Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

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The vast Daren Lake is located in the heart of Nightmare Forest. Its waters are turquoise and clear. Meltwater from the snow-capped mountains to the north flows along the foothills, through the entire northern part of the forest, and into Daren Lake, becoming one of the main sources of its water.

Many streams and rivers in the forest flow into Lake Daren and then flow out of the lake, with the Daren River, which flows south, being the largest of them.

The lake is teeming with various kinds of fish. At this moment, a carnivorous fish rushed forward, chasing its prey. Just as it was about to catch up, there was a muffled "plop" sound as an ice spike pierced through it. Then the ice spike was pulled back, along with the writhing carnivorous fish.

"Keep your voice down, have you forgotten what His Highness said?" a voice rang out.

"I couldn't resist for a moment," the guy who caught the fish whispered. Then all the other fish around him opened their eyes. In the deep lake, thousands of eyes glowing with green light stared at the surface, where the bottom of a cargo ship was floating.

"My lord, will you really be back soon? You know, humans cannot survive in the Nightmare Forest for more than three days, and we still have to sail out of the Darren River..." The captain stammered, not daring to look up at the Crusader's vice commander.

"Don't worry, the battle will be over soon," Lingard said, standing on the ship's railing as a small squad of Crusader warriors rowed a small boat toward the shore. "You wait here. We'll come back for you after the battle."

"That's right, that's right." The captain pushed away the sailor's hand behind him, nodding and bowing with a fawning smile.

Lingard also noticed the sailors' actions. He snorted and paid no attention to these mortals. They were terrified of the Nightmare Forest and everything in it, but for the Crusaders, the only thing in the forest that could interest them was the evil god.

"What if those goblins climb onto the ship?" a sailor behind the captain muttered, and the person next to him immediately covered his mouth.

Lingard watched as another group of Crusader warriors boarded a small boat and prepared to row towards the shore. "Don't worry, those goblins can't swim. You'll be safe on the boat."

He made no attempt to hide the disdain in his tone, whether directed at the goblins or the sailors. He had pretended to bless these sailors before they left port, but now it seemed that mortals were indeed unreliable.

"Commander, it's our turn," a Crusader soldier stepped forward to report.

Lingard waved his hand. "Get on board and let's begin our journey."

Finally, the last small boat swayed precariously toward the shore amidst the slightly panicked gazes of the sailors beside it.

"I hate this place," Lingard said, glancing down at the mud on his feet. His leg armor was covered in mud; he had stepped into it the moment he jumped off the boat. "Dirty, primitive, and full of evil."

He then glanced at the surrounding Crusader warriors, seeing that everyone was ready and the small boats were tied to trees on the shore to ensure they wouldn't get lost. "Paladins," he said, "I think you all know why we're here."

"An evil god, an evil god from the Nightmare Forest, is wreaking havoc. It has already killed countless humans. Now we must defeat it, kill it!" Lingard stood before the paladins, loudly encouraging them. "It's merely a high-ranking magical beast, yet those foolish adventurers have bestowed upon it the name of a god. This is blasphemy against the Four Gods, and the greatest insult to the God of War and Glory. As the Holy Crusaders of the God of War, do you still remember your blood oath?"

"We remember," all the paladins answered in unison.

"For glory, to protect the weak, to crush evil!" Lingard shouted. "Slay the evil god, burn its body with fire, bury it completely, uphold the name of the God of War, and we will be known to the world: the God of War is supreme!"

"The God of War is supreme!" All the paladins pounded the six-winged sword pattern on their chest armor and shouted in unison.

"Okay." Lingard nodded, then raised his hand and cast several holy spells on himself: "Protection from Evil," "Shield of Devotion," "Sanctuary," "Holy Weapon," and "Anti-Magic Shield." Several spells were directly applied to him, causing a faint aura to shimmer around his body.

As he moved, the other paladins also drew their weapons and began casting various defensive spells on themselves. Soon, the entire paladin team was shimmering with a faint, multicolored aura.

