Chapter 173 - 146: The Escape Begins
"You came in person?" The Centaur Race Leader came forward to greet him, speaking to Shire with delight while also eyeing the party behind him.
"Yes. I wasn’t comfortable letting them come alone," Shire said with a smile. Noticing the leader’s gaze, he glanced back as well. Behind him were five goblins, one Giant, and two Worker Ants fitted with cargo boxes.
"Let’s head to the stone chamber underground first." He ignored the shocked stares of the surrounding Centaurs, instead instructing Caocao to retrieve the Teleportation Gate Components from the cargo boxes as he surveyed the area.
When Rubus returned today, Shire had received a note from him, learning that the operation was for tonight—the sooner, the better.
So, he immediately gathered a few of his subordinates and headed north. Thanks to Broken Tooth having traveled this route with Evita once before, they safely bypassed the Ogres and arrived directly at the Centaur Village.
The entire way, Shire kept a firm grip on the Compass, terrified of going in the wrong direction. Fortunately, Oreco had left hidden markers along the path.
’So these are the Pure White Stones from the warehouse.’ Shire intentionally took a few steps away to make room for the ones unloading the cargo. Then, he approached a thatched hut and looked at the stones on the ground being used to anchor the support poles.
There were a great number of these stones. The hut before him used at least seven, and the Centaurs had many more huts just like it.
’This is enough to build plenty of Teleportation Gates.’ He rejoiced inwardly, then took a casual stroll around the village.
"Chief, it’s all unloaded," Buck Teeth said, walking over.
"Good. Let’s go into the stone chamber." Upon hearing the report, Shire immediately followed the Centaur Race Leader into the village. Before long, the entrance to an underground tunnel appeared before him.
As the group entered the stone chamber with torches, Shire stared blankly at his surroundings. He hadn’t expected the Centaurs to have turned the place into a "pig farm."
The entire stone chamber was divided into small pens, partitioned by walls built from white stone. Inside the pens, "wooden chests" were placed quietly against the walls. If he hadn’t already known they were Shape-shifting Monsters, Shire would have thought the Centaurs had stored a great deal of their belongings here.
"Are there more than thirty Shape-shifting Monsters here?" he asked, turning his head toward the Centaur Race Leader.
"Yes, that’s right," Evita’s father replied, a hint of pride on his face. When Evita returned, she had told him the Goblin Race needed large quantities of oil and was willing to trade with the Centaurs for these Shape-shifting Monsters.
If Shire’s people had simply promised to rescue the Centaurs outright, the Clan Leader would have remained wary of these goblins. But now, not only had they proposed a trade, but they had also made a generous offer. This put him much more at ease. After all, in the forest, no one helped another without gaining something in return.
"Not bad. You’ve raised them well." Shire leaned on the enclosure wall, watching the Shape-shifting Monsters with great interest. He had already instructed One-Eyed to reorganize the Fortress and expand the room originally used to farm Slimes, turning it into a breeding base for Shape-shifting Monsters. He was also preparing to expand the scale of the operation and build a massive Shape-shifting Monster farm in the future. That way, they would never run short of oil.
’We’ll have so much oil to use in the future. Not just for eating, but for weapon maintenance. I’ll have to ask Agatha how to make soap with it, too.’ He wandered from one small pen to the next, planning the future applications for the oil.
"Chief, it’s set up," Buck Teeth came to his side and said quietly. Before they left, Shire had strictly ordered him not to compose any poetry, threatening to throw him to the Shape-shifting Monsters if he did. It seemed he had clearly remembered the warning.
"Evita," Shire said with a smile, beckoning to the Centaur Race Leader’s daughter, who stood behind him. "You go first. Agatha is on the other side to receive you all. As we planned, you need to immediately establish a reception corridor in the Fortress."
"Okay." Evita walked over and glanced at her father. Seeing his encouraging expression, she immediately called a few of her companions and stepped into the Teleportation Gate.
Broken Tooth stood beside the Control and operated it with a great heave. In the blink of an eye, the Centaurs shrank into a white dot and then vanished completely.
The few Centaurs nearby cried out in hushed astonishment. The Centaur Race Leader himself stumbled back two steps in amazement. Although Evita and the others had described the magic of the Teleportation Gate to him several times, seeing it in person still left him utterly shocked.
"Don’t worry, they’ve already arrived on the other side," Shire said with a smile. "Next, let’s transport these Shape-shifting Monsters. That will clear up some space here."
He soon witnessed how the Centaurs dealt with these "fat pigs of the forest." The Centaurs had already fed them sleep-inducing herbs, so now all they had to do was bind them with grass ropes, carry them out one by one, and put them through the Teleportation Gate.
