Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

Chapter 400 Two "Sandbags"

"We really shouldn't underestimate others."

Sharmo stroked his chin, looking at the goblins lining up in the distance to drink beer.

Little John brought him news that, unexpectedly, in Giethoorn, there were already people who had seen through his "design," and there were quite a few of them.

However, the gold coins made them all wisely shut up; no one dislikes the taste of gold and silver.

"If it's just some red wild berries, this request isn't a big deal. Anyway, the tribe has enough manpower right now, so we can gather the berries around the Forest City first."

After considering his options, Xia Er decided to accept the tavern owner's request. As a seasoned adventurer, the fact that the owner hadn't revealed his identity meant that communication was still possible.

Moreover, these are just fruits. Since the goblins in the tribe can eat their fill every day, they don't care much about these things anymore. They just treat wild fruits as a small snack, like finding plump white worms in a tree hole in the forest.

As for the other craftsmen, they haven't shown any strange behavior so far. In that case, should we give them some new orders to motivate them?

That old bastard Valentine has raised taxes again; it seems he can keep these artisans on his hands as long as he keeps throwing out orders.

"This situation is really interesting. I know you, I know you know me, I know you know I know you," Charles sighed. He never expected that he would create such a strange business model, where goods produced in a town are being sold outside the town through "smuggling," and everyone is tacitly aware of it.

"I wonder how long this tacit understanding will last."

He glanced at Little John, who was limping over, and a smile crept onto his lips. "Got beaten up again?"

"No, you can't say I got beaten up," Little John said, carrying his longsword. He walked to the side and slumped to the ground. "It's sword training, it's all normal."

"Can being beaten up unilaterally, or even whipped with a thin iron rod, really be called training?" Charles tilted his head. Although Diana often undermined him, she had to be said to have good sportsmanship when it came to gambling. At least she kept her word and promised to help instruct Red Eyes and Little John in swordsmanship, and she really did her best to instruct them.

Of course, Charles sometimes felt that perhaps it was just the former president of the Crusades venting his anger on these two guys.

One person had his arms cut off repeatedly; if it weren't for his regenerative abilities, he would probably be a goblin "human pig" by now. The other person's body is covered in bruises from being whipped with an iron rod; if it weren't for the little goblin nearby, he would probably be bedridden for a week and wouldn't even be able to be an adventurer.

But Charles was genuinely happy; at least now, judging from Little John's stats, he could see that the guy had grown again.

Name: John Franklin Jr.

Race: Human

[Danger Level: 7, Somewhat Dangerous]

Personality: Cautious

[Title: Future Hero]

[Ability: Bewildering Eyes, Argonne Army Swordsmanship (Beginner)]

"Looks pretty good, at least he's grown to be a little weaker than the Devilclaw Bear." Charles looked at the aching John with interest.

This guy probably still wouldn't be able to defeat the Deinonychus in a face-to-face battle, but if he were in the forest with various tools and his own "little gadgets," he could at least drive the Deinonychus away.

And unexpectedly, after practicing with Diana for just a few days, Little John had already learned the basics of the Argonne Kingdom's army swordsmanship.

Charles had also heard of this swordsmanship. It was a standard swordsmanship used by armies of various countries and was taught to high-ranking soldiers by instructors. The Kingdom of Fran also had this swordsmanship, which was quick to learn and focused on speed, accuracy, and ruthlessness.

"It would be perfect for a swordsmanship beginner like Little John," Charles said with a smile and a shake of his head.

Some adventurers only know a little combat skills, such as jumping slashes and spinning slashes. In battle, they will unconsciously use such moves, somewhat like the "wild punches" that adults use when fighting. However, those who have systematically studied swordsmanship will carefully judge each other's strength in battle and use the sword moves they have learned to defeat their opponents. These sword moves will not be used blindly as before, but will be prepared and used subconsciously.

Little John's upgrade also benefited Charles. His [Heart of the Warrior] now only needs a 20-day cooldown, and since he was "stabbed to death" by Diana last time, the cooldown of [Heart of the Warrior] is almost over.

