The Forest Feeds No Idle Goblins

Although Shire considered himself a poor student, he still had a basic grasp of history. For example, while he couldn’t name all of Emperor Taizong of Tang’s concubines, he at least knew the general sequence of the major dynasties.

But his memory held no concept of a "Holy Calendar," nor any mention of a "Holy Country."

However, he recalled his recent experiences. The Mother Tree had called him the "inheritor of the will of the ancients," and Agatha had told him many fragments of history from the Ancient Times that had been erased. He had reason to suspect these Skeleton Warriors had been slumbering for over five thousand years.

Thinking of this, Shire quickly apologized. "I’m very sorry to have disturbed your slumber. I didn’t mean to. Can you tell me why you became... like this?"

"Like this?" The Skeleton Warrior reacted immediately. He glanced down at his skeletal frame and chuckled. "We were all voluntarily summoned as Undead Creatures to guard our commander. We didn’t want any scoundrels coming here to desecrate his remains."

"Voluntarily?" Shire was stunned. This was the first time he’d heard someone say they had willingly become an Undead Summoned Creature.

"Can you tell me about that Wave of Magical Beasts?" he asked after a moment, deciding to chat with them and build some rapport.

"Heh heh heh. You’re an interesting one. Since you want to hear it, very well." The Skeleton Warrior nodded and began to recount the tale of the soul-stirring battle.

A while later, Shire was sitting on a stone sarcophagus, surrounded by the twelve Skeleton Warriors. These Undead Creatures were either perched on other sarcophagi or standing casually nearby. Little Claw lay quietly on Shire’s lap, while Fulu floated in their midst, acting as the "local area network" for their chat.

"Are those Bone Spike Wolves really that tough?" Shire exclaimed. A Skeleton Warrior opposite him immediately replied, "A single one is no problem, but that kind of Magical Beast usually travels in packs—a dozen at the low end, sometimes more than thirty. And not only do they coordinate with each other, they even coordinate their attacks with other Magical Beasts."

"I’ve only killed a Fearsome Claw Bear and a Cyan-Eyed Dragon Snake before," Shire remarked at a timely moment.

"Fearsome Claw Bears are easy enough to kill with a bit of coordination, but Cyan-Eyed Dragon Snakes are more trouble. During the Wave of Magical Beasts, those things are incredibly cunning. They always wait for other Magical Beasts to attack before rushing in for a sneak attack." A Skeleton Warrior beside Shire picked up the thread, then raised a bony arm and pointed to another skeleton. "He was strangled to death by a Cyan-Eyed Dragon Snake."

That Skeleton Warrior gave a short, dismissive wave, clearly a little embarrassed.

"So in the end, you successfully held back that Wave of Magical Beasts and kept the Fortress from falling," Shire said, his voice rising as he looked at the Skeleton Warriors before him.

"That’s right. We fought to the last man. Our final soldier took a giant monitor lizard down with him," the Skeleton Warrior who had first spoken to Shire answered loudly.

Shire placed Little Claw on the sarcophagus lid and then jumped down. He took a few steps forward and declared in a resonant voice, "Please allow me to express my highest respect to all of you, the heroes who defended your home."

Then he stood ramrod straight and rendered a military salute from a future age.

In his book, any soldier who willingly laid down their life to defend their home was worthy of respect.

The Skeleton Warriors watched the short, green-skinned little fellow before them. None of them offered any jest. Instead, they all stood their ground and returned the gesture with their own unique military salute.

"But there’s one more thing I have to tell you." Shire lowered his arm, paused, and chose his words carefully. Then, he said calmly, "You have likely been slumbering for at least five thousand years."

"What?" several of the Skeleton Warriors cried out in astonishment, and the others seemed equally shocked.

"To be honest, I’ve never heard of the Holy Country or the Holy Calendar. In the five thousand years of history I’ve studied, there’s no mention of them," Shire said with a shrug. "This means your Holy Country may have been wiped from existence."

"Wiped from existence?" the Skeleton Warrior who first spoke to Shire—apparently the leader of the group—demanded loudly.

"It’s just a theory," Shire replied at once.

"So, Gob—" The Skeleton Warrior faltered, seeming to have forgotten what to call the "little guy" before him.

"Goblin. You can call me Shire."

"Right. Shire. I’m Elton," the Skeleton Warrior said, pointing to himself. "How did you come to the conclusion that the Holy Country was wiped out?"

"Elton, I’ve studied the history of this continent. While I’ll admit my grades weren’t the best, I did pass my exams. In all the history I learned, there was absolutely no mention of the Holy Country." Shire took a few steps forward and explained earnestly, "I believe the Holy Country you speak of truly existed, but people today know nothing of that history. There are only two possible explanations for this. First, you didn’t live on this plane of existence. Second, your history was erased for some reason."

