Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

Charles looked up at Lingard in the sky and let out a "whoosh." The Crusader was sent flying into the sky by Elephant's trunk, streaking across the sky like a cannonball and flying straight south.

He chose to stand next to Ganesha from the very beginning. Although Ganesha was only slightly larger than a normal elephant because of the [Sloth Finger Bone] inserted into its body, its strength remained unchanged. In fact, the smaller size of its body caused its power to be concentrated, making the power it unleashed even stronger. Standing next to it, no number of paladins could get close.

Charles's choice was wise. The Crusaders were tricked into the underground cave of Quetzalcoatl and burned by the exploding molten glue. When they finally crawled out and saw so many goblins chattering away, they would only think that the goblins were mocking them.

Given their arrogant nature, they wouldn't have taken goblins seriously at all. And that's exactly how things unfolded. When Lingard heard what Sharl said and saw a large group of goblins brandishing weapons and shouting, his expression shifted between anger and uncertainty. In the end, he charged directly at Sharl, who was leading the group.

The number of people rushing out was a bit off. Charles frowned. There should be other paladins coming out from inside. He thought for a moment, then turned and ordered Cao Cao and Chi Mu to guard the cave entrance. If any paladins escaped, they should be attacked and knocked unconscious.

The other goblins stood guard around, ready to attack if they were outmatched.

"Chief, the sword." Broken Tooth approached Charles, holding something in his hand.

"A sword?" Charles stared at Broken Tooth's hands. There was nothing in his hands, but they were still clenched in a fist, as if he did have something in them.

"Leave it to me." Charles thought for a moment, then reached out and took a metallic object from Broken Tooth's hand.

As soon as he got his hands on the item, a longsword appeared in front of him. Strictly speaking, it wasn't a longsword, but more like a long saber. Its shape was very similar to the Miao saber from his previous life, with a long handle wrapped in red leather and a long, slender blade shaped like a seedling. However, when Xia Er saw Broken Tooth, he had nothing in his hand, as if the saber had been invisible.

"Where did this come from?" Charles asked without looking up, holding the longsword horizontally between his hands and examining the blade.

"Human, dropped."

"Human?" Charles looked up at Broken Tooth and saw the other nod. "That paladin just now also seemed to be charging at me with his hand raised. He must have been holding this thing."

"A transparent longsword," Charles said with a smirk. The equipment of the Crusaders was undoubtedly good. If it could be wielded by a powerful paladin, it must be a very good weapon. It was just that this thing was a bit long. Goblins could not carry it on their waist. At most, they could only carry it on their back or hold it in their hands. "Take a look at its stats."

[Item: Siegfried's Phantom Blade]

[Quality: Epic]

[Purpose: Chopping]

[Special Effect: The true form of the longsword can only be seen when it is held in hand]

[Note: Come on, let's duel! I have nothing in my hands.]

"This," Ciel chuckled, "the weapon of the former hero?"

He had heard of this legendary hero before, whose great hobby was fighting. Many taverns used to hang up signs that read "Siegfried and his dog are not allowed." However, after he died slaying the dragon, no one hung up those signs anymore. Instead, many taverns placed a sign on a table that read, "The hero beat up two people here."

This former hero always fought unarmed, and at most he would hold a shield in one hand when facing five or more people, but now it seems that his other hand is also restless.

"Well, this is quite a gain." Charles held the transparent longsword upside down. The weapon was too long, making it rather inconvenient for goblins to use. It was estimated that only Red-Eye could use it in the entire tribe. But giving a former hero's weapon to a goblin seemed rather strange.

When Charles looked at the panel, he considered whether to give it to Little John, after all, he was the future hero. But then he thought that this weapon should be registered with the Holy Army. If Little John revealed it with his current strength, it would definitely attract attention, which might cause trouble for the Church of War.

The best solution is to temporarily store the longsword in the forest and hand it over to the future hero once both you and Little John have become stronger.

"By the way, where did you find it?" Charles turned and asked about the broken tooth, seeing his subordinate point to the bushes not far away.

