Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

"Are you sure you can really catch that strange fish like this?" Pazzani stood on the edge of the dark pool, his eyes fixed intently on the water.

"I'm not sure, but we can try." Charles squatted by the water's edge, splashing the water with his hand. The water was indeed very cold, much colder than the underground river in the fortress. Even Pazzani didn't want to jump into the pool after testing the water temperature.

This shows that the frogman tribe has lived here for thousands of years, and their ability to continue is truly remarkable.

"Frog two three five seven one," Charles paused, "that's the number, right? These frogmen's names are really something." He smiled wryly and continued, "He said the frogman tribe hasn't been in the water for a long time. Do you think that strange fish is hungry now?"

"If it were me, besides those small fish underwater, there are no other large creatures, so even if I have to work overtime, I'd still catch a few frogmen to fill my stomach." Pazzani swept his tail, and a small stone was flung away, sinking into the water with a "plop".

Unfortunately, as the pebble disappeared into the water, the entire pool remained still, leaving only ripples.

"It's obvious this guy is very cautious." Charles shook the water off his hands, then naturally reached out and wiped the Naga prince's body a few times.

Pazzani ignored the other person's actions and kept staring at the pool. "When will that thing be ready?"

"It will take some more time. Frog 23571 said that the black clay needs time to solidify, so I believe it will be fine in a while. However, it won't be so easy for Red Eye and the Frogman to dig such a big pit on such hard ground."

"Isn't it that thing you brought?" Pazzani thought for a moment, "...slime?"

"I only brought three." Charles turned his head and glanced at a group of people in the distance who were digging with various tools, including goblins and frogmen.

With the help of worker ants, he was able to carry a large amount of supplies on this expedition. So, in the carriage on the back of the worker ants, Shire prepared three glass tanks filled with slimes, in case he encountered creatures like trolls that could regenerate and were difficult to kill.

Now, Xia Er has his men and frogmen dig a large pit not far from the pool. The pit needs to be big enough to hold the strange fish. However, in this cave, the surrounding ground is made of hard rock, unlike the soil on the surface, making it very difficult to dig a large pit.

They can only use the acid from one slime to corrode the ground first, and then dig after the acid has gradually corroded the stone, until they encounter resistance, and then use the next slime.

Pazzani had absolutely no idea why Charles was digging this pit. He frowned, glanced at the bustling "construction site," and muttered, "Could that strange fish really jump into the pit by itself?"

"How do you know that fish won't jump into the pit on its own?" Charles said with a smile.

Just as Pazzani was about to say something, the centaur leader Okore approached. "Chief, as you instructed, the fake frogmen are ready."

"Are you done?" Charles raised an eyebrow and immediately followed him over, whereupon a one-meter-tall "frogman" stood in front of him.

He examined the frogman model in front of him, made of tree trunks and grass branches. The black clay on it had mostly solidified, and its overall appearance was quite similar to a real frogman. More importantly, because several layers of black clay had been applied, along with the green leaves attached to the outside, the whole model even resembled a frogman in terms of smell.

"Okay, go tell everyone to get ready to go fishing." Charles circled the model a few times, even grabbing the rope on the ground and tugging at it a few times, nodding with a smile.

The rope was attached to the model, and the other end was very long. After Orek went to inform everyone, a group of goblins and centaurs soon gathered around.

"Everyone, hold onto this rope tightly," Charles shouted to his men. "When I tell you to let go, everyone let go. Don't let yourselves be pulled into the pool."

He then assigned positions to his men and called over Pazzani, who was watching the commotion, and said, "You throw that thing into the pond with all your might."

"Me, throw it?" Pazzani glanced at the frogman model. "You're going to use this thing to fish?"

I guess so.

“That might not work. The frogman said that strange fish is very strong, and you saw the pit over there, it’s huge,” Pazzani scratched his cheek. “It’s like Sancho’s father fishing in the underground river. If it weren’t for his old buddies, he would have been dragged into the underground river by the fish.”

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," Charles said with a smile.

Prince Naga shrugged and said nothing. After everyone had secured the ropes, he walked to the model, glanced at Sharl, and when Sharl nodded to indicate that it was okay, he spun his body forcefully, swung his tail, and with a muffled "bang," the frogman model covered in black clay was sent flying into the pool, splashing water everywhere.

"Hiss," Pazzani gasped, bending down to rub his tail. "It's still pretty hard."

"A block of cement, huh?" Charles suppressed a laugh as he looked at Prince Naga, who seemed to regret his earlier show-off act.

After the frogman model entered the water, the rope was pulled into the pool. However, it looked like the rope was simply straightened, and nothing strange happened. Everyone held the rope tightly and waited quietly.

"So calm?" Charles walked to the edge of the pool, his eyes fixed on the rope. "I don't believe you, a big fish, can resist the smell of the frogmen. That black sludge is made from their slime. Once it's in the water, you'll definitely be able to smell it."

He picked up a small pebble from the ground and threw it forcefully into the water. The ripples that spread across the surface seemed to indicate the unease within the dark lake.

Suddenly, a gasp came from the crowd. A strong force pulled the rope, and soon everyone cried out. They all pulled the rope tighter and lowered their center of gravity as Xia Er had instructed, gradually stopping them from being dragged towards the pool.

Charles immediately got up and went to the crowd. He looked nervously at the water, where the rope was being pulled back and forth by something in the water, causing some commotion in the crowd.

"You're quite strong," Charles said, squinting as he watched the struggle between the giant fish and the group escalate in the water, the rope swinging back and forth in the air. "Looks like you're getting impatient."

