Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

As dawn approached, John tossed and turned, unable to sleep, feeling distressed by the events of the day.

He was upset about the slap Mary received, and also about what his father and brother said to him.

"Take this money and use it first. We still have some surplus grain at home. Your old man can weave some more wicker baskets or something to sell."

"Brother, I can go back to school a few years later. Sister Mary is a good person, you must marry her."

John sighed, put on his clothes, and went out of the house.

He rejected his family's suggestion, even though it was a solution, because he didn't want to. His father had worked hard all his life and was getting old, and his younger brother was of school age. John felt that he had to solve this problem himself.

"I can only ask the boss for an advance of a few gold coins," Little John said, looking at the starry sky.

Fortunately, there's still Shire, so his cooperation with the goblins should be able to continue. He just doesn't know if the goblin can understand human emotions or the reason for his advance payment.

After all, he had never heard of marriages and funerals among goblins.

But Little John felt that Shire was different. A goblin who could offer "I'll take care of you" might understand his current predicament and trust him.

"The boss isn't an ordinary guy..." John said confidently.

"Jack." A soft call interrupted John's thoughts. He quickly looked in the direction of the sound and saw a thin figure standing outside the yard fence.

The person removed the cloth covering their head, revealing chestnut-colored hair and long braids.

"Mary," John called softly, quickly opening the gate. "Why are you here? It's so late; it's not safe."

"It's alright, listen to me," Mary said, twisting her skirt with both hands, her voice slightly anxious, "My father is drunk."

"Don't worry, I'll find a way to make money," Little John said softly, giving a "humph."

"No, I meant, do you love me?" Mary looked up at John, a pleading look in her eyes.

"I love you as much as a fish can't live without water." Little John nodded solemnly.

Will you always be good to me?

"Yes, I will treat you better than anyone else, and I will not let anyone hurt you."

"In that case..." Mary took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, "Take me away."

John raised an eyebrow, paused, and said, "You mean...?"

"Yes, we'll elope." Mary nodded emphatically.

"But why? I've already thought of a way," John asked, puzzled. He hadn't expected a composed girl like Mary to make such a suggestion.

"No, there's no way." Two lines of tears slid down Mary's face as she whispered, "After you left, my father went out to see that man."

John quickly tried to wipe away his girlfriend's tears, but she held his hands.

"The man said he was willing to pay 20 gold coins."

"20?" Little John almost exclaimed, but the next second he said with a determined look in his eyes, "Don't worry, Mary, I'll figure something out."

"No, Jack, you don't understand. My father isn't marrying off his daughter; he's just auctioning off a commodity. I'm no different from those hoes and sickles, except I'm a bit more expensive. He won't stop until he's squeezed you dry."

"I don't want it to be like this. Even if you finally come up with a lot of gold coins and marry me, it won't be a healthy marriage. We will face all sorts of problems in the future, and this matter will become an abyss that we can never cross."

"So if you really love me, take me away. I'm willing to go anywhere you are. Only by escaping here can I gain freedom, can I be a person instead of a shovel."

"Mary, let me think." John's mind was a bit of a mess. If Mary came to live with him in Girth of the Horn, they would need to rent a house. His income should be enough, but his girlfriend was just an ordinary girl, unlike those adventurers who wielded swords and guns. She could only find work in town and couldn't be too conspicuous.

"That means I'll need to do more for the boss and earn more money," John thought for a moment. "Or maybe I should ask the boss this morning if he has any other requests that Mary can handle?"

Nearly a minute later, John finally said, under the hopeful gaze of the other person, "You might want to be prepared."

Mary stared intently at John, anticipating his next words.

"Giethoorn is not like home. We have a lot of things to do, and you may have endless dirty laundry to do."

Mary closed her eyes, tears welling up in her eyes, and rushed forward to hug her lover.

After a brief moment of tenderness, John immediately asked, "Shall we leave now?"

"Yes," Mary nodded. "Father is drunk and doesn't know I ran away. We need to leave right away. I don't have anything else to take, this will do."

She held up a small cloth bag to indicate that she was all ready.

"Where are your apprentices?" John asked.

