Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

Meanwhile, in an abandoned house in the east of Golden Flower City, Vivian was holding a dark leather trench coat, examining its workmanship.

"This craftsmanship is truly excellent; it looks just as good as the magical items my teacher makes." She smiled and turned to Uncle Musa, saying, "Did my brother ask you to bring this to me?"

"Yes, young master said that you are now alone in the 'wolf's den,' so you must be careful. This invisibility cloak is a standard model; you can use it even when your mental energy is exhausted." Uncle Musa looked at Vivian with the kind expression of someone looking at a daughter.

"Brother, is he still hiding in Goat Horn Town and Nightmare Forest?" Vivian couldn't help but ask when the uncle mentioned Charles. "He keeps saying he has important things to do, and now he won't let me see him."

"Young Master really does have something to do." Uncle Musa smiled somewhat awkwardly. Last time, he had used this excuse to brush off Vivian, as he had discussed with Charles. Although it was a bit heartless, given the actual situation, Vivian could still distinguish between what was important and what was urgent.

"I wonder what happened?" Even if I knew the reason, I couldn't help but complain.

Uncle Musa looked at Vivian and couldn't help but say, "You know, that's the kind of person Young Master Charles is. Your father once said that he usually seems lazy and undisciplined, but once he sets his mind on something, he will devote himself to it wholeheartedly."

"Okay, Uncle, I won't bother him," Vivian muttered irritably. "It's a big deal, don't treat it like the founding of a nation."

Uncle Musa smiled apologetically, "He misses you very much too. He told me before that he didn't really want you to participate in the investigation, but I know that's just how you siblings are; neither of you can convince the other."

Upon hearing this, Vivian didn't refute anything, but silently lowered her head, her hands gripping the leather trench coat tightly, even wrinkling it.

"Sigh," Uncle Musa sighed, "Don't worry, Charles is fine. Didn't you use divination before? It wasn't a big deal."

Vivian nodded, her eyes regaining their sparkle. "That's true. My teacher also made a prophecy that my brother will never be in any danger in the future."

"But something's strange. Teacher Afif wanted to see more of my brother's future, but all she could see was a thick fog." Her tone was somewhat doubtful, clearly unsure whether the situation was good or bad. "When I tried divination before, I also heard strange noises, but at the time, my teacher told me that perhaps the magic had malfunctioned, triggering an unexpected area."

Uncle Musa didn't know how to answer. He didn't know much about magic, so he could only give a wry smile.

"Never mind, as long as everyone's safe." Seeing the man's expression, Vivian stuck out her tongue and immediately changed her mind. "By the way, sir, how long are you staying this time?"

"I'll be leaving soon after seeing you. This meeting was just to deliver this invisibility item." Musa waved his hand with a smile. He didn't tell the other party anything about the runeword "Gate." Shar had once reminded him that this was an ancient, lost secret technique. If it were to be revealed rashly, it would attract the covetous eyes of those with ulterior motives, and all their plans would fail.

"Thank you," Vivian said with a smile and a slight bow. "I also want to thank my brother. If you see him again, please tell him that I have forgiven him for putting the crab on my head."

"You two," Uncle Musa laughed heartily and shook his head. He had watched these two siblings grow up, and they were like his own children. They were also very good; they didn't treat him like a nobleman would treat a servant. They genuinely respected him from the bottom of their hearts. "Don't worry, I will pass on the message."

"Oh, right, there's one more thing I can tell my brother," Vivian said, her smile fading and her expression turning serious. "My brother said there's something wrong with the Fran royal family. I didn't really think about it before, but something happened a few days ago."

Uncle Musa frowned as he noticed the change in the girl's expression and listened quietly.

"You know, ever since I decided to help my brother, I persuaded Teacher Victor to become an apprentice of Mr. Afif," she said with a wry smile. "Although they still argue with each other every day about 'Anna,' I must say that Mr. Afif is a very responsible and good teacher."

