Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

"Is this the gate through which you pass through the planes?" Charles stepped forward and examined the thing in front of him called the "Gate of the Planes".

Of course, it is also known as the "Devil's Gate" by humans. The entire gate is made of stone, with only the door frame remaining. Moreover, the stone door frame is also strangely shaped, looking like a "moon gate" more than two meters high built with strange stones in a garden in a previous life.

Moreover, the material of those stones is similar to that in the mine, so perhaps a door "grew" out of the mine floor.

"This is the first time I've ever seen a dimensional gate." Charles curiously reached out and gently knocked on the "gateway." The sensation from his fingers told him that it was just an ordinary stone, nothing special.

"I have seen a few dimensional portals." Diana stood behind Charles, looking up at the portal. "They all look the same, but they all have one thing in common: they all grow rapidly from the ground like plants."

"After we stepped out of this door, the red mist flowing through the middle of it disappeared, and since then, the Bloodhoof tribe has been left here." The tauren chieftain stood to the side, his chest puffed out, but his tone still revealed a hint of melancholy.

Hearing the minotaur's words, Shire turned to look at him. "Bane, how long have you been here?"

"Chief, we don't know. Since we came into this world, we haven't left this vast underground mine." Baine Bloodhoof shook his head, the blond fur on his neck swaying. "We have no idea what it's like outside."

"Could it be a precise location, deliberately chosen for the crossing?" Xia Er gently patted the stone pillar. He was very interested in this dimensional gate. You know, there are many caves or underground ruins in the forest. If the demon lord finds another cave to build a dimensional gate, the scene of the demon army ravaging the forest at that time is no joke.

“As far as I know,” Diana stepped forward and looked up, “a dimensional portal doesn’t necessarily achieve the ‘precise positioning’ you’re talking about. I’ve personally dealt with two dimensional portals before. One appeared in a farmer’s barn, and the other appeared in a large family’s underground cemetery.”

"A barn? A cemetery?"

"Yes," Diana nodded. "I contacted those two families back then, and the investigation revealed that they were both kind people. Those two dimensional gates had nothing to do with them. The cemetery incident was because they didn't frequent it, and as a result, the corrupted ones chose it as the 'anchor point' for building the dimensional gate. As for the barn incident, we never found out why it appeared."

"So, sometimes the demon lord will randomly throw out a demon gate, and where it lands and whether it works are all random?"

"That's one way to put it." Diana pursed her lips. "Of course, if a contractor uses magic granted by a demon lord as an anchor point, the dimensional gate will be easier to construct."

Upon hearing this, Charles pondered for a few seconds before suddenly saying, "So, the dimensional gate is very likely a type of magic wielded by the demon lord, but it has certain conditions for being cast?"

"If that's what you're saying, then it makes sense," Diana shrugged.

"The Demon Lord's magic..." Charles muttered to himself. He was considering whether he could obtain a dimensional gate from there in the future. If he did, would that mean he could travel to the Eternal Darkness Dimension? Or, could he anchor the dimensional gate to his own world and then freely travel to any place he wanted?

Seeing Charles frown and lower his head, Diana tilted her head slightly. "What are you thinking about?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Charles chuckled, changing the subject. "I was wondering, can't this door be used to go back to the demon realm?"

“Some dimensional gates are one-way,” Diana pointed to the strange “moon gate” in front of her. “Like this one, it’s one-way. But in history, some are two-way, like the huge demon gate of the ‘Creation Whip’ before, which was two-way.”

"You mean the time with the Dark Duke?"

"Yes, historical records show that some demon armies escaped back to the Eternal Darkness through that Demon Gate, which was later destroyed."

These words reassured Charles somewhat. After thinking for a moment, he said to Baine, the minotaur beside him, "Since you can't go back anyway, why don't you just smash it?"

Bain sighed deeply. "We've wanted to smash it many times before, but we all still held onto a sliver of hope that one day the dimensional gate would reopen and bring us back."

"Take it back? Is the Eternal Dark Dimension a good idea?"

“It’s better than this underground mine,” Bain said, raising his hand slightly as if searching for distant memories. “Although there’s no light there either, huge bolts of lightning sometimes streak across the sky, illuminating everything on the ground. We also have several campfires, and as long as we live near them, we don’t feel cold. But here, we don’t even dare to light a small fire.”

What Bain said was easy for Shire to understand: the tauren must live in the lowest level of the mine. If a fire were lit there, it would easily deplete the oxygen, and then the Bloodhoof tribe would be wiped out.