After each batch was teleported, they would wait for things to be handled at the Fortress and for a message to be sent back before transporting the next group. Inside the Fortress, the goblins were quickly carrying the Shape-shifting Monsters into the stone chamber to be stored. For now, they could only be placed against the walls; the specific arrangement would have to wait for Shire to return and make a plan.
Before Shire had left the Fortress today, he had specially prepared honey water mixed with Red Bull for all the goblins. As a result, even though it was the middle of the night, every goblin was still full of energy. It was no exaggeration to say their eyes were as wide as copper bells.
Moreover, Shire had also mobilized the little goblins and the Fulu. The little goblins helped guide the way, while the Fulu served as a communication platform. For this operation, Shire had promised the Fulu plenty of beautiful White Shells as "overtime compensation."
"Alright, let’s begin transporting the people," Shire said, glancing around the stone chamber. He then held out his hand, gesturing for the Centaur Race Leader to take command.
As a few Centaurs stepped apprehensively into the Stone Ring on the floor, the first group of the Centaur Race was teleported away.
They took supplies with them as well, with each Centaur carrying bundles both large and small.
Shire paid no mind to the Centaurs. Instead, he took a torch for himself and walked over to the wall of the stone chamber. He had noticed something on it earlier, but because they were busy transporting the Shape-shifting Monsters, he hadn’t had a chance to observe it carefully.
It was a gigantic stone carving, like a mural. Shire tilted his head back as he walked along the wall. The image took up almost the entire surface and was divided into four sections, seemingly depicting four different cities.
Shire was very familiar with the first image. The city in the carving appeared to be floating in the sky, which was very similar to a stone carving in the chamber where Little Claw now brewed his potions.
The second image showed a city built in a lush forest, and it even depicted scenes from the streets, with many Races peacefully strolling and shopping. It featured not only Centaurs, but also Lizardmen and Gnolls.
The third image appeared to depict the bottom of the sea. In it, many people lived underwater, while large numbers of fish and other marine creatures swam above their heads.
The last image was even more interesting. The city’s surroundings couldn’t be seen; only towering furnaces, various mechanical creations, and many large mechanical components were visible in the carving.
"What is this?" Shire walked to the other end of the wall, then turned back to look at the entire carving. ’Lost cities?’
He shook his head and gave a wry smile. ’Could these be the great cities built by the ancient Races? But I’ve never heard of any cities floating in the sky or hidden in the water, which must mean they’ve all been destroyed.’
’These ancients seem to have had a high level of technology,’ he mused, carefully studying the fourth image. ’I just wonder how it compares to the present day. I’ve heard the Dwarves in the northern mountains built a massive mountain Kingdom. I wonder if it looks like this.’
’Thousands of years have passed. The world has changed beyond recognition. I wonder what they left behind,’ Shire mused with a sigh. ’If Agatha had come with us, she’d probably be ecstatic right now.’
Then, he turned to glance at the Centaurs, who were evacuating in an orderly fashion. Seeing that there were no issues, he continued his exploration along the wall. Because the chamber had been filled with so many "pig" pens, he had to navigate around several low walls.
The Centaurs, for their part, paid no attention at all to the goblin holding a torch by the wall. They were busy lining up, preparing to enter the Stone Ring.
During the process, a few newborn Centaur children started to cry loudly.
...
’Why does it sound like someone’s crying?’ Scarface thought, hiding low in the grass.
He was there to check on the Centaur Village, and also to see if he could get some tubers to eat. He had seen the Centaurs digging around the village during the daytime.
He hadn’t gotten much of that deer meat; the Ogres had devoured most of it. Although he was technically the Commander-in-Chief, the Ogres hardly listened to him. He was only safe because of his commission from General Evil Throat. Without that title, those Ogres would have probably stewed and eaten him long ago.
General Evil Throat had previously ordered him to pay close attention to the Centaur Race’s movements, especially to watch for them escaping at night. That was why Scarface had recently taken to spying on the Centaur Village.
This wasn’t too difficult for him; it was much easier than sneaking out at night to steal food back at the Evil Throat Army’s garrison.
However, tonight felt strange to him. Not only were the Big-horned Deer much quieter, but cries kept coming from the Centaur Village, which hadn’t happened much over the past few days.
Scarface carefully huddled in the corner of a thatched hut, peering toward the center of the village. He had to pull his head back several times to avoid the patrolling Centaurs.
’The patrols seem much tighter than before,’ he muttered. ’Just like those Earth Goblins who patrol around Evil Throat’s food warehouse.’
Just then, he saw a few Centaurs carrying things as they came out of a thatched hut and gathered toward the center of the village.
’Why are they all heading to the center? Are they plotting something?’ Scarface became alert. He then secretly backed away, trying his best not to be discovered by the patrolling Centaurs.
’I need to report this quickly. Something is wrong with these guys.’ Once he was out of the village, he ran quickly toward the Ogre camp, his mind already filled with visions of General Evil Throat giving him a promotion.