Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

Chapter 98 Combat Training [4k]

"Put this pouch behind you." Charles personally adjusted the position of Red Eye's equipment. "Don't look over there. Once you're all set up, go back and fight your Mind Eater."

"Adventurers, they all deserve to die," Red Eyes said through gritted teeth.

"Didn't I save five for you? Raise them slowly. They have plenty of food, and the number will increase in a while." Xia Er picked up a leather water bag and hung it on Red Eyes. "Don't cry."

The Storm Brotherhood's attack resulted in the deaths of a large number of Mind Eaters in the fortress. Red Eyes personally led a few goblins to dig several large pits and bury them. Sharl heard that Red Eyes had even given names to several Mind Eaters, and he really couldn't understand how Red Eyes could distinguish between them.

"It's good as it is now." Charles took a few steps back, looked at the red-eyed man in front of him, and nodded.

This is a set of equipment he provided to the fighters in his tribe.

The inner layer was a long-sleeved shirt made of gray-white linen. Cotton was not used because cotton would stick to the skin when wet, thus quickly drawing away heat and causing hypothermia. After winter, the temperature had dropped considerably, so Shirley still chose linen.

He wore a sheepskin coat over his clothes, similar to the leather jackets he was familiar with, with yellow-green camouflage patterns on it, and leather pants for warmth.

He then donned a newly made chainmail suit, which had been refitted by the blacksmith. Charles had heard from John that the blacksmith had told him, "These days, nobles are shameless, training their children to be soldiers at such a young age."

A pair of leather gloves inlaid with iron plates, plus a multi-functional waist pouch containing several bottles of potions, a standard speed-up scroll, three grenade fruits, and two small cans of blazing glue. Sharl had originally considered whether to stock up on some blazing glue, but using it in the forest might cause a major disaster, and given the goblins' intelligence, they would most likely set fire to the burrow and turn everyone into "roast ducks."

After the battle with the Brotherhood of Storms, Charles had a change of heart. His goblins had witnessed the power of weapons and were now taking precautions against fire. So far, the Grenade Fruit had not caused any problems. Therefore, he asked Mary to buy a lot of Blazing Glue for the goblins, intending to use it to make up for the lack of Mind Eater monsters in their defenses.

He also made a small backpack for the combatants, which contained a flint, a compass, some jerky, and honey.

The helmet and shoes are not yet finished. The helmet needs to be made in the shape of a goblin's head. Goblins' heads are different from humans'. Compared to human heads, theirs are smaller and more oval-shaped, and they also have two long, pointed ears. This requires a special blacksmith to make it, and you must make sure that the blacksmith doesn't tell anyone.

The shoes are still under research with the shoemaker. The forest shoes designed by Charles are different from adventurer gear. They are designed based more on the styles of hiking brands in his memory, plus some characteristics of military boots. This requires the shoemaker to keep researching and making trials. He can only wait for the day when the final design is finalized.

Currently, only 22 sets of this equipment have been made, which is a small quantity. Mary will need to frequently go to collect more supplies, but it is believed that the entire tribe will be able to change into winter clothing in less than a month.

"Chief, what should I wear?" The white-haired man approached Charles, carrying a white apron.

She wore a specially made dark blue, narrow-sleeved woolen long dress with lace trim around the waist and hem, and her long white hair was tied into a ponytail pointing upwards with two red ribbons.

"You need to put this around your neck first, and tie the strap from the back." Charles personally helped the white-haired man put on the long apron. "That way, you won't get your clothes dirty when you're working or cooking."

Bai Mao looked at the apron on her body and happily spun around in place, the long skirt spinning with her movements.

"It's not cold in winter," she said with a smile, looking at Charles with eager eyes.

"It's not cold, everyone in the back has some." Charles smiled and nodded.

Just like White Hair said before, goblins can only survive the winter by shivering. With these warm clothes, each goblin will no longer be freezing with snot running down their face and their mouth twisted. Sharl once heard Ya say that "the winter in the forest will teach any goblin to stomp their feet and dance." When he said this, his tone was as lyrical as reciting poetry, but his face was as serious as a deadpan expression.

