Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

In the Nightmare Forest, a group of goblins returned to a campfire with a large amount of collected supplies. A goblin with a bald head and a tuft of hair on his lip was standing by the campfire, seemingly waiting for everyone to return.

"Cavehead, we're back." A goblin carrying a dead snake walked over, and the goblin just nodded without saying anything.

Soon, the goblins quickly processed the food they had gathered and threw it into a row of large pots nearby. Meanwhile, a few strong goblins carried the hunted deer and headed towards the large lizard lying on the ground in the distance.

"After we finish eating, everyone explore a little further," the guy known as "Cavehead" shouted. The other goblins stopped processing the food and looked at him. Then they silently continued what they were doing, and many of them even had rumbling sounds coming from their stomachs.

Baldy surveyed the surrounding goblins, quite satisfied with their reactions. He had been sent by the high priest to lead these 800 goblins on a southward march, along with a number of petrified lizards. According to the high priest, some goblins had actually blasphemed the feathered serpent god. "How foolish! Don't they know what the wrath of the gods is like?"

"Cavehead, it's ready to eat," a goblin approached and said respectfully.

Baldy glanced at the other person, then walked over on his own and began scooping food from the large pot. They didn't have any utensils; they simply forked one end of a small twig to scoop food from the colorful soup.

The meal was the same as before, with no major changes in ingredients. However, the arrival of winter made some foods harder to obtain. Baldy spat out a small bone from his mouth, then patted his stomach. "That's it. As expected, the food isn't very good once you leave the kingdom of Quetzalcoatl."

He patted his somewhat tattered pants, walked back to the campfire and sat down, while the goblins began to wolf down their food.

To make management easier, the Feathered Serpent Kingdom dug many dwellings and burrows together, forming larger "burrows" each inhabited by 20 goblins. This number was fixed so that the "burrow head" could easily count heads by counting their toes.

Cavehead was the leader of one of the caves, and there were many such leaders throughout the Feathered Serpent Kingdom; Baldy was just one of them.

However, he was naturally clever and knew that the power hierarchy in the Feathered Serpent Kingdom was from top to bottom. Under the Feathered Serpent God, the High Priest issued orders. So he often tried to get close to the High Priest and make himself "familiar" with him. This time, he successfully obtained the leadership to lead the goblins of 40 burrows out into the world.

Although the goblins of the Feathered Serpent Kingdom did not have a leader, it did not stop Baldy from dreaming of that position. Moreover, he knew that in the past, goblins in the Feathered Serpent Kingdom often wanted to become leaders, but without exception, they were all swallowed up by the Feathered Serpent God. Even those little goblins who showed signs of becoming bear goblins were expelled from the kingdom by the High Priest.

In the words of the high priest, "If we go out, we might survive; but if we stay in the kingdom, we won't live long before we die."

Baldy knew the high priest's words made sense. Goblin tribes usually decided their victories by hitting each other on the head with wooden clubs. The bear goblins grew very quickly, not only stealing food from their companions, but also growing rapidly and threatening the status of other adult goblins.

It's important to know that conflicts often occur between the different caves in the Feathered Serpent Kingdom. If people from two different caves both set their sights on the same prey while foraging, the result will be a chaotic battle.

Baldy led his burrowing members to victory and defeat several times, but he now felt that he was unlikely to lose in the future. As long as he handled this "expedition" well, he could establish his own position in the Feathered Serpent Kingdom. For example, this time, he could deploy those burrowing members who seemed to have combat power to the front of the army.

"Baldy, why are you still exploring after you've finished eating?" Several strong goblins approached, their questioning tone sounding somewhat unfriendly.

"I think we're getting close to those blasphemous guys," Baldy said, glancing at the goblins, who were all "cave leaders" from other burrows. "And the high priest said that I'm in charge this time, so you need to listen to me."

The goblins were clearly angry, and one or two of them even tried to do something, but they were held back by the other "cave leaders." Baldy was right; this operation was assigned to him by the high priest, and all the "cave leaders" had to obey his orders. If anyone dared to object, he would only have two options: be sacrificed to the feathered serpent god or run away immediately.

By the way, no one in the caves draws lots, not even the high priest. So when the high priest set the rule to expel the bear goblins, no one in the caves objected.

Seeing that Baldy was no longer paying attention to them, the goblins turned and left angrily, with two of them muttering, "Next time, we won't let you have it easy."

Baldy sneered. These fools don't even know why they were chosen as commanders for this march, yet they still dream of making things difficult for him later.

"Once we find those goblins, we'll kill them all and burn down their shabby burrows. A bunch of bastards driven out of the kingdom, yet they dare to blaspheme Quetzalcoatl." He stretched out his hands to warm them by the fire, trying to alleviate the cold and discomfort caused by the winter chill. "If this operation succeeds, perhaps the High Priest will create a position specifically for me, to manage a few burrows. Maybe then I can live on those high platforms."

The buildings in the Feathered Serpent Kingdom are mostly made of stone. There are not only houses above ground, but also many underground sections. Of the 20 goblins in a cave, only the strong ones can live in the stone houses, while the weak ones can only live in the dark underground.

There are several high platforms in the kingdom. The highest one, a five-story platform, is the residence of the feathered serpent god. There are also several other three-story platforms, one of which is the residence of the high priest.

After feeling his body warm up, Baldy pinched his soles again. Walking in the winter forest, the soles of his feet often became hard and stiff, as if his blood was about to freeze, but now the campfire had successfully relieved all of that.

"Everyone, prepare to move out," he stood up, then stomped his foot forcefully. "You, you, and you..."

Baldy pointed at the few troublemakers from the cave and grinned, "You guys come and drive away the giant lizard."