Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

"Rondo, we'll go pick that kid up tomorrow."

In the temporary residence of the Golden Flower City, Grand Duke Rudel strode to a chair and sat down with a flourish.

Years of military service made him dislike sitting on comfortable sofas; instead, he preferred spacious, sturdy, high-backed wooden chairs.

Standing opposite the Grand Duke was a middle-aged monk, dressed in a brown robe and sporting a finely trimmed goatee.

"Yes, Your Grace, I will handle things here," the middle-aged mage nodded and continued, "Things are almost settled, and the wrongly accused distillery manager has been released."

"No, Rondo," the Grand Duke shook his head solemnly, "you need to come with me."

"Am I going to the East City Prison too?" Rondo's expression hardened. "Have things really come to this?"

"Things will only get faster. You know my military philosophy: I always prepare for the worst." Grand Duke Rudel gently patted the armrest of his chair. "Although His Majesty the King has issued me a warrant, Plantagenet is in too much chaos right now, and we must be fully prepared."

"This..." the mage Rondo pondered, but his expression did not show much change.

Seeing that the other party remained silent, the Grand Duke of the North said in a deep voice, "If things don't go smoothly, I hope you can use your magical powers to help me open the prison gates."

"I understand," Longdo nodded emphatically after a few seconds of silence. "As your magical advisor, I will obey your orders."

"Once we get that kid, we'll leave Goldflower City immediately and head straight for the Giant's Nest. What happens after that is no longer our concern." The Grand Duke sighed. He had better promise the old king that he would ensure the safety of the important northern fortress, the Giant's Nest, while also monitoring the Argonian cavalry. After a decisive battle was fought within the country, he would pledge allegiance to the successor. He believed that by then, whoever ultimately ascended the throne would not easily provoke this "Thunderhawk of the North."

With a creak, the door to the small conference room was pushed open, and a guard came to the Grand Duke carrying two teacups.

"You know I don't like drinking this kind of thing. It would be better if there were wine." The Grand Duke frowned, looking at the yellow drink in the teacup.

"Your Grace, it's best if you don't drink alcohol, especially since you mentioned before we set off that this is a military operation and drinking is prohibited for the entire army." Rondo smiled and waved for the guards to leave, then picked up a teacup and examined the liquid inside.

The Grand Duke of the North was stationed at the Great Nest year-round. He disliked those soft, cuddly maids and often said, "I value tall women who can lift a large bundle of hay more than maids." Therefore, those who worked around him were mostly sword-wielding guards.

"Alright," Grand Duke Rudel smacked his lips, as if savoring the taste of the wine, then reached for the teacup on the table. "What's this?"

"My lord, this is a popular drink in the capital recently, called 'Red Bull'." The guard, who hadn't yet left, immediately puffed out his chest and said with his head held high.

"Red Bull, that name sounds powerful." The Grand Duke smiled, then waved for the guards to leave. He lowered his head, took a sip, and then pursed his lips. "I must say, this stuff still doesn't taste as good as fine wine."

"I've heard this stuff is really invigorating," Rondo said with a smile, taking a sip. "I can take some with me when I go back."

"By the way, Rondo," the Grand Duke said, downing the rest of his Red Bull in one gulp before calmly asking, "Have you ever heard of the Mist Mountain Hermitage?"

"The Hermitage of Mist Mountain?" The mage Rondo glanced at the Grand Duke and asked with some doubt, "Is it some strange organization? It sounds like a secret organization that studies magic."

Grand Duke Rudel leaned back in his chair, gently patting the armrest with his hand. "No, they should be a very secretive organization, hiding behind the scenes, plotting many shocking conspiracies."

"Is that so?" Rondo put down his teacup, then looked at the ceiling. After a few seconds, he shook his head. "Well then, the Sorcerer's Association is having a meeting in a few days. As you know, I'm an attendee of the association. I'll ask the other high-ranking mages for you then, and see if they can find any clues."

"That's all we can do." The Grand Duke sighed softly. According to the old king, his sister's death might be related to the Hermitage of Mist Mountain. As his beloved family member, the Grand Duke vowed to find out the truth.

"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now," said the monk Longduo, noticing that the Grand Duke of the North didn't look well. He wisely put down his teacup. "You should also get some rest, as tomorrow's matters are even more important."

"Alright, I understand." Grand Duke Rudel nodded, stood up, and watched his magic advisor leave the room.