"Very good, advance, leave no one alive." Lingard waved his hand, and the Crusaders began to march into the forest.

…………

"They're already this way?" Charles frowned, looking at Broken Tooth, who was panting slightly.

His answer was a series of heavy nods from Duan Ya.

"These guys really don't waste any time, they're straight to their target." Charles pursed his lips. He had sent Broken Tooth to guard the water's edge beforehand. After the large cargo ship sailed into Lake Dallen, he observed them from the shadows. When he learned that these guys had cast several defensive spells on him after disembarking, he knew that there would be no room for maneuver in today's battle.

The other side's goal was clear: to kill the evil god. If they couldn't find the evil god, they would probably expand their search. At that point, they would definitely discover the piles of broken bones and tattered snake skins in the cave under the stone tower. Discovering those things would already arouse the suspicion of the Holy Crusade, and they might even come back to search the area multiple times.

The construction of the goblin city cannot be interrupted by them.

Charles clenched his fists a few times. "It seems this is a major test of our strength."

"Everyone, according to the previous orders, quickly take your positions," he shouted. Thousands of goblins scattered around him, carrying all sorts of weapons, and began to disappear into the ruined city of the City of Ten Thousand Races.

"Let the enemy be swallowed by a vast ocean of goblins."

…………

"Commander," a Crusader squad leader approached Lingard, "there really is a city here."

"If this is what you call a city, then the sand sculptures that kids build on the beach can also be called castles," Lingard said dismissively. "They're just ruins. How could those goblins understand architecture?"

"That merchant wasn't lying to us; there really should be a Feathered Serpent God here," the squad leader cautiously reminded them.

"Are you scared?" Lingard glanced at the other man, causing the squad leader to take a half-step back.

"That's an evil god, after all. Are there enough of us?"

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Lingard snorted. "It's winter now, and snakes' bodies will definitely be affected. As long as we seize the opportunity, we'll definitely be able to kill it. In comparison, I'm more worried about you guys. Will you be too tired to lift your arms when you're chopping off goblin heads?"

"You're so wise, you have a penchant for fantasy novels? Click to enter your personal library! I completely forgot that snakes hibernate in winter." The squad leader's eyes widened immediately.

"I would never joke with the lives of a Crusader," Lingard smiled, glancing at the surrounding paladins. "This is a great opportunity for us to make a name for ourselves, and another chance for the world to witness the achievements of the Church of War. Good luck, everyone."

The paladins raised their weapons in unison and slapped the markings on their chests with their other hands. Now that they had entered the goblin "city," they refrained from shouting again to avoid disturbing the goblins.

However, their high morale did not last long. Before all the paladins could put down their weapons, a dazzling white line rushed towards them with a "whoosh".

A series of crackling sounds followed, and a gust of cold wind mixed with white smoke rushed towards them, making it impossible for the entire paladin team to open their eyes. After they lowered their arms to shield themselves and exhaled a breath of white air, they discovered that a third of the team members had been frozen solid.

"Is this ice magic?" The squad leader stared wide-eyed at everything in front of him in disbelief. The entire ground was covered with a layer of solid ice, and even the weeds and bushes on the ground were frozen in the ice. The unfortunate paladins were completely motionless, their bodies covered with several centimeters of ice, and the only part of their bodies that could move was their eyes.

"Quickly, save them!" Lingard shouted. These paladins had cast holy spells on themselves before the battle, which could somewhat resist magic. This ice spell wouldn't kill them for the time being; at most, it would affect their bodies and slow their movements, but it was more than enough to deal with goblins.

Soon, the remaining paladins rushed forward, using their weapons to shatter the ice and rescue their companions. They then cast healing spells on them multiple times in an attempt to alleviate their suffering.

"How can there be such a large area of ​​magic here?" Lingard frowned, looking at the "ice rink" in front of him that resembled a giant mirror. "Such a large coverage area is even larger than the spells of those high-level Evocation Mages. Could this be the spell of an evil god?"

