Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

Chapter 410 I've Found You

Shire had some knowledge of the intelligence of the various creatures in the forest.

These creatures are quite interesting. They choose the survival method that best suits them. For example, goblins always attack by surprise. If they find they can't win, they beg for mercy and willingly become "servants." Centaurs, on the other hand, cling to the tradition of following unicorns. Even if the unicorn leaves, the first thing they do is look for where the unicorn went.

But perhaps because these creatures lacked their own writing system or related historical records, they did not develop high intelligence, and things like getting lost in the forest could happen.

Upon hearing that the gnoll caravan had gotten lost and was heading north, Charles couldn't help but chuckle.

Logically, gnolls shouldn't be native to the forest; they used to live in the wasteland, so their appearance in the Nightmare Forest is rather strange.

However, the thought of the ratmen made Sharl feel relieved; perhaps these gnolls also had their own "stories".

But living in the forest must have presented some challenges, such as the inability to orient themselves within it.

"How did those guys get lost?" Charles asked curiously.

"They've been misled." Broken Tooth's lips twitched slightly as he gave the answer. "There's a goblin leading the way at the front of the group."

"A goblin leading the way?" Charles pursed his lips, as if remembering something. "It's those escaped cavemen, isn't it?"

"Yes." Broken Tooth nodded. "A few goblins, the one leading the way is Baldy."

"Bald?" Sharl chuckled. This guy had fought alongside him with goblins before, contributing to the growth of Sharl's tribe several times in a row. He was practically the world's best "transportation captain".

Now that they've gone to the gnolls, are they planning to bring the gnolls with them?

This time, however, he got lost, and no one knows what happened to him.

Charles shook his head in annoyance. Perhaps this time, without the flying goblins to "scout" in the air, the gnolls had to wander around the forest on their own and got lost.

This situation is actually quite normal. Nowadays, when his tribe's hunting and gathering teams go out, they also need to make marks along the way. Without these marks, those guys would also get lost.

There's no way around it; given the goblins' current state, even with a map, they'd still wander off in a chaotic mess. Broken Tooth, on the other hand, is equipped with a telescope and a compass, and he's made sure to mark his path in the forest to avoid getting lost for the time being.

Because of this situation, Shire has begun building watchtowers in the forest and is also planning to build simple roads through the forest.

Previously, they would travel along those animal trails, but this could easily lead to encounters with wild animals. In addition, the animal trails in the forest are very narrow, since they are all made by wild animals, and are not very suitable for worker ants carrying cargo boxes to travel.

However, due to the adventurers, the idea of ​​a forest path has to be temporarily shelved.

"It seems the gnoll threat isn't much of a problem for now." With that thought in mind, Charles had an idea, but he still cautiously asked again, "What kind of weapons do those gnolls have?"

Duan Ya tilted his head and thought for a few seconds before slowly saying, "It's very messy, there's all sorts of stuff in there."

"Disorganized—" This answer was similar to what Xia Er had estimated. After all, gnolls were not a high-level race, and their weapons and equipment were mostly obtained through looting, so their standardization could not be guaranteed.

Just as he was thinking that the enemy might not be a problem this time, Broken Tooth's next words piqued Charles's interest: "These guys all ride those big birds and march through the forest."

"Riding a big bird?" Charles was taken aback, then realized that it was the large bird that Broken Tooth had mentioned earlier, which was raised by goblins and was over two meters tall.

This bird can't fly; it can only run on the ground. Xia Er felt it was like the ostrich from his previous life, except that ostriches don't live in forests, while this bird has a snake's tail.

"Did they all ride big birds?" Charles continued to ask.

"No, not at all," Broken Tooth shook his head. "There aren't many big birds, and they can't all ride them."

"How many gnolls are there?" Hearing Broken Tooth's answer, Charles narrowed his eyes. The two-meter-tall bird, with its ostrich-like body, should be quite fast if it took off running. Moreover, he knew that ostriches were not weak fighters. Although there was a saying that ostriches would bury their heads in the sand to avoid danger, Charles knew that was just a partial rhetoric. Ostriches only did that to avoid sandstorms. If they encountered other beasts, they would still kick them with their long, thick toes. Their powerful legs were still quite fierce.