"We need to keep making winter clothes, make a few more for our men to change into, and also equip them with some cabinets." Charles calculated. He had a little over a thousand gold coins stored in the fortress, most of which came from the "gifts" from the Mind Flayer and the Storm Brotherhood, enough for him to equip his men with winter clothes and furniture.

"However, we need to develop our own trade projects as soon as possible," Charles thought to himself. As the number of his subordinates increased, the demand for supplies also increased. Selling healing potions through the "Undying Alchemy Workshop" was a good trade channel.

Mary replied, recounting the exchange plan she had discussed with the archipelago merchant. It was a combination payment plan of gold coins and healing potions, with the healing potions making up the majority of the cost. Charles roughly estimated that, after deducting the stock, Little Claw would need to brew them continuously for 5 days every day to make enough.

Claw Master's status in Charles' heart has long been different from before. His wooden bowl has also been upgraded to a bright glass jar with a diameter of half a meter, which is filled with magic potion for a long time to ensure that he can "recharge" immediately when he is tired.

Charles also assured him that he would definitely help him search for news of his master, and that he would look westward in a few days and keep an eye out for various relics in the forest.

Little Claw was very happy to receive the assurance, and afterwards he worked like a pro when brewing medicine, even accepting that Ciel would give him an extra potion crucible.

"Is Mary coming over at noon today?" Charles asked, looking at the white-haired man.

White Hair nodded. Today was the day Mary was coming to teach him a new dish. Mary would come every now and then, bringing him various seasonings and cooking methods. Last time, Mary mentioned that there were books about cooking among humans, and White Hair was now considering learning the Common Language so that he could better learn the recipes.

"Alright, I won't bother you any longer." Charles said goodbye to the "head chef" and walked out of the fortress. Outside, a group of goblins were practicing their combat skills.

The Storm Brotherhood provided Shar with 39 abilities. Apart from 10 mage abilities and some basic strength and stamina, there were also 23 combat skills. Shar assigned all of these abilities to his subordinates based on their habits and physiques. Now, a goblin not only has basic strength and stamina, but also one or two abilities such as charge, sweep, jump slash, and quick draw.

With a "bang," a goblin rammed its round shield into a tree trunk, then swung its short sword. Its movements were still a bit clumsy, but it was clear that it was gradually becoming familiar with the abilities it had been given.

"There are still too few of them." Sharmo stroked his chin, staring at his subordinates who were having a great time. After the battle with the Storm Brotherhood, these goblins had become much more confident. Even One-Eyed was standing straight now, no longer hunched over and glancing to the sides from time to time.

Among the tribesmen fighting in front of them, most were melee fighters wielding swords and spears; only five goblins were capable of using bows and arrows.

"How about we practice formation coordination?" He squatted down, picked up a twig, and started drawing on the ground.

"What's with that formation?" Charles muttered to himself, picking up a few small stones and placing them on the ground to represent soldiers. "Two archers in the back, and two with shields in the front."

"We need spearmen on both sides." He drew two horizontal lines next to the stone. "Oh, and we're missing heavy weapons. What are those things called?"

"Wolf's toothbrush." ​​Charles slapped his forehead. "This is going to be tricky. I haven't seen any bamboo in the forest."

"Let's use thick tree branches as substitutes for now. What other types of troops do we need?" He tried hard to recall the video footage he had seen, trying his best to replicate the general's formation.

"General Qi, I've only learned a little from you. My learning level as a goblin isn't very high, so please don't laugh at me." Xia Er gradually drew an 11-person formation on the ground.

"You guys come here." He stood up and called over 11 goblins.

"You stand here, come here—"

In less than a minute, Charles had arranged the goblins' positions, and then he began to teach them the things to pay attention to one by one.

"Chief, what kind of game are they playing?" Red Eyes walked over carrying a sword, wondering what the chief was up to.

"Playing with a new tactic," Charles said with a smile.

"Battle tactics? How to fight?" Red Eyes circled around the 11 goblins. He was a little confused about how to fight. Goblins usually rushed in and attacked randomly like a swarm of bees. They never had to stand in fixed positions like this before.

