The Forest Feeds No Idle Goblins

Chapter 231: Chapter 203: I Got Shelled

Establishing an education system was too difficult for Shire. He had no teachers, no textbooks, and no school.

The school, at least, was manageable; he could take the time to build one. But textbooks and teachers were problems he couldn’t solve.

He couldn’t just take literacy books from the humans, then grab a few humans and drag them into the forest to teach his subordinates, could he?

"Now that you mention it, that does seem to be the case." Evita slowed her pace to better match the goblin walking beside her. "Speaking of which, we centaurs also pass down knowledge orally. We don’t have those places you mentioned before, for centrally educating our young."

"You have it better," Shire sighed softly. "You live deep in the forest, your people are clustered together, and you survive by raising livestock and farming tubers. We goblins can’t do that."

He glanced at his men shouting and hollering in the distance. "Goblins in the forest rarely live to old age. Most die in their prime."

Evita didn’t reply, walking silently beside him. She knew Shire was telling the truth. Those goblins rarely made it to their prime. Goblins in the forest lived far too haphazardly. They were born haphazardly, ate haphazardly, slept haphazardly, and died even more haphazardly.

Now that Shire had gathered this group of goblins, Evita was sure nothing like this had happened in thousands of years. And now, these goblins were gradually starting to look like they were truly living.

"After all, this is a first. Without you, they," Evita pointed at the clamoring goblins, then at herself, "we would probably have been devoured by some beast or evil race by now. Although the elders in my clan have never spoken of any epic ballads about goblins, I think that someday, you might be the first one to be sung about in the whispers of all goblins."

Shire chuckled a few times. He nodded and said, "We don’t have to wait for someday. That guy Buck Teeth already writes a few quatrains now and then. He’s recognized a lot of words since he started learning Common Speech. Little John suggested he make a poetry collection, and now the guy is already compiling his own."

Evita covered her mouth and laughed too. She knew Buck Teeth’s habit. Every time she saw him, he was chasing someone, insisting on reciting a poem to them. No one was willing to listen to his poems; he could even scare away a unicorn.

No, there was one exception: Caocao. As long as Buck Teeth brought snacks for the giant, the giant would munch away while quietly listening to him recite his work. Once the snacks were gone, Caocao would pat his rear and leave without a backward glance.

"He told me he’s written many poems about me," Shire said, pointing to himself. "I still remember one of them."

Evita looked down at the goblin, her interest piqued, ready to listen.

Seeing her expression, Shire let out a soft breath and slowly recited, "I’ll write a poem for my chief, this is the poem’s second line, and also the poem’s third line, and finally there is this line."

"Hahaha," Evita laughed, waving her hand. "It’s better than the last one, ’Gotta bathe today, can’t skip tomorrow. If you ask ’til when? We’ll wash ’til we’re old.’"

"So," Shire spread his hands, "now you see the problem our race has, right? Once a group gathers to a certain size, education is something you absolutely have to consider."

"Mm," Evita’s smile slowly faded. "I think you can do it. Those goblins..."

She pointed at Shire’s men in the distance. "Thanks to you, they have a chance to live to old age. Some might even live out their natural lifespans. What you’re doing right now... you might be creating a legend."

Shire stopped and looked back at the smiling centaur maiden behind him. "A legend?"

Evita nodded. As their conversation deepened, she found the goblin before her more and more unfathomable. ’Perhaps Shan Xi Ao’s previous wild boasts that "My big brother will be the King of the Forest one day" might actually come true.’

"A legend," Shire savored the word. He looked up at the sky. By now, the two had walked out of the woods and onto a flat, open area. The sky above was a brilliant blue, and the forest behind them was quiet due to the earlier explosion. Only the distant group of goblins was still shouting and yelling. "That sounds pretty good. And fun."

He looked back at Evita, the corner of his mouth hooking into a distinctly goblin-like "wicked grin."

’He didn’t tell the centaur maiden his true origins. He knew she was talking about establishing a goblin nation within the forest, but...’

’Who ever said goblins had to live in the Nightmare Forest? Who ever said goblins were destined to be hunted by humans? Who ever said goblins had to eat that terrible food their whole lives?’

’Once I’ve really gathered a large number of goblins, then it will be time to announce to the world the existence of the Goblin Kingdom.’

’And my first target after leaving the forest, I’ve already thought of it: Yangjiao Town. According to the constant stream of news from Mary, because of my people’s needs, artisans from all over Valentine County are unconsciously gathering in Yangjiao Town. And as the number of artisans grows, the docks at Yangjiao Town are also starting to get busy.’

’Just a few days ago, the Vampire Count, Herbert, had mentioned to me that he was preparing to ship the next batch of potion bottles soon. These days, the ships aren’t always able to unload on the same day, and glassware requires even more careful handling.’

"The Goblin Kingdom will be truly founded the day I take back Torch City." Shire smiled, his eyes gleaming with confidence.

Evita looked at the goblin before her. She felt his entire aura change. An indescribable feeling made her involuntarily take two steps back. ’Is this what a leader looks like?’

"Let’s go. We should get over there, or they’re going to cause some trouble." Shire glanced at the centaur maiden, then turned to lead the way.

Just then, the goblins gathered around the "Rune Mortar" fiddled with something. SWOOSH! A dark object was launched into the air, flying rapidly toward Shire and Evita.

Shire stared, stunned, at his men who had suddenly stopped their clamor in the distance. The dark object in the sky was rushing straight for him. Just as he realized he should do something...

BOOM! An explosion went off behind him and Evita.

The blast of air WHOOSHED past their bodies. Shire’s mind went blank for a second. ’Did I just... get shot at with a cannon?’

Luckily, the explosion was still some distance away. Plus, both of them were thickly dressed; Evita had even put on leather armor for her archery practice today, and Shire himself had the Mother Tree’s Blessing. That one Bang-Bang Fruit couldn’t hurt them.

"Life is so hard," Shire sighed deeply.

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