“He gave me a ring before,” Vivian said, raising her right hand to reveal a red gemstone ring on her index finger. “He told me that this magical item could detect potential dangers, and that the ring would heat up if the other party showed any signs of trouble.”

"What happened? Has someone approached you?" Uncle Musa immediately became alert. If someone discovered Vivian's identity, he would definitely sternly advise them to immediately end all their activities in Plantagenet City.

"No, no," Vivian shook her head, a puzzled look on her face. "A few days ago, the Second Prince gave me a valuable gift because we helped him in the field of magic. He gave me an 'Eye of the Sky'."

"The Eye of the Sky? That's the extremely valuable blue jewel?"

"Yes." Vivian nodded, then took out a bead the size of an eyeball from her body. The bead was entirely blue with tiny white patterns on it. In the center of the "eyeball," where the pupil was, was an even deeper blue with small white spots, just like the stars in the night sky.

"You mean there's something wrong with this Eye of the Sky?"

"The Eye of the Sky is nothing special, just an ordinary piece of jewelry. The problem lies with the Second Prince," Vivian said, frowning. "When I received the jewelry from him, the ring immediately became scorching hot, almost burning me. If I hadn't deliberately shown surprise at the jewelry, I might have given myself away."

"You mean, the second prince has a big problem?" Uncle Musa said. He was now certain that the one who framed the Melo family was the third prince, Theodore, but why would the second prince also trigger the reaction of the magical item?

Vivian nodded and said seriously, "I asked Teacher Afif later, and he told me that if the ring gets that hot, it means that the Second Prince has a close relationship with a strange fellow."

"A strange fellow? An assassin? Or something else?"

"It's a demon, and a demon of considerable status," Vivian slowly revealed her teacher's answer.

"The Second Prince has a close relationship with the demon?" Uncle Musa was somewhat surprised. "He's a prince of the Fran royal family, and currently the first in line to the throne, praised by the entire City of Plantagenet. How could he associate with the demon?"

This news is indeed unbelievable, considering that the infamy of demons is well-known. "The Forest Doesn't Keep Idle Goblins" was among the top-ranked fantasy novels in readers' polls! The original purpose of building the northern fortress "Giant Nest" was to prevent the demon army from crossing the boundary wall.

The fact that the kingdom's next king has a close connection with the devil, if true, is nothing short of a meticulously planned surprise attack.

"I don't know either. There weren't many opportunities to get close to the Second Prince again after that," Vivian said, biting her lip a few times. "After all, I can't be too obvious, or others will become suspicious."

"You did the right thing; safety should be the top priority," Uncle Musa immediately reassured him.

"However, I think there will be other opportunities in the future. As long as I am still the Second Prince's magic advisor, I will have the chance to get close to him and find out what he is hiding." Vivian's eyes flashed with determination, and she even seemed eager to try.

"All of this must be based on security," Uncle Musa said sternly.

“I understand, Uncle.” Vivian nodded. “By the way, I saw Archbishop Conrad again.”

She hesitated for two seconds before continuing, "He asked about my brother again. Although he asked very tactfully, he still brought it up, and I feel there are some issues."

"Archbishop Conrad? Could it just be a polite inquiry? After all, he had a good relationship with the Merlo family before, often meeting with the lord, and he was the one who stepped in to guarantee the port construction and the loan from the Chamber of Commerce Bank, using the name of the church. There shouldn't be any problems, right?" Uncle Musa said with doubt.

"I don't know. Maybe I'm overthinking it. I always associate anyone who asks about my brother with bad guys." Vivian shook her head and sighed softly. "He also cast a 'Blessing of Fate' spell on me once, saying it would have a good effect on things, but I didn't feel anything. My two teachers also used magic to detect him, but they didn't find any malice."

"In that case, keep an eye on it," Uncle Musa said after thinking for a moment. "I'll tell the young master about this; perhaps he knows why Archbishop Conrad did this."

After a brief conversation, the two realized the meeting was going on for too long. They told each other to "be careful," and Vivian put on her leather trench coat and left through a side door of the building.

