The Forest Feeds No Idle Goblins

Chapter 220: Chapter 192: New Developments

"Looking for goblins?" Little John scratched his head and asked, a bit puzzled. "Aren’t there a ton of those things in the Nightmare Forest?"

"No, I’m looking for a special group of goblins." Sofia glanced at the Priest, who was already a few meters away, but ignored him and continued, "These goblins are very powerful. They actually managed to defeat a Druid who defected from the Earth and Life Church."

"Oh, that sounds like a load of crap," Little John said nonchalantly.

Sofia sighed softly. "I’m not mistaken. They really are different from the goblins you Adventurers kill. I got this information from my ’friends’ in the forest."

"You have other friends in the forest?"

"Yes," Sofia nodded, then beckoned to the air with her hand. "But they can’t identify the specific goblins, they can only tell me in general terms that it was goblins."

Little John raised an eyebrow. He watched as a sparrow from a nearby rooftop fluttered its wings, landed on Sofia’s finger, and chirped at her. A moment later, Sofia smiled and said, "It says you were just counting your things around the corner."

Little John glanced at the sparrow. He had indeed counted his Gold Coins before meeting the Priest, mainly because he was afraid the man would raise the price again. But now it seemed the Priest hadn’t raised the price; he just didn’t have any stock.

"That’s a neat trick," he said, staring at the sparrow as it flew away before turning back to her. "Is it Magic?"

"Mhm, Low Level Magic from the Earth and Life Church." Sofia lowered her hand, covered her mouth, and yawned. "So, what do you say? I don’t know many people here in the Northern Earl’s Domain. I consider you a friend. If you agree to help me, I can try to arrange for that Holy Water for you."

"This..." Little John was at a loss for words. He knew who she was looking for—it was his boss, Shire. But Shire desperately needed that Holy Water right now. After a moment of thought, Little John had no choice but to nod and agree for the time being. "Alright, I’ll keep an eye out for you."

"If you and your teammates run into those goblins, remember not to harm them." Seeing him nod, Sofia immediately stated her request. "They’re different from other goblins. It might be possible to communicate with them. They were even able to defeat an evil Fallen Druid. I think we could have a good chat with them."

"Chat with goblins?" Little John made a deliberate face. "Those things just screech ’WAAAGH WAAAGH’ and charge at you swinging clubs."

"My ’friends’ said these goblins are different," Sofia said with a shake of her head and a smile. "They’re very rational, and apparently, they don’t like to catch and eat birds."

Little John’s mouth twitched. He thought to himself, ’They certainly don’t eat birds. Right now, they’re eating smoked fish over rice every day.’ But he still said aloud, "Alright, I’ll keep an eye out. You know, I do know a few people among the Adventurers in Yangjiao Town."

"Then thank you very much." Sofia waved, turning to leave with a final remark, "Notify me immediately if you have any news. You can send me a letter through the merchant’s guild. And remember, don’t get into a conflict with those goblins."

Little John watched her walk away, yawning. The Priest from before was also long gone. ’This is going to be a bit troublesome. The Holy Water is under the Control of that Count Valentine, and now the only way to get it is to go back and ask the boss.’

Just as he was wondering what to do next, a clamor erupted from the entrance of the nearby Earth and Life God Church. Little John narrowed his eyes and saw a group of guards in Armor emerging from the church. They were all wearing lightweight Armor of Fine Steel, with a black stone pattern engraved on the chest.

’Are those guards from the Count’s Mansion?’ Little John quickly backed away to avoid any conflict with them.

These guards were escorting several people on horseback as they left the church. Leading the way was the most powerful man in the region—Count Valentine.

As the Count’s mount proceeded slowly, the pedestrians on both sides of the street moved aside. Everyone bowed their heads low to pay their respects to the Count. Little John was among them, but he hid in the crowd, stealing glances at Count Valentine, who was dressed in a fine noble’s suit with a Golden Sword with a Long Handle hanging at his waist.

’He looks the part, but who knew he was such a greedy noble.’ Little John curled his lip and lowered his head again. Ever since he’d paid the exorbitant taxes several times and killed the tax collector who had humiliated him and Mary, he hadn’t had a single good thought for these nobles. ’He’s not even as good as my boss. My boss is the King of the Forest.’

Just as Little John was silently cursing him, a man dressed as a civil official came running from a distance, shouting and making a scene. His actions drew the attention of the pedestrians on the street.

"Silence, Clerk," Count Valentine said from his horse, doing his best to straighten his back and maintain his dignity in front of his subjects. "Don’t be so loud. You’ll make people think the goblins are attacking the city."

The people around them heard their Lord’s "joke" and laughed. Only Little John looked up, scanning the guards. ’If I were to rent a house near the Count’s Castle ahead of time, set up a Teleportation Array in the basement, and then have the Worker Ants dig a tunnel connecting to the castle... you probably wouldn’t be laughing then.’

However, his quiet muttering obviously didn’t attract anyone’s attention. As everyone watched, the Clerk approached the Count’s side and whispered a few words to him.

"What did you say?" Count Valentine, who had been perfectly calm just a moment ago, now frowned, his expression like he’d just swallowed a fly. "Are those two letters in my study right now?"

"Yes, Your Lordship," the Clerk said with a nod.

"Everyone, pick up the pace! Back to the castle!" Count Valentine urged his horse on loudly, then immediately began galloping through Black Lion City. The guards all broke into a run to keep up.

The street erupted into chaos, with many people crying out in alarm. Little John listened to the murmurs of the crowd around him as he slowly took a few steps forward, trying to get closer to the front to see if anyone had overheard what the Clerk said.

’I wonder what news made that fellow Valentine so nervous that he’d start galloping through Black Lion City,’ he thought. He squeezed through the crowd and got closer to a few citizens who were huddled together, discussing the matter animatedly.

"What did the Count hear just now?"

"Yeah, hurry up and tell us."

"I didn’t hear it very clearly either," said a man in the middle of the group, hesitating. "I just heard the Clerk say..."

"Spit it out."

"That there was a new development regarding Young Master Philip’s death."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!