The Forest Feeds No Idle Goblins

Chapter 244: Chapter 217: Bald Hide’s Thoughts

In the Nightmare Forest, a group of goblins returned to a bonfire carrying a large amount of scavenged supplies. A goblin with a bald pate and a tuft of hair on his lip stood by the fire, seemingly waiting for everyone to return.

"Dongtou, we’re back," said a goblin carrying a dead snake as he walked over. The other goblin just nodded without a word.

Soon, the goblins gave their gathered food a quick once-over before tossing it into a row of large pots. A few stronger goblins, shouldering a hunted Big-horned Deer, walked toward the large lizards resting on the ground in the distance.

"After we eat, everyone will scout ahead a bit further," the one called "Dongtou" announced loudly. The other goblins paused their food preparation and stared at him in unison. Then, they silently returned to their tasks, the stomachs of quite a few letting out a GRUMBLE.

Bald Hide scanned the surrounding goblins, satisfied with their reaction. The High Priest had previously sent him to lead these 800 goblins on a southward march, even providing a number of Petrifying Lizards. According to the High Priest, there were goblins who had blasphemed the Feathered Serpent God. ’How utterly foolish. Don’t they know what the god’s wrath is like?’

"Dongtou, it’s ready to eat," a goblin said respectfully, approaching him.

Bald Hide glanced at him, then walked over on his own and began to scoop things out of the large pot to eat. They had no utensils, merely forking the end of a small branch to fish out food from the colorful stew.

The meal was the same as always, with little variation in ingredients. It was just that the onset of winter made some foods harder to come by. Bald Hide spat out a small bone, then patted his stomach. "This is all there is, I guess. As expected, the food’s no good once you leave the realm of the Feathered Serpent God."

He patted his somewhat ragged pants, walked back to the bonfire, and sat down. The other goblins then began to wolf down their food.

For ease of management, the Feathered Serpent Kingdom had connected many residences and burrows, forming larger "lairs." Each one housed 20 goblins. This number was fixed simply so a Dongtou could easily count heads by using all his fingers and toes.

A Dongtou was the leader of one such lair. There were many such leaders throughout the Feathered Serpent Kingdom, and Bald Hide was just one of them.

However, he was naturally shrewder than most. He knew the power structure of the Feathered Serpent Kingdom was top-down, with the High Priest issuing commands directly under the Feathered Serpent God. Because of this, he often tried to get close to the High Priest, making sure he was a familiar face. This time, he had successfully obtained the right to lead the goblins from 40 lairs on this expedition.

Although the goblins of the Feathered Serpent Kingdom had no single chieftain, that didn’t stop Bald Hide from dreaming of the position. He knew that in the past, goblins in the Feathered Serpent Kingdom who had tried to become chieftain were, without exception, devoured by the Feathered Serpent God. Even young goblins showing the first signs of turning into Bear Goblins were exiled from the Kingdom by the High Priest’s decree.

In the High Priest’s words, "If they leave, they might survive. If they stay in the Kingdom, they’ll be dead before long."

Bald Hide knew the High Priest had a point. The goblin Race usually settled disputes by seeing who could win a fight, with victory decided by a club to the head. Those Bear Goblins grew very quickly, not only stealing food from their peers but also maturing rapidly and threatening the status of other adult goblins.

In the Feathered Serpent Kingdom, disputes between lairs were common. If two lairs simultaneously laid claim to the same prey while foraging, the result would be a chaotic brawl.

Bald Hide had led his lair’s members into these fights, winning some and losing others. But now, he felt he probably wouldn’t be losing much in the future. As long as he handled this "expedition" well, he could establish a real position for himself in the Feathered Serpent Kingdom. For instance, on this very mission, he could deploy the lairs that seemed combat-effective to the very front of the formation.

"Bald Hide, why do we have to scout again after eating?" A few strong goblins walked over, their tone sounding somewhat hostile.

"I think we’re getting close to the blasphemers," Bald Hide said, shooting the goblins a sideways glance. They were all Dongtou from other lairs. "Besides, the High Priest said I’m in command of this operation. You have to listen to me."

The goblins were clearly furious. One or two of them looked like they were about to do something but were held back by the other Dongtou. Bald Hide was right. The High Priest had appointed him to lead this mission, and all the Dongtou had to obey his commands. If anyone dared to object, they had only two paths: be sacrificed to the Feathered Serpent God, or flee immediately.

Fleeing was impossible. Everyone knew a goblin couldn’t survive long in the forest. They could only live safely under the protection of the Feathered Serpent God—and only as long as their luck held out during the sacrificial drawings.

Oh, right. Dongtou didn’t have to participate in the drawings. Neither did the High Priest. That was why when the High Priest established the rule to exile the Bear Goblins, not a single Dongtou objected.

Seeing that Bald Hide was ignoring them, the goblins could only turn and leave in a huff. Two of them even muttered, "We’ll make sure you don’t have it so easy on the next mission."

Bald Hide scoffed. ’These idiots. They don’t even know why I was made commander of this march, yet they dream of getting back at me later.’

’Once we find those goblins, I’ll have them all killed and burn down their crappy little lairs. A bunch of exiles from the Kingdom, and they still dare to blaspheme the Feathered Serpent God.’ He held his hands out to the fire, trying to ward off the winter chill. ’When this mission succeeds, maybe the High Priest will create a special position for me, one that manages several Dongtou. Then I might even be able to live on one of those high platforms.’

The structures in the Feathered Serpent Kingdom were mostly made of stone. There were not only houses above ground but also extensive subterranean sections. Among the 20 goblins in a lair, only the strongest could live in the stone houses; the weaker ones were relegated to the sunless depths below.

The Kingdom also had several high platforms. The tallest, a five-story platform, was the residence of the Feathered Serpent God. There were a few other three-story platforms, one of which was where the High Priest lived.

Once he felt the warmth return to his body, Bald Hide kneaded his feet again. Walking through the forest in winter often made the soles of his feet stiffen, as if his very blood were about to freeze, but the bonfire had successfully eased the discomfort.

"Everyone, prepare to move out!" He stood up and stomped his feet hard on the ground. "You, you, and you..."

Bald Hide pointed at the trouble-making Dongtou from before and grinned. "You lot will be herding the large lizards."

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