Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

The entire City of Ten Thousand Races was littered with collapsed walls and rubble. To try to use these as cover to fight the Holy Army would be tantamount to offering one's own neck to the enemy's blade.

Fortunately, there are also many structures here that the Shire is more familiar with—the underground caves.

The city is filled with caves of all sizes. Some are inhabited by goblins from the Feathered Serpent Kingdom, while many more are abandoned. The high priest told Sharl that after the goblins in those caves are defeated, those caves are abandoned. This is mainly because the cave leaders want to establish their authority and drive their subordinates to dig new caves. This is also why there are caves everywhere in the City of Ten Thousand Races.

Now Charles has decided to make use of these burrows. Since the burrows were not connected before, he ordered his men to drive worker ants to dig the burrows together, forming a huge underground network.

The size of this network was beyond even Charles's estimation; he could only order his men to install traps and escape routes in the underground caves according to certain rules.

The burrow wasn't very high, so goblins could easily pass through. There were only a few blue glowing mushrooms scattered inside, which was enough for the goblins' night vision, but it was a real challenge for the Crusader paladins.

They could only hunch over and file in, while also trying to make their way through the dark environment of the cave. If they reached a dead end, they had no choice but to turn around and go back.

No one would notice the white stone rings hidden beneath the loose soil. The goblins on the other side of the earthen wall could easily pinpoint the paladin's location using small wooden tubes inserted into the cave wall, and thus immediately activate the controllers at hand.

The other side of the runeword "Gate" lies at the bottom of Lake Darren. These paladins suddenly find themselves at the bottom of the lake, with no time to cast spells on themselves. Moreover, they are not very good at using water-based evocation magic, and their heavy armor becomes a deadly burden. After struggling for a dozen seconds, they will lose consciousness and sink to the bottom of the lake.

At that time, with the help of the Naga, these guys were restrained and quickly transported to a building at the bottom of the lake. A huge frogman bubble had already been set up inside the building, which ensured that these paladins would only faint and not die.

The condition for Sharl's request for help from the Naga was that the paladins' armor and weapons be provided. The Naga's bodies only have long, eel-like tails below the waist, but their upper bodies are similar to those of humans. The paladins' breastplates and weapons wouldn't be too much trouble for the Naga. Furthermore, Sharl promised to ask the magic craftsman Marshall to add rust-proof runes to the equipment, making it more suitable for the Naga.

Thus, the paladins gradually fell into the Sharl's trap.

At first, they formed a battle formation and explored the city in an orderly manner, but after several goblin attacks, the paladins began to become impatient and suspicious.

It's no wonder they changed like this. Anyone would be furious to be played like this. Every few meters they walked, an explosion would occur in front of the group. A few more steps and someone would fall into a pit. After finally killing the slime in the pit and pulling their companion out, they would be hit by another explosion from who-knows-where behind them. And those who launched the sneak attacks were a group of goblins dressed in tattered clothes. After several such incidents, all the paladins were already furious.

This method of combat was something Charles had thought about for a long time before coming up with. If these paladins were to form a formation, not many armies could stand up to them head-on. Not to mention that these iron lumps were all wearing the finest dwarven steel armor and had cast various defensive spells on themselves. Even if Quetzalcoatl himself were to take to the field, he probably couldn't guarantee a victory.

Now separate these paladins, make them impatient, suspicious, and angry so that they lose their composure, and then use runic words to capture them.

The reason why Charles didn't take this opportunity to kill all the paladins but only captured them was because he had his own reasons. He thought that keeping them alive for the time being might be useful in other ways. Although dead people are useful, they are not as useful as living people.

"Brother, those humans have started running around the city like crazy." Pazzani lay down next to Charles, his fishtail swaying excitedly. "How did you even come up with this idea? The underground tunnels in the whole city are like a giant maze. When I first cast my water magic, I almost couldn't find my way out."

Prince Naga hid behind a rock from the start and activated the runeword Winter. Although the effect was limited, it did a good job of slowing down his opponent's movements. After casting the spell, he immediately crawled into a nearby hole and quickly retreated from the spot along the winding tunnel.

"This isn't something I invented; it's more like a legacy from our ancestors," Charles said with a smile and a calm tone. "When our ancestors were fighting against invasions, they combined the characteristics of their own environment to invent and create our own unique fighting methods. This is a novel tactic, and also the crystallization of the wisdom of our ancestors."

Hearing Ciel's words, Pazzani wanted to make a joke and say "ancestor of goblins," but seeing the other's serious gaze, he suddenly realized that he shouldn't do that, so he obediently shut his mouth.

He felt that what Charles said seemed to make a lot of sense, as if it were all perfectly natural.

"Maybe goblins are really powerful, after all, they have their own cities," Pazzani muttered softly, looking down at Ciel beside him.

Charles also heard what the Naga prince said, but he just smiled and didn't offer any explanation. He didn't need to explain to anyone, after all, his ancestors were indeed very powerful.

"Half of those paladins are gone now." Pazzani poked his head out from behind the stone wall, glanced at the arguing paladins, and then immediately retreated. "What do we do now?"

"Now?" Charles smirked. "It's time to give them a little push."

…………

"What should we do now, Vice Commander?" A paladin stared intently at Lingard and asked loudly, "The team is starting to lose members inexplicably. We are constantly being ambushed. Few of the paladins who went out to pursue have returned. The rest seem to have vanished into thin air. This dilapidated city is too eerie."

Lingard frowned. To be honest, he hadn't expected things to turn out this way. In his mind, he could have simply sneaked into the lair of the Feathered Serpent God and killed him with a few "Holy Slashes" while the god was asleep. Even if the god woke up and was locked in a fierce battle, the heavy casualties suffered by the paladins would have been enough to take down the immobile Feathered Serpent.