"It must have been thrown away and landed there. Broken Tooth has the ability to sense things, so it probably noticed something." After thinking for a few seconds, Charles asked again, "Did you see that human?"

Broken Tooth shook his head. "It flew too far."

Charles smiled. This subordinate was quite responsible, following Lingard immediately, but still couldn't keep up with Zunesha's "parabola".

"Forget it, let's go check on those paladins." Charles, carrying his longsword, patted the elephant and walked forward. There, three paladins had already been knocked unconscious, and several others were in a sorry state, having hastily exchanged blows with Red Eyes.

After waiting a while and confirming that no paladins had emerged, Sharl led his men into the cave. Even upon entering, the air was still thick with the smell of burning flesh. Many paladins lay sprawled on the ground, their skin charred black and emitting a strange, burnt meat odor. However, their armor had only suffered minor burns, demonstrating the formidable quality of the dwarven steel and the protective spells applied to it.

"With such good equipment, we would have no chance of winning if we fought them head-on." Charles kicked the armor worn by the corpse in front of him, making a dull metallic sound. "What was the point of this? To die so young here."

"Leave a few men here to clean up this place and drag the body out to bury it." He turned to the goblins behind him and said, adding, "Bucktooth, you and your men keep an eye on things and make sure the goblins don't eat the body."

…………

Meanwhile, on the large cargo ship on Lake Dalren, the captain and sailors were idly waiting for the Crusaders to return.

"Do you think those paladins can win?" a sailor asked casually, holding his fishing rod.

"We can win, right? That's the Holy Army of the Church of War."

"Definitely."

"But the opponent is an evil god. I've heard from those adventurers that evil gods are extremely powerful."

"Stop talking nonsense, everyone!" the captain shouted, stopping the sailors' discussion. "Didn't you hear what the commander said? There won't be any accidents this time when we fight the evil god."

"But Captain, what if something really happens? What will we do?" a younger sailor asked in a low voice. "My mother is sick, and I need to go back to take care of her."

"There won't be any surprises," the captain said confidently again. "They are people that adventurers look up to."

"Besides," he paused, "if something really goes wrong, we can set sail and go down the Darren River. Nothing will be able to catch us. You know, goblins can't swim."

Upon hearing this, all the sailors breathed a sigh of relief. They had never heard of goblins being able to swim in Giraffe Town. Adventurers had told them that when they chased goblins to the riverbank, those guys either put up a stubborn resistance or jumped into the river and drowned. They had never heard of goblins being able to swim ashore.

"Everyone, just wait patiently. These Crusaders should be back in two days at most," the captain said with a smile to the sailors around him. "Then they'll settle the final payment, and we'll double our money."

These Crusaders pay a lot of money; the income from running the distance to Lake Dallen is equivalent to running to Black Lion City several times. All they need to do is guard against goblin harassment. This is why other ships don't want to accept their services, but only they are willing to.

"Hey, a fish's taken the bait!" The first sailor to speak suddenly noticed the fishing rod bending downwards. "I wonder what it is. If it's a big fish, we'll have something to eat soon."

He pulled hard on the fishing rod, trying to wrestle with his prey in the water, but as he tensed his body, the "prey" in the water was suddenly flung into the air and fell onto the deck, while the sailor fell backward due to the excessive force.

"What is this thing? It's so strong!" he cursed as he struggled to his feet, looking down at the deck to search for his prey. Then, like everyone else, he stared wide-eyed at the fish head on the deck.

It was just an ordinary fish head, less than half the size of a palm, and it looked as if someone had cut off the area below the gills with a knife.

"What's going on?" the sailor asked, puzzled. He then immediately went to the side of the ship and looked into the lake.

The lake was calm, and nothing seemed to have happened, but the sailor stared in shock, stammering, "Strange, strange, strange..." as if he had seen something frightening.

A huge fish head stared directly into his eyes. The fish head stretched out its hands and lay on the hull of the boat, with a swaying tail beneath it. Beside the monster, many other creatures of the same kind also lay on the hull.

"A monster!" As the sailor cried out in terror, the monster leaped up with a "whoosh," drawing a line of water in the air, and jumped directly onto the deck. All the sailors stood frozen in place, not daring to move. Then, several more monsters leaped onto the ship's side.

