The Forest Feeds No Idle Goblins

Chapter 265: Chapter 238: A New Problem

Sofia left. Although Shire had repeatedly stressed that he wasn’t some damn Divine Chosen One, he figured the Druid maiden was still skeptical.

The main point of contention was how a goblin could awaken its intelligence, learn a language without a teacher, and then accomplish such great deeds. Sofia still attributed it all to a blessing from the God of Earth and Life.

Especially since both the little goblins and the Centaur Race had so much praise for Shire, his explanations had become quite feeble.

However, something he’d said had also given Sofia considerable pause. "If I were the Divine Chosen One, how could I stand before the members of your Church and lead them to victory in a holy war? That’s simply impossible. Surely your Main God isn’t that stupid."

Unfortunately, just as he said this, "Big Golden Fur" sauntered over on its own accord, lowered its head, and nuzzled its cheek against Shire’s arm.

Shire had no choice but to push the Unicorn away while forcing a smile that said, ’See? I have a point, don’t I?’

"I will give it more thought," Sofia said respectfully. She stood ramrod straight with her hands crossed properly in front of her, completely devoid of her formerly sleepy, yawning demeanor. "For now, I’ll take Vissans’s belongings back. I will visit often when I have the chance. I hope you’re wrong. If I confirm that you are truly the Life God’s Divine Chosen One, I will report it to the Church without hesitation and pledge myself to your cause."

Recalling the sight of the "Round-Faced Fat Chicken" flying away, Shire felt a muscle in his cheek twitch. ’First I get a blessing from the God of Battle and Glory, and now this. Is some bald, musclebound brute going to show up and bellow, "So you’re my Divine Chosen One, huh?"’

’I’d rather not have that happen.’ Shire shook his head. He still found a pretty girl much easier on the eyes.

He had already assigned the 600 newly joined goblins. Most were still in the Tree-man Region, benefiting from the Mother Tree’s healing effects, and should recover soon. ’Once they’re back on their feet, they can get to their posts right away, and the whole Race can ramp up production.’

’I can’t establish a completely dedicated combat unit just yet. Red Eyes’s people need to handle patrols, protect the gathering teams, and hunt beasts while they train. But I can expand their numbers.’ Shire paced in an open area, greeting the surrounding Centaurs as he went. ’The goblin Race’s development model has always been that of a citizen-militia—the soldiers are farmers, and the farmers are soldiers. Now that I’m classifying them based on their habits and physical condition, I need to arrange their work assignments accordingly.’

Shire understood that what he was doing was accelerating the goblin Race’s transition toward a division of labor. Only in this way could the entire Race function more effectively.

’Gathering teams, Hunting Teams, and engineering teams—these will be the main priorities for manpower allocation.’ Shire gazed at the deer pen in the distance, where a few young centaurs were following the adults, learning how to raise the Big-horned Deer. ’But the staff for raising the Shape-shifting Monsters under the Fortress, pre-processing Alchemy Potions, and handling food and logistics are also crucial.’

Moreover, Yun Xiya had mentioned something to him once while she was taking care of Sofia regarding the harvesting and processing of Red Bull Mushrooms. After all, they were little goblins. Casting a Wind of Nature was one thing, but turning all the grown Mushrooms into a powder for brewing was a bit much to ask of a race of palm-sized little goblins.

’I’ll also have to form a dedicated Red Bull production team.’ Shire rubbed his temples. He felt that even with over 1,100 goblins, once he spread them out, he barely had enough.

A few days had passed since the battle with the Feathered Serpent Kingdom, and the surrendered goblins had gradually settled in. Their loyalty underwent a massive shift, especially after they saw the Race’s existing living conditions and ate their fill for several days in a row.

[Subordinates: 1251/1375] This was the information Shire got from his panel. ’Compared to the 800-some I had before, that’s an increase of over 400. Looks like the standard of living for goblins in the Feathered Serpent Kingdom is nothing special.’

Speaking of living standards, Bai Mao had just sought Shire out. With the increase in population, the mess hall was short-staffed. Shire’s previous plan had been for female goblins to take a short period of time off after giving birth to care for the young goblins, ensuring the propagation of the Race. Once the young goblins reached a certain age, the mothers would return to work in the mess hall.

Bai Mao wore a smile on her face every day now. After all, it seemed they wouldn’t have to eat young goblins this winter. Compared to meat patties made from Tree-man Fruit, coated in flour and deep-fried in Shape-shifting Monster oil, no one in the Race would choose to finely "mince up" a young goblin.

’But why does she always look at me with such a resentful gaze?’ Shire mused, rubbing his chin. ’Is it because the Race’s food reserves aren’t sufficient?’

Thinking about how the population had suddenly swelled to over 1,300, his lips tightened. ’I wonder how Mary’s negotiations with the merchant guild are going. I hope she can buy a large amount of grain.’

He had originally thought the biggest crisis for the Race after the start of winter would be the dangerous races hidden in the forest, like the Earth Goblins. But now, more than a month into winter, it seemed the greatest crisis was once again food. ’It only took me a little over two months to gather all these goblins. This expansion rate might be a bit too fast, especially since it’s winter and our main food sources have all been affected to some extent.’

After winter began, hunting in the forest became significantly less effective, and net fishing in the underground river had to be controlled to avoid draining the pond to catch all the fish. Most critically, the Tree-man Fruit harvest was limited; they’d have to wait until spring for a larger yield.

Shire’s head throbbed when he thought of the resentful looks the Dongtou from the Feathered Serpent Kingdom gave him as they left. ’Please don’t come back so soon. Let me get used to managing these 1,300-plus members first.’

If those Dongtou attacked tomorrow with new goblins, he would really chop them all down and put a temporary stop to their trend of "gifting" him more people.

’They are very angry...’ Shire paced back toward the Fortress entrance, his hands behind his back. ’This is the second Forest Whisper I’ve received. It’s so half-assed. Can’t it just tell me who’s angry and why? If it’s my fault, can’t I just change?’

’The Four Gods, Demons, and the Feathered Serpent... the Race can’t afford to provoke any of them.’ Shire pursed his lips, once again feeling how weak he was.

"Hm? What is it now?" he asked, watching Nine-finger approach with several sheets of paper in his hand.

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