But now, members are disappearing one by one, and the team is constantly being ambushed. This makes him doubt the merchant's intelligence. Could it be that what is hiding here is not an evil god and its vassal goblins, but a well-trained and well-equipped army, which is launching an encirclement and annihilation campaign against them under the guidance of a resourceful commander?

Impossible. No organization would treat the Crusaders like this, going to such lengths to lure them here just to kill these paladins.

However, when he had contacted that merchant from the Chamber of Commerce Alliance, he clearly felt that the other party was not lying. Moreover, he had indeed seen those goblins during the previous ambush. Their round, green heads were very easy to identify. Lingard was willing to bet that even if he poked out one of his own eyes, he would not mistake them.

So who exactly is causing trouble?

He frowned and scanned the surrounding paladins. Each of them wore a genuine expression of suspicion and anger. "Could this be a conspiracy against me?"

He thought quickly, and soon an idea popped into his head: someone wanted to kill him, the chosen one of the Church of the God of War. The bishop had said before that the war of gods was very cruel, and every time they would stop at nothing. It was common for them to start wars. The most economical and practical way was undoubtedly to kill the chosen one of the opposing church. However, the chosen one was very mysterious. The church would not reveal who the chosen one was until the war of gods reached its climax.

But there is another possibility: the secrets of the Church of the God of War's selection have been stolen.

Thinking of this, Lingard trembled, his hand involuntarily tightening around the unseen longsword at his waist, and he became tense.

"Deputy Commander, please say something!" The paladin squad leader stepped forward and urged again.

Lingard narrowed his eyes, then suddenly drew his weapon from his waist. With a "whoosh," the squad leader clutched his neck with both hands, staring at Lingard in disbelief, gasping for breath.

He couldn't utter a single word, staggered back two steps, and then collapsed to the ground with a thud.

The other paladins, caught off guard, gripped their weapons tightly in panic, watching Lingard warily, fearing that their deputy commander might be possessed by something strange.

"He has betrayed his blood oath. He wants to abandon his glory and his piety to the gods. This is blasphemy, blasphemy against the great God of War." Lingard said through gritted teeth, enunciating each word clearly. "This forest is dangerous. The evil god's power caught us off guard, but that's alright. We can choose to continue exploring or go back now and summon the entire Holy Army through the church. Then we can launch a campaign against the evil god."

"Now, warriors of the God of War, do you intend to fight this vile evil god to the bitter end, or will you first endure the ridicule of mortals and then wash away your shame with blood?"

Lingard cleverly shifted the problem to all the paladins. He started by killing a leader to intimidate the others, then used his position as deputy commander to reprimand the paladins. Finally, he made it seem like the choice was up to everyone. This way, he could cleanly extricate himself from the situation, and even if something happened later, he could use the fact that it was everyone's choice to absolve himself of responsibility.

Indeed, his strategy worked. The remaining paladins began to whisper among themselves, loudly discussing and arguing. Some said they should continue searching for their missing friends, while others said they must retreat immediately to reduce casualties. Gradually, more and more people supported retreating. After all, they were just paladins of the church, and their own lives were more important. They were not heroes who could slay demons and dragons; there had only been one Siegfried in over 100 years.

"Very good, since everyone supports it, then let's go back..." Seeing that everyone was gradually reaching a consensus, Lingard nodded and prepared to issue the order.

Unfortunately, fate seemed to be working against him. A voice came from behind the stone wall in the distance, "I have been imprisoned for ten thousand years and banished from my homeland."

"What's that sound?" The paladins looked around in alarm. "How can there be a universal language here? Is it an evil god?"

"Quiet!" Lingard shouted, silencing the crowd's panic. "Ten thousand years? Is this evil god that powerful?"

He looked into the distance with some suspicion, feeling uncertain in his heart.

"Now you dare to trespass into my territory? You're courting death," the voice continued, growing louder and louder.

"The sound is coming from over there." A paladin pointed ahead, and everyone else looked in the direction he was pointing, including Lingard.

Then they saw a scene they would never forget.

A short goblin, dressed in ridiculous clothes, stood at the foot of a crumbling stone wall, holding a black megaphone and shouting at them, "You're all courting death!"

"Goblins? Ten-thousand-year-old goblins?" The paladins murmured among themselves, while Lingard frowned and immediately understood what was going on. "It's all a trick. There are no magical traps here at all. It's all just a goblin prank. They dug all sorts of traps in advance, and our companions just fell into them."

"Grab him! Don't let him get away! This goblin who speaks Common must be a leader. He must know something!" he shouted. The remaining paladins, hearing their deputy commander's order, immediately reacted, raising their weapons and rushing towards Shire.

"Alright, we've finally made our dream come true. Now let's go." Charles immediately jumped off the stone wall, called over Pazzani who was still looking bewildered, and stepped into the portal. Broken Tooth immediately started operating, and with a "whoosh," Charles and the Naga Prince disappeared from the spot, while Broken Tooth immediately disappeared into the shadows.

"Come out here!" Several paladins kicked down the crumbling stone wall in front of them, but they found nothing. There wasn't even a goblin in sight, only a few footprints on the ground.

"Ahead!" A sharp-eyed paladin spotted several goblins darting quickly between the rocks in the distance.

"Chase after them and capture them alive," Lingard shouted.

The paladins, weapons still raised, charged toward the goblins in the distance.

But when they chased it to the edge of some ruins, the goblin had vanished. "Where did it go? Where did the goblin go?"

"On the left!" a paladin shouted, and everyone looked again. Sure enough, several goblins were leaping over stones and running quickly through the bushes.

"Chase them," Lingard said through gritted teeth. "This time, leave no survivors, just the leader."

The paladins, still brandishing their weapons, charged to the left, yelling and shouting.