They may be simple-minded, but they are not stupid.

Thinking of this, he turned and walked to Bain's side, smiling at him. "Could you tell me about the tauren and the demon lords?"

"We can talk at the tribe's resting place," Bain said, pointing to a distant mine. "It's more comfortable there than here."

"it is good."

…………

This is a mine hall covering an area of ​​about 100 square meters, roughly the same size as the previous meeting place of the kobold lords.

A number of minotaurs stood around, huddled together somewhat nervously, hesitant to approach, while Shire, Diana, and Bane sat in the middle of the hall.

The ground was covered with some unidentified animal hides, which were probably brought from the Eternal Dark Plane by the Bloodhoof tribe. There were also a lot of yellowish-brown hairs on the ground, it was unclear whether these minotaurs had rubbed them off themselves or deliberately plucked them.

Charles looked at the little minotaurs in the distance, clinging to their loved ones' legs and hiding behind them. They were already a head taller than him, but their mannerisms made them look like children of only a few years old.

He waved to the children, then reached into his lower back and pulled out a few pieces of dried meat, gesturing for the children to take them.

The little minotaurs clung tightly to their parents' tattered trousers, hesitant to approach. However, when their leader, Bain, beckoned, the children dared to come over and accept the jerky.

"Eat slowly." Charles watched as the little minotaurs took the food and then disappeared back into the crowd without looking back, leaving only their heads peeking out to curiously observe the scene.

"They're all starving," Charles said, turning to Diana.

"Food is scarce here," Bain sighed, then looked at the minotaurs. "Thank you, Chief."

"It's nothing," Charles waved his hand. "Let's talk about the Eternal Dark Dimension."

"In the Eternal Darkness, we tauren are all vassals of the demon lord Wrath," Baine Bloodhoof said, glancing slightly at Diana sitting beside the Sharl. She was clearly human, and to humans, demon lords were either a great threat or their fanatically worshipped masters. Surprisingly, Diana, wearing a half-white cat-face mask, showed no expression. The tauren paused, then continued, "We have many tribes, all residing outside Wrath's enormous palace."

"It's a dark red, bloody palace, isn't it?" Diana added expressionlessly from the side.

"Yes, yes." Bain nodded quickly.

"Let's continue."

"Oh," the minotaur clearly respected the "Four-Sword Style" girl, and even showed a little fear. "At the time, we were told that we needed to choose a tribe to be sent to the material plane, but no one told us the specifics until the Bloodhoof tribe walked out of the plane gate. I originally thought that other tribes would come here later, but after that, there has been no news."

"Even now, perhaps that was what we were banished from back then."

"Why should we exile you?" Charles asked, puzzled.

"In the Eternal Darkness Plane, we never see light. Only when a huge lightning bolt streaks across the sky do we feel a moment of light. Life there is very difficult, and it is not easy to obtain food. Our tribe is the weakest, so the task of passing through the plane gate naturally falls to the Bloodhoof tribe."

"You," Charles frowned, "didn't you go and ask someone about this?"

“Nobody cares about us. The other tribes are like that, and so are the great demons. As for the Lord’s anger,” Bain shook his head and gave a wry smile, “it has been sitting on its enormous throne of a thousand swords and has never paid any attention to its vassals.”

"The Throne of a Thousand Swords?" Charles felt like he had heard of this before, so he turned to look at Diana.

"Legend has it that Wrath likes to sit on a throne made of ten thousand swords of various kinds to demonstrate his power."

After hearing Diana's explanation, Charles pouted and muttered under his breath, "Aren't you afraid of tetanus?"

Bain glanced at the two of them, waited a few seconds, and then continued, "The lord will ignore everyone. We also have to be wary of him sometimes going crazy in anger. He will spread his wings and fly into the air, and then the orange-red ring of fire will spread out. Those flames will crash directly to the ground like fire meteors."

"Is he that crazy?" Charles pursed his lips. "Why?"

"I don't know. Sometimes it might be provocation from other demon lords, sometimes it might be that I don't like what's around me, and sometimes it's just wanting to vent."

Hearing this, Charles rubbed his cheek. It seemed that the demon lords were also living a very frustrating life after losing some parts.

He thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "What is the true form of anger?"

Although the four major churches and some books contain articles and records describing demon lords, Sharl was still very curious because he had actually seen "living" minotaurs in front of him.

