The Forest Feeds No Idle Goblins

"The Evil Throat Army?" Shire glanced at the goblin before him. "Were you sent by them?"

"No, not exactly. We were brought here by another goblin to look for the Centaurs." Cyan Hide stood rooted to the spot, very timid. His hands, still greasy from the meal, were now clutching tightly to his tattered pants.

Shire saw his movements and immediately understood his psychological state. At the same time, he called up the goblin’s status panel.

[Name: Cyan Hide]

[Race: goblin]

[Danger Level: 0.8, a competent weakling]

[personality: steadfast and principled]

’Another decent personality,’ Shire said in a low voice. Then, he asked casually, "The guy who brought you here, he’s the one that ran off, right?"

"Yes." Cyan Hide nodded. He snuck several glances at the goblin leader across from him. The leader’s clothes seemed to be made of fur and looked very warm, completely different from the rags on his own body. And although he wasn’t as cold after eating, he knew the warmth would fade away soon enough.

"How many goblins are in the Evil Throat Army?" Shire asked directly, but then amended his question, "If you can’t count them all, you can just tell us about the composition of the Earth Goblins’ squads."

Cyan Hide thought for a moment. He didn’t answer immediately, just clutched his tattered pants and fell silent.

Shire found this a little strange. He stared at the goblin before him. He had thought that after feeding the four goblins, they would spill the beans and tell him everything they knew. He hadn’t expected the very first one to be such a tough nut to crack.

"Why aren’t you talking?" He watched Cyan Hide with great interest, trying to read something from his expression.

’He’s frowning, hands clenched, seems to be deliberating. His lips are twitching slightly, looks like he wants to say something. He doesn’t dare to look at me, so he must be scared.’ Shire swirled the teacup in his hand as he sized up the other goblin. After a moment’s thought, he picked up a wooden cup and poured him some hot tea. "It’s cold, isn’t it? Have a drink and warm up."

Cyan Hide glanced at the steaming tea on the table. He started to reach for it several times but held back.

"What are you worried about?" Shire suddenly said. "Are you afraid I’ll kill you after you talk? Or are you afraid the Evil Throat Army will find out you told me their secrets?"

Cyan Hide still said nothing, only taking a small half-step back.

Shire thought for a moment and decided to approach from the angle of his personality. "On a day this cold, you’re all still wearing rags like these. I wonder if all the goblins in the Evil Throat Army are like this."

The silent Cyan Hide stopped his anxious fidgeting and instead clutched his pants tightly, as if afraid Shire would snatch away the only rags he owned.

"We used to dress just like you. Some of us didn’t even have rags and had to wear large leaves." Shire held his cup and glanced at the ceiling. "But then we figured things out, and everyone worked hard together. That’s why we can wear these fur clothes now."

"At first, I never imagined things would be like this. I just wanted to eat my fill, then eat a little better, and make sure everyone had enough to eat. Later, I wanted everyone to have warm clothes." He glanced at Cyan Hide and suddenly asked, "Was lunch good?"

Cyan Hide nodded subconsciously, but as soon as he realized what he’d done, he snuck a few glances at Shire.

Shire saw his subconscious movement and the corner of his mouth lifted into a smirk. He continued, "I imagine the Evil Throat Army doesn’t feed you food like that. And looking at your clothes, I bet the goblins there live just like we used to."

"This forest is huge, and we have endless things to do every day. Sometimes I think, if only our tribe had more people, we could accomplish so much more, and everyone’s lives would get better." He smiled, staring at Cyan Hide. "Can you tell me how many goblins you have? I need them to work for me. And I’m sure that working for me, they’ll be well-fed and warmly clothed. That’s much better than slaving away for the Evil Throat Army, isn’t it?"

"No, I can’t." Cyan Hide finally broke the silence, his voice low. He then mumbled, as if to himself, "Everyone will die."

"Die?" Seeing that he was finally talking again, Shire pushed the cup of hot tea toward him. "Why will they die? Who will die?"

"Everyone will die. All the goblins will die." Cyan Hide stared at the tea, his lips trembling.

"Drink," Shire said at the opportune moment. He then watched the goblin reach out and grip the wooden cup, seemingly with great force.

"Why will everyone die? What will the Earth Goblins do to you?" Shire asked. He had a gut feeling this was related to the goblin corpse he had seen in the Centaur Village.

"If," Cyan Hide took a tentative sip of tea but was slightly burned by the hot water. He stuck out his tongue and licked his lips. "If you show up near the Evil Throat Army with your people, they will definitely attack your tribe. In that case..."

Cyan Hide paused, seemingly lost in thought. A few seconds later, he spoke again, "In that case, we goblins will be forced to charge at the front. Every goblin will be made to drink ’Holy Water,’ and you will be killed. We’ll all end up dead in the end. Or, your tribe will be defeated by the Evil Throat Army, and you’ll have no choice but to surrender... and become just like us."