Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

Chapter 420 The Battle of Walnut Kernels

"You saw a troop marching towards us?"

At the edge of the training field, Charles listened to Broken Tooth's report and frowned slightly.

He didn't expect the other side to attack him again. Logically speaking, gnolls are not a particularly stupid race. Since they can become mercenaries, they should have some intelligence.

Why would they attack me twice in a row? Don't these guys understand that it was I who drove away the Feathered Serpent God?

"Are they really that persistent?" Charles rubbed his palms, somewhat puzzled as to what these gnolls were trying to do.

However, since they've already attacked, it wouldn't be right not to send troops to deal with them. Moreover, the construction of Forest City has already begun, and the entire western urban area is almost complete. If these guys are allowed to rush over, it will inevitably have some impact on the future city.

Thinking of this, Charles looked up at Diana, who was scolding the minotaurs, goblins, and centaurs.

The former president of the Crusades spoke slowly, as these men were not yet fluent in the Common Tongue, but her facial expressions were anything but ambiguous, and she pointed her long staff back and forth in front of the people around her.

It's kind of funny, Diana is only 1.5 meters tall, but she stood in front of the minotaurs and scolded them, who were much taller than her, like a child. And these guys all lowered their heads, looking like children who had made a mistake and were honestly admitting their wrongdoing.

Charles knew that the reason these guys maintained that stance was entirely due to their fighting skills; it wasn't that Diana had defeated them one-on-one, but rather that they were outnumbered.

He even estimated that if Diana were to reveal her angelic form, transforming into a winged angel, she could single-handedly defeat a whole group of them.

"With combat strength like this, how dare the gnolls attack?" Charles shook his head slightly. "Could it be that these guys came to surrender willingly?"

However, ideas are one thing, and battle is another. Since the enemy has arrived, it's a good opportunity to test the results of our recent training.

During this time, Diana stayed at the training ground all day long. If it weren't for the little fairy helping her with treatment, her voice would probably be hoarse by now.

The tribe, a "ragtag army" composed of minotaurs, goblins, and centaurs, can finally end its "fighting alone" behavior.

In Diana's words, "You've finally grown a brain, but it's only the size of a walnut."

The minotaurs finally learned when to hold their ground and when to charge. The goblins gradually adapted and stopped firing their cannons into their own ranks. As for the centaurs, they finally gave up the idea of ​​carrying lances on long-distance raids. This was something they only realized after running around the training ground many times in heavy armor, carrying lances, until they were exhausted.

"Fortunately, our enemy's brains are probably not that big either, so we're all evenly matched." Charles shrugged. He planned not to participate in this operation at all, nor would he let Diana take action. He would rely solely on the members of his tribe.

Let's see if they can easily defeat the enemy.

After Diana finished scolding everyone, she finally gave the order to rest. As soon as the order was given, everyone deflated like punctured balloons and collapsed to the ground. Diana, on the other hand, sighed and shook her head as she walked toward Charles.

After Charles explained the situation to her, Diana simply curled her lip and said, "Let them fight. It's just a battle between a bunch of idiots anyway, a battle of walnuts. I don't need to get involved."

"Aren't you curious about what will happen to them?" Charles raised an eyebrow, asking with some curiosity.

"What will happen?" Diana raised her hand to her forehead. "You'd better not talk to me about this. I can see those guys' innocent eyes every time I close my eyes."

"Innocent?"

"Yes," Diana stomped her foot angrily, "a bunch of guys with wildly imaginative minds. After they accidentally lost their formation and charged out, they would slowly shuffle back and then grin at you like idiots."

"Like a group of children who have done something wrong?"

"Have you ever seen a child this tall?" Diana retorted irritably.

Charles smiled. He really wanted to say, "I've actually seen that before. My relative's child in my past life was only in the first year of junior high school, but he was already 1.8 meters tall. And this guy actually told his mother that he wanted to change to a Little Genius watch because many of his classmates had changed to the new model."

