Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

Little John sat silently at the entrance of the Goblin Fortress.

The morning's crisis was still fresh in his mind; just when he and Mary were in despair, Charles saved them almost as if he had fallen from the sky.

When he first led Mary into the forest, he hoped to meet the boss, but then he realized that was wishful thinking. The forest was so big and it was so early; there was no way they could meet him.

But thank God, it's all over.

After Charles shot the tax collector dead, a group of goblins rushed out and quickly killed the three henchmen. Charles then ordered himself and Mary to follow, and they arrived here in silence.

Young John sat on the ground, idly digging in the dirt with a stick. He felt like a beggar who had been struggling to beg since childhood, and one day a luxurious carriage stopped in front of him. A group of well-dressed servants stepped out, bowed to him, and said, "Young master, we can go home now. The Earl is waiting for you."

Only now did he realize how much his boss was worth, and understand the meaning of "don't judge a book by its cover" when it comes to goblins.

Little John had seen other goblin lairs, and even first met the Shire at the entrance of a small cave, but he only realized how shallow his knowledge was after walking into the tunnel just now.

Although the fortress is located underground and can only be lit by blue glowing mushrooms, the living area is so large that it is much larger than the houses of the wealthy. As long as ventilation and sanitation are improved and the lighting is upgraded, it is indeed a very good settlement.

The seventeen large wooden chests, along with the wooden signs hanging on them labeled "Beast Cores," "Gold Coins," and "Magic Equipment," attracted Little John's attention even more. He could imagine the dazzling, golden light inside the chests once the lids were opened, but out of politeness, he only glanced at them a few more times.

I used to think I was better off than the goblins, but now it seems that's not the case at all.

"What are you thinking about?" Ciel's voice rang out from behind.

John tried to get up, but was held down by the other person.

"Watching them train," John said, while Charles sat cross-legged beside him.

"Ready, throw!" In the distance, Red Eyes was directing 30 goblins to practice. They lined up in six rows, taking turns throwing a wooden block, then retrieving it and throwing it again.

"They're practicing throwing grenades," Charles said with a laugh.

John knew about this stuff; it was quite powerful. He'd seen the boss test one when the goods were delivered.

At the time, he didn't think much of it, since in the open forest, the killing range of a grenade was limited.

However, if 30 of them are thrown at one location, their power should not be underestimated.

"They did a great job," said John, who was discovering for the first time that goblins also had to undergo combat training.

It's funny, but many adventurers don't actually practice combat; they just go back and forth between the three places in the Forest Association tavern.

They boast every day about how many goblins they've killed and how many ears they've handed over, but what if they were to encounter this goblin band in front of them?

"An adventurer's party has no chance against them," John said.

"We won't intentionally harm humans, but we also need to have the ability to protect ourselves," Charles said, shrugging. "There's a saying that goes, when others suspect you have weapons of mass destruction, you'd better actually have them."

John thought about what the other person said for a moment, then nodded.

"How are you feeling, that guy?" Ciel pointed at Red Eyes.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Little John asked.

"Red Eyes." Charles called his men over and invited the two to spar with wooden sticks for a couple of rounds.

"I am Akame." Akame patted his chest and introduced himself.

Little John looked up, his eyes wide, at the floating Furu. One of its eye stalks was curiously staring at him, while the other was fixed on Charles. But he quickly realized what was happening and said in his mind, "My name is Little John."

"Let's begin." After briefly explaining the requirements, the sound of wooden sticks clashing and goblins shouting rang out from the center of the arena.

Little John gripped the wooden stick tightly, staring intently at his opponent. Red Eyes was the most formidable goblin he had ever seen. Although Red Eyes still had many flaws in his swordsmanship, his strength and agility were no less than his own.

The two matches ended quickly, with both sides drawing their points.

"Not bad, you still need to practice more," Red Eyes said casually.

Charles laughed and kicked his subordinate aside. "Go back to training."

"He's very strong. I only managed to limit him because of my height and reach. If we were the same size, the outcome would be hard to say," John said calmly. There was something he didn't say: if he wanted to kill Red Eye, he only needed to fight like he did with the Hound.

However, John's pupils immediately narrowed as he noticed that the marks he had made on his opponent's arm during the sparring session had vanished in an instant.

This recovery speed would be on par with even one or two seasoned adventurers.

Moreover, not far away, a troll carrying a log walked into the fortress, and greeted the boss warmly as he passed by the two men.

"He's Cao Cao, you probably can't beat him right now." Xia Er waved his hand and watched Cao Cao walk into the passageway.

John lowered his head and chuckled self-deprecatingly. He recalled the Storm Brotherhood that everyone in the tavern had been boasting about. He'd heard they were only clearing the outskirts of the forest, and that if they came to the fortress, they would suffer heavy losses.

Charles smiled as he looked at Mary, who was standing there dumbfounded by the passageway, and asked, "Tell me, what happened today?"

Little John took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, "You know, the reason I became an adventurer before, a few days ago..."

He recounted the events calmly, describing the conspiracy, danger, and despair, but Charles could sense the thrill within.

"So, you saved me and Mary," John said sincerely.

"It was just a small favor." Charles waved his hand with a smile. Fortunately, when they met last time, he marked the other party with the Domain Star. This morning, when he led his men out to survey the trade route, he unexpectedly discovered that the other party was in the domain and was moving quickly.

Charles initially thought that Little John had been attacked by other adventurers, and immediately led his men to join him, never expecting things to turn out this way.

"No, it might be a piece of cake for you," John said, getting up and dusting himself off.

Then, he stood before Charles, his gaze resolute. He placed his left hand on his chest, knelt on one knee, and solemnly declared, "I, John Franklin the Younger, swear today that I will be forever loyal to Mr. Charles."

Charles stopped smiling, looked at him seriously, and nodded.

At the same time, he felt a change in his control panel.

[Personal Status: Advanced Shapeshifting Curse (Negative), Hero's Heart (Positive)]