"In other words, I can do something stupid again." Charles laughed self-deprecatingly.

"Boss, what are you laughing at?" Little John looked up and saw the goblin next to him giving him a strange smile, which made him feel goosebumps.

"It's nothing. I think Diana went too easy on you." Charles shook his head with a smile. "I should have told her to have Sancio wait by the training field. Whenever you get injured or exhausted, have him bring you Red Bull and cast [Rejuvenating Wind] on you. That way, you can fight again."

"Hiss—" Little John gasped, staring at the goblin in front of him with a "concerned" look on his face. For the first time, a thought popped into his mind: "Goblins are all the same after all."

Thinking it over, he struggled to stand up, then tried to move further away, finally hiding behind that tree, but Charles simply held him down.

Just kidding, go rest first.

After saying that, Charles smiled and shook his head, then greeted Diana who was walking towards him from a distance, "Thank you for your hard work."

"It's nothing," the girl walked over, then glanced at Little John sprawled on the ground like a dead dog not far away. She pouted and said irritably, "These two guys aren't even enough for me to warm up."

"Of course, their skill level is still too low, and they're not very bright either—" Charles began to point out the "shortcomings" of his subordinates in an attempt to keep the Holy Army's leader in check. If the leader couldn't take it and quit, where else could he find such good teachers?

But his words clearly made Diana frown. "No, they're not stupid; on the contrary, they're improving very quickly."

Diana interrupted Charles and looked directly at John, who was sitting up not far away and receiving treatment from Sancho. "This church vandal is nothing to talk about. He has a strong understanding and is very resilient. In a fight, he assesses the situation and is very cautious in his moves. If he encounters an enemy who is slightly stronger than him, the opponent will find it difficult to deal with him. What surprised me was Red Eyes—"

She paused, glancing at Charles's delighted expression. "He's just a goblin, but he seems invincible. At first, he could only grab the sword and swing it around a few times, but now he can use sword combinations. Plus, his brain... you never know what he's thinking. Sometimes he really surprises you."

"Really?" Charles said with delight. "It seems that Red Eyes' swordsmanship has also improved."

"His swordsmanship," Diana chuckled twice, "can't be said to have improved, but rather that it has been developed."

"Open, develop?"

"Yes, Red Eyes just can't learn the swordsmanship I teach him. Maybe it's because," Diana pointed to her head, circling her finger around her temple a few times, "you know, so he's not like that church vandal who can learn swordsmanship quickly. But as a goblin, he's actually able to comprehend new sword moves on his own."

"A new sword move?" Charles blinked, a strange feeling creeping into his heart.

"Yes, it looks similar to the moves used by low-level adventurers, but he uses it with his own habits, or rather, his own understanding, making it a unique goblin sword technique."

"This sounds strange, a sword technique unique to goblins?" Ciel tilted his head, somewhat confused by Diana's meaning.

The girl didn't explain much, but simply looked up at the sky and muttered, "If he continues like this, and his life goes smoothly, and he can continue to improve, he might become the 'Sword Saint' among the goblins."

"Huh?" Charles took a half step back. "Are you serious?"

"I was just saying," Diana waved her hand. "It was just a feeling, but you know, it's hard to achieve."

""

The title of "Sword Saint" is not easy to obtain. Although there is no authoritative organization in the world that publishes a "sword skills ranking" to rank the most skilled swordsmen, some powerful individuals still tacitly acknowledge the sword skills of certain people.

These recognized individuals are often referred to as "Sword Saints" by many people. Of course, this is just talk; the world is so big, and there has never been a martial arts competition like the "Forbidden City Summit." It's all just talk and recognition among people.

However, the "people" mentioned here are not of low status. They are either the main force of famous knightly orders, important guards of the kingdom's court, or a master swordsman who has gone into seclusion.

Even Diana cannot be considered a "sword saint." Although her swordsmanship is so good, she is still a little short.

