Chapter 389 - 317: Inventory of Gains (Part 2)

Chapter 389: Chapter 317: Inventory of Gains (Part 2)

For a moment, Shire had forgotten about the other group’s equipment. His own race always set out with supplies prepared, carried by ants in cargo containers, allowing them to travel quickly. For these guys, however, marching for just one morning was already considered highly efficient.

"Since you don’t want to talk, I guess I’ll just have to take my subordinates to the Feathered Serpent Kingdom and see for myself," Shire said, spreading his hands.

However, this remark did get Bald Hide’s attention. He sneered, a motion that tugged at his swollen, painful face, but it couldn’t hide his smug satisfaction. "With just you lot? You’ll never be able to cross this forest. There’s no food to be found along the way and hardly any caves to rest in. If you want to attack the Feathered Serpent Kingdom, your troops will have all deserted before you’re even halfway there."

Looking at the smug Bald Hide, Shire said nothing. He simply turned, walked into the white Stone Ring behind him, and then a nearby goblin operated a controller. With a WHOOSH, Shire vanished before Bald Hide’s eyes.

Immediately after, Bald Hide’s eyes widened in shock as he watched Shire’s form materialize in the adjacent Stone Ring.

"How about that? A quick way to get to the Feathered Serpent Kingdom, wouldn’t you say?" Shire said with a smile, spreading his hands. "I don’t even need to bring a large force. I just need to send a small squad ahead to set this thing up outside the Kingdom, and then... WHOOSH."

"M-Magic," Bald Hide stammered, his lips trembling. He had only ever seen the humans who came to buy bubbling leaves use Magic a few times. He had seen Shire’s race use a Frozen Array last time, but not this time. He’d originally thought these goblins had just dug up something useful in the forest, but now that Magic had appeared before him again, Bald Hide was left sputtering incoherently. "The High Priest said goblins are completely incapable of learning Magic."

"Of course goblins can learn Magic." Shire shook his head with a smile, but then his brow furrowed. ’There could be a problem if I only send a small squad with the Stone Ring parts,’ he thought. ’Winter is the high season for Magical Beasts, and there’s no telling how many we’ll encounter along the way. A small squad’s ability might not be enough to defeat that many of them.’

’That is a problem. If our combat strength is insufficient, I can’t use this Combat Technique.’ He stroked his chin, mulling over a solution. ’There’s no way I’m going to be like Bald Hide and lead a huge horde of goblins through the Nightmare Forest to attack the Feathered Serpent Kingdom. A march like that would be a death blow to my race’s logistics.’

"Bro, bro, look what I found!" A shout from the distance caught Shire’s attention. Pazani was holding up a strange Beast Bone, "swimming" over with his fish-like tail. "It’s a Magical Beast’s Bone, look!"

It was a complete Magical Beast Bone. It looked like it had been stripped not long ago, as chunks of black flesh still clung to it. The entire Beast Bone was a strange, sky-blue color, which was different from other grayish-white Beast Bones.

"There are a lot more in the woods, piled up like a small mountain! I even saw a huge snail shell in there," the Naga Prince said excitedly.

"Lots of Beast Bones, all from Magical Beasts?" Shire raised an eyebrow. He stared at the Beast Bone, then asked, "Did you see any Magical Beast hides?"

"Uh," Pazani thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Didn’t see any. Not a single one." ℯℯ𝑙.

"How many Magical Beasts did you encounter on your way here?" Shire asked the silent Bald Hide hesitantly.

"A lot, but we killed them all," Bald Hide said proudly.

"Don’t tell me you used the Petrifying Lizard’s Petrifying Gaze on these Magical Beasts, turning all their hides to stone. And as a result, the only usable parts were the Bones that hadn’t been petrified yet," Shire said, exasperated. "Those valuable Magical Beast hides have so many uses, and you just wasted them like that."

"However," he said, his tone shifting, "I still have to thank you. For bringing me all these Magic Beast Materials and Beast Cores, and for clearing out the Magical Beasts on the road for me. Now I can send a small team directly to set up the Array."

