The Forest Feeds No Idle Goblins

"Judging by how ornate that Armor is, it must be Valentine himself," Shire said, staring through the telescope at the three people fleeing the stone chamber. "It seems those Giant Spiders and Giant Bees are tougher than he expected."

"Chief, the humans inside are taking casualties," Lame Leg reported in a low voice, hiding behind a tree. He had witnessed the brutal battle inside the stone chamber through his Secret Servant.

"Good. Keep watching." Shire patted his subordinate on the back, his eyes still fixed on the retreating form of Count Valentine. ’Looks like he’s making a run for it.’

With a SNAP, he collapsed the telescope and leaned against a tree trunk, considering his next move.

’That old goat will probably mobilize his army once he gets back,’ Shire mused, rubbing his chin.

His current enemies were too powerful. The Count’s Mansion backing the Storm Brotherhood, and the Giant Spider and Giant Bee swarms—either one could easily annihilate his people. Resisting both was practically impossible.

Besides, Philip had already been coming for the Fortress, and the Giant Spiders and Giant Bees were on the verge of expanding into his territory. In the end, he’d had no choice but to use this strategy.

’To survive and hold onto our Fortress, this is the only way.’ He glanced at a Worker Ant standing silently under a nearby tree. ’Besides, the future development of my people requires the help of the Worker Ants and Soldier Ants, so protecting the Ant Race is also essential.’

Shire was certain Count Valentine would mobilize his domain’s army to exterminate these giant creatures for three reasons.

First, it was a matter of pride. As a former member of the nobility, Shire knew all too well how arrogant and greedy these lords were, and how much they valued their reputation.

Back when he was an administrative assistant in Plantagenet City, he’d often heard of nobles who would rather skimp on food for themselves and their families just to attend salons and balls in glamorous attire. Now, with Philip dead in the Nightmare Forest and Count Valentine having so rashly made the whole affair public knowledge, the Count would never be able to stomach the public’s ridicule.

’It probably won’t be long before other nobles start sending letters—offering condolences on the surface, but really just enjoying the show.’

So, to save face, Valentine would definitely send his troops.

Second was prestige. According to Yun Xiya’s intelligence, Valentine was currently trying to curry favor with the Third Prince’s political faction. If news of this failed expedition were to spread, it would undoubtedly damage Valentine’s standing within the Third Prince Group.

However, if he could successfully exterminate the Giant Spiders and Giant Bees and report the achievement to Plantagenet City, it would be a great accomplishment. He might even be lauded by the people.

Not to mention, Valentine had just levied a "defense tax" before winter, drawing the ire of his subjects. Shire knew that money was likely intended to buy his way into the Third Prince’s circle and to expand his own army. But now, using that army to exterminate the Giant Spiders and Giant Bees would be the perfect way to silence all the complainers.

’But will this affect my people?’ Shire wondered, gazing in the direction Valentine had disappeared. ’Probably not.’

He felt the pocket of his clothes, where he kept the route map he’d taken from Philip.

’In all likelihood, Valentine doesn’t have a map to the Fortress. Otherwise, the Knight Order would have split its forces: one group to find Philip’s body, and the other to come straight for me for revenge.’

’Besides, according to Yun Xiya, Philip was furious about the Adventurers’ disrespect toward the Count’s Mansion. Valentine might see this whole affair as a plot by the Storm Brotherhood. That stone chamber did look like some kind of Relic, after all.’

’Or perhaps he’ll assume these Giant Spiders and Giant Bees are the result of some biological modification experiment by a Dark Grand Mage?’

Shire’s brow furrowed as he considered the one remaining problem. ’The only complication is that Brotherhood member who escaped the dungeon. Yun Xiya said Philip got the news of his prison break before he’d even left Black Lion City. That means this person is highly capable. As long as he isn’t caught, we’re still safe.’

’I wonder if Little John will be able to find him.’

...

"Morning Star, did you like the four-line poem I just wrote for you?" Buck Teeth asked, patting the Tree-man in front of him with a wide, toothy grin.

A small wooden sign hung from one of the Tree-man’s branches. On it was written "213 Morning Star." The "213" was the Tree-man’s designation, and the name was one Buck Teeth had given him.

The 500-odd Tree-men didn’t have their own names; the Mother Tree had never named her children. So, as soon as Buck Teeth arrived, he took it upon himself to name them all. He pulled the names from a few books of poetry—words like "Morning Star," "Moonlight," "Rose," "Light Gauze"...

"They’re clearing the vines off you, so don’t be impatient. If you’re bored, how about I compose another poem for you?" Buck Teeth said with a smile, stroking Morning Star’s bark.

The Tree-man opened its eyes and glared at the goblin before it. Then, it heaved itself up from the ground, shuffled two steps away, and sat back down.

"Captain, this tree’s all clean," a goblin announced as he slid down from the Tree-man. He placed the wicker basket from his back onto the ground; it was filled with seven or eight Tree-man fruits.