His expression shifted between light and shadow as he began to hesitate about whether to continue the mission. But the thought of the large cargo ship on Lake Dalun and the crew of sailors on board filled him with disgust.

"I can't go back. If I go back, everything will be over." He gritted his teeth and looked at the paladin who had regained his mobility.

"Everyone, we need to speed things up! This must be a defensive spell from the evil god. If we don't hurry, it might wake up!" Lingard shouted to the Crusaders, while his other hand pressed against his waist, where an invisible sword hilt seemed to be.

"Commander, we..." a paladin said hesitantly.

Everyone knew what he was going to say, but Lingard waved his hand to interrupt him. "Paladin, have you forgotten your blood oath, or do you intend to go back now and stand before those mortals like a deserter, listening to their mockery and their disdainful looks?"

"I...I want to charge with my sword," the paladin said loudly, puffing out his chest.

"Very good, everyone, move quickly." Lingard was very satisfied with the team's morale. Everyone became excited again. After all, the ice array hadn't done much to them. Except for a few who seemed to have fallen behind, there weren't any major changes.

The column advanced rapidly, and the number of dilapidated buildings around them increased. The Crusaders knew they were approaching the city center, where a hibernating evil god was washing its neck and quietly awaiting their arrival.

"Hurry, those behind, keep up!" Lingard urged the paladins behind him. It was clear that the ice array had had a significant effect. Even though they had been healed several times, it only relieved the paladins' skin, and the icy cold air still seeped into their bodies.

"I guess the only way to relieve the pain is to warm myself by the fire," Lingard said in a low voice, frowning.

Then, as if the gods had heard his prayers, a series of explosions rang out, and screams of agony came from the front of the column. The sound of armor clashing was incessant. Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, Lingard stared wide-eyed at the dozen or so people in front of him who had already fallen to the ground.

"How could there be an explosion?" He immediately organized the others to begin treating the paladins who had fallen to the ground. Fortunately, the explosion was not very powerful, and many people only suffered some scratches and internal organ tremors, and were otherwise unharmed.

After several healing spells, the wailing paladins gradually calmed down, but their movements became somewhat uncoordinated.

"Commander, there's a problem over there. I think I just saw something." A paladin quickly came to Lingard's side and pointed to a cave entrance to the left front.

"You mean there's something going on there?"

"Yes, a few green heads have just peeked out; I think they're goblins."

"Goblins?" Lingard scoffed. "Then let's kill them. Send a few men to the cave and kill them."

He shouted orders, emphasizing the need to boost morale, and that goblin heads would be perfect props.

Upon hearing this, the five paladins immediately drew their swords and rushed into the cave. The cave was rather low, so they had to hunch over to explore, but none of them showed any fear on their faces; on the contrary, they were filled with excitement.

"There are footprints here; it should be inside," a paladin shouted.

"Charge in and take them down!" the others shouted in agreement, their excitement evident.

As they ventured deeper, they heard "gibberish" sounds coming from inside the cave, clearly the voices of goblins. Soon, the paladins reached the end of the cave.

"Huh? Why is this place blocked off?" A paladin asked, pressing his hand against the cave wall in front of him. "The soil is very fresh; it must have been just dug."

Just as he turned around to say something to his teammates, with a "whoosh," he vanished right before their eyes.

The remaining people were stunned and stood there, then they all backed away, even falling together due to the collision.

"How could this be? How could it just disappear like that?" a paladin murmured.

Another paladin stepped forward, trying to check the surroundings to see if there was an unseen hole in front of him that had caused his companion to fall in. But when he reached the earthen wall, he vanished in a flash.

Dead silence. The cave was completely silent.

Then someone shouted, "Quickly, go report to the Deputy Commander!"

"This place is eerie."

The remaining few people ran towards the exit on all fours, and no one noticed that a white stone was exposed under the loose soil in front of the earthen wall.