Chapter 369 - 308: The Bickering Brothers

Chapter 369: Chapter 308: The Bickering Brothers

If someone had told Shire that goblins were capable of scheming, he would have just laughed it off. Before this, his understanding of a goblin’s intelligence was, at best, something like this: one goblin tells another, "Guess how many dried rats I’ve got behind my back." Then, when the second goblin rushes over to snatch the rats, the first pulls out a thick club from behind his back, knocks him out with one swing, and steals the fat grubs from the second goblin’s pocket.

But now, some Military Leader was actually having goblins pull that old ’stolen letter’ trick. It made Shire curious how the guy’s pea-brain had even thought of it.

Conflicts within the Goblin Race never involved persuasion or surrender. At most, they’d just arrange a brawl, which sounded a lot like edgy, hot-blooded teenagers fighting to be the king of the school, promising to meet behind the building after class, "be there or be square." And every brawl was the same—no tactical coordination whatsoever. They’d just raise their clubs, howl, and Charge, swinging wildly. They wouldn’t even stop if they accidentally clubbed their own chief.

It was just that now, the goblins of the Feathered Serpent Kingdom possessed some novel "unit types," but they still used the same old tactics, charging forward in a single swarm. The only slightly clever move was to have the Petrifying Lizards Charge first.

So, there was definitely no concept of persuasion among goblins, nor was there any thought of surrender. ’Who knows if you’ll roast me or boil me after I surrender?’

’Looks like they want to use this talk of surrender to lull me into a false sense of security while also observing my tribe’s situation.’ Shire stared blankly at the northern forest. ’I wonder when Broken Tooth will bring back some news.’

When Red Eyes and his men had driven those goblins away, Shire had already sent Broken Tooth to hide in the shadows and trail them. He believed it wouldn’t be long before he had detailed intelligence on this group of goblins.

’They should still be a long way from the Fortress, though.’ He’d seen that the goblins were covered in bits of grass and broken twigs, meaning they must have been traveling through the forest for a long time. Plus, the tribe had been covering a large area recently to gather food for the elephant herd, and no one had reported any strange sightings. ’They must be very far away.’

"Looks like I have a few days to prepare." Shire smiled. "Thankfully, Mary has already signed the contracts with the craftsmen. The first batch of weapon components should be produced in the next few days."

He decided that when he got back, he would have Mary pay the craftsmen more to increase the order size and get them to work overtime, trying to accumulate more weapons before the goblins from the Feathered Serpent Kingdom arrived.

"The mortars and Ah Pi Chickens should be enough to deal with these goblins." Shire rubbed his chin, considering his strategy. "I just don’t know if the numbers will be sufficient, or what else I need to prepare."

"I wonder how Little John is doing over there."

Meanwhile, at the base of the Holy Oak Cathedral’s wall in Torch City, Mamadou was consoling a rather nervous-looking Little John. "Relax. My Magic skills might not be there yet, but when it comes to stealing—no, I mean, scouting—I’m a pro."

"Are you really sure that Bishop’s office is up there?" Little John asked, looking up at the third floor, his voice full of uncertainty.

"Of course! I’ve been staking out the Cathedral for days," Mamadou said, quickly scanning their surroundings to confirm he was hidden in the corner’s shadow. "You have to understand, not only do I have to clean the Magic Tower every day, but I also have to take care of the Little Fishman and all of my master’s various Magic Tools. Even with all that, I still figured out the location of Bishop Luther’s office. Tell me, don’t you think I’m a natural at this?"

"Heh heh, yeah, sure." Little John gave an awkward laugh, then muttered under his breath, "If I were the apprentice of a High Tier Great Mage, I’d rather have a talent for Magic."

"Alright, you stand guard here. I’m going up to take a look. Remember what I told you earlier," Mamadou said, wagging his finger.

"Yeah, yeah. ’Let your eyes wander and observe, keep your body still and casual, if someone approaches, act like you’re busy, don’t panic and shout,’" Little John recited irritably. "What kind of secret instructions are these, anyway?"

"The secret to being a lookout." With that, the Beastman Mage Apprentice, Mamadou, tugged the brim of his hood, leaned against the Cathedral’s outer wall, and after muttering a phrase Little John couldn’t understand, he slowly faded into the wall as if melting into water.

"Now that’s some essential Magic for a master thief," Little John quipped, then leaned against the wall and began to whistle nonchalantly.

He’d only whistled a few notes when a muffled voice came from inside the wall. "You’re whistling too loud! And who whistles such a rousing tune when they’ve got nothing to do?"

"Mind your own business," Little John retorted, rapping the wall in annoyance. He then lowered the volume and scanned his surroundings.

Meanwhile, Mamadou was moving quickly through the wall, swiftly arriving outside an office on the third floor. The hallway here was lined with an elegant, long green carpet, and the doorway was specially decorated with two potted plants, though Mamadou couldn’t tell what kind they were.

He waited patiently outside the heavy door for several minutes, not once giving in to the temptation to take a risk. As time slowly passed, CLICK. The door was pushed open from the inside. A nun stood by the door and said respectfully, "Well then, I’ll be on my way, Lord Bishop."

"Mm, you may go," a rather old voice replied from inside the office. "Come back when the matter is taken care of."

"Yes, Lord Bishop." The nun bowed, closed the door, and then walked quickly away on the carpet, making no sound as she left the hallway.