However, in the end, Sharl didn't say it out loud: "After all, this is their first time cooperating with another race, and many members have only received hunting training within their tribe before. They are still quite clueless about normal military operations."

"Sigh," Diana sighed, turning her head to look at the group of tribesmen gathered together again. The minotaurs had started fighting each other again, as if they were competing in strength, while the centaurs and goblins were cheering them on. This scene made Sharl smile.

"They're a bunch of simpletons." Diana touched her chest and said softly. Her voice was so soft that Charles next to her didn't hear her clearly and turned to look at her with a puzzled expression.

"This time, I'll just act as the commander. How well they execute it will be up to them to decide," Diana said loudly again after a few seconds of pause.

Her gaze also fell on the two minotaurs surrounded by everyone. The two were evenly matched, with veins bulging on one minotaur's arm, looking like he was about to knock his opponent down.

Charles watched with interest, nodding in agreement. "Yes, that's it."

"Aren't you curious why the gnolls attacked first?" Diana watched the minotaurs fight, unconsciously clenching her fists as if she were helping one of them.

"I was curious before, but it doesn't matter. I don't know what they're thinking." Charles shrugged, helpless.

"In the Kingdom of Argonne, gnolls are generally employed as mercenaries. They form various mercenary groups and are employed by local leaders."

"Master and servant." Seeing one of the minotaurs thrown to the ground, Diana forcefully swung her fist. "But they're just a race that lives in the cold wastelands, how did they get into the Nightmare Forest?"

"Huh?" Charles was taken aback. "You mean, where do gnolls live?"

"The cold wasteland," Diana glanced at Charles, "is located to the north of the Kingdom of Argon, near the snow-capped mountains. Large areas there are desolate, and humans don't like the environment. Now it's inhabited by gnolls."

"The Frozen Wasteland—" Charles repeated the name of the place. He didn't know that gnolls were born in the wasteland. He only knew that these guys would hang around some towns in Argon and wouldn't even let them into big cities. But now that he knew the Frozen Wasteland had become a settlement for gnolls, he could ask these guys about the cursed magic tower.

"Perhaps they want to go into the forest to look for business?" He glanced at Diana, noticing her questioning look, and casually offered an excuse, "It's normal for mercenaries to look for employers."

"Find an employer in the forest?" Diana shook her head impatiently. "Who in the forest could be their employer? Centaurs? Lizardman lich, or you?"

"Those guys, all they do all day is howl, and they're always thinking about riding something. I've seen plenty of gnolls in Argonne before."

"Of course, of course," Charles quickly waved his hand. He knew Diana was right, after all, the cathedral of the Church of War was located in Argon, and the Holy Army's base was also in the Kingdom of Argon. "I was just saying, I don't know why they ran into the forest."

"Hmph, these idiots," Diana kicked a branch at her feet, "I used to fight a mercenary group with them."

"We've worked with them before. Those guys were always drooling over our griffins, and their leader even had the nerve to come up to us and ask if we'd sell them."

"Did you sell them?"

"Sell?" Diana glared. "I'm selling their big-headed ghosts. You know what I've seen? Some of these guys actually choose to ride pigs to charge into battle, howling as they rush straight into the mud pit, and when they get up, their fur is covered in mud."

Upon hearing Diana's words, Charles burst out laughing. "They are indeed a troublesome race."

"Those lords even like to employ them. I don't know what they're thinking. Whoever commands them will have their hair ripped off," Diana said bitterly. It was clear that her past cooperation with the gnolls had left her with a great deal of psychological trauma.

As the leader of the Crusader, he has dealt with demons, fought against other evil races, and even eliminated humans who were corrupted by evil sorcerers. He never expected that he would have such a strong opinion about gnolls.

"Are they really that troublesome?" Charles asked directly.

"Do you know what happened after those collaborations?" Diana didn't answer Charles directly, but sighed softly. "After I clearly refused to sell the griffin, those gnolls actually tried to steal it under the cover of night. If we hadn't run out because of the griffin's cry, they almost succeeded."

