Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

The latest chapter has ignited the plot! Stay tuned for more updates.

"Sweep through the western part of the forest?" Sharl was taken aback. "You mean, I'm going to lead my tribe to attack all the goblins in the western part of Nightmare Forest?"

"No, not goblins." Count Gene turned to look at Herbert, who was ignoring him and sipping his wine, then sighed and said, "They're ratmen."

"Rat-man?"

"Yes, the entire west, the west bordering the Kingdom of Savoy, is riddled with underground tunnels dug by the ratmen. Those tunnels have connected to form an underground kingdom." Gene leaned over, his hands clasped in front of him. "These guys hate sunlight. They basically come out of their tunnels at night to hunt for food."

“Unlike this old bat, our family’s territory is right on the edge of the forest,” he said, giving a thumbs-up and pointing at Herbert, “and we’re often harassed by these creatures.”

"Then, what about the goblins?" Charles asked, somewhat puzzled.

Count Gene gave an awkward smile. "I'm sorry, but I think there aren't many goblins left in the western part of Nightmare Forest right now."

Seeing Charles's furrowed brows and questioning gaze, Herbert put down his wine glass. "Let me tell you. Long ago, the ratmen lived in the western part of the forest, but no one paid attention to them back then. After all, these creatures were even smaller than goblins and didn't want to come out of their burrows during the day, so adventurers were still interested in goblins."

"But at some point, things changed," he paused for a few seconds, as if recalling various things he had heard before, "Those ratmen are very prolific. They rapidly expanded their population and eat everything. If they can't find food, they will even eat their own kind. But most importantly, these guys have dug a huge tunnel system. If you want to kill them, you have to go deep into the tunnels, which is undoubtedly extremely dangerous for human adventurers."

"Furthermore, these creatures carry plague. Adventurers who are injured will quickly fall ill, and if treatment is not timely, their lives may be in danger. However, the ratmen themselves are immune to the plague."

"Then why did you come to me?" Ciel asked, sizing up the two people opposite him.

"I'm sorry, the ratmen are very difficult to deal with. Now, there are no towns like Sheephorn in my territory anymore, and there are no human villages around the edge of the forest, just to prevent the ratmen from rushing out of the forest at night." Gene looked at the wine glass in front of him, but seemed to have no interest in tasting it. "The adventurers of Savoy know very little about the ratmen's caves. The only thing I can think of right now is to rely on you goblins."

"Wait, you just said there aren't many goblins in the western region." Sharl waved his hand. Goblins are known for their longevity. Given two years of peace, they can produce several litters. Although they can't match the reproductive capacity of ratmen, they are still much more prolific than humans.

"Uh." Gene hesitated, clenching his fists awkwardly, unsure of what to say next.

"They've wiped out all the goblins in the western part of the forest," Herbert said, but Gene immediately retorted, "My family never did that, and I gave orders to stop capturing goblins at the time."

Charles frowned as he watched the two arguing, quietly waiting for their explanation.

"Alright," Gene raised his hand, indicating his surrender. "At first, some adventurers captured goblins and used them to find the entrance to the ratmen's caves. They also drove the goblins ahead to scout the way, which greatly increased the adventurers' chances of survival. Gradually, many adventurers learned this method."

"But things changed. These greedy fellows didn't let the goblins go after the hunt; instead, they tied them up and sold them directly to slave traders. Over time, a trend even emerged among the upper echelons of the Savoy nobility to raise goblins." Gene rubbed his cheek, his tone somewhat dissatisfied. "I forbade it from the beginning, but unfortunately, people are greedy. You know, when the goblins were around, the ratmen weren't so rampant. After the goblins disappeared, the ratmen began to harass the surrounding villages on a large scale, and..."

He hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and continued, "Humans often win battles against goblins, but even if they win against ratmen, they are very likely to contract the plague, leading to their eventual death."

"So you want me and my people to go to the western forest and fight the ratmen, resulting in mutual destruction?" Sharl said with a smirk.

"No, that's not it," Gene hurriedly waved his hands, but gradually he stopped and said somewhat dejectedly, "I'm sorry, I did have that thought. I know that fighting the ratmen will definitely result in casualties."

"Of course, if you disagree, that's fine too. Our deal will remain completely unaffected. After all, the two of us," he glanced at Herbert, "are burdened with the heavy debt of jealousy."

"The rat-people..." Charles didn't answer immediately, but instead stroked his chin, deep in thought.

These humanoid creatures are more primitive, or rather, more ferocious, than goblins. They are less intelligent than goblins and will kill anything to survive.

Moreover, it sounds like these guys have multiplied into a kingdom, and many goblins in the western part of the forest have probably been eaten by the ratmen.

The Skaven Kingdom currently resides only in the west and has not yet expanded outwards. This is partly because the Darren River prevents them from digging tunnels, and partly because humans might be tastier than goblins.

However, the Kingdom of Savoy has already begun to guard against the ratmen, and it's hard to say whether these burrowing creatures will risk crossing the Darren River to attack their territory.

If the ratmen cross the river, the tree people will be the first to suffer, as their connection with the mother tree may be destroyed due to the tree people's demise.

"I have to say, the fried tree-man fruit cakes from the mimic monster taste pretty good." Xia Er pursed his lips. Based on the amount of fruit that Bucktooth and his men had collected before, the fruit produced by these 500-plus tree-men would be a major source of food for the tribe, not to mention that he also had the [Blessing of the God of Earth and Life], which could increase the yield and frequency of fruit production.

"Moreover, there must be a large amount of herbs and other resources in the western part of the forest. In addition, there are underground ruins and undiscovered runic words. We cannot give up that area under any circumstances."

With that thought in mind, Charles picked up the wine glass in front of him and slowly took a sip under Count Gene's hopeful gaze.