"Ah!" the captain finally cried out, and the other sailors frantically tried to escape into the cabin, but the monsters, armed with weapons, surrounded them.

"Don't hurt them," the leader of the monsters said. "The goblin leader specifically said to capture them alive and try not to harm these humans."

"Goblins?" The captain and sailors trembled like leaves, huddled together in fear.

…………

"The cargo ship 'Earn Enough to Retire,' is it yours?" Charles looked up, a smile on his face, at the trembling human in front of him.

This human captain was dressed like an ordinary person, only wearing clothes more suitable for working on water. He kept his head down, trying to avoid eye contact with the goblins.

However, his silence earned him a frown from Charles. The captain, keenly aware of this, nodded hesitantly, "Yes, it was me."

"The name is interesting; it means 'retire after you've earned enough money,'" Charles chuckled.

"Uh, I didn't name it, it was me, my father," the captain stammered.

"Your father?"

"Um."

"So he retired?"

"No, no," the captain shook his head. "After one of his cargo deliveries, he had a few too many drinks, then fell down the stairs and... died."

Charles was speechless for a moment. "I'm sorry."

The captain forced a smile, which looked more like a grimace. "No, it's nothing."

He was now somewhat surprised that the goblin in front of him could speak Common Tongue and seemed quite polite. If he ignored its sharp teeth and green skin, it should just be a short human or a dwarf. No, it couldn't be a dwarf; those guys were arrogant, noisy, and rude.

"What should I call you?" Charles continued to ask.

"Oh, me, what's my name?" The captain didn't react for a moment, but his years of experience forced him to calm down. "My name is Byron, Byron Lack."

"Then, Captain Lak..."

"You may call me Byron," the captain said immediately.

"I'll still call you Captain Byron," Charles smiled; it sounded more friendly that way. "From what you said earlier, this cargo ship belongs to you?"

"Yes, yes." Captain Byron nodded, wondering why this strange goblin would ask such a question.

"Here's the thing, I'd like to hire you to do some things for me," Charles said calmly, his face showing an innocent and harmless expression.

"Employers?" Captain Byron didn't immediately understand. "Not eating us?"

"Who told you I was going to eat you?" Charles was taken aback. Could it be that the Naga had exaggerated the story?

"Nobody, nobody," Captain Byron said with a forced smile, then muttered with a laugh, "That's what everyone else is saying."

"I understand," Charles smiled, not taking the other's words to heart. "We don't eat people, you can rest assured about that."

Hearing the goblin's assurance, Captain Byron breathed a slight sigh of relief, but he remained reserved, his entire body tense and shrunken, clearly still harboring fear and defensiveness towards the goblin before him.

"It's just some goods piled up at the dock in Giethoorn. If you'd like, you can transport them to Lake Darren for me. I'll give you a good price. Of course, we can also sign an agreement or contract."

"You can even sign contracts?" Captain Byron raised an eyebrow, surprised that the goblin in front of him knew such things.

"Of course," Charles nodded, "the price will definitely satisfy you."

"But I never, never..."

"You've never traded with goblins before, have you?"

Captain Byron fell silent when he realized that Charles had seen through his lie.

"In business, you always have to learn to look for new opportunities. Just because others haven't done something doesn't mean you can't do it." Charles smiled at Byron. "Take the first step with courage, and you might discover another world waiting for you."

"I..." Byron hesitated, unsure of what to say.

At that moment, Charles said, "How about this, we'll make a deal first. I'll not only sign an agreement, but I'll also swear an oath to the gods that I won't harm you."

"However," he changed the subject, "you and your sailors must not reveal our identities or our dealings. If you do, someone will come after you."

After speaking, Charles glanced to the side, gesturing for the other person to look.

Captain Byron followed Charles's gaze and suddenly noticed a large pile of armor not far away, the patterns on which were actually longswords with outstretched six wings.

"Those, those are..." He was stunned and speechless.

"They were the armor of the Crusaders," Charles said casually. "I've wiped them all out."