The Forest Feeds No Idle Goblins

Chapter 107: Chapter 90: The "Wolves" Are Here

Gripping a rope, Broken Tooth crouched alone in the shadow of a Bang-Bang Tree, only visible from the shoulders up.

He was watching Nine-finger and several other goblins gather Bang-Bang Fruit. The Chief had ordered increased patrols recently, so he had taken a few goblins to monitor the surrounding area, keeping an eye out for any sign of trouble.

Just yesterday, he had encountered three refugee goblins and brought them back to the Fortress.

Seeing the state of those goblins, Broken Tooth felt incredibly fortunate to have met Green Egg. ’If he hadn’t become our chief,’ he thought, ’I’d probably be dead by now, or even carved up and eaten.’

"Green Egg is a good chief." Bai Mao said that often, and Broken Tooth completely agreed with her.

RUSTLE... A few faint sounds reached his ears. Broken Tooth glanced over instinctively. ’A red squirrel.’

He ignored the creature in the canopy of the distant Bang-Bang Tree and went back to watching the ground.

’There are actually animals in the Bang Bang Forest? This is the first time I’ve seen one,’ Broken Tooth thought to himself.

But he immediately recalled what Shire had told him: "Be wary of anything out of the ordinary, including animals." ’Would there be animals in the Bang Bang Forest?’

He took out his telescope and began to scan the distant forest.

A moment later, he frowned. He thought he saw many figures moving at the edge of the woods. ’They aren’t thinking of crossing the Bang Bang Forest, are they?’

Broken Tooth immediately slid down the rope and shouted to the nearby goblins. He sent a few to warn Nine-finger’s group and a few more to alert the herb-gathering team. With the remaining goblins, he rushed toward the Fortress’s hidden entrance.

At that moment, Shire was discussing the future of the Ancient Runes with Agatha. He wanted to try building a Teleportation Gate himself but wasn’t sure if it would work.

"Chief, humans," Broken Tooth reported curtly, running up to Shire.

Shire’s expression didn’t change. He turned to Agatha with a smile. "Why don’t you go check on the warehouse side for now? The Teleportation Gate needs two corresponding ends to function. Researching just this one Stone Ring isn’t enough."

"Hm, you have a point." Agatha considered for a moment, then nodded. "I’ll go take a look, then. The two Teleportation Gates do need to be synchronized."

With that, she had Shire operate the controls and disappeared through the Teleportation Gate.

"Did you get a clear look?" Shire asked, his expression turning serious as he faced Broken Tooth.

"A few figures, moving around the edge of the Bang Bang Forest," Broken Tooth said.

"Did you notify the others?"

Broken Tooth nodded. Shire grunted in acknowledgment. "Then proceed as we’ve drilled."

Shire had previously run several rapid-evacuation drills for the territory, similar to fire drills. Now, he could only hope they were just dealing with a small team of Adventurers.

Before long, the goblins who had been outside returned to the Fortress one by one. Shire waited anxiously for Broken Tooth’s next update.

A few minutes later, Broken Tooth ran back into the Fortress. "Chief, there are a lot of them! More than I can count on my hands and feet!"

"Keep watching them. Make sure you’re not seen," Shire ordered immediately.

Broken Tooth nodded and ran out again. The winter gear Shire had given him was a mottled yellow and green, like forest camouflage. With a circlet of grass on his head, it was very difficult to spot him when only his head was showing.

’Forty people. It looks like they’re coming for the Fortress,’ Shire calculated quickly. ’Should I have everyone evacuate through the Teleportation Gate?’

’No, they’ll destroy everything—the beds, the furniture, the Red Bull, our food reserves, the Bang-Bang Fruit.’

’Besides, even if the goblins all leave, the signs of habitation will still be here. They aren’t idiots; they’ll probably camp the place. If we teleport back then, we’ll be walking right into a death trap.’

’Forty Adventurers... the Storm Brotherhood,’ Shire muttered to himself.

After a few seconds, he scanned his silent subordinates. They were all gazing at him, waiting for their chief’s decision.

"Heh." Shire gritted his teeth, a cold smirk twisting his lips. His gaze hardened, and he slammed his fist down. "We fight!"

’I’ll kill anyone who dares to covet my home.’

Shire then began to issue rapid-fire commands, ordering his subordinates to set up the heavy wooden barricades at the entrance and secure them with iron chains. Everyone was to be on high alert.

...

Emlyn felt very lucky. He had successfully passed the trials and become an Apprentice Member of the Storm Brotherhood.

But he found it a bit strange. They had been suddenly notified last night that they would be entering the forest this morning. The official reason was that the Count’s Mansion had reported a group of evil Heart Stealers occupying a Relic in the forest. They were said to be continuously attacking the outlying villages, and the Brotherhood was needed to exterminate them immediately.

"I’ve never heard anything about Heart Stealers," Emlyn had said in confusion at the time. But he quickly shook his head. ’Emlyn, you’re just an ordinary Adventurer, not even Black-Iron rank. Why would they share important information like that with you?’

Besides, Matel, the leader of the Brotherhood, had promised that anyone who distinguished themselves could be sponsored for a promotion to Black-Iron Adventurer.

