Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

"The Forest Doesn't Keep Idle Goblins" is currently being serialized and is not to be missed!

Charles has always considered sending troops to Goat Horn Town and successfully leaving the forest as an important goal for his future. The construction of the Forest City and the preparations for the secret construction of the magic academy are all preparations for this goal.

Forest City will become his strong rear base, and the entire southern region of Nightmare Forest plays a vital role in providing the Shard with military supplies.

The magic academy is a long-term goal. In the short term, it is to discover people with magical talent for the race and to enable them to operate some magical tools, especially the runeword Winter. In the long term, it is to break the monopoly of human magicians on magical abilities and to prevent the race from being blamed for "having weapons of mass destruction".

When you're falsely accused of possessing weapons of mass destruction, it's best if you actually do.

It seems that the idea of ​​conquering the forest is just a thought in Xia Er's mind. The forest city is not yet completed and cannot even be considered a large slum. At best, it can only be considered a large construction site.

Magic academies were even further away; the goblins under his command couldn't even recognize the numbers one through ten, let alone read them.

Fortunately, according to the news sent back by Uncle Musa, the Kingdom of Fran is currently relatively stable. Apart from some chaotic events in the capital city of Golden Flower City, the other areas are temporarily safe.

Of course, if Diana or Agatha had known what happened in the Kingdom of Fran, they certainly wouldn't have been as calm as Ciel.

Their pupils would surely shrink, and then they would open their mouths and exclaim, "God above, have they all gone mad?"

In the end, it all boils down to the third prince, Theodore, failing to obtain the seal of office from his father, smothering the old king to death with a pillow. Then, claiming to be the sole legitimate heir and using some force, he successfully issued the royal decree.

Meanwhile, some minor nobles, especially Theodore's maternal clan, who were some distance from Plantagenet City, were leading troops to "serve the king." However, their army was blocked on the road, as the surrounding major nobles disagreed with the army passing through their territories. The two sides were in a standoff, and Theodore had already issued a royal decree demanding that the major nobles allow the army to pass.

As for the second prince, Grover, he seemed to have vanished into thin air, with no news whatsoever. Uncle Musa said that there were already many bounty posters on the black market offering rewards for his whereabouts, and it was easy to tell from the content which side issued them: one side was looking for the living prince, and the other side was looking for the dead prince.

The entire area surrounding Plantagenet was mobilized, with many adventurers setting out to search for the missing prince, a scene comparable to the previous search for the missing Charles Mello.

"That Theodore is a complete waste," Charles cursed aloud when he learned of the latest information. "I had already prepared a template for the Xuanwu Gate Incident for him, but he managed to turn it into 'The Shadow of the Axe and the Candlelight'."

Things took a completely unexpected turn, but fortunately, they are still under control.

The situation has even improved somewhat.

In order to maintain stability in the capital, Theodore urgently promoted Count Valentine and some other minor nobles. Valentine even began to take over some of the city's defense duties, an appointment that successfully tied the count to Plantagenet for the time being.

Charles knew that as a border Count, Valentine would definitely take military action against the surrounding areas, and that the other party even wanted to fight all the way to Torch City to establish a vast territory.

Now that the count is temporarily tied down, this gives the Shire tribe an opportunity to develop.

Once Plantagenet City truly descends into chaos, Valentine will lead his men back to his own territory ahead of time. He will then launch a southward attack on Kayud's territory. The best time for the Shire to emerge from the forest will be when Valentine has truly annexed other territories and is triumphantly continuing his southward offensive.

At that time, Valentine would carefully assess his situation. He would not only need to divide his forces to control the newly occupied territories, but also deal with the enemy's attacks. As a nobleman with great ambition but little ability, Valentine would most likely think that what the Charles did was just goblins rushing out of the forest to harass human villages. He would never give up the great situation in front of him and return to fight him to the death.

Therefore, what Ciel lacks most is time.

If Valentine can stay in Plantagenet for a while longer, I can accumulate more power.

Six months—this was the result of Xia Er's long deliberation. Six months later would be the time for him to leave the forest and march on Giethoorn.

