The Forest Feeds No Idle Goblins

Shire had always said that no one understood goblins better than him. Now, facing the 600 goblins from the Feathered Serpent Kingdom, he coveted them greatly. But if he wanted to make these creatures submit, it might only be possible through slaughter.

But that wasn’t his intention. His earlier conversation with Cyan Hide had made him understand that even the goblins of the Feathered Serpent Kingdom were living in dire straits. They ate the same food and wore the same things. The only differences were their slightly better living environment and larger hunting grounds.

Unfortunately, with so many goblins concentrated in one place, fighting over prey and foraging areas had become a daily occurrence. Every lair wanted an extra bite to eat, so armed brawls between lairs, often sparked by a single frog or mouse, were frequent.

Cyan Hide had also mentioned that if a lair’s goblin population exceeded twenty, one of them who didn’t want to be exiled would intentionally stir up trouble with other lairs. Even if they weren’t certain to draw the short straw, they’d start a fight just to see if their own side might lose a goblin or two.

Initially, Shire had desperately wanted to get on the platform and tell the silent creatures below that if they followed him, they would have full bellies, warm clothes, and would no longer have to live with the constant shadow of death. Unfortunately, the moment he stepped onto the high platform, he knew they wouldn’t believe him so easily.

Humans don’t believe in things they’ve never seen, and goblins are no different. It was just like the old saying: "The Emperor must use a golden hoe to till his fields." ’At most, these goblins probably just get to eat one more mouse a day than we do.’

But at the same time, goblins were creatures with a strong herd mentality. Once one of them took the lead on something—so long as it wasn’t something they strongly resisted—the others would soon begin to follow, until every last goblin had made the same choice.

It was just like the several times Shire had led his forces to absorb other goblins. In those situations, if the goblins had scattered and fled, Shire clearly wouldn’t have been able to catch them all. But as the more enthusiastic ones stepped forward to touch his ankle, the others began to form a line, waiting to pay their respects.

’So, the ones preventing these goblins from making a choice must be their leaders.’ Shire instantly assessed the situation. The fact that the Dongtou hadn’t voluntarily surrendered was a signal; they had already made their decision, and this caused the other goblins to remain silent.

When Bald Hide announced he was their commander, Shire really wanted to award him a First Level Holy Iron Cross Medal, if he had one.

’He looks unremarkable, with a hint of self-righteous pride, but he doesn’t seem very brave. Most importantly, he’s stupid,’ Shire sized up Bald Hide’s expression and movements, quickly getting a measure of him. ’Crucially, he has no talent for military command. It’s like he single-handedly delivered 600 goblins right to my doorstep.’

’But it wouldn’t be right to say he’s completely incompetent. After all, he led 800 goblins through the forest for so long and over such a great distance, and not a single one fell behind or ran away,’ Shire marveled with a TSK TSK. ’He’s a special talent in his own way.’

Of course, this might have been related to the [Group Dumbing Curse] he had used earlier. After all, the sight of 800 goblins being rounded up by his subordinates like a swarm of headless flies was, to say the least, comical.

’Lust is pretty decent. It really comes through with the Magic.’ Shire was very satisfied with the Demon Lord.

And so, he now made a momentous decision—to send all of the Dongtou back.

...

"You’re letting us go back?" Bald Hide raised his eyebrows, somewhat stunned.

He had thought the other party would kill him immediately, right in front of all those goblins. Or perhaps not kill him, but have that tall Giant standing over there eat him instead. If they did that, the Kingdom’s goblins would probably surrender immediately out of fear.

But the goblin on the high platform obviously didn’t do that.

Seeing that the other party was just smiling at him leisurely, he suddenly understood that it might not be a joke. "You’re really letting us go back?"

Seeing Shire nod with a smile, Bald Hide was instantly ecstatic. ’I’m alive.’

’Feathered Serpent God be praised! I actually survived, and I can even go back to the Kingdom.’ Bald Hide tried his best to control his facial expression, afraid that if he smiled too widely, he would disgust the other party and lose his life.

"Go back and tell that braindead god of yours," Shire said with his hands behind his back, "if he’s not convinced, he can send more goblins. We’re not afraid to fight. Although this is all the strength we have, we fear no enemy. No matter how many goblins you send, we will fight you to the end."

He retracted his smile and spoke in a serious tone, his eyes fixed on Bald Hide below as he tried his best to put on a "we’re not afraid to die" expression.

Bald Hide, however, immediately lowered his head, with an expression that said, "I understand, I’ll be sure to deliver your message." But beneath his lowered head, a secretly smug smile spread across his face. ’So this is the extent of your strength. Next time, I just need to bring more goblins, and I’ll definitely be able to crush you.’

Before long, Shire’s subordinates drove the Dongtou away. He himself remained on the platform, gazing at the figures disappearing into the forest. ’You’d better bring a lot more goblins next time.’

As the Dongtou vanished into the woods, the goblins sitting on the ground began to grow restless. Now that their leaders were gone, these goblins finally started to consider their own choices.

But Shire had no intention of giving them time for their minds to wander.

"I defeated you, so I am your leader! Surrender or die?" he shouted again. He had to act decisively now. As long as one of them took the initiative to step forward, things would be easy.

Unfortunately, he shouted three times in a row, but the goblins huddled on the ground still showed no reaction.

Shire frowned. ’As expected, these guys are cunning. Not a single one wants to be the first to stick its neck out.’

He quickly ran through his options and soon came up with a plan. "Cyan Hide, come here."

Shire jumped off the high platform and called his subordinate over. "In a minute, you’ll do this, and then this."

A few minutes later, Shire once again shouted for the goblins of the Feathered Serpent Kingdom to surrender. Again, there was no reaction. It seemed they were hoping he might release them as well.

Just as the goblins were waiting in silence, a goblin in the corner wearing tattered, blood-stained clothes slowly stood up. Then, under the gaze of more than six hundred pairs of eyes, he slowly lowered his head and walked before Shire.

He slowly knelt on the ground, then reached out and touched one of Shire’s ankles.

After completing these actions, Cyan Hide shouted loudly, "Green Egg is the leader!"

"You idiot, it’s Handsome Guy," Shire reminded him in a low, teeth-clenched voice.

After paying his respects, Cyan Hide quickly stood up and moved to stand behind Shire.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

’Is this plan not working?’ Shire frowned, scanning the crowd of goblins.

Then, a goblin in tattered clothes came limping forward.