"Good. Load the fruit into the cargo container," Buck Teeth ordered. The goblins began transferring the fruit onto the back of a nearby Worker Ant, where an inverted, trapezoid-shaped cargo container was secured. It was already full of Tree-man fruit. This single haul was several times more than the entire goblin squad could have carried on their own.

"Morning Star, I’m heading out. I’ll come see you again soon." Buck Teeth walked up to the Tree-man and held out his palm. A stream of green starlight swirled around the Tree-man’s body like a cool breeze. The Tree-man rustled the leaves on its head in comfort. As it watched the goblin walk away, it sighed. ’This goblin would be perfect if only he were mute.’

Before long, Buck Teeth’s group arrived back at the entrance to the underground stone chamber. They had brought four Worker Ants with them: two for carrying fruit and two for transport. In the distance, a few more Worker Ants were approaching. It was Nine-finger’s herb-gathering team.

Nine-finger’s team only had two Worker Ants; the rest of the goblins were on foot. This was mainly a precaution against sudden clashes with Adventurers. And since they no longer had to lug around heavy backpacks full of herbs, their movements were much more fluid.

"Find anything?" Buck Teeth asked, hopping off his Worker Ant and walking over to Nine-finger.

"Nothing. Didn’t run into any Adventurers today." Nine-finger shook his head and had a goblin "drive" the Worker Ant back into the stone chamber. "We did get a bit turned around earlier, though. Lame Leg wasn’t there, so we got a little lost."

"It’ll be fine once the Chief draws a map of this area." Buck Teeth stepped forward to make way for the Worker Ant. "The Chief said this entrance will be sealed shut later. We’ll wait for One-Eyed and his crew to dig a new exit."

"Right." Nine-finger watched the two Worker Ants depart.

Meanwhile, inside the Western Stone Chamber, One-Eyed was directing a few goblins to transfer the earth dug out by one Worker Ant into a cargo container on the back of another.

"Careful! Don’t get in the Worker Ant’s way," he shouted to the goblins.

If you asked anyone in the tribe who loved the Worker Ants the most, One-Eyed would definitely say it was him. With the Worker Ants helping to excavate, the speed was much faster than when they’d relied on just a few goblins. Watching the soil being hauled away, he muttered to himself, "This is probably a full day’s worth of digging for us."

Now, the Worker Ants helped with the digging, and they could also haul the sand and soil outside to be dumped.

More importantly, the Worker Ants would spray acid as they dug, solidifying the soil. This was far more convenient than their old method of having to prop up the tunnel with wooden beams every few feet.

"Manager Du, should we keep digging ahead?" a goblin wearing a Rune Belt asked, approaching One-Eyed.

"Let me see." One-Eyed pulled out a piece of paper. It was a rough sketch drawn by the Chief, showing him how to dig. "We need to excavate an underground chamber up ahead. The Chief said we’ll need several pillars in the middle for support. Have the Worker Ant clear out a section first, and I’ll get the other Worker Ants to start hauling timber."

After a quick discussion, the two agreed, and the excavation continued.

’The Chief said this area is vital to the future of our people, so we have to build it right.’ One-Eyed mused, looking down at the sketch by torchlight. There were still very few Blue Fluorescent Mushrooms here. Outside, the little goblins, led by Shan Xi Ao, were busy "ripening" more of them.

’In the future, this will be our people’s farmland. As long as the Tree-man Race exists, our people will never go hungry.’ He recalled the Chief’s words, feeling as though he were part of something truly great.

’Speaking of food, I think they said we’re having something new for lunch.’ One-Eyed smiled to himself. ’But when I heard the news this morning, I wonder why Nine-finger looked so strange.’

"Manager Du, the Chief is looking for you," a goblin shouted, running over.

"Alright, you all carry on for now." He immediately broke into a trot, heading straight for the Teleportation Gate, where he found Shire waiting for him.

"Chief, what brings you here?" One-Eyed asked respectfully, hurrying over.

"I came to check on the progress here." Shire waved a hand dismissively. To prepare for Valentine’s potential military assault, he needed to start modifying the Fortress as soon as possible. Shire was thinking that if the excavation here was going smoothly, he would reassign One-Eyed to work on the Fortress first, since it was the higher priority.

"Progress here is right on track, Chief!" One-Eyed beamed, clearly proud of the work he was doing.

"Here’s the situation. We need to start work on the Fortress at the same time. I plan to dismantle the main gate and conceal it, then have you dig a hidden exit," Shire explained, gesturing in front of One-Eyed. "Think you can handle it?"

One-Eyed thought for a moment. "We can do it," he said. "But progress on the Fortress will be a bit slower. Still, with the Worker Ants we have now, all this excavation work has gotten much easier."

"Good. Organize a team and get started as soon as you can. I’ll draw up the sketch for you in a bit." Shire nodded and clapped "Manager Du" on the shoulder. He planned to survey the territory again later to find a more concealed location for the Fortress’s new exit.

’This time, I’ll completely erase any trace of the Fortress from this forest. That’ll make it much harder for Valentine to find me.’