Chapter 71: Scouting Shadow

With Gopugiga and Gopuran already hard at work on the Storage House, it was time to assign jobs to Gopuflammy and Gopuberry as well.

I reopened the Construction panel and initiated the construction of a Simple Well.

The material cost was 30 Stone and 5 Wood. It would be a relatively small well, built primarily from stone, with a diameter of around 3 meters and a depth of 10 meters.

Once completed, it would provide my little settlement with a reliable source of water, an essential step toward making the castle more self-sufficient.

However, there was one thing I wasn’t entirely sure about.

Normally, digging a well required finding a suitable source of groundwater first, right? It wasn’t as simple as picking a random spot and digging a hole until water magically appeared.

So, how would the System handle that?

Fortunately, I got my answer as soon as I entered the building placement stage.

Along with the usual placement grid, the System highlighted several patches of land in pale blue, marking areas where groundwater was accessible at a suitable depth.

Oh! So that’s how it works!

Apparently, the System could analyze the underground terrain in my territory and identify promising locations for wells. All I had to do was choose a suitable spot and let the construction process handle the rest.

Nice!

With the location settled, construction began without a hitch.

Since the well was considerably smaller than the Storage House, the estimated construction time under Partially System-Assisted Mode was only five hours.

That was perfectly fine. Once Gopuflammy and Gopuberry finished their own project, they could simply head over and help Gopugiga and Gopuran with the Storage House.

Yup, looking good!

With that settled, nearly all my goblins had their assignments for the day.

All except one.

And that was my speedy little guy, Gopushadow.

*****

Finally, I turned my attention toward him.

"Big Boss, what about me? What should I do?" Gopushadow asked eagerly. He had been standing around restlessly this whole time, clearly itching to get started.

Well, I already had a role that seemed practically tailor-made for him.

Exploring and Scouting the forest!

With his exceptionally high Speed stat, he was practically the perfect candidate for the job.

The previous day, I still hadn’t managed to map out the surrounding forest completely. There were plenty of unexplored areas left, and I wanted to get a better understanding of our surroundings before we expanded any further.

And who better for the job than my fastest citizen?

I activated [Vassal’s Eyes] and connected to Gopushadow’s senses. Our vision synchronized almost instantly, allowing me to see exactly what he saw.

Then, at my command, Gopushadow headed back into the forest.

*****

A few moments later, Gopushadow was leaping from tree to tree at astonishing speed, darting through the forest canopy like a literal shadow.

His Speed stat was more than three times higher than Gopuro’s, though that didn’t mean he could literally move three times faster. There seemed to be some kind of hidden formula governing movement speed, one I still hadn’t quite figured out.

Whatever the exact calculation was, the guy was absurdly fast. Watching the forest rush past through his eyes almost felt like flying through the treetops myself.

Woosh!

Woosh! Woosh!

Trees, branches, and patches of sunlight blurred past as the slender goblin zipped between the treetops, covering several meters with each leap. He weaved through gaps in the foliage with barely a pause, leaving me struggling to take in the scenery.

Still, speed wasn’t everything. At this rate, we could cross half the forest without learning anything useful about our surroundings!

I had to remind him to slow down before we could continue the scouting mission properly. Fortunately, Gopushadow obeyed without complaint, allowing me to get a better look at the forest as we continued in the opposite direction from Gopuran’s previous scouting route.

Hopefully, we’d discover something new this time.

For a while, the landscape offered little beyond the usual forest scenery. Dense trees towered overhead, their tangled roots buried beneath thick undergrowth. Jagged rocks protruded from patches of moss, and clusters of glowing mushrooms dotted the shadows beneath fallen logs. Here and there, I could spot a few more berry bushes or big insects.

Still, nothing particularly noteworthy caught my attention.

Then, all of a sudden, Gopushadow came to a halt on a thick branch.

His sudden stop caught my attention, and I directed my focus toward whatever lay ahead of him.

Beyond the trees was a small clearing surrounding a pond. The morning sunlight spilled through the canopy, illuminating the grass and casting shimmering reflections across the calm water.

And standing beside the water...

Wait... is that...?

I recognized those creatures immediately.

A female Starry Deer!

She was tall and graceful, with a beautiful orange coat speckled with tiny white markings that resembled stars scattered across the night sky.

But the real scene-stealer was the tiny fawn standing beside her.

It was so small and adorable that it looked like a living stuffed toy. The little thing skipped happily around its mother, chasing a glowing ladybug through the grass with all the carefree energy of an excited child.

Wow...

It had been quite a while since I’d last seen them.

Back when I was still alone in the castle, these very deer had occasionally wandered into my territory and stayed for a while. During those lonely days, their visits had been a small but welcome comfort.

However, ever since the goblins had moved in a few days ago, the deer had disappeared.

In fact, most of the animals that used to visit my castle had left. The only ones that still stuck around were the raccoon family living in my basement and the birds that occasionally perched on the walls.

I’d often wondered where the deers had gone.

Now that I’d finally found them again, I couldn’t help feeling genuinely happy.

But then...

"Yum yum! Leave it to Gopushadow!"

That voice sent a jolt of alarm through me.

Oh, FUCK!

Of course!

OF COURSE!

My green little bastard had spotted the deer and immediately decided they were nothing more than walking food!

Before I could react, Gopushadow whipped out his bone dagger and lunged straight toward the mother deer!

"WAIT! SHADOW!" I shouted through [Ruler’s Voice]. "DON’T KILL HER!"

The dagger flashed dangerously close to the doe’s neck.