Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

This isn't a joke, it's a recommendation for the treasure book "The Forest Doesn't Keep Idle Goblins":

As the bald man's voice faded, the high priest rose from his high seat, leaning on his bone staff, and slowly walked down the steps to a corner of the stone chamber, where a dozen or so books were stacked.

The books varied in thickness, but all had a common language written on their spines, suggesting they were products of the human world.

The high priest's fingers slowly traced the books as he murmured, "There are goblins in this forest that have been domesticated by humans, and they weren't killed, but released."

"But why would he live there? Why would he choose to live in the forest? Isn't he afraid of being killed by adventurers?"

His finger finally stopped on a book called "Nightmare Forest Monster Compendium". Then the high priest pulled the book out with a little force and flipped through the table of contents to the page about centaurs. "Being able to command centaurs means that they have been trained by humans and have a certain level of intelligence, unlike the goblins that originally lived in the forest."

After carefully examining the book, the high priest closed it, his brows furrowed slightly as he muttered to himself, "Able to use magic and raise giant eagles... no, perhaps the giant eagles and owl bears were raised by centaurs. The book says that centaurs raise animals, but they live by following in the footsteps of unicorns."

"If Baldy is right, then how did this goblin convince the centaurs not to follow the unicorn?"

The high priest put the book back in its place and then stood there pondering the mysterious goblins. "Perhaps he wasn't released. His master simply left him in the forest temporarily to command the centaurs."

As he pondered, the high priest became more and more certain of his idea. He tapped the ground again. "Those giant eagles and owl bears are probably kept as pets by humans, while the centaurs are just there to help humans herd livestock. As for that clever goblin, it seems that he has the trust of his master, who was willing to send him to the forest without any fear that the goblin would run away."

"Alas," the high priest sighed, "the one who toyed with the feathered serpent's gift should be his master, and he's just a scapegoat. But now that he's back in the forest, why doesn't he run away? Why is he willingly risking his life for humanity?"

He walked somewhat unsteadily to the other end of the stone house, reaching his hands inside his clothes as he went.

The high priest touched his left shoulder, and through the opening in his clothes, one could see a ring of scars, which looked like a pattern, a distinctive brand.

"He should have this mark on him too," the high priest murmured. "After we exchange the bubbling leaves this time, I may need to go and see that goblin myself."

The high priest withdrew his hand and then wrapped his clothes tighter around himself. Unlike Baldy and the other goblins, he was dressed more warmly, with an oddly shaped fur draped over his body. But the movement made him cough a few times. "I'm getting old, and I don't know when I'll die. If that goblin is truly an intelligent creature, it might actually be able to succeed me and become the next high priest."

"We'll have to wait until Quetzalcoatl asks again," the high priest slowly exhaled. "We've lost 800 goblins, so we shouldn't need to draw lots for a while, and no one will be driven out of the kingdom for the time being."

He looked around the stone house blankly, and finally stared in one direction: the tallest stone tower in the kingdom, where the feathered serpent god lived.

After gazing for a long time, the high priest closed his eyes, his tone somewhat melancholy, "I hope Quetzalcoatl no longer remembers this."

…………

Baldy walked out of the high priest's stone house and came outside. He was now standing on the top of a tower. These towers were all in the form of stepped pyramids and were not very tall. The tallest and largest stone tower in the kingdom was where the feathered serpent god lived.

But this still couldn't stop Baldy from looking down at the goblin kingdom before him. He sized up the guys huddled in their burrows, the green heads peeking out, and the goblins walking cautiously outside.

Baldy grinned, revealing a smug smile. "It seems the High Priest has accepted my suggestion. So, when will we deal with those goblins again?"

He turned his head to look into the stone house with anticipation, his eyes showing a slightly hungry look.

"Although we failed this time, it was all due to the problems with those caves. If we take the goblins there again next time, we will definitely be able to capture them successfully."

Baldy clenched his fists tightly and swung them a few times. "If I win, the High Priest will definitely approve of me. Maybe I'll take over that position after he dies."

He stood atop the stone tower, greedily gazing at the dilapidated stone houses below, even his own cave dwelling was not far away. "It's better to live here; I can see all the goblins in the kingdom at a glance."

"Next time, I will definitely suggest to the High Priest that he grant me the authority to kill those cave chiefs. Only then will no cave chief dare to disobey me. And next time I will bring even more goblins. This time, only two caves the size of goblin toes were enough. I will bring more next time." He moved his fingers a few times, then looked down at his bare feet. "Two caves the size of goblin toes are too few. I will bring more next time."

Twenty goblins lived in one of the burrows. After Baldy counted on his fingers a few times, he said confidently, "Next time, I'll bring a burrow the size of five goblin toes."

After much deliberation, he decided to bring 2000 goblins next time. However, when making the calculations, he completely failed to consider that it would take a whole day just to collect food for those 2000 goblins. He also completely forgot about the tired looks in his men's eyes when he led 800 men on a march before. Those goblins had hardly eaten their fill, unlike them, the cave dwellers, who could eat their fill every day even while marching.

"Don't think you can look down on me just because you're standing on this high platform," Baldy said, glancing down at the stone house below. A surge of pride welled up inside him. He remembered the way Charles looked down at him from the platform, a look that made him very uncomfortable, like he was being treated like a fool. "When I come with goblins and even more giant lizards, you'll be kneeling on the ground, touching my ankles."

He never considered whether he would lose again next time, after all, Quetzalcoatl was his source of confidence, and no matter how strong the opponent was, could he be stronger than a "god"?

"Overestimating yourself," the bald man scoffed, starting to walk down the steps. After taking two steps, he suddenly remembered, "What did the High Priest ask me to do?"

"Who are you looking for? What do you want?"

He tried hard to think of something but couldn't come up with anything. Then he raised his hand and slapped himself hard across the face.

"Oh, I remember now, the bubbling leaves."