The trench coat was a little too big, but overall it was fine. After turning the corner, Vivian grabbed the magic crystal on the collar with both hands, and with a "whoosh," she disappeared into the crowd on the street.

Immediately afterwards, a figure stood up on the rooftop. "Huh, where did everyone go?"

Alma pulled down her hood, her eyes wide as she scanned the crowd on the street. "I just saw him a moment ago, and he disappeared as soon as we turned the corner?"

"Could it be an invisibility spell?" she muttered to herself with some doubt. "This girl is definitely suspicious."

After saying that, she turned around and jumped off the three-story building. Her figure slowly floated to the ground, and then she rushed into the abandoned building where Vivian and Uncle Musa had just met.

There wasn't a single person in the entire building. This vacant two-story house, like the one she lived in, was somewhat old, but it was clearly just not yet rented out, and people often came to clean it.

"No one else?" Alma looked around the house. "Was she just here to look at the house? Where's the real estate agent?"

She searched the entire house but found nothing. She could only say resentfully, "I knew this 'White Shell' Miss was secretive. Looks like I need to be more careful."

After saying that, he left the house, completely ignoring the white stone ring on the floor.

…………

"Failed again?" The high priest stood up abruptly, looking at the bald man in front of him with some shock. "I knew there was something wrong with these goblins."

"You brought 2000 goblins and over 100 petrified lizards this time. There are less than 20 lizards left in the kingdom. How could you still lose?"

He gripped the bone staff tightly, his body slightly unsteady from the earlier movement, but the high priest managed to regain his balance. Baldy immediately knelt down and exclaimed, "Those goblins are difficult to deal with. This time they've brought out many things we've never seen before. I think perhaps the Naga have helped them."

"The Naga?" The high priest narrowed his eyes. "Those fish in the lake have actually allied themselves with this group of goblins?"

After the last failure, Baldy had reported the appearance of an ice magic circle, but the High Priest did not believe it easily. After all, ice magic was not a special magical effect. Besides, the Naga lived in Lake Darren, which was far enough away from the Sharl tribe that it was unlikely that the two sides would get involved.

But now Baldy has clearly stated that he saw a Naga next to Sharl, and that it was behaving very respectfully. This makes the High Priest wonder, "How did these two groups come together?"

“Now that they’ve formed an alliance, it will be very difficult for us to defeat them,” Baldy said, raising his head to look at the high priest. “Should we inform the feathered serpent god and ask him to unleash his wrath and destroy them?”

"Quetzalcoatl has fallen into a deep sleep. Unless it is something important, do not disturb it." The high priest shook his head, rejecting Baldy's suggestion.

Then, leaning on his bone staff, he slowly descended from his high seat. "Now that these two groups have come together, let's not do anything for the time being."

"The kingdom's goblins have been reduced by more than half, and it will take a very long time to return to their previous numbers," the high priest said, looking down at the bald man kneeling on the ground. "You said before that the cave dwellings had problems again during this battle?"

"Yes, High Priest," Baldy nodded hastily, saying with a hint of disappointment, "I spent a lot of time using my wisdom, as you always say, but those cavemen were too stupid. They couldn't understand my battle plan at all. They were still arguing about food when the battle was about to begin, which ultimately led to our being ambushed by the enemy."

He cursed the cavemen several times before continuing, "I think the only way to defeat those goblins is to wait for Quetzalcoatl to end his slumber and take action himself."

The high priest looked at the bald man with a "sincere" expression, but he couldn't detect any guilt on the man's face. Then he sighed and said slowly, "You're right. For goblins, wisdom is indeed exceptionally rare."

“Yes, they are not like me, they do not possess wisdom…” Baldy said immediately.

Unfortunately, the high priest interrupted him directly, "You are just like them, a fool, at most not so obviously foolish."

"Alright, you can go now." He waved his hand, dismissing the bald man. "Let's talk about this after Quetzalcoatl awakens."

Then he turned his back, ignoring Baldy's departing footsteps.

"At least for a long time, the kingdom won't have to force its members to leave."