"They helped me pack my things and even slipped me a small knife," Mary said with a smile, her face blooming like a flower. "He said if you're not nice to me, he'll stab you with this knife."

Little John laughed a few times. He knew that Mary's father often scolded the apprentices, while his girlfriend treated them very well and often secretly gave them food.

"Okay, wait a minute, I'll go pack my things, I'll be quick," John said. He then tiptoed into the house, and a short while later, he was dressed, quietly closed the door, and quickly ran out with Mary in his arms.

"Sigh—" A sigh came from inside the house, and then old John walked out of the house, watching the two people walk away.

Then came a rustling sound of footsteps, and a dark shadow followed in the moonlight. Old John picked up the shovel from the corner of the wall and slowly approached.

In the wilderness, Little John and Mary chased each other happily in the morning sun. Although the autumn morning was cold, Mary felt as if she was truly alive at this moment. She laughed, sang nursery rhymes from her childhood, and skipped around asking Little John about interesting secrets from his adventures, and talked to him about where to rent a house.

John looked at his girlfriend with a smile in his eyes. Mary in front of him was a bit of a surprise. Perhaps her previous life environment had prevented her from letting go. Now that she was about to embark on her journey of freedom, she had become more carefree and beautiful.

"Be careful, don't fall!" Little John shouted a warning.

The country roads were still rugged, and John was worried that his girlfriend might get hurt.

Mary ran to him, hugged his waist, and said, "After we rent a place, I'll cook your favorite food for you."

"What is that?" Little John asked.

"Smoked fish rice bowl," Mary said, tilting her head and smiling.

"I don't like eating that." He hugged his girlfriend and looked at her affectionately.

Just as their faces were getting closer and closer, shouts came from a distance behind them.

…………

In the forest, John pulled his girlfriend along as they fled.

Earlier, they discovered that several people from the village had come out to chase them, so they had to quicken their pace in hopes of shaking them off.

But in the autumn fields, the crops had already been harvested, and the entire area was laid out before them; to think they could shake them off completely was simply a pipe dream.

With no other option, John made a quick decision, pulling his girlfriend onto a side path and heading straight for the Nightmare Forest.

He felt that the forest roads were crooked and the trees obstructed his view, and that wild animals, snakes, insects, and goblins were all threats, and that the other party might be too afraid to move forward.

But he clearly underestimated his opponents. After shouting a few words, they all rushed into the forest, seemingly unafraid.

John and Mary had no choice but to continue their escape deeper into the forest.

As they ran, Mary's little cloth bag was nowhere to be found. She was panting heavily, lifting her skirt, her calves covered in bloody scratches from the thorns. But she didn't utter a sound the whole way, just gritted her teeth and followed closely behind John. She didn't even ask him why they were going into the Nightmare Forest. Wouldn't an ordinary person die inside?

Mary simply trusted him unconditionally; she believed in John's decision.

"Stop!" the person chasing behind shouted, sounding furious.

Little John couldn't stop; he hoped the other party would finally back down, and he also hoped to meet familiar adventurers in the forest.

Unfortunately, he encountered nothing along the way, except for constantly startling birds.

"Ah!" A scream rang out behind him. Little John stopped and looked over. Mary had already collapsed to the ground.

John immediately went over to help his girlfriend up, but Mary turned pale with pain after taking only one step.

"Did he sprain his ankle?" Little John bent down to check anxiously.

The other party was just a farm girl who could read a little. She had never run away so desperately before. It was already a miracle that she had managed to hold on until now and get injured.

"Jack, you should leave now," Mary said with tears in her eyes. "I'll be fine. At most, they'll take me back to my father. If you stay here, you might get beaten up and taken to the police station."

"No, Mary, don't lie to me," John said with a smile, having already caught sight of the knife hidden behind her back.

"Hurry up and go, they're catching up!" Mary urged her lover through tears.

John drew his sword and stood beside Mary. "Since we can't escape, let's have a proper talk with them."

"Jack".

"Don't worry, someone can tell me I'll become a hero someday," Little John said with a smile.

"Damn it, you guys can really run fast." A burly man ran over quickly, then put his hands on his knees and gasped for breath.

A few seconds later, he stood up straight and took out two short swords.