"They're weak, they can't fight." He shook his head, feeling they were useless.

"Come on, have a dozen or so of them come over and try," Charles immediately called over the remaining goblins.

Soon, the goblins on both sides stood in two groups, 11 against 11, each goblin holding a wooden weapon.

At Charles's command, the two sides immediately charged together and engaged in fierce combat.

"Stop, stop!" He immediately called out to both sides. The 11 goblins that had been chosen completely forgot what Sharl had told them, and as soon as the fight started, they immediately reverted to their original nature.

He had no choice but to tell them their positions, attack methods, and order again, and they started fighting again.

"Ah, let it be destroyed." Charles looked up at the sky and sighed deeply. This was even more difficult than the task of hunting wild boars with those dozen or so goblins.

"Chief, they're useless," Red Eyes said nonchalantly.

"Just a little longer," Xia Er said through gritted teeth. He refused to believe he couldn't teach the Goblin Pair Formation. He wasn't as skilled as Commander Qi, but he should be able to handle those scattered adventurers in the forest using a small team.

The reason he thought of using this formation was that the goblins' combat ability was far inferior to that of the adventurers, so he had to find a way to make the goblins' combat ability more than the sum of its parts. In addition, in a forest environment where the terrain was not open, small teams were better able to fight against small groups of adventurers.

On the other hand, this formation does not require any divine weapons or goblins to be able to split the sky with a single sword strike or conjure fireballs with their hands. All that is needed is to learn some basic combat skills and practice them frequently to form the formation.

"The Storm Brotherhood provided many basic combat skills, and each goblin has been endowed with strength and stamina. Now is the perfect time for them to master this formation." Charles, watching the goblins running back and forth according to his instructions, became even more determined. "Although I can't kill 2000 like Commander Qi..."

Despite a terrifying record of no casualties on both sides, they should still be able to hold their own against a dozen or so adventurers.

After a while, Sharl stopped his men's training, and the two teams of goblins prepared to fight again.

"Chief, they're going to lose." Red Eyes still held the same opinion; he still believed that swarm tactics were a good fighting tradition of goblins.

This time, however, the 11 goblins did not charge forward directly. Instead, they waited for their opponents to come. They used two thick branches to block the opponent's wooden sticks, and then a long stick without a spearhead immediately emerged from behind and stabbed the opponent down. After the goblins in the front row holding the wooden plaques held off the "enemy's" attack, the ones in the back immediately filled in. Soon, the 11 goblins repelled the opponent.

Red-eyed, staring wide-eyed at the formation that was slowly advancing like a hedgehog, he muttered, "They... they won."

"We haven't won yet." Charles shook his head. The formation of these 11 goblins had become chaotic. The positions he had told them to take were now almost forming a long, straight line. They had only managed to catch their opponents off guard at the beginning of the battle. If they were to face an adventurer with rich combat experience, they would still be defeated.

"But they can practice. They need to continue training until they are familiar with the formation changes and how to use their weapons." He clenched his fist. Once his men had mastered the formation and were equipped with armor, weapons, and defensive items, he would be completely unafraid of adventurers.

"Then let's see who dares to come to my territory to collect ears."

"Chief, I want to give it a try." Red Eyes looked at the goblin formation in front of him, eager to try.

"You go ahead." Charles nodded. It seemed this reckless guy wouldn't believe it unless he experienced it for himself.

At the start of the battle, Red Eye charged at the 11 goblins with a wooden stick, but was immediately blocked by two thick branches. He tried to push the branches away to break into the formation for close combat, but he couldn't achieve his goal. He was also stabbed by several spears. He had to retreat a few steps and move back and forth to find an opening, but the goblins kept moving slowly, always on guard against his attacks.

After several unsuccessful attacks by the Red-Eyed, if he wanted to break through, he would have to risk being stabbed multiple times.

"I lost." Red-eyed man held the wooden stick, looked up and sighed, "The leader is amazing, amazing."

Charles walked over to him, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Once everyone has finished training, we won't be afraid of adventurers anymore. We can even fight them in the open field."

"Back then, we were the ones who called the shots in this forest."

Red eyes stared at the leader, a raging fire burning in them.