The Forest Feeds No Idle Goblins

"Sister Evita, did you really find the Unicorn?" a Centaur asked, plucking up his courage.

They were a few of the clan’s young Centaurs who, persuaded by Evita, had decided to secretly follow her to see the Unicorn.

Evita nodded and said with great certainty, "Yes. Didn’t you just see that lock of golden hair?"

With that, she glanced back toward the village. This plan was something she had come up with on the spot. Frankly, expecting a Centaur to spontaneously devise a perfect, win-win solution was asking too much of her. So, after wracking her brain, she could only settle for this suboptimal plan.

When she saw the short sentence in the grass hut, she had immediately understood Shire’s intention. The goblin leader had somehow guessed what her father was thinking—that he wouldn’t be quick to believe her. However, if more of her people saw the Unicorn for themselves, and as long as no accidents occurred, her father might just agree to meet with Shire.

That way, they could coordinate a plan that would aid in her race’s migration.

So when her fellow clan members came looking for her, she had deliberately asked about the clan’s situation. After learning a mare was giving birth that day, Evita immediately insisted on going to help. She was adamant, no matter what Oreco, who was posted at the door, said. In the end, Oreco had no choice but to follow.

While helping, Evita began telling her companions about her encounter with the Unicorn. Naturally, she left out many details, including anything about the goblins. She only mentioned being guided to a Unicorn in the forest and bringing back the lock of its long hair.

In the end, she successfully piqued her companions’ interest. After all, the Unicorn had been missing for a long time, and Evita had also brought back those very sweet honey candies, something the Centaur Race had never had before.

Using the chaos that followed the foal’s birth as cover, Evita successfully led her companions away, shaking Oreco’s surveillance. She then immediately set off south, heading straight for Shire’s territory.

Soon, they were further and further away from the forest village. Just as Evita was cautiously watching for Ogre patrols, a cloth bundle was thrown from the shadows, landing at her feet.

"Who’s there?" An alert Centaur shot an arrow—SWISH!—embedding it in a nearby tree.

Evita quickly calmed her companions, assuring them it was a friend. She then picked up the bundle and read the note inside: "Follow Broken Tooth. He will lead you."

’It’s that goblin,’ Evita whispered. She scanned her surroundings and immediately heard a few COO COO bird calls from up ahead.

"Let’s go. The Unicorn has sent someone to guide us," she said, turning to her companions. Then she took out a few honey candies and handed them out.

They traveled south for a long time. The journey back to the village hadn’t seemed so long to Evita before, but now, leaving again, the road felt endless.

"Sister Evita, how much further?" a young Centaur asked. Many of them were already getting scared; after all, this was the first time they had been so far from their village.

"We’re almost there," Evita said with a forced smile. She took a Compass from her bag to check their heading. Even though Centaurs have a powerful forest survival Ability, she couldn’t be sure if they had gone astray. She could only trust the goblin leading them.

Some time later, just as a few of her companions were tentatively asking about turning back, a RUSTLING sound came from the bushes ahead. A few goblins emerged from behind the trees.

"Goblins!" the Centaurs yelled, instantly drawing their bows and nocking arrows. Evita had no choice but to jump in front of them, arms outstretched, to prevent them from loosing their Feathered Arrows.

"They’re friends," Evita said loudly, but the young Centaurs looked at her in confusion, not believing a word she said.

"She’s right. I’m a friend," a short, bald goblin walked over, greeting them with a smile.

"Sister Evita, you tricked us! There’s no Unicorn here, only these evil goblins," one of the Centaurs cried out. They clearly still hated this evil Race, especially after just witnessing the vile face of that so-called "Commander-in-Chief."

"No, she didn’t deceive you," Shire said with a smile, attempting to approach and explain. But a SWISH was followed by a THUD as a Feathered Arrow landed in the ground right in front of him, less than half a meter away.

Shire froze. The warning shot was loud and clear.

CLIP-CLOP... A strong male Centaur emerged from behind a tree, a Longbow in hand with a Feathered Arrow nocked and aimed warily at the goblins.

"Oreco!" Evita cried in shock. She’d thought she had successfully shaken him, but it was clear she had underestimated his tracking Ability. He was, after all, one of the best Hunters in the race.

"Evita, this is too dangerous," Oreco said, slowly moving to stand with the other Centaurs. His eyes were glued to the goblins, wary of their every move.

"Oreco, please listen! They really are friends," Evita pleaded, stepping forward to explain, trying to make him understand her intentions.