Perhaps these large birds are also dangerous, but fortunately, Broken Tooth says there aren't many of them.

"There are more gnolls than goblins." Broken Tooth stretched out his fingers and started counting, then looked up at Sharl. "Twice as many?"

Hearing his subordinate's questioning tone, Charles couldn't help but smile wryly. Although he had previously asked Lan Luoli to teach Broken Tooth some math, it wasn't so easy to get his subordinate to learn arithmetic all at once.

Duan Ya can now count to over one hundred and can also do some simple addition and subtraction, but it's still very clumsy and he often makes mistakes.

But now he is the tribe's "scout," responsible for checking for potential dangers. He will only be able to relax a little once all the watchtowers are built.

However, Broken Tooth now enjoys this kind of work. He can run around in the forest alone and hide in the shadows, which is both safe and free.

"Alright, I understand." Finally, Charles nodded. He already knew the size of the gnolls. They didn't pose a threat for the time being, but he couldn't let his guard down. He could only let Broken Tooth rest for two days before going to scout and monitor them.

If the gnolls stop getting lost and actually head towards the forest city, then it will be time to deal with them.

After Broken Tooth left, Ciel began to reconsider the current situation in his notebook.

Quetzalcoatl is probably recovering from his injuries, so he only sent gnolls to attack him. He doesn't know how strong these guys are. As for the gnolls, Sharl doesn't have any particular interest in them for the time being, but he is very interested in those large, rideable birds.

These large birds can be raised in captivity; even the goblin tribes to the east know how to raise them.

Moreover, it seems that these large birds not only produce meat, but their feathers can also be collected for warmth, which is quite a good industry.

Now that the tribe is growing larger, the Shire has begun to explore various industries in the forest to ensure the tribe's healthy development.

If a group can only survive by trading food with human society, then the future of the group is rather uncertain.

The saying "If my neighbor hoards food, I'll take his gun; my neighbor is my granary" doesn't quite apply to the Charles. It requires you to have a way to acquire "guns," and at the same time, your neighbor doesn't have "guns" yet. Otherwise, if you shoot them, you'll be "giving away guns."

Goblins can't really be considered to possess "guns" right now; they don't even have the means to make armor and weapons. They're just all brawn and no brains.

Therefore, the Shire wanted to seize every opportunity to create basic industries for their people, because only by having enough food production could they no longer depend on human society.

"But we can't let our guard down against the Feathered Serpent God." Thinking this, Charles picked up the small tin soldier on the table and slowly fiddled with it. "Although we now have Elephant Lord in the tribe, and Spencer can also summon bone dragons, dealing with the Feathered Serpent shouldn't be a problem. But this guy is still very cunning, and we must guard against its sneak attacks."

That previous night's operation left a deep impression on Charles, after all, if it weren't for the awakening of that strange divinity deep within his soul, Lust wouldn't have so easily agreed to help him.

Now the divine says "he is reviving," but Shire doesn't feel anything unusual. It's like your boss telling you, "Next, the company will strongly support employees, be more humane, and introduce better benefits," and then after a while, you find yourself still working 996.

"Should we just charge in?" Charles gripped the little tin soldier in his hand, then lifted the cover on its back. "It's not impossible, but we need to make sure we have the right personnel. Otherwise, as Diana said, if a bunch of people rush in recklessly, they'll all become targets for the Feathered Serpent's lightning chains."

Charles was still shaken by the effects of the Chain Lightning spell. This chain-like spell could jump directly through a crowd, and if everyone rushed in, they would all be electrocuted.

"Or, persuade Spencer to let the bone dragon lead the charge?" Charles played with the little tin soldier. He had to admit that the thing was very well made. All its joints were flexible, and it was covered with a sturdy metal shell. If it hadn't appeared in the forest, he would have thought it was a high-end toy for a noble child.

After thinking for a moment, he sighed and put the little tin soldier down. "Spencer said before that there is a price to pay to control a bone dragon. He hasn't said what the price is yet, but as a noble dragon, I believe the price must be considerable. After all, it's not my direct subordinate, so it's still a bit troublesome."