However, there was one exception: the former hero Siegfried. Ciel had heard this interesting story when he was at the Royal Grammar Academy. This hero would use the invisible "Invisible Blade" in every battle. Sometimes he would use an ordinary steel sword to confuse his opponent's judgment, but he would have already been holding the invisible longsword without anyone knowing. This "bad" fighting style was despised by many people, who kicked him out of the swordsmanship "ranking".

"I only wanted my men to live well. I never thought that one day a forest sword saint would appear." Xia Er shook his head with a smile. Becoming a sword saint was not easy. They all came out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. As Xia Er's earliest subordinate, he didn't want anything to happen to Red Eyes.

"Of course, I was just expressing my feelings," Diana sighed. "He has a long way to go; he'll have to survive five moves from me first."

"How are the others now?" After putting down the two generals, Red Eye and Little John, Charles began to care about the others. Diana, as the commander he appointed, also took on the important task of training the troops.

"How so?" Diana frowned, thought for a few seconds, and said, "Her attitude is good, but she lacks common sense."

"?"

"They're all very obedient, doing whatever they're told, but they have a hard time remembering tactical details, and they forget everything the next day." Diana shook her head in exasperation. "Some military formations are difficult to execute; they need to be explained many times and practiced for many days before they understand what they're supposed to do."

"Is that so?" Charles smiled apologetically, recalling his past experience of training his men to hunt, a painful memory that was truly indescribable.

At that moment, he even had murderous thoughts.

"The minotaurs, who were supposed to be defending in the center, charged out with a howl. The goblins, who were preparing to support them by launching cannonballs, also charged out with their weapons. Only the centaurs were alright; they knew to run to the sides to avoid being hit by these guys."

"Perhaps they're just not used to it."

"Not used to it?" Diana raised an eyebrow and looked at Charles. "Are there any military formations that start with a war dance before battle?"

After jumping, they shouted "Whoosh!" and rushed out, but halfway there they didn't know what to do next, so they could only stand there dumbfounded and laugh.

"And the goblins too, chattering away behind us. We told them to be quiet and wait, but they all just started chattering softly. The area behind the army formation looked like a pond full of frogs."

As she spoke, she muttered to herself, "Even the color is green."

Charles forced a smile. "You still need to practice. I'm afraid you'll have to work hard."

"Sigh—" Diana sighed deeply, "It's all my fault for not thinking straight and agreeing to the bet with you."

"Furthermore," she glanced at the embarrassed goblin, "are you planning to have the Bloodhoof clan directly bear the brunt of the clash between their armies?"

"You mean—"

"Armor, you originally said you wanted the minotaurs to become heavy infantry, the backbone of the army," but they can't go out shirtless to defend against the enemy's swords, can they? Diana patted her arm, indicating that Charles might have forgotten something. "They need to wear heavy armor."

"I know," Charles gave a wry smile, "but they are too tall, and we haven't been able to find armor that fits their size in the short term. I'm still trying to figure something out."

Minotaur's physique is quite different from that of ordinary humans. Little John had asked at the blacksmith shop before, and the craftsmen all said that they had never made such armor before, and that if he wanted to make it, he would need to familiarize himself with it.

Furthermore, the blacksmiths in Gieshorn are generally skilled at forging weapons, but they produce relatively little armor.

More often than not, they are repairing damaged armor.

As for steel armor, or even armor made of dwarven steel, those are even less likely to exist.

Therefore, Xia Er was also very troubled about the armor. His tribe was growing too fast, and he could get all kinds of supplies from Goat Horn Town, but weapons and armor were very difficult to obtain.

Each kingdom controls these things to prevent them from appearing on a large scale, and even adventurers only have their own set of armor.

"You mean—" Seeing that Charles seemed hesitant, Diana thought for a moment and tentatively asked, "Could we make armor from the exoskeletons of those giant ants?"

"Ant shells?"

"Yes," Diana nodded. "When I came into contact with the cavalry ants before, I tried to feel them. They are very hard, not inferior to iron armor at all. In fact, the soldier ants' shells are even harder than those of the worker ants, almost like steel."

"There's nothing I can do," Charles shook his head. "I've had the same idea before, but I didn't have the tools."

"No tools?"

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