into the darkness.

In the darkness, the sound of the bone staff tapping on the stone bricks echoed continuously. The old goblin stared blankly ahead. The sunlight at the entrance in the distance gradually expanded from a small point of light. As he walked out of the dark cave, the sunlight shone on him again, and on the ground behind him were the traces left by the "offering" that had just been devoured.

"When will this ever end?" the old goblin sighed, then he walked down the steps one by one. The area below the stone tower was already full of goblins.

"Quetzalcoatl has given a decree," the old goblin said, standing on the steps and surveying the goblins below, "that there are goblins in the southern part of the forest who are blaspheming its divine power, and you must go and capture them."

The goblins looked at each other, bewildered. This was the first time they had heard such an order, and none of them knew what to do.

The old goblin knew this was going to happen, so he waved to the side, and an adult goblin quickly ran up the steps and came to him.

"Baldy, you and your goblins go south to search," the old goblin said softly.

"High Priest, how many goblins do you need?" Baldy asked, bowing and scraping.

"40 burrows of goblins," the high priest said. In this feathered serpent goblin kingdom, 20 goblins usually live in one burrow, so this time there would be 40 burrows, meaning 800 goblins would have to be mobilized.

As Baldy accepted the order and dashed down the steps with shouts and yells, the high priest looked up and tried to scrutinize the group of goblins below the stone tower. "Who on earth could be so capable of manipulating the power of Quetzalcoatl?"

"How did he manipulate them? Urgent! Major plot twist! Watch now!"

…………

"Is this the finished product?" Ciel asked, looking at the black shoes in his hand.

"These are shoes the shoemakers tried to make according to your requirements, boss." Little John picked up another shoe from the table.

These shoes were made according to the sketches drawn by Charles. He referenced the styles of hiking boots and military boots from his previous life and designed several patterns. Now, thanks to the shoemakers in Goat Horn, several prototypes have been completed.

These shoes are not made in this world, so the shoemakers spent some time figuring them out based on the designs. The fact that they can make them now is a testament to their skill.

Charles compared the size of his foot to the shoe sole and, seeing that it was about the same size, simply slipped one of the shoe samples onto his foot.

"Hmm, the fit is pretty good." He stomped his feet a few times, assessing the overall comfort of the shoes. "Is the surface waterproof?"

"Yes," John nodded, "I specifically mentioned your requirements to the shoemaker: the soles must be durable and slip-resistant, and the uppers must be waterproof."

"They must have put in a lot of effort to make this." Charles bent down and looked at the shoes on his feet. He felt that the shoes were a bit big, probably because his feet were small.

Goblins have always run barefoot in the forest. They walk barefoot through the grass, climb trees, and wade through streams, both in summer and winter. It's not that no goblin has cut their feet or stepped on sharp branches that pierce their soles. The traditional way goblins treat this is to find some herbs, apply them to the soles of their feet, and then wrap them with leaves.

After Shire became the leader, his men would sometimes injure their feet while hunting and gathering herbs in the forest. Fortunately, the goblins were there to effectively treat their injuries. However, now that winter has arrived, these goblins still need to work in the forest, so keeping their feet warm and safe is especially important.

"The shoemakers said your design is exquisite," John put down the shoes in his hands, "It's the first time they've ever seen a design like this."

"The materials required are too high-end; waterproofing and wear resistance cost a lot of money, making them much more expensive than the affordable shoes they made before."

"I know." Charles nodded. He knew that the materials needed for these shoes were not much worse than those for ordinary noble leather boots. "Let them take another look. If possible, I will order two hundred pairs directly."

"That would cost a lot of money." Little John picked up the shoes on the table again. To be honest, he also liked these shoes. They were also very suitable for adventurers. Having a pair of these shoes in the forest was definitely much better than those rough cloth boots he used to wear.

"Don't worry, we should have enough money," Charles nodded. "If it really doesn't work, we can order in batches."

This way, his men could wear special forest shoes, which would improve their work performance.

"Alright, I'll tell the shoemakers," said John.