The books say that dragons have very strange temperaments. Some like to play riddles with people, some like to collect all kinds of treasures, and some like to mingle in human society to experience human daily life. The list goes on.

It's unclear what this giant dragon named "Little Zha" likes. If it enjoys eating young boys and girls, Xia Er has no intention of satisfying it.

Having temporarily abandoned the idea of ​​the bone dragon, Sharl could only think of other options. He casually picked up the dark crystal on the table and examined it closely. "What if we let Elephant Lord lead the charge?"

He quickly dismissed the idea, because elephants cannot fly.

Being unable to fly is a significant disadvantage, as it means that Quetzalcoatl can attack his forces from the air, while he can only stand by Zunesha's side and watch helplessly.

Although the Chain Lightning couldn't damage the target, its minions weren't immune to magic. After a few chain attacks, it could only collect the corpses and head back.

"If only Quetzalcoatl would accept a one-on-one fight on the ground." Charles grinned, knowing the idea was absurd; Quetzalcoatl wouldn't be that stupid.

He stared at the crystal in his hand, continuing to ponder what to do.

We absolutely must go to the east, and we need to do it as soon as possible.

I don't know what that semicircle on the territory map is. If it really is a teleportation array to summon the floating city, that would be the best. That way, we can move our race out and no longer have to worry about being harassed by human adventurers.

But I don't know what it is, so I can only go and see for myself.

only----

"But this crystal," Charles frowned, suddenly feeling that the gray crystal in his hand looked familiar, "I feel like I've seen it somewhere before."

He held the crystal, looked up slightly at his stone house, and then his gaze settled on the wooden box in the corner.

"No way." Xia Er's pupils shrank, then he jumped off the chair, quickly walked to the box, and rummaged through the box to find a few dark red crystals that he had left behind before. They were all the cores of low-level magical beasts.

Holding the beast core in his hand, he held the two crystals up to his eyes and examined them carefully.

About ten seconds later, Charles was somewhat surprised, "This thing looks like a faded beast core."

The appearances of the beast cores are not the same, but their basic colors are similar and their sizes are the same. The gray crystal in my hand now is like a beast core that has lost its dark red color. It is almost the same in appearance and size.

"Could it be—" Xia Er gripped the low-level beast core tightly and turned to look at the little tin soldier on the table.

It seems this thing was taken from the belly of the Blue-Eyes Dragon Serpent. Just thinking back, Xia Er realized that it was probably found inside the belly of the giant toad that the Blue-Eyes Dragon Serpent had swallowed.

"Back then, Sansio also said that the giant toad was always lying at the entrance to the goblin colony, waiting to devour any passing goblins." Charles, holding a low-level beast core, returned to the table. "Yes, that giant toad was also known as 'Death.'"

When Xiaer first got the little tin soldier, he just thought of it as an item left behind by an adventurer in the forest. But now that he thinks about it carefully, no ear cleaner would bring such an exquisite toy into the Nightmare Forest. On the one hand, they wouldn't do that, and on the other hand, they wouldn't be willing to spend money on such an exquisite toy.

"Then why did this thing appear in the forest? And why was it inside a giant toad's belly?"

Xia Er opened the cover behind the little tin soldier and examined the groove on its back. Sure enough, it was just the right size to hold a low-level beast core.

"I remember Shan Xiao said that the big toad had been waiting at their door for a long time. After this little tin soldier was swallowed, it should have been corroded by the stomach acid." Xia Er slowly put the beast core in the groove, and the groove made a "click" sound, as if some mechanism had firmly stuck the beast core in place.

Immediately afterwards, the little tin soldier in Charles's hand shook violently a few times, then began to shake wildly, as if trying to break free from his grasp.

"This thing... it's alive?" Charles was surprised and released his grip, and the little tin soldier fell directly to the ground.

But immediately, it pushed itself up with its hands, flipped itself over and stood up, then slowly raised its head and looked around with its red eyes.

Until his gaze locked onto Ciel.

"I've found you."