“It’s huge,” Bain gestured, “taller than a mountain, with dark red skin like dried blood, huge curved horns on either side of its head, and here,” Bain pointed to his forehead, “there’s a scar here.”

He then continued his description: "A huge, jagged white bone spur grew from his angry back, extending all the way to the end of his tail, which could destroy a small mountain with a single sweep."

"On either side of the bone spike are a pair of enormous wings, those wings," Bain paused, narrowing his eyes, "are entirely made of flames, and they are always burning. If it sits on its throne, the flaming wings will completely retract and disappear, but if it leaps up in anger, the wings will unfold with a 'whoosh'."

"It looks similar to the images in various paintings," Charles muttered, "but I didn't expect it to have fiery wings."

"What about the other demon lords?" Diana asked directly, listening more attentively than Charles.

"Uh, we've only ever seen greed." Bain scratched his ribs somewhat awkwardly.

"Tell me about it," Charles said, intrigued.

"These demon lords sometimes fight each other, fighting over territory or something," Bain recalled, then nodded a few times. "Not every demon lord has vassals; I only know of those with anger, greed, and arrogance."

Seeing the goblin raise his eyebrows, looking like he was listening attentively, the tauren continued, "Every demon lord has demons of varying ranks under him. These cannot be considered vassals. Just as we tauren are vassals of wrath, the vassals of the demon lord's greed are the insectoids."

"Zerg?"

"Hmm, a huge swarm of insects, very large, the smallest being the size of a dog. They are ferocious, knowing only how to kill and eat."

"How could insects become slaves to greed?"

“That’s because,” Bain sighed, “greed is actually a vast swamp of silt.”

"Isn't it supposed to look like a big-bellied demon?" Diana suddenly interrupted Bane, noting that its greedy appearance was quite different from what this world was portraying.

“No, that’s just the appearance of the great demons under Greed,” Bain shook his head. “The real Greed is that ever-expanding sludge. It keeps expanding, covering the earth, and devouring everything on the ground. Its demon army just lives on the sludge, and so do those insectoids.”

"An ever-expanding silt?" Charles frowned. "How big is it?"

"It's huge," Bain said, gesturing with his arms outstretched. "It covered the plains, the mountains, and even swallowed the rivers."

"What about the battle with anger?" Diana asked.

"It kept expanding, and some of its tentacles reached into the territory of the Angry, so the two sides fought a few times, and that's when we first encountered the Zerg and the Sludge."

"However, greed seemed to be powerless against the onslaught of furious flames; the patch of mud that had been extended was ignited and then retreated."

"Interesting," Charles chuckled softly. The true form of the gluttonous demon lord was actually a mud that devoured everything on the ground, which was completely different from the image portrayed in the propaganda. However, this was understandable. It was estimated that none of the guys who had peeked at the demon lord would have mistaken that mud for the demon lord's true form.

After thinking about this, he asked again, "What about arrogance?"

“Pride,” Bain thought for a moment, paused for a few seconds before continuing, “we’ve never seen Pride in person, but we’ve fought against its vassals.”

"Its vassal?"

"Yes, the arrogant vassals are a group of dark-skinned elves who call themselves dark elves, or drow elves."

"Are the drow elves subservient to arrogance?" Charles raised an eyebrow. Agatha had told him before that there were three types of elves: the ancient high elves, the tree elves who were always clamoring to return to the "Great Dome," and these drow elves.

"Yes." Bain nodded.

"Then, when did this drow elf arrive in the Dark Realm?"

"When?" Bane raised his hand and scratched the hair on his waist. "They were there when I was born. No, they were there when my great-great-grandfather was alive."

Upon hearing this answer, Sharl opened his mouth. Tauren probably didn't have the habit of recording written history, so they couldn't say for sure what the exact time was.

However, they are indeed excellent warriors, physically strong, with a good fighting tradition, and they like to follow orders. More importantly, once they pledge allegiance, they will be very loyal.

Of course, this is on the premise that you treat them as people, not as something dispensable.

The Bloodhoof tribe had previously sworn allegiance to the Shard tribe, which caused changes to the Shard's stats.

[Subordinates: 4973/4985]

The number of his subordinates has grown from more than 4800 to almost 5000, and all of these minotaurs have been converted into loyal subordinates, with not a single one wavering.

He was still a few steps away from activating the [Personal Spellbook], which annoyed him. He even considered contacting a kobold clan later to see if he could persuade them to join.