But unfortunately, the Centaurs’ prejudice against goblins was too deep. They all watched Shire warily, completely disbelieving what Evita said.

"Well, I figured as much," Shire said with a shrug. He turned and walked away, only to return moments later, dragging a white creature with him.

"So, now you know Evita wasn’t lying, right?" he said with a smile, pulling the white animal over.

Stunned, all the Centaurs lowered their Bows and Arrows. They stared in silence at the Unicorn standing beside the goblin. Its body seemed to be made of light under the sun, its golden-brocade mane fluttering in the breeze.

’Just as I expected.’ Evita let out a long sigh. She turned to look at her petrified kinsfolk, but she calmly refrained from urging them on. She had been through this moment herself; looking at them now, she could perfectly picture her own past reaction.

Idly, she fished a small honey candy from her pocket and popped it into her mouth. She watched the goblin in the distance, who stood smiling with his arms spread wide, and muttered, "Yeah, keep up the act."

...

"General, are we really going to agree to the Centaur Race’s request?" Inside the Evil Throat Army’s command tent, an Earth Goblin asked General Evil Throat, who was seated in the center.

"Of course not," Evil Throat said, his eyes narrowed. "Why would I ever agree to such a request?"

He had just met with the Centaur Clan Leader. The other party had taken the initiative to see him, wanting to persuade the Evil Throat Army to reduce its exploitation of the Centaur Race and guarantee their basic living supplies.

But Evil Throat had not agreed. He had just fobbed him off with a noncommittal answer.

"Send someone to inform the goblin. He’s doing a good job; tell him to keep it up," Evil Throat said, rubbing his red nose. "And he is to closely monitor the Centaur Race’s movements. If they dare to flee in secret, he is to notify me immediately."

"You all need to be ready at all times. Tell those goblins not to hide in their holes all day. If something happens, we need to encircle and annihilate those Centaurs immediately."

"This time, we must use their old and weak to constrain the strong, and then we’ll capture them all in one fell swoop."

"Yes, General," the surrounding Earth Goblins immediately shouted.

"The Evil Throat Army doesn’t need vassals, only Slave Soldiers. These Centaurs are too clever. We can only let them stay with those goblins," Evil Throat said with a vicious smile.

Based on the current situation, the Centaurs most likely wouldn’t resist. After all, for every Race in the forest, procreation is the first priority. The Centaur Race didn’t want a head-on clash with the Evil Throat Army, nor could they guarantee victory against the goblin Slave Soldiers who had drunk the "Holy Water."

And as long as Scarface was made to increase the pressure, the Centaur Race would eventually have no choice but to migrate in secret, which was exactly what the Earth Goblins wanted.

The migration of any Race is a massive undertaking. A Race has its strong and young, but also its old and weak. The moment the Evil Throat Army discovered the Centaurs migrating, they could descend upon them like starving tigers and surround them.

In the wild, a migrating Centaur column would be completely unable to mount an effective counter-attack or defense. The result would be that the Evil Throat Army could capture that band of Centaurs at minimal cost.

Then, by making the goblins and Centaurs at the garrison monitor and suppress each other, the Earth Goblins could sit back and reap the benefits.

"What’s the situation with the Goblin Kingdom to the north?" General Evil Throat asked, looking at his Earth Goblin subordinates.

"No movement these past few days, and no goblins have come out," an Earth Goblin reported at once. "We’ve been keeping a constant watch on the north."

"They’ve been a bit strange lately. According to the timeline, another group of goblins should have run out by now," Evil Throat said, rubbing his nose. "In the next few days, take some men and probe deeper to the north. See what they’re up to."

"Yes, General."

...

"So? I wasn’t lying, was I?" Evita said, holding her head high as she presented the Fortress before them to her kin.

Ever since seeing the Unicorn, they had all been silent. After all, no Centaur could believe that their own racial totem would eagerly seek out a pack of goblins.

And to top it off, this pack of goblins didn’t even seem to treat the Unicorn with much respect.

This was their totem, a legend passed down through generations, and here it was, sleeping on a pile of messy weeds inside a goblin Fortress.

"They’ll get used to it," Shire said with a smile. He then asked Evita, "So I take it your father didn’t believe your story?"

Evita nodded, then looked at her kinsmen.

"Don’t worry," Shire chuckled. "After they experience what it’s like here, they’ll be able to go back and persuade more of your people."