His movements were so slow, like your personal library, containing more than ten thousand volumes. So slow that Gene Mullett felt as if he had spent the entire night.

"Mr. Gene, my answer to your proposal is," Charles glanced at the other man, and after a few seconds, "I agree."

"That's great!" Gene said excitedly, clenching his fist.

"However, I have conditions." Charles held up three fingers. "First, I hope we can get a discount on this cooperation in exchanging silver coins."

"No problem, I'll give the order as soon as I get back. This time, there won't be any extra fees." Gene didn't wait for Charles to finish speaking before directly offering a higher "quote".

"Hmm? You're not accepting payment? Not even for the labor..." Charles raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you afraid I'll lie to you?"

Gene glanced at Herbert and said with a smile, "I think Old Bat told you that I am a werewolf, or rather, my family are werewolves. We have a powerful sense of smell and can tell if someone is lying by their scent. You know, human emotions can cause subtle changes in body odor. Just now, when you agreed, I only smelled a hint of greed."

"Uh," Charles was stunned. He hadn't expected the other party to distinguish them in this way. He looked at the bearded old man, Gene, in front of him. Gene had a straight nose and looked no different from an ordinary person. Charles couldn't help but mutter to himself, "He's not much bigger than an ordinary person either."

However, this was just a minor incident. He quickly withdrew one finger and continued, "Keep an eye out for news about goblins in Savoy and the western forests. If possible, I think you could help me collect some goblins enslaved by nobles, since they are goblins after all."

Goblins kept by nobles might know some strange things, which could be somewhat useful to a race lacking talent. As for whether those nobles would be willing to hand over their "playthings," Charles wasn't very sure. Of course, this was also to further strengthen his image in the eyes of the two people in front of him, letting them know that he was a "partner" with whom he could have an equal dialogue.

Before Gene could say anything, Charles immediately held up one finger and said the last thing, "Finally, I can't do anything to the western part of the forest right now, but I can promise you that one day I will lead my men to reclaim the entire western part of Nightmare Forest. At that time, I will need you to provide some supplies and logistics."

"No problem." Gene nodded. "It's just that, could you hurry up a bit..."

"Is Mr. Gene in a hurry?" Charles tilted his head, looking at the other man with great interest.

"No, no." Gene waved his hand.

"He has a silver vein right on the edge of the forest, and now the entire vein has been sealed off. It's a good quality silver mine," Herbert said, sipping his red wine and casually undermining his old friend. "He's afraid the ratmen will dig through the mine, and if that happens, the ratmen will be able to completely break out of the forest, which would be fatal to his territory."

When Gene heard his old friend undermine him, he didn't say anything, but just glared at him angrily.

"Then what about our deal?" Charles asked, looking at Earl Silver Wolf opposite him.

"Don't worry, it won't have any impact. The Mullett family still has three silver mines in Savoy." Herbert held up his wine glass and raised three fingers with his other hand.

Charles was delighted. With the help of the vampire count, he had indeed gained a lot. If this matter succeeded, he could directly exchange the "principal" in the merchant bank for 115% silver coins. "Using the portal saves on the intermediate transportation costs, and the Silver Wolf family doesn't charge any handling fees or even labor costs. It's pure profit. I really hope there can be more good things like this."

"Then, we can sign the contract." Charles picked up a few sheets of paper contracts from the side and placed them on the coffee table. "Mr. Gene, did you bring a pen?"

Earl Silver Wolf laughed heartily a few times, then downed the glass of red wine in front of him in one gulp. He pushed aside the contract on the coffee table, stretched out his fingers, and his nails visibly became sharp and pointed in Charles's gaze.

"We, the Mullett family, believe more in traditional methods than contracts." With a swift motion, he sliced ​​his other hand with his sharp nails, then clenched his fist, dripping red blood into the empty wine glass on the coffee table.

"I knew you'd do this," Herbert said irritably, then snatched the glass and dripped his own blood into it, just like her. "As a witness, I need to participate too."

"Is this a blood oath?" Charles frowned. The border count of Savoy opposite him was indeed very traditional and stubborn, still using such an outdated method.

"Just drink this, and our agreement will be in effect," Gene said, pointing to the glass.

"I won't be affected by your blood, will I?"

"No, no, as long as we don't have any intention of transforming you, there won't be any problem with this blood. Besides, our blood transformation isn't done through," Herbert laughed and made a drinking gesture, "not through such methods."

"Alright," Charles smiled. This was the first time he had used such an old-fashioned method for cooperation negotiations. He took out a small knife from behind his back, cut his fingertip, and dripped a few drops of blood into it. "Well, there's no requirement for the amount of blood, right?"

"No, no," Herbert said with a smile, taking the glass and refilling it with more red wine. "As the chief witness, I need to drink a quarter of it."

After finishing his drink, he placed the glass in front of Gene. "The rest of the blood wine will be divided equally between the two of you."

Without any hesitation, Count Gene picked up his wine glass, drank half of it in one gulp, placed it on the coffee table, and pushed it in front of Charles.

Ciel looked at the wine glass, examining the blood-stained liquid, and then, under the eager gazes of the vampires and werewolves, reached out, picked up the glass, and drank it down in one gulp without a word.

"Hmm, the taste is really hard to describe." He savored the flavor, smacked his lips, and said softly.

"Now, the cooperation is officially established." Herbert turned to Gene and said, "How about it? I told you before that I wanted you to become one of his suppliers as well."

"Hmph," Gene said irritably, "your little vampire has been coming to my castle again recently."

Herbert smiled and said to Charles, "This blood wine only has a slightly off taste; it's not harmful to the body."

"Hmm." Charles nodded with a smile, but the two people opposite him couldn't see his personal panel because a strange thing had appeared on it.

"The Mysterious Pact Between Vampires and Werewolves?"