Emlyn couldn’t help but fantasize about becoming a Black-Iron Adventurer. If he could get promoted to a silver Adventurer, he could finally return to the Great Dome.

At the dim light of dawn, the forty members of the Brotherhood set out, their boots crunching on the autumn frost. Yangjiao Town was still quiet; aside from a few barking dogs, the townspeople were all still asleep.

Emlyn clutched the two Awakening Potions tucked in his clothes, his heart pounding with excitement. ’This is the Storm Brotherhood, all right! Handing out Healing Potions and Awakening Potions before a mission... this must have cost a fortune.’

As they traveled north into the woods, he began to understand the gap between their group and his old one. When he adventured with Lira and Luna, Lira would always charge ahead while he fired his bow from the rear, and Luna would provide support with her Healing Spell. This often allowed a few of the goblins to escape.

But the Storm Brotherhood was different. Before engaging, they would spread out and then attack in unison, surrounding the goblins completely.

Emlyn heard it was the Brotherhood’s Beast Tamer, Ricardo, who scouted out the goblin positions in advance.

"Their coordination is flawless," Emlyn marveled.

As the party ventured deeper, they encountered three groups of goblins. But instead of killing them all, the Brotherhood focused on capturing them alive. Now, ten bound goblins were being shoved along at the head of their formation.

...

"This must be the forest on the map," Matel said, tilting his head back to look up at the high canopy of the Bang-Bang Trees.

"This should be it." The Mage, Qige, patted a tree trunk. "Some species is definitely living around here."

"Why do you say that?"

"There are no fallen fruits on the ground," Qige said. "In a forest this large, there’s not a single sign of fallen fruit. There’s only one explanation: they’ve all been gathered."

"If something is gathering fruit, it’s probably goblins," Matel said.

"Let’s not jump to conclusions. It’s possible these trees don’t bear fruit," Qige said with a smile.

"We’ll find out when we get through it," Matel said with a nod. He turned to Ricardo beside him. "Find anything?"

"There were some shadows in the woods ahead, but they vanished quickly." Ricardo looked up, his white eyes fixed on their leader.

"Perhaps they’re invisible," Matel said, rubbing the long scar on his cheek with his thumb. "Maybe they aren’t goblins. They could be little goblins."

"That would be for the best," Qige nodded. "A large clan of little goblins would be enough to open the doors of the Plantagenet City nobility for us. In that case, the Demon-Banning Barrier Scroll I prepared will come in handy."

"Move through the forest quickly," Matel commanded. He also ordered his men to make sure the captive goblins didn’t escape; they would be used to test the way into the Relic.

Soon, the party entered the Bang Bang Forest. A few goblins tried to escape along the way but were yanked back by their ropes and brutally beaten by the Brotherhood members.

"Bastards. These goblins just won’t behave," Yak grumbled, shaking out his left hand and spitting on the ground.

"If you knew you were about to die a painful death, you’d run too," Ricardo said airily.

"They don’t know shit. All they do is squawk. Once we get inside the Relic, they’ll have a real reason to scream." Yak flexed his wrist. ’That last goblin’s face was surprisingly hard.’

"Something’s wrong here," Qige said, bringing the party to a halt.

"What is it?" Matel immediately walked over.

Qige shook a rope he was holding, then looked up at the high canopy. "It seems a creature really is harvesting the fruit from these trees."

"What kind of species?" Matel asked.

"I don’t know, but I’m certain it’s not goblins." Qige gave the rope a few hard tugs, realizing it was looped all the way around a branch high in the canopy. "Goblins can’t climb trunks this thick and tall."

"They need the fruit or flowers from the canopy, they possess some intelligence, and they can fly... Perhaps they really are little goblins," Qige said, looking at Matel and nodding slightly.

"Then they should be easy to deal with."

The Storm Brotherhood picked up their pace through the forest, continuing north. Before long, Ricardo announced a discovery up ahead.

Soon, they arrived before several large boulders.

The boulders were over a meter high and had clearly been deliberately placed there. Between them was a downward-sloping passage with stone steps, its walls overgrown with grass and moss.

"Yak, try pushing open the stone door," Matel said.

The burly Yak pulled the Two-handed Axe from his back and tossed it to the ground. He cracked his knuckles and stretched, but didn’t move toward the door. Instead, he kicked one of the bound goblins, sending it tumbling down.

The goblin rolled down the steps, yelping and screeching, until it slammed into the stone door. Nothing happened.

With that, Yak leaped down to the stone door in a few steps. He braced his palms against it and pushed. With a grinding sound, he forced the door open, creating a half-meter-wide gap.

"It’s pitch black. No light," Matel said, walking down the steps to the door.

"Let’s test it first." Yak grabbed another struggling goblin and hurled it into the stone chamber.

The goblin’s terrified squawks echoed from within the stone chamber. A moment later, Yak and Matel heard frenzied screaming and the sound of frantic footsteps from inside.

Yak immediately yanked on the rope, but the other end felt light. When he pulled it all the way out, he found it had been severed. The broken end showed clear signs of being burned away.

"This won’t be easy," Matel said, staring at the frayed end of the rope.

"Throw two more goblins in."