"You... I..." Bald Hide sputtered, unable to form a coherent sentence. He had only been trying to show off his power in front of the other Dongtou, so he had sent out the giant lizard whenever they encountered a Magical Beast. With 2,000 goblins searching for food, they had to cover a huge area each time, meaning they ran into Magical Beasts daily. But listening to Shire, he realized he had actually been helping his rival.

"I really must thank you," Shire said, shaking his head with a smile. "Not only did you bring my race so much new labor, but you also cleared the obstacles on the road for me and even collected all the spoils of war to deliver them neatly to my doorstep. I’m at a loss for words."

He walked over and personally pulled the squatting Bald Hide to his feet, completely ignoring how the large movement aggravated the swelling and pain in the other goblin’s face. "I’m going to release you. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you."

"Letting me go again?" Bald Hide was stunned. "You’re not going to kill me?"

"Correct. How could I possibly kill a talent as outstanding as you?" Shire said with a wave of his hand. His race’s rapid growth over the past month was all thanks to this "Transport Captain," Bald Hide. ’Who would be willing to kill such an excellent talent?’ he mused.

"Of course, this time, to prevent you from running into any danger on the road, I won’t be sending you back alone," Shire said with a smile, beckoning to Red Eyes in the distance.

"You’ll let me go back with my subordinates?" Hope immediately began to sparkle in Bald Hide’s eyes.

"No. I’m going to have the other Dongtou go back with you," Shire said with a smile on his face. Unfortunately, to Bald Hide, that smile looked just like a Demon’s Smile, and the "stars" in his eyes went out with a soft PFFT.

"Red Eyes, find all the other Dongtou and have this Military Leader take them back with him," Shire ordered his subordinate. Then he continued, "You watch things here. I’m going into the forest to have a look."

He planned to go with Pazani to check out the Magic Beast Materials. If there were enough of them, Shire would consider recruiting people in Yangjiao Town to set up a workshop for crafting Magic Items.

As for the other goblins, Shire was certain they would accept the offer to stay with his race.

Goblins were creatures with some intelligence, but they weren’t particularly smart. They judged things primarily based on their own self-interest—to put it simply, "How much can I eat?" In other places, these goblins could never get enough to eat, but here with Shire, they could at least fill their bellies.

A wild goblin’s only pleasures in life were likely eating and mating, but both were subject to the two great rules of their race: the leader eats first, and all the females belong to the leader.

But Shire only ever stood at the front of the line when it was time for his race to eat. The food he ate was the same as every other goblin’s. He didn’t hoard the meat for himself, leaving the weakest goblins unable to even get a sip of broth. As for the female goblins, although many of them stared at Shire with wide eyes—especially Bai Mao—he really wasn’t interested.

As a result, the race’s development was very healthy. Any new goblins who joined would waver for a few days, and some even harbored thoughts of challenging Shire. But as soon as they saw Red Eyes standing by Shire’s side, chest puffed out and belly sticking out, they would obediently give up the idea. Gradually, they would settle down and, like all the other goblins, become addicted to the daily pan-fried dried fish and Tree-man Fruit flatbreads.

As for the Dongtou, Shire was determined not to keep them. Those guys had already tasted the pleasure of the Enslavement of other goblins; they would only crave more power. Even if they had no talent whatsoever beyond being a bit more physically robust than other goblins, it wouldn’t stop them from scheming for power and profit.

Keeping these guys around was like holding onto a ticking time Bomb. Who knew when one of them might charge forward and take a swing at Shire. While it wouldn’t hurt him, it would more or less diminish his influence within the race.

’My dear Transport Captain, don’t you dare disappoint my expectations of you.’ Shire smiled to himself, following behind Pazani with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Bro, I’m telling you, there were so many Beast Bones! And the snail shell was *this* big!" Pazani said excitedly, spreading his hands wide to demonstrate.

"Don’t call me Bro."

"Okay, Bro."