Chapter 213 - 185: Nightfall
"You mentioned the Holy Water to me before. I’ve already contacted the Church," Little John said, setting down his teacup. "I went to the Earth and Life Church. They promised to prepare the Holy Water as soon as possible, and then all I have to do is go pick it up."
"They agreed that easily?" Shire said, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips.
"Just as you’d expect, they refused at first when they heard it was for a large barrel of Holy Water," Little John said with a smile. "But then I told them it was an order for the Drink Undying Alchemy Workshop, and they agreed. They also squeezed a batch of Healing Potions out of us."
"Of course. Those people in the Church would never pass up an opportunity like this." Shire shook his head slightly. From his previous dealings with the Four Gods Church, he remembered them being just as stingy.
He glanced at the Demon Lord’s Angry Long Horn standing in the corner of the stone room. "They can have as many Healing Potions as they want, as long as the Holy Water isn’t diluted. Keep on them about this. It needs to be done as soon as possible."
Little John froze for a moment. This was the first time he had ever heard Shire press him on a task; it had never happened before. Thinking about all the things his boss had been through recently, he realized Shire had probably run into something formidable again.
"Understood," Little John said with a firm nod. "I’ll press them to get it ready as fast as they can."
’He must have run into a tough Ghost or some Undead Creatures,’ Little John thought. He had sparred with those Skeleton Warriors before, so he was no longer fazed by the "strange" creatures in the forest.
"Good." Hearing Little John’s assurance, Shire gave a solemn nod. He had already heard that ancient, ethereal voice tell him, "They see you." Shire knew this was the Forest Whisper. After hearing it, he had tried shouting around, hoping to get more information, but there was only silence.
’Who are "they"?’ Shire had wondered at the time, frowning as he listed several possibilities in his notebook. After some analysis, he had narrowed it down to three: the one who created the Giant Spiders and Giant Bees, the Six Great Demon Lords, and Count Valentine.
The creator of those giant creatures had likely taken notice of him. After all, not only had he borrowed Count Valentine’s power to wipe them all out, but he had also led the charge to kill those two Chimeras. It wouldn’t make any sense if their master hadn’t discovered his existence.
And Shire couldn’t be sure if the Angry Long Horn in the corner had attracted the attention of a Demon Lord.
As for Valentine, it was hard to say if he had noticed Shire, or if he planned to send men to crush him. After all, from what Little John and Mary had described, the Count had already raised taxes twice—an appalling act for the subjects of his domain. If he mobilized his army to destroy Shire, he would probably have to raise taxes yet again. No sane Lord would do something so idiotic.
’But judging by Philip’s behavior, maybe Valentine really would do it,’ Shire had thought, drawing a large X over Valentine’s name in his notebook. ’After all, like father, like son. It’s not a stretch to think he’s just as stupid.’
So, for the past few days, he had been constantly pushing Red Eyes to train his subordinates while also having Broken Tooth intensify the patrols, trying to detect the slightest change in the territory. Unfortunately, there was nothing to report. In the words of the little goblin Shan Xi Ao, "The songs are still sung, the honey is still sweet, and the Fortress is happy every day."
Seeing that their business was concluded, Little John finished his tea and stood up to leave. He was going to spar with the Skeleton Warriors later; he felt he’d gotten a little stronger recently. ’Too bad I still can’t take a full-power hit from Caocao.’
Shire watched his subordinate leave, then pulled out his notebook again and looked at the options he’d listed. ’I can’t shake the feeling I’ve missed something.’
He turned to look at a nearby mirror, frowning in thought. He had just recently bought it—part of a custom order for several mirrors, mainly for his subordinates, the female goblins, and the Centaurs. Shire had kept one for himself.
’What could it be?’ he wondered, stroking his chin. He completely failed to notice a tiny ladybug crawling across the wall.
......
Night fell, and Shire sank into a deep sleep. The wool blanket was warm, and it had granted all the goblins a much better quality of sleep.
Outside the Fortress entrance, the Centaurs were still organized into night patrols, guarding against ambushes from wild beasts and other races of the forest. They all carried torches, taking care not to let them get too close to the buildings. Back in their old village, the night wind would often blow sparks and set the grass huts ablaze.
But unlike the cheap grass huts, these new, sturdy wooden houses were far warmer and more comfortable. The Centaurs were especially careful, terrified of setting their new homes on fire.
The forest was never truly quiet at night. The cries of wild beasts often echoed through the trees, sometimes joined by the sound of startled birds taking flight. Carried on the blowing winter wind, these sounds inspired a certain reverence for the vast Nightmare Forest.
Shire slept soundly, not even tossing or turning. It was a good quality bed. When he had first distributed them to his subordinates, some had still chosen to crawl underneath to sleep, since sleeping on the ground was a lifelong habit for goblins. Over time, however, they had slowly come to accept sleeping on them. Shire could still remember the shocked look in the Centaurs’ eyes when they first saw the goblins had beds.
The entire Fortress was silent, save for the occasional snores of a few goblins. The most prominent among them was the sound of Red Eyes, which was like an electric drill. Shire was all too familiar with that grating, whirring sound; he’d been hearing it for a long time.
On the wall, a red, seven-spotted ladybug slowly crawled down. It drew closer and closer to Shire on the bed below. Unlike other insects, this ladybug moved in a straight line toward him, as if it had a purpose.
Just as it was about to spread its wings and fly down onto Shire, a brightly colored gecko darted out from the side of the wall. The gecko lunged forward, its mouth snapping shut around the ladybug.
No matter how much the ladybug struggled, it could not escape the gecko’s mouth. If Shire had seen this, he would have been shocked. ’A gecko and a ladybug in the middle of winter?’
As the gecko swallowed the ladybug, a piercing human shriek echoed through the stone room.
"Teacher, save me—"