Patrolling soldiers from the North passed by in the corridor, and each time they saw Master Rondo, they would bow respectfully and greet him.

Rondo simply smiled and waved, signaling the soldiers to continue their patrol, while he himself slowly walked back to his room.

With a "click," the door was gently closed. Rondo stood in the center of the room and waited quietly for ten seconds. Seeing that there was no movement around him, he put his hands together. Then, as he opened his palms, a dark gray mist quickly sank to the ground like a waterfall and gathered into a "cloud" less than half a meter high, which did not dissipate for a long time.

After summoning the mist, Rondo stretched out his finger and casually drew a semicircle in the air. The mist on the ground seemed to come alive, and with his movement, a cloud of mist quickly rose up, forming a gray "door" in front of Rondo.

Upon seeing the fog gate take shape, the mage Longduo stepped directly into it.

As his figure disappeared, the fog door crashed directly to the ground.

…………

With a "boom," the stone door crashed to the ground. Xia Er stepped forward and looked down at the stones on the ground. After the stone door was damaged, nothing else happened. If it weren't for the pile of rubble on the ground, it would have been as if it had never existed at all.

"As expected, our lord has abandoned us." Baine Bloodhoof stood there with his head down, his fists clenched tightly. He murmured the same words over and over again, as if he couldn't believe it was true.

"Alright, from now on, you'll all follow me. As long as I have food to eat, you won't be shortchanged." Charles turned around and said with a smile to the minotaurs behind him.

"Is it still as delicious as before?" a little minotaur asked immediately, but as he stepped out of the crowd, he was pulled back by the burly adult minotaur behind him.

"Yes," Charles nodded. He had brought ingredients today and cooked a sumptuous meal for these minotaurs—tree fruit soaked in beef bone broth.

The rich beef bone soup with spices is made by breaking up tree fruit into pieces and sprinkling them into the soup, then adding a few slices of beef. Once the fruit pieces have absorbed the soup, the flavor is even better than the beef.

All the tauren ate in silence; this was probably the best food they had ever had since coming to the material world. However, Sharl overheard a few young tauren whispering that this was even better than what they had eaten in the Eternal Dark Dimension.

"Bullshit, even those tribes near the Blood Palace have never eaten food like this." This was the consensus reached by the minotaurs in private discussions.

"Well then, pack your things, you can go to your 'new home' now." Charles clapped his hands, attracting the attention of all the minotaurs. He led Baine to the edge of a stone circle. "Stand inside, and soon you will see the person who defeated you before. She will guide you to your dwelling."

"You wouldn't lie to us, would you?" Bain stretched out one foot and stepped into the circle, but remembering the stone door that had been smashed earlier, he still turned back and asked with some doubt.

"Don't worry," Charles nodded. "You can go over there and take a look first, then come back. If you don't like it, you can discuss it with me."

Bain didn't say anything, but looked down at the white stone ring on the ground. These goblins had carried these parts together to the depths of the mine, and it took them quite a while to complete the assembly.

Now that he was about to witness the "new world" that the goblin had described, he couldn't help but wonder if it was just another scam.

But then I thought, what could the Bloodhoof tribe possibly be fooled about? They have nothing to eat or wear, and what else do they have besides their strength?

After thinking for nearly ten seconds, Bain finally made up his mind, stepped inside the stone circle, and then looked at his people, saying in a deep voice, "Let me go and see first..."

Before he finished speaking, Bane instantly shrank into a white dot of light and disappeared from the spot.

All the Tauren stood there in astonishment, many whispering among themselves, "Gone," "Gone in an instant," "Could it be a conspiracy?" They gradually became restless, and many Tauren pulled their children closer together, fearing that something bad might happen.

"How come it's so fast?" Charles frowned as he looked at the red-eyed man next to the controller. The man had teleported the minotaur away before the minotaur could finish speaking.

If it weren't for the fact that the mine was low and required strong goblins to move the parts of the Runeword Door, Sharl wouldn't have initially planned to call Red Eyes.

Unfortunately, things still took an unexpected turn. Looking at the bewildered Chi Mu, he really wanted to go over and kick him.

"Hopefully, things will go well with Diana."

After saying that, Shire walked over to the minotaurs, trying to calm their agitated emotions.