However, Charles has promised to arrange for someone to pick up these minotaurs as soon as he returns, and the method of picking them up is to have someone bring a portal directly over.

The mine entrance was too small for the minotaurs to enter or exit, and for the sake of secrecy, Shar didn't plan to enlarge it. He even planned to make the entrance more hidden so that no one would discover the group of kobolds and no one would come to steal the magic crystals.

It's better for the meat to rot in the pot than for someone else to eat it.

The Shire also considered using military pay to recruit these minotaurs and to find a way to equip them with armor and weapons.

He had considered changing the tribe's current production model and introducing an employment and wage system. Diana had previously mentioned to Sharl that if goblins could not develop a standing army, military training would be of little significance. After all, after a few days of training, they would have to do other things, such as gathering herbs or digging holes, which would be detrimental to military training.

This required Charles to assign tasks to his nearly 5000 subordinates, assigning them jobs according to their individual habits.

Although he had previously used various snacks and beer to deepen the community's understanding of "silver coins" and "wages," it would take more time for all members to gradually accept this concept.

Just like at the beginning, when sheepskins were distributed to his subordinates, the concept of private ownership of items was implanted into the goblins' minds through various means.

Then, with the construction of the forest city, the concept of personal housing and families can be gradually promoted after the houses are built.

By then, the goblin canteen will probably be able to charge a fee.

This move cannot be made hastily; it must be made steadily.

After the subordinates gradually accept the concept of wages or military pay, the goblins strengthen their personal economic system by intervening in internal strife within the Kingdom of Fran and other means of warfare.

Eventually, a true goblin kingdom was formed.

"Alright, we know a little bit about it now." Charles put his hands on his knees, stood up, patted his pants, and then, seeing the hopeful looks in the little minotaurs' eyes, waved to them again and took out a few more jerky sticks from his back.

"I will bring people back here in a couple of days. Don't worry, I won't abandon you here like I did in anger."

"Well, Chief," Bain stood up, then tugged at his trousers with a hint of unease, "it's perfect that you're here. There are a few young men in the Bloodhoof tribe who have just come of age, and you can help them get circumcised."

"An IUD?" Charles raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

"This is our coming-of-age ceremony," Bain said, pointing to the metal ring he wore in his ear. "It's our tradition for a leader to put the ring on a young person."

Charles looked at the iron ring on Baine's left ear, then glanced around at the other minotaurs. Indeed, many of them wore iron rings, some on their ears, some on their noses, and some on their brows.

"Well, I'm not really good at it either..." Charles wanted to decline, but then he thought of it as a Minotaur tradition, so he thought for a moment and said, "How about this, in a few days, in my territory, I'll put the rings on them again, and I'll prepare the new rings then."

Upon hearing what Charles said, Bain immediately nodded emphatically.

"Is there anything else?"

"When you bring people here, could you... could you bring some food?"

"Food?" Charles smiled. "What would you like to eat?"

"Beef, big chunks of beef!" The little minotaur in front of them said loudly while chewing on jerky, and several children were already drooling over it.

Upon hearing the child's words, Charles was stunned. "You...you eat beef too?"

"Uh, we," Bain waved his hand, shooing the little minotaurs away, and then said somewhat embarrassedly, "we do eat beef. Back in the Dark Dimension, many tribes raised livestock."

"You are not..." Ciel raised a finger and pointed to his temple. He wanted to say that they were minotaurs who ate beef.

"We just look like cows. After all, we're not the same kind of creature as cows. Besides, beef tastes pretty good, and we love it." Bain grinned, revealing a set of sharp teeth.

Charles glanced at the other's teeth and noticed that they did indeed look different from the teeth of cattle used for grinding food; the minotaur's teeth looked more like those of a meat-eater.

"Okay, I got it. I'll bring lots of meat when I come." Charles nodded with a smile, and then he saw all the minotaurs raise their arms and cheer.

For a moment, the sound of "mooing" could be heard everywhere.

Even more remarkably, some Tauren began singing war dance songs, and the other Tauren started joining in.

Charles shook his head, grabbed Bain's hair at the waist, and gestured for him to move aside.

"There's one more thing I need you to do."

"Please give your orders, Chief." Bain nodded heavily.

"Come with me to see those kobolds. I need to explain to them that the problem has been resolved."

"Kobolds?" Bane curled his lip in disdain.

But seeing Charles's gaze, he nodded in agreement.