Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

Name: John Franklin Jr.

Race: Human

[Danger Level: 2, Not Bad]

Personality: Cautious

[Title: Future Hero]

Charles looked at Little John's panel and realized that he had also grown during this time.

"Here's what you wanted, boss." Little John unloaded the goods from the mule.

For this meeting, he rented a mule, which, together with what he was carrying on his back, weighed a total of 100 kilograms.

"30 kilograms of rice, 10 kilograms of dried meat, and 10 kilograms of salt." Little John then took a large bundle of sheepskins from the mule's back.

"In addition, there are crossbow bolts, four spears, and a rope axe, all of which are here."

"Thank you, well done." Charles nodded and instructed his men to move the goods away and keep a close watch on them.

When the goblins appeared, they almost startled the mule, but luckily Little John managed to stop them.

"This time we have a total of 50 kilograms of bluethorn grass," Charles said with a smile. "This should be worth quite a bit of money."

"And these are a few more pieces of equipment." He instructed his men to help Little John load the items onto the mule.

"So much?" Little John raised an eyebrow. He had teamed up with other adventurers to gather resources before, but each time he wouldn't gather much. Getting 10 kilograms was considered good, and that was when several people had to share it.

The boss and his men casually collected 50 kilograms of the product, and he thought this trade route was indeed good and had great potential.

"Also, we have some things to attend to this time, so we can't do the data collection commission for the time being," Charles said.

"Is that so, boss?" Little John had already taken out the collection request form, and he felt a little disappointed when he heard that the collection could not be done this time.

"Yes, we also have to deal with winter ourselves." Charles took the order form. "The tubers of the Rhythm Grass, 20 silver per kilogram."

"Yes, it's said to be a relatively rare herb because it grows short and is not easy to find in the grass," John said.

"Hmm, do you have a map?" Charles asked.

Little John looked down and pulled out a map that the Adventurers' Guild was selling for 10 silver coins.

This is just an ordinary map, something for novice adventurers to get started with. Experienced adventurers are said to have their own treasured maps.

Charles closed his eyes for a moment, then unfolded the map and carefully examined it. "Here, here, and here, these are all places where Wind-blown Grass is concentrated, and this place has the most."

He pointed to several places on the map, and John quickly marked them.

"The boss is the most reliable one," Little John thought. "Next time I need to bring a portable pen, I'll just ask the boss. That way I won't have to tag along with the old adventurers and let them take the lion's share."

"This is the purchase order," Charles handed it to John.

Little John took it with both hands and saw that it was covered with furs, spears, and short swords, as well as three large glass jars.

"A glass jar?" He raised an eyebrow. What would goblins need this for, pickling vegetables?

He didn't doubt that the boss might be stockpiling food for the coming winter.

"Yes, make sure it's well protected next time you send it over, and make sure it doesn't break," Charles earnestly instructed.

"Okay, boss." Seeing the other party's serious expression, John put away his smile and nodded heavily.

"Also, I'd like to ask, do you know the price of the healing potions at the 'Undying' Alchemy Workshop?" Charles asked.

"Uh, not cheap, boss." Little John shook his head. "There are only two alchemy workshops in Girth Town, and they both sell things at high prices, especially this one that won't kill you. Adventurers all hope that a teammate can drink himself to death, so they can take the shady boss to the police station and sentence him to ten years of mining."

"Then forget it." Charles smiled.

"There's something else I need you to do." He took a piece of paper from his subordinate. "Could you contact a blacksmith for me and have something made?"

John took the paper, unfolded it, and found it was a drawing, very detailed, with dimensions and precautions marked.

The drawing shows two small pots in the middle, which are small enough to be held in one hand. The surface is covered with a textured pattern like a tortoise shell, and there are spirals at the mouth of the pots. There is also a handle on one of the pots.

"These are made of two thin sheets of iron. The two components can be fastened together. They might not be very skilled at first, but they'll get the hang of it after making a few," Charles explained patiently, pointing to the blueprints. "Go talk to them. It shouldn't cost much, and the materials aren't large. Let's make 10 first and see."

"Okay, so we'll meet again in three days, boss?"

"Yes, in 3 days." Charles nodded.

"Boss, a monster has recently appeared in the forest, a Devilclaw Bear." Little John folded the purchase order and blueprints a few times and stuffed them into his pocket. "The association has offered a 1-gold-coin reward for its abilities."

"The adventurers are all speculating. Some say it's shadow entanglement, others say it's pressure, there are all sorts of theories."

"No one knows the monster's activity range right now, so everyone is being very careful."

"It's the Eye of Confusion. As long as you make eye contact, the other person will fall into a state of confusion. The duration depends on the individual's magic resistance," Charles said calmly.

"The Eye of Confusion, the Eye of Confusion." Little John's eyes widened, and after repeating it several times, he asked in astonishment, "You've seen a Deinonychus?"

"I've met it a few times," Charles said casually. "I chased it away."

"You mean you chased the Deinonychus away?" Little John's face was filled with disbelief.

"Yes, this monster is over 1.5 meters tall at the shoulder and over 2 meters tall when standing, maybe 2.4 meters. It exudes black energy, is very strong, has great strength, and runs very fast," Xia Er continued. "Most importantly, it is very cunning and ferocious. It likes to hide behind trees or in the grass and launch a sudden attack."

"Hehehe, as expected of the boss." Little John smiled in agreement, but in his heart he was thinking: With your personality, you probably beat up the Deinonychus. He even imagined: Charles swinging his whip and cracking it on the ground, the clumsy Deinonychus leaping from one platform, jumping through a ring of fire, and landing on another platform.

Those veteran adventurers' entire teams were wiped out, but you just casually "drove them away" when you encountered them, as if it were a trivial matter. I have nothing left to say about you.

"Moreover, this beast mainly lives on the edge of the forest and is extremely sensitive to the smell of blood."

"Okay, I understand, boss." Little John nodded solemnly, becoming even more certain of his guess about the boss: the King of the Outer Forest.

"Now that the Association knows about the Deinonychus, have they issued a notice?" Charles asked.

"Notification? You mean the notification about the promotion assessment?" Little John asked. Seeing his boss nod, he continued, "Yes, it has already been issued. I heard that some people are already preparing to kill Deinonychus and get the Black Iron Badge."

That means the forest is going to be in chaos again, and every time there's an advancement, something unexpected happens, Xia Er thought to himself.

He instructed John, "Don't get involved for now. This is too complicated and dangerous. Your own life is more important."

"Okay, I'll listen to you. If you say we won't go, then we won't go." Little John nodded.

"That's all for today. Let's stay here again in three days," Charles said with a smile.

"Remember, make sure you make what I need exactly according to the blueprints," he instructed again.

John nodded in agreement.

Charles watched them leave, then immediately ordered his men, "Put the stuff back in the burrow, let's go catch the monkeys."

He planned to take his men to collect some more clattering fruit in the afternoon, and then go check out the place marked with a question mark on the territory map tomorrow.

The question mark is not a symbol of two swords, so there may be no need for combat. It should be safe, and if handled properly, it could benefit the tribe to some extent.

What might be there? A den of wild boars? A herd of deer? Or perhaps some ethereal sprites?

"It can't be another bunch of slimes, can it?" Ciel muttered to himself.