These minotaurs are an important part of the tribe. As Diana said, they are nearly two meters tall and incredibly strong, making them natural-born heavy infantry. If they are properly equipped, they will become the backbone of the army.

Although the Shire doesn't currently have suitable equipment for Tauren, as long as someone can be persuaded to join the tribe, that will suffice. Armor and weapons can be acquired later, or if necessary, a large sum of money can be spent to have blacksmiths in Black Lion City make them.

There's not much that can be done in Giethoorn. The blacksmiths there have already swung their hammers until they're sparking, so they simply can't take on any new orders.

After offering plenty of dried meat, gentle persuasion, and harmless smiles, Ciel finally saw Bane return.

"Chieftain," Baine said, raising his head to stand before Shire, his two-handed axe in hand, then asked in a deep voice, "Do you promise never to abandon the Bloodhoof Clan?"

With his hands behind his back, Charles looked up at the nearly two-meter-tall "giant" before him. His smile faded, and he nodded heavily. "I promise, by the gods, as long as the Bloodhoof Clan does not betray me, I will never abandon the Bloodhoof Clan for all eternity."

With a "whoosh," Bane used the axe blade to cut off a tuft of yellow hair from his chest near his heart, then scattered it in front of him before stomping on it.

"Is it the Heart-Treading Gift?" The minotaur tribe stirred again. Unlike before, they began to crowd towards this place, and many of them were carrying weapons.

Charles didn't know what the Heart-Touching Ceremony was, but looking at Bane kneeling respectfully on one knee in front of him and the chaotic minotaurs behind him, he could deduce that it was a more solemn etiquette than the Ankle-Touching Ceremony, and a etiquette unique to minotaurs.

"Quiet down!" Bane shouted, turning around to stop the restless minotaurs from making a fuss.

Then he turned his head and looked at Sharl. Because of his height, even when he was kneeling on one knee, he could look the goblin in front of him at eye level. "The Heart-Treading Ritual is a unique etiquette of us minotaurs. It is only used when we abandon our clan and bloodline and are completely merged into another tribe."

"You mean, give up the name Bloodhoof tribe?" Charles was taken aback.

“Yes, I saw your city. Although it’s not a complete city yet, I can feel hope,” Bane said, looking at the goblins. He paused for a moment. “I also saw those goblins. They weren’t thin. Although they were dressed differently, they were clearly able to eat their fill for a long time. More importantly, they had smiles on their faces.”

"So you finally decided to join?"

“Yes, as long as we are fed, Bloodhoof,” Baine’s eyes dimmed slightly, “we are willing to join your tribe.”

"Hmm," Charles looked at the other person, "I don't know what to do next. Is it enough to just get you up?"

"You need to take my weapon and hold it against my heart." Bane handed over the two-handed axe.

What a strange etiquette, Charles thought to himself. But for a minotaur, if they disagreed, they could simply stab Bane in the chest with an axe.

Unfortunately, he couldn't lift such a heavy two-handed axe.

"Put it away, I won't do that." Charles waved his hand, refusing Baine's axe. Then, under the other's somewhat anxious gaze, Charles smiled and said, "You don't need to abandon your clan. The Bloodhoof Clan can still retain its name."

“My tribe is a diverse group. I think you saw quite a few members of other races just now. They haven’t abandoned their bloodline or their tribal name,” Sharl walked over and patted the minotaur on the shoulder. “Loyalty is not about form, but about heart.”

These words caused Bane Bloodhoof to slowly lower his head, then he abruptly stood up.

"One step up, one step up, roar, roar."

Bain roared, waving his arms and pounding his chest.

The other minotaurs were taken aback for a moment, then began to echo, "Roar, roar."

"Unstoppable, unstoppable, roar, roar."

"Roar, roar."

"Loyalty to the Green Egg, loyalty to the Green Egg, roar, roar."

"Roar, roar."

"I will follow you forever, I will be loyal to the green egg, roar, roar."

"Roar, roar."

Charles stared in astonishment at the minotaurs dancing a war dance, the creatures mooing and shouting in unison, seemingly becoming excited.

"Wait, who taught you the 'green egg'?" Charles shouted, but his voice was completely drowned out by the minotaurs.

"Your dinner tonight will be on the house," Ciel shouted irritably.

"There'll be more good food tonight!" Bane roared, and the other minotaurs rushed over and lifted Shire into the air.

"Green Egg Leader, moo."

"Green Egg Leader, moo."