"No," Elton said. "We did exist, and we all died fighting the Wave of Magical Beasts."

"Right," Shire nodded. "And the Nightmare Forest is still here, with a few Magical Beasts still popping up now and then. That means the first explanation is probably wrong. You do live on the same plane of existence as I do."

"Then what you’re saying is," the green Ghost Fire in Elton’s eyes flickered, "the history of our Holy Country was erased."

"It’s just my theory," Shire said, rubbing his chin, his tone tinged with confusion. ’From the sound of it, the Holy Country must have been incredibly powerful. What kind of force could possibly erase that entire period of history?’

He paced back and forth, mulling over the information. He recalled the Note that came with the Celestial Tower Key: "Hide it well. Do not let the Gods discover that we have found the path to surpass Them." Suddenly, Shire felt he was starting to get a glimmer of understanding.

’Could the Four Gods have done it together?’ Shire murmured to himself. ’Erasing an entire period of history... indeed, only beings like the Four Gods could accomplish such a thing.’

’But if the Four Gods were behind it, doesn’t that make me the world’s number one most-wanted criminal?’ he thought, his brow furrowing. ’I’m the inheritor of the will of the ancients, I’m holding a Key Fragment for the Celestial Tower, and I have a very ancient-looking Obelisk in my mind. For whatever reason, the Four Gods buried that history. If I stay alive and keep on this path, I might just dig it all back up.’

’Then my enemies are...’ Shire stood frozen, his gaze hardening with determination. ’The stakes are a little too high this time.’

"What did you think of?" Elton asked. He had watched Shire pace and think without interrupting.

"I think we may have gotten ourselves into some serious trouble," Shire said, looking up with a smile at the Skeleton Warriors.

"How serious?"

"A little."

"Worse than the Wave of Magical Beasts?"

"A little bit worse, I’d say."

Elton looked at the goblin before him, seemingly understanding the implication behind Shire’s words. The green Ghost Fire in his eyes swayed a few times, and then he said, "Then it’s nothing."

"Right. It’s nothing," Shire said, smiling and nodding. ’I understand my situation perfectly,’ he thought. ’I’m already a traitor wanted across the continent, which in the end just comes down to a pile of Gold Coins on my head. If I’m ever discovered as the inheritor of the will of the ancients, the Four Gods won’t even have to lift a finger. They’ll just send a few Paladins, Judges, or Druids to take care of me.’

’I have to keep searching in the forest and find out what this "path to surpass the Gods" is really about. It’s the only way I’m going to survive.’

With that thought, Shire rubbed his face with both hands, then scanned the twelve Skeleton Warriors around him. "Elton, I want to ask all of you to come back with me."

"Back with you?" The Skeleton Warrior tilted his head, looking at the goblin with interest. "Mr. Shire, what do you have in mind?"

Shire grinned, then walked over to the sarcophagus and patted its lid a few times. "I want to hire you."

"Hire us?"

"Yes. I’m probably the only person in the world right now with any connection to your past. And our enemy is incredibly powerful, so I think it would be best if we stuck together. That way, we can watch each other’s backs."

"So you want to take the twelve of us skeletons back to your settlement?"

"I want to take all the Skeleton Warriors here," Shire declared, sweeping his arm toward the thirty-odd sarcophagi in the chamber.

"No... I’m afraid it will only be the twelve of us," Elton said, a hint of sorrow in his voice.

"Just twelve?" Shire frowned, slowly scanning the sarcophagi once more.

"Remember what I told you? Undead Creatures rely on Magic Power to survive. If they run out, they return to the Nether Sea," Little Claw piped up from atop the sarcophagus. It propped itself up on one hand and flipped its middle finger in Shire’s direction.

"You’re saying they’ve all..."

"That’s right. They can no longer be woken," Elton affirmed with a nod. "And our own Magic Power is nearly depleted. If you had arrived any later, you might not have met us at all."

"Alright, twelve is better than none," Shire sighed. The loss from over thirty down to twelve was substantial. "Come with me. My tribe is currently living in the underground levels of the Fortress. I think you’ll find it... nostalgic."

"The Fortress?" Elton chuckled. "Yes, I am quite nostalgic for it."

"However, taking us with you won’t be so easy," he said, shaking his head and pointing toward the depths of the tomb. "Our duty is to protect our commander’s remains, as well as the banner of our Seventh Forest Field Army."

"Where the banner is, we are!" he declared, and the other Skeleton Warriors roared in agreement.

"The banner?" Shire murmured, his gaze turning toward the pitch-black depths of the tomb.