Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

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"You really agreed to their request?" Evita asked Ciel, who was sitting on the back of a worker ant.

Charles simply nodded calmly. "What can I do if I don't agree? Judging from the way the ogre is acting, if I don't agree, it'll probably raze our place to the ground."

"However, I can use those adult elephants at will throughout the winter," he chuckled. "Although the elephant lord said he didn't want to get involved in our conflict with the Goblin Kingdom, being able to use those elephants can also help improve some facilities. Didn't you say before that the construction speed was a bit slow? Now I'll have the elephants help you move the wood, which should be much more convenient."

After communicating with the elephant's owner, Shire finally understood the other party's thoughts. It wanted the goblin leader to provide its herd with a slightly warm place to live, and preferably with drinking water, to ensure that the cold winter temperatures would not cause the elephants to freeze and die.

However, after Charles revealed his grievances with the Feathered Serpent Kingdom, Elephant Lord stated frankly that he did not want to get involved in the conflict between the two; he only wanted to lead the herd to a safe place to spend the winter.

This put Charles in a dilemma. After hearing Elephant Lord's request, he was secretly glad that he had an extra deck of evil gods to play, but now he found that he could only look at this card and could not play it.

After much deliberation, Charles finally agreed to the request. This was not out of fear of the elephant's power, but because he reasoned that this evil god had been guided to him by some creator. If the elephant were to kill him out of pettiness, it would completely go against the creator's will. This giant elephant was probably not a stupid elephant.

However, the centaurs are currently building wooden huts at a rather slow pace, and many centaur members still live inside the fortress. If the centaurs could all live in the wooden huts above ground, more space would be freed up for the fortress. This would allow Shire to gradually renovate the underground fortress. Moreover, he has already decided to send Broken Tooth to scout the Feathered Serpent Kingdom. If things go smoothly, he believes that a military operation against the Goblin Kingdom can be launched soon. By then, the elephant herds will have gradually adapted to living underground in the fortress. If the Feathered Serpent really flies over to raid Shire's lair, the Elephant Lord will probably have no choice but to take action.

"This is like moving the dragon right next to my crystal. If you want to destroy my crystal, you have to ask the dragon for permission first." Charles felt that there was nothing wrong with his idea.

However, finding living space for these 30-plus elephants temporarily reduced the living conditions of the fortress. Fortunately, when the new entrance was built, it was designed to be flat and spacious, with a height of about 3 meters, so that the worker ants could enter the underground fortress smoothly. This was enough for the elephants to enter.

Of course, the elephant wouldn't live in the fortress, and there simply isn't enough underground space for this behemoth to live in, not even the burrows of the giant spiders and bees.

"That makes sense. I was thinking of reinforcing the deer pen and raising it a bit," Evita said with a hint of delight. Currently, only half of the centaur tribe can live in the wooden huts, and the various materials for building the huts have already piled up. The reason for the slow construction speed is that centaurs and goblins are not races skilled in construction. Their body structure cannot support heavy solid wood, but troll grass is often used to make ancient runes, so the construction speed has naturally slowed down.

"If these elephants help, why don't you consider trying to build a stone house? You could try to buy bricks," Charles asked Evita.

"I've seen the architectural styles you drew, and they don't align with our centaur beliefs," Evita shook her head slightly. "We still prefer to be close to nature, and being able to live in a wooden house is already quite good."

"Alright then, whatever you want." Charles nodded. Because the construction of the wooden house had been somewhat troublesome, he had suggested to the centaurs that they consider building a brick and wood structure house, which would be a little simpler. He had even drawn some house drawings for the centaur girl to see, but after she inquired about the specific building materials and procedures, she shook her head and refused.

Charles knew that although Evita said it didn't conform to their race's beliefs, it was more because the forest couldn't produce bricks, and these things had to be brought in from Goat Horn Town, along with various kinds of sand and cement, which would be a huge expense. At that time, Charles was still thinking of ways to solve the tribe's financial pressure every day. Uncle Musa hadn't arrived yet, so Evita decisively refused.

"Once I get back, I'll immediately gather my people and start leveling the ground and planning the areas where the houses will be built," Evita said confidently. With everyone working together and the help of the elephants, she believed the village would be built soon.

"Go back and ask the elders in the tribe, and Orek and the others, to build the whole village into a place that is both beautiful and safe," Charles suggested with a smile. Then he thought for a moment, "I think you can consider the long term."

"In the long term?" Evita paused for a moment.

"Yes, perhaps in a few years, your village will be greeted by more than just goblins," Charles nodded and smiled.

"Not just goblins?"

"Yes, and maybe there will be humans too. You know Mary has already established a very good working relationship with the artisans in Girth. I think there will be a day in the future when those artisans will try to come into the forest and visit your tribe's village. At that time, you can present a village with a centaur style to the humans and provide them with different goods and experiences."

Upon hearing Charles's words, Evita suddenly fell silent. She hadn't thought that far ahead; right now, she just wanted her tribe to be able to live in wooden houses.

"Of course, once humans gradually accept the appearance and attire of centaurs, I think you can also enter Goat Horn Town. This should be the first time that forest races have been able to freely enter territories outside the forest," Charles said, spreading his arms wide. "Those young centaurs have asked many times what the outside world is like."

Evita nodded. Since spending more time with the goblins, Little John would sometimes talk to the young centaurs about what human towns looked like and bring them some strange items. This made the young people of the tribe yearn to leave the forest and see the outside world.

"I understand. I'll tell them as soon as I get back." Evita nodded emphatically.

"Alright, we need to speed things up. Let's go back and clear out an area first." Charles sat on the back of a worker ant and looked back. The elephant herd was still resting. He had to get back to the fortress as soon as possible to make arrangements.