During this period, he had too many things to do. On the one hand, he needed to stockpile supplies. Previously, Bucktooth had reported that some of the tree people's branches had sprouted new buds, and he believed that they would soon start growing leaves. This speed was even faster than Sharl had expected. He deduced that it was due to the influence of the [Blessing of the God of Life]. He just didn't know when they would start to bear fruit. At most, they should start to bear fruit in about half a year. At that time, it would also alleviate the pressure on the tribe's food supply and meet the needs of the battle.

On the other hand, the Shire also needed to find a way to equip the tribe with enough weapons and armor. Due to the rapid expansion of their subordinates, many people did not have suitable armor, and most of them were still fighting in tattered animal skins. Moreover, the weapons they had were barely usable. However, the hammers in the blacksmith's shop in Goathorn Town were already swinging in a blur, and they were forging various tools day and night, such as hoes, shovels, and sickles. These things were easier to make than weapons, and the tribe needed them in greater quantities.

"Hopefully Theodore will become a bit smarter, and the poodle should ideally be a Border Collie, definitely not a Husky."

Charles prayed several times, his heart filled with even greater concern for the situation in Plantagenet City.

He even worked with Uncle Musa to set a reasonable price for the healing potions; 50,000 bottles of healing potions would only result in a small profit at most.

This time, Charles didn't intend to make much money from the healing potions. On one hand, he had a loan from the Merchant Guild Bank, and through his connections with Savoy, he could make a considerable amount of silver coins. On the other hand, it was best to curry favor with the Third Prince Theodore now. If he were to rip off customers with his sword now, there might not be a future for him.

It's best to run a business long-term.

Moreover, Xiaer now only has Little Claw as a "cow" to brew medicine. The skeleton warriors were severely injured in the battle against Quetzalcoatl and are now basically unable to work, and can only "live on" in coffins filled with magic potions.

This would temporarily create a bottleneck in the production of the treatment solution.

Fortunately, Uncle Musa did not set a delivery deadline, so the quantity of 50,000 bottles can be gradually collected.

This also allows Uncle Musa to stay by Theodore's side for a long time and obtain the latest intelligence.

According to the uncle, the third prince now values ​​him highly, even believing him to be a messenger sent by the gods to help him.

This left Charles speechless for a moment.

Turn the page, and you'll find yourself in another world.

If the other side were to find out one day that the healing potions they prepare for their subordinates are made from goblins, I wonder if it would cause an uproar.

This development is by no means an exaggeration. Xia Er had been in the City of Golden Flower for a long time and knew all too well how arrogant the garrison and veteran adventurers were.

They look down on outside teams and adventurers from remote areas. Adventurers who cannot survive in the capital can only prove that they are weak and lack strength.

If these arrogant fellows knew that the healing potion they drink every day was produced by the very "prey" they despise and look down upon, one can only imagine the consequences.

"But what does that have to do with me?" This was Charles's thought after thinking it over. He just wanted to make some money, but he didn't want to kneel down. He wanted to make money standing up. What's wrong with that?

He really wanted to say that the healing potion produced by "Undying Drinker" was a qualified product in terms of color, taste, quality, and price. It was absolutely good value for money and honest to all.

We goblins drink it ourselves. When ordinary people go to a restaurant, they will look at what the restaurant owner and chef are eating. If they are cooking their own food in the kitchen, then it means that the "food" of this restaurant is really clean.

Moreover, the raw materials are all sourced from the Nightmare Forest, collected one by one by hardworking goblins who roll up their sleeves and bend down among the thorns and bushes.

Although it's not like a young girl picking tea leaves, it's still entirely done by hand.

What's that famous line about GG poetry? "The warmth of the master's fingertips is sealed in every bottle of 'healing potion'." "Not all healing potions deserve the title of 'indestructible'."

However, on the other hand, compared to selling healing potions, Shire is now starting to worry about gathering herbs after spring.

He had learned from Mary about the adventurers' situation in Giraffe Town, because the wicked Earl Valentine had raised taxes again and levied a one-time conscription fee on all adventurers in his territory. If they could not pay, they would have to join the territory's army for service.

This fee is very high, and it is tiered based on the adventurer's length of service, with adventurers who have been in the profession for longer periods charging more.