"Moreover, a gnoll rode right onto my griffin. It was the guy who fell into the mud pit. The mud on him wasn't even dry, and all his fur was matted together."

As Diana spoke, her expression was one of extreme disgust, clearly showing her deep resentment that her griffin had been defiled by the gnolls.

"Alright," Charles waved his hand with a smile, "I understand. At least we don't have griffins right now."

Seeing that Diana was still sulking, he smiled and said, "But I heard that they rode some strange, large bird."

As he spoke, he described to Diana what he had seen about the broken tooth.

"The snake-chicken is nothing special," Diana nodded. "These birds are very tall, but they can't fly; they just run on the ground."

"Only run on the ground?" Charles raised an eyebrow. It sounded like an ostrich. Ostriches are known to be very fast runners, with impressive stamina. In some regions, there is even a profession called "ostrich rider."

However, this creature cannot carry too much weight, and compared to its running ability, the ostrich's meat yield is also quite good.

In his previous life, Ciel had participated in company events and tasted dishes made with ostrich meat.

"Yes," Diana nodded. "The danger of the snake-chickens lies in two things. One is their toes. When they suddenly kick, their hard nails can tear flesh. The other is that they also have venom, but if you are pecked, you will feel numbness and half of your body will be unable to move."

"Parasitic toxin?"

"It's not a very potent toxin. It will only paralyze you for a short time, and you'll slowly recover after an hour. If you have a healing spell, the effects will subside in half an hour. It's not fatal."

"That's not bad." A glint flashed in Charles's eyes. He had previously considered keeping those snake-chicken beasts to raise. The western district of Forest City was perfect for raising snake-chicken beasts above ground, as the underground served as a breeding ground for mimicry monsters and slimes.

Moreover, these large birds cannot fly and are not very dangerous, making them a good breeding species.

"You—" Diana frowned as she looked at the goblin with its eyes gleaming. "You don't mean you're thinking of raising a snake-chicken beast, do you?"

"Let's give it a try." Charles made no attempt to hide his thoughts. "It's just what we've been offered."

"These big birds are troublesome. If there isn't someone who knows how to raise them, they'll probably attack any creature that tries to get close." Diana waved her hand dismissively. "I advise you to give up on that idea. They're not like the mimic monsters you raise, which just eat and lie on the ground without moving."

"We'll see." Charles didn't pay attention to Diana's words. He knew that the gnolls had entrusted the task of raising the snake-chickens to a group of goblins, which meant that these goblins knew how to raise the snake-chickens.

Perfect timing! Even the farmers are all prepared. The gnolls are so thoughtful.

Seeing that she couldn't persuade Charles, Diana shook her head slightly and didn't pursue the question further. "When will they approach us?"

"According to Broken Tooth's calculations," Charles mentally converted his subordinate's account, "they should enter our territory tomorrow."

"tomorrow?"

"Yes," Charles nodded, "I plan to send the troops out tomorrow to fight them in the forest."

"No, let them in to fight?" Diana blinked. "Like they did with our Crusaders back then?"

Charles chuckled awkwardly. "Not this time. There's a saying: keep enemies at bay."

Diana sized up the goblin in front of her, nodded after a few seconds, and then muttered to herself, "Quite a lot of divine blessings."

"Hmm, what did you say?"

"It's nothing. I was just saying the ratman problem still has five months to go." Diana reminded them of their bet. Anyway, she felt that Charles couldn't solve the ratman problem, so she could ask him what the God of War's blessing was all about.

"Oh, I know." Charles nodded. He was still waiting for the evil book's reply, but that would take time.

"Well then," Diana said, seeing the minotaurs in the distance starting their war dance again, she stretched her arms and loosened her limbs. "It's time for the next training session."

"Aren't you going to rest? We have to fight again tomorrow."

"What's there to take a break from? It's just a battle of walnut kernels."

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