"Let us go, and you can pretend you never saw me. That miser won't make things difficult for you," Little John tried to say. The man looked familiar; he seemed to be one of the tax collector's henchmen.

"Kid, still half asleep?" The burly man grinned. "That old guy's drunk, sleeping like a log."

"Then you..." Little John was puzzled. Were they doing a good deed?

"Fine, I'll send you to your death first, then you won't see what happens next." After saying that, the burly man charged straight at him.

Little John had no choice but to draw his sword and meet the attack.

He dodged the opponent's thrust by sidestepping, then swung his longsword, slashing at the short sword, before ramming into the opponent, causing him to stumble.

The burly man clearly hadn't expected him to fight so desperately, and was momentarily flustered. Little John seized the opportunity to let his opponent pass, and then thrust his sword into the man's back.

With a "whoosh," Little John drew his longsword, then assumed a sword stance, looking at the people chasing after him.

"Hound, the hound has been killed!" someone cried out.

"What are you yelling for? I saw you!" a shrill voice said breathlessly.

"Your Excellency the Tax Official," John exclaimed in surprise, not expecting the official to come after him personally.

"Sir, the hunting dogs have been killed. Should we let them..." a subordinate holding a short blade said in a trembling voice.

John is clearly very skilled; even the former robber Hound is no match for him. The four of them would probably have a hard time holding him off.

"Sir, we just want to go for a stroll around Gieshorn," Little John tried to make an excuse.

"Jack, no need to say anything, he's the one behind it all." Mary sat on the haystack, staring at the tax collector who was leering at her.

"Pretty smart." The tax officer patted his chest to catch his breath; this was the first time he had chased someone this far with such fervor.

"I was always wondering how that guy could come up with so much money for my father, but when I saw him with you guys a few days ago, I started to have my suspicions." Mary pointed to the underbite next to her, who had several scars on his face and a bandage wrapped around his head.

"What can I do? You always come to my house to pick up my clothes," the tax officer said slyly.

"You're shameless! I'm going to report you to the police!" Little John shouted.

"You'd better get out of the forest alive first," the tax collector laughed. "Go get him, kill him!"

"But his skills..." Several men hesitated, clearly afraid of the longsword in Little John's hand.

"Idiots, couldn't you have grabbed some long branches?" the tax collector snapped, then pulled a crossbow from behind his back. "Don't move, adventurer. If you move, this arrow might end up on your little girlfriend."

"You..." Little John's eyes widened, and he had to be on high alert.

"You lot, kill him," the tax officer said smugly, but he immediately changed his mind: "Don't kill him, cripple him, let them see how we play."

"Yes, sir." The three henchmen replied in unison, then took long branches and tried to poke little John.

John dodged several times, his heart filled with anxiety. He was shocked that the other party could be so shameless. How could someone in such a high position plan such dirty things all day long? They were even worse than goblins who struggle to survive every day. If he had known this would happen, he should have killed them when collecting taxes yesterday.

"You'd better take good care of your girlfriend. If she gets shot with an arrow, it'll be very dangerous in the forest," the tax officer said.

"What are you going to do?" John shouted sharply.

The other person didn't speak, but just grinned maliciously.

John raised his sword to parry a tree branch, preparing to finish off his opponent, but with a whoosh, a crossbow bolt stuck at Mary's feet, startling him so much that cold sweat broke out on his back.

"Sorry, I missed." The tax official quickly nocked another bolt and said with a smile, "The next one won't miss."

"Pfft!" John's arm was scratched by a sharp branch as he hesitated. Seeing that he was gradually losing ground, his three henchmen became bolder and bolder.

"Jack, you should go." Mary took out the small knife in her hand, looking at her lover with tears in her eyes.

With a rustling sound, the grass shook, and a figure emerged from behind a tree.

"Little John," the visitor asked.

"Boss?" John looked up when he heard the voice and saw a green-skinned figure slowly walking over.

"A goblin?" the tax collector chuckled. "One of you go and kill him. Let's experience what it's like to be adventurers today."

Charles looked at the person dressed like a forest grouse, sighed, and skillfully pulled out a crossbow from behind his back.

With a "bang," the tax official fell to the ground.

"Idiot."