The Forest Feeds No Idle Goblins

Chapter 229: Chapter 201: Chief, Why the Explosion?

Shire stood with his hands behind his back beside his subordinates. In front of him, Buck Teeth, Nine-finger, and Lame Leg were assembling the newly built "mortar," but Shire’s mind was still on the events of last night.

After the Vampire, Herbert, knelt on one knee to plead with him, Shire had finally agreed. He figured, in for a penny, in for a pound; since he was going to have to scour the entire Nightmare Forest anyway, he was bound to find the organs of all five Demon Lords.

He was certain he could do it. For some reason, Shire just felt that he would be able to find them, just as the Ancient Runes had lain buried in the forest for millennia, undiscovered, until he was the one to finally unearth them.

He’d always felt as if an invisible hand were pushing him forward, onto a path paved with temptations and dangers, but also hiding even more unknowns and surprises.

In the end, Herbert signed a new contract with the Drink Undying Alchemy Workshop. The contract detailed their partnership: they would provide Shire’s potion bottles free of charge, and in return, Shire would have to do his utmost to help the Chenxi Clan find the ears of the Demon Lord of Jealousy.

Shire had even pointed out that the costs would eventually become substantial and that they didn’t need to be completely waived, but Herbert had insisted.

In Herbert’s words, "I just need to mine a bit more to cover your costs." Then, as Shire’s brow slowly furrowed, the middle-aged man calmly explained that the glass business was just one part of the Chenxi Clan’s enterprises. They also controlled several mines, had shops all over the continent, and he himself was a Count in the Savoy Kingdom.

The Savoy Kingdom is west of the Fran Kingdom, separated by the Darren River. A portion of the Savoy Kingdom’s eastern border also adjoins the Nightmare Forest.

Once Shire learned Herbert’s true background, he had to fight to keep a smile on his face and maintain his composure.

"It’s so unfair. Why do they get to become vampires, while I’m cursed to be a goblin?" Shire said, his lip twitching in frustration.

As Herbert was leaving, he had pulled an Emerald necklace from his pocket and given it to Mary. Though Mary tried her best to refuse, she ultimately couldn’t prevail against Mr. Herbert—or rather, the Count of Dawn. He had said, "My dear Miss Mary, you are a brave and clever girl. Thank you so much for your earlier words. This necklace is just a small gift; it’s worth nothing, really."

’Not worth much? Does he take me for some country bumpkin from the forest?’ Shire scoffed. ’I was a noble once myself. I’ve seen such things before.’

The Emeralds on that necklace, while perhaps not exorbitant, were certainly not cheap. A single glance was enough to tell it would cost quite a few Gold Coins.

’Since you’ve regifted something meant for a child to my subordinate, it would be wrong of me not to put in the effort.’ Shire glanced at the subordinates beside him. ’Starting tomorrow, ramp up potion production. Get them out gathering herbs. The Skeleton Warriors are already skilled enough to brew potions. It’s time to get the grindstone moving.’

"Boss, this should be about right," Lame Leg said, squatting and tapping the iron tube in front of him. He and the other goblins had managed to assemble the contraption according to the diagram Shire had drawn, but they hadn’t tested it yet and had no idea if it would work. Besides, Buck Teeth and the others still had their own ideas about how the "iron pipe" should be put together.

"Let me see." Shire walked over, and the goblins automatically moved aside, making room for him.

"The Rune Stone at the base..." Shire said, holding the blueprint he’d drawn and checking it against the device. "...is installed. The support is fixed... Why is the angle gauge on backward?"

After some fiddling, the "Rune Mortar" was finally assembled. A crowd of goblins circled the iron contraption, muttering about its purpose. Nine-finger even shouted that it was for Bai Mao to blow air into the fire pit while cooking.

"What is that thing?" a voice asked from behind. Shire turned to see Evita, accompanied by a few of her people, who had stopped to watch. "What new thing have you come up with now, Boss?"

"This thing is very powerful," Shire said, stroking the iron barrel. The cold sensation wasn’t unpleasant; on the contrary, it felt a bit like caressing a girl’s thigh. "It can hit targets at a very long range."

This Rune Mortar wasn’t like the weapons from his past life. Its Energy didn’t come from explosives, but from Rune Power—what Agatha would call a "Divine Law Ability." As a result, its casing wasn’t especially thick, and its weight was quite manageable.

"A very long range?" The young Centaur’s lips curled into a smirk. She took the Longbow from her back, swiftly nocked a Feathered Arrow, and let it fly. WHOOSH. The arrow disappeared into the woods. "Can it shoot *this* far?"

Shire smiled at Evita, who stood before him with her chin held high. She was growing more confident and was slowly settling into her role as the Centaur Clan Leader. At the same time, her proud, contrary nature was beginning to reawaken.

"We’ll have to test it to know for sure." Shire waved his subordinates over. They began to position the mortar, adjusting the angle to aim in the same direction Evita had fired her arrow. "Let’s use a Bang-Bang Fruit for the Cannonball."

He took out a Bang-Bang Fruit. Instead of putting it in an Iron Shell, he attached it directly to a Wooden Rune Disc.

"The weight is about right," Shire noted, hefting it for a moment before slowly loading it into the barrel.

After making sure the Wooden Rune Disc was flush against the White Stone Rune Disc at the base of the barrel, he called over Red Eyes. "Take this and insert it into the hole below the barrel."

Shire pointed to the spot and handed him a fan-shaped piece of white stone. Then, he immediately retreated several steps, motioning for everyone else to back away in case the first test shot failed and caused the barrel to explode.

Red Eyes paid no mind to the other goblins’ movements. He just examined the object in his hands, turning it over and over. Once he figured it out, he squatted down and inserted the piece of white stone into the opening at the base of the barrel.

With a casual push from Red Eyes—THUMP!—everyone saw a shadow vanish in the blink of an eye. An instant later, an explosion echoed from the distance. While everyone else was still dumbfounded, Shire clapped his hands and laughed. "Success! It didn’t blow up! We nailed it on the first try!"

Red Eyes stared blankly at his palm, completely baffled. He couldn’t figure out what had just flown out of the tube. All he did was put a stone inside, so why did something explode so far away?

Shire walked to his side and patted Red Eyes’ shoulder. "Nice work."

"Boss," Red Eyes asked immediately, "why did it explode?"

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