Don't try to hide your years of experience in the profession. The Adventurers' Guild has the mission records of these ear cleaners, so it's easy to find out their years of experience.

This also led a small number of adventurers to choose to leave Count Valentine's territory and seek other paths.

However, according to the complaints of the adventurers relayed by Mary, Charles had not earned much money to begin with. After the fall, they went to Torch City, intending to help deal with some undead sailors on the ship in order to earn commissions. However, due to the large number of people, there were not enough undead sailors to go around, and they often found themselves in the embarrassing situation of not having a single undead sailor on their ship.

Many adventurers didn't earn much money during the winter, and many started to return to their old ways, hiding in alleys to steal and rob, and some even played "zero-dollar shopping".

Spring is just around the corner, and some adventurers have already begun exploring the forest again. If they can't find goblins, they'll most likely gather a lot of herbs to exchange for quest rewards.

This created competition with their own tribe.

The adventurers will gradually venture deeper into the land, and one day they will encounter their own herb-gathering team. At that time, news of the Goblin Kingdom will spread like wildfire.

"We can't reveal our strength yet," Charles wrote his thoughts in his notebook. "Forest City needs a stable environment to develop. We must find a way to transfer these adventurers away, preferably to a place where there are new money-making opportunities. That way, they will simply disappear from Goat Horn Town."

The idea was good, but Xia Er himself didn't know exactly where the business opportunities for adventurers to make money were.

Therefore, he could only further accelerate the construction of Forest City in order to accumulate his strength more quickly.

This is also why he came to see the elephant god; he really wanted to persuade him not to leave, that he would take care of them.

But he didn't expect that Elephant's answer would be even more unexpected.

"Need any help?" Charles raised an eyebrow. "What can I do for the elephant herd?"

He desperately wanted to persuade the elephant owner and use this opportunity to keep the elephant herd.

"No, it's not helping the elephant herd, it's helping me." The elephant owner flapped its fan-like ears and shook its trunk.

"Just to help you?" Charles frowned.

"I saw what you did, it was very good. You helped us build a resting place and cleaned the elephants. You did a great job."

Sharl smiled and waved his hand. Previously, the goblins of the tribe had helped the elephants scrub their skin and clean the parasites off them. With the help of the runeword Mind, the goblins would also help the elephants trim their feet and toenails. The elephants were very cooperative, standing still with their legs raised.

However, judging from what the elephant keeper says now, it seems that he still harbors the idea of ​​leaving with the elephant herd as soon as spring arrives.

This made Charles somewhat uneasy.

After thinking for a few seconds, he still asked, "How can I help you?"

"One of the elephants in the herd is getting old and is going to the elephant graveyard," the elephant master said, lifting his trunk and placing it on Charles's shoulder. "I need to go to the elephant graveyard with it."

"You, you're going to the Elephant Graveyard?" Charles immediately reached out and grabbed the elephant's trunk. This was bad news. Going to the Elephant Graveyard meant that the elephant's life was nearing its end. If the elephant lord died, what would happen next? You know, the Feathered Serpent God was still hiding somewhere. That guy wasn't exactly magnanimous.

"Don't worry, goblin." Zunesha gently touched Ciel's cheek with the tip of its trunk. "I still have a long life ahead of me. It's just that I couldn't get close to the Elephant Graveyard before because of my size. But thanks to you, I've shrunk in size and can go to the Elephant Graveyard now."

"If I don't go and check it out soon, I'll almost forget how to get there."

"Phew—" Charles let out a long breath. "Is that so? No problem then. When do we set off?"

As long as nothing serious happens to the elephants, it's fine. It's just a trip to the elephant burial grounds, nothing serious.

"It will be soon. I need you to bring some of your people with you to take a look," the Elephant Lord said, lowering his trunk and looking at Sharl. "If possible, I hope you can arrange some guards around the Elephant Graveyard."

"Guards?"

"Yes, I do not want anyone to disturb the slumber of my people, nor do I want anyone to disturb my master."

"Hmm," Charles pursed his lips, "that's no problem. I was just planning to build a few lookout posts in the forest anyway, so I can go with you to take a look."

"And who is your master?"