The Forest Feeds No Idle Goblins

Chapter 248: Chapter 221: Flexible Working Hours

Shit.

Shire muttered the word, venting his frustration while simultaneously offering his most sincere evaluation of the Naga Prince before him.

He patted the package on the ground, composed himself, and asked calmly, "Are there any special requirements for this Frozen Magic Array?"

"None," Pazani said. He hadn’t understood what the Goblin Leader had just muttered, but he answered the question readily. "You just place the four materials on the four corners of the Array, and someone who knows Water Magic can activate it."

"Water Magic," Shire mused. "Apologies, but none of our goblins know that kind of Magic right now. I think you might have to be the one to activate it."

"Is that so?" Pazani hesitated for a moment. Judging by his expression, it seemed he hadn’t originally intended to participate directly in the battle, but now it looked like he would have to.

"Besides, this is your last Magic Array. I think it would be better for the Naga Race to operate it themselves," Shire said, looking up at the Naga Prince. "It would bring things full circle."

Pazani’s expression turned sorrowful. He looked down at the package on the ground. "You’re right. We should be the ones to operate our last Frozen Array."

With a long sigh, the Naga Prince began speaking to himself. "This Array has been with our people for a very long time. I heard from the Elders that our ancestors relied on it for defense. Without it, we might not have been able to withstand enemies that came at us like the tide. It’s a pity that after leaving the Naga’s Deep Sea Royal City, we no longer have a way to get the materials for it."

"That must be some powerful Magic," Shire said, nodding as he listened. "It seems that even while the Naga Race was constantly fleeing, they still had some hidden reserves. Otherwise, they probably would have been wiped out over the last few thousand years."

Thinking of their Shui Yumo and Magic Potions, Shire had high hopes for this Frozen Array. But the thought that this was the last one filled him with a sense of pity. He spoke up and asked, "Are the materials for this Array also sourced from the deep sea?"

"No, they aren’t." Pazani shook his head. "These materials were passed down within the Naga Race from long, long ago. They aren’t found in the deep sea."

"Is that so," Shire said, his brow furrowing. "I thought it was like the Shui Yumo and the others—that we’d have a chance to get more if we posted a bounty. But now it seems that’s completely impossible."

’The last one,’ he thought, reaching out to open the package. He wanted to see this strange Array before it was used up for good, and maybe learn a little more about the Naga Race in the process.

CRINKLE. The package was slowly unwrapped. It was made of some unknown, sturdy-looking animal hide. Clearly, the Naga Race valued it highly.

As the hide covering was pulled away, several white stones engraved with strange patterns appeared before Shire.

The stones were so familiar that the corner of his mouth couldn’t help but twitch. The special patterns on them also looked familiar; in fact, Agatha had told him about one of them before.

"So this is your people’s last Frozen Array?" Shire asked, pointing to the Pure White Stones on the ground and frowning at the somber Naga Prince.

"Yes." Pazani nodded heavily. At the thought that his people would no longer have such powerful Frozen Magic to protect them, and that the goblins of the Feathered Serpent Kingdom might grow even more brazen, his four fleshy whiskers trembled along with his quivering lips.

"Can your Elder Council carve these patterns?" Shire asked after a moment of thought.

"Of course," Pazani said, puzzled. "It’s the material we’ve run out of. We’re out of White Holy Stone."

"In that case..." Shire wiped the white stone in front of him with his finger again. After confirming that this thing was indeed the "Pure White Stone" he was currently using, he clapped his hands and stood up. "Suppose—and I’m just saying suppose—that I could get the Naga Race more White Holy Stone..."

"Get more White Holy Stone?" Pazani interjected before Shire could even finish his sentence. "Impossible. This stuff comes from Golden Peak, but the Elders say Golden Peak vanished thousands of years ago."

"Prince," Shire said, holding up a hand to calm the agitated Pazani. "It’s not impossible. There must still be stockpiles of mined White Holy Stone on the continent."

"Stockpiles?" Pazani leaned back slightly. He hadn’t expected this turn of events, but on second thought, the goblin in front of him might be right. There were no stockpiles of White Holy Stone in the deep sea, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any on the continent. "Are you saying you can provide us with White Holy Stone?"

Shire nodded calmly.

"This is wonderful!" Pazani exclaimed, his fins bristling with excitement. "There were so many times in past battles that our Naga Race couldn’t bear to use a Frozen Array. If we’d had ten more... no, even just five, we wouldn’t have..."

His voice trailed off as the Naga Prince seemed to recall the tragic moments his people had endured—images of Warriors sacrificing their lives in a desperate Charge to protect the women, children, and eggs of their tribe.

"But there are two things I need to make clear." Shire ignored the change in Pazani’s expression and held up two fingers. "One, the Pure White Stones are currently stored in a warehouse, and that warehouse has been discovered by the Feathered Serpent Kingdom’s army. But you don’t need to worry."

He waved his hand dismissively. "Knowing the intelligence of those goblins, they’ll most likely just see them as ordinary rocks. Still, we’ll need to defeat them to get the stones back."

"Second," Shire paused deliberately for a few seconds, "I want the Naga Race’s Elders to make some Frozen Arrays for us as well. That way, my people will also have a way to defend against enemies."

"Furthermore," he continued, not giving Pazani a chance to speak and staring him down, "during the war with the Feathered Serpent Kingdom’s goblins, you, Prince, must be on call at all times. No more incidents of you clocking out and leaving the moment your rest time begins."

"But," Pazani bit his lip, "my rest time..."

He murmured, then met the goblin’s gaze. It was a firm and aggressive look, one that seemed to leave him with no choice but to agree unconditionally.

"Alright," Pazani sighed. "Fine. I agree."

"Good. That’s for the best," Shire said with satisfaction.

"I can just take comp time later. We can treat this as overtime, and I’ll just rest a few extra days afterward," Pazani said with conviction.

"Shit," Shire bit out again.

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