This time, he didn't arrange for frogmen to pull the ropes because he was afraid that the slime on their bodies would affect the roughness of the ropes. Now, seeing the people in front being pulled towards the water by the swinging ropes, they might fall into the water if they weren't careful. Xia Er decisively shouted, "Everyone, let go!"

With a "whoosh," as everyone released their grip, the rope was pulled directly into the water by a powerful force. The force was so great that the rope was pulled into the air and swung around, causing many centaurs and goblins to fall to the ground.

"I didn't pull it." Pazzani moved over awkwardly, looking like the pain hadn't subsided.

"I didn't expect it to be so easy to pull it ashore," Charles shook his head and laughed. "Even if everyone had enough strength, that rope simply wouldn't hold up."

"Then what's the point of doing this?" Pazzani scratched the scales on the back of his head, somewhat confused about what Charles was doing.

Charles smiled and walked to the side, where four jars of freshly opened black clay were placed. He slowly walked over, silently casting the [Mass Intelligence Reduction Curse] and [Mass Language Curse] on himself at the same time.

"How about it? You can taste something's off, can't you?" he said with a laugh, then kicked over a jar of black clay. The thick, black liquid slowly flowed out and poured into the pool before it solidified. "Are you a little angry? After all, it's too hard and gritty to eat, isn't it?"

"Smack!" Another jar was kicked over, and black clay spilled out.

"These little things actually dared to mess with you, using a fake frogman to tease you, and even dared to pull you around."

With a "thud," the third jar fell over.

"They should be your food. They haven't been in the water for a while and are probably looking forward to experiencing the feeling of filling their stomachs."

With a "thud," the last jar rolled directly into the pool, and the black clay spread out in the water.

"Since you're so unhappy, do you dare come and take a look?"

Charles stood by the pool with his hands behind his back, his eyes fixed on the water. Unfortunately, the cave was dimly lit, with only a few blue glowing mushrooms around the cave ceiling providing some light. If it weren't for the goblin's good night vision, he wouldn't be able to see clearly here.

As the four jars were kicked over, the pool gradually returned to calm, but Charles remained standing on the side. He could sense that things were not quite stable underwater, and that the big fish would not give up so easily.

Finally, he seemed to see something flash underwater, and Charles immediately took a step back while trying to call up the other party's panel.

Name: Benthic Demon Fish

Race: Warcraft

[Danger Level: 9, Somewhat Dangerous]

[Personality: Cruel and Greedy]

[Ability: Enslavement]

"It really is a magical beast, and even more dangerous than the Terrorclaw Bear," Xia Er continued to retreat a few steps, fearing that the other party might unleash some strange ability on him.

[Entrapment: Makes individuals with weaker mental abilities than you more susceptible to charm, and they will obey your commands. Charmed individuals cannot resist and can only communicate telepathically.]

"This ability is probably why those frogmen fell into the deep water," Charles narrowed his eyes. "It's quite dangerous."

"There's something in the water." Pazzani rushed over and stood beside Charles. He was also nervously watching the water. The flashes of light underwater just now must have been the scales of that strange fish.

"Looks like this thing is angry," Charles bent down and picked up a few pebbles from the ground, throwing them at the benthic fish. The water surface kept splashing and rippling. Just as he was about to throw in more pebbles, the water surface actually started to churn, which made Charles laugh. "This fish is getting impatient."

"What should we do then?" Pazzani had retreated two steps further than Charles at this point.

Charles chuckled. "He's still just a beast after all."

"How's the pit digging going?" he asked loudly without turning his head.

Soon, Red Eyes ran over carrying a longsword. "Leader, the pit is complete."

"Alright," Charles walked over and glanced at the longsword in the other's hand. The black sword was covered in dirt and debris, indicating that Red Eyes had probably used it to dig a hole. "Didn't you bring some tools? Why did you just use the longsword to dig?"

"The sword is easy to use." Red Eyes picked up the sword, looked at the dirt on it, and then shook it a few times.

Charles's lips twitched. The [Shamrach Black Sword], with its dimensional-stripping effect, was being used like this. He wondered what the original owner of the sword would think, but he didn't need to worry about it.

Then a large, fresh pit appeared in front of Xia Er. This pit was several meters away from the pool and quite deep. According to the frogmen's description of the size of the benthic demon fish, it should be able to completely contain it.

"Red Eyes, go check how the water is heating up!" Charles crouched down, scanning the large pit as he gave orders to his men.

After receiving confirmation, he stood up, dusted off his hands, and walked toward the frogman chieftain who was not far away.

"Next, we'll need your help."

"Outsider, is this really how you kill that strange fish? Ribbit." The frogman chieftain sat on a stone platform, stroking his white belly.

"If there are no problems with my plan, it should be fine," Charles said with a smile. This battle was a bit rushed. First of all, the entrance was too small, which prevented the worker ants from entering the cave. If the entrance were to be enlarged to accommodate the worker ants, it would require a huge amount of work, and it was also uncertain whether it would affect the stability of the passage.

Moreover, in order to ensure the timeliness and authority of communication with the frogmen, Charles had no choice but to come up with this method.

"So what do you need us to do, quack?"

"It's simple, can you provide me with one member?" Charles asked.

"Our frogmen are all great lads. Whatever you want to do, they can do it, ribbit."

"Is that so?" Charles smiled. "Since you've said that, I think they must all be very brave. I think we should make it Frog 2, 3, 5, 7, 1."

After he finished speaking, he thought for a moment to make sure that the number he gave was correct, "It's the frogman who was the first to meet us."

"Him? He's definitely a good young man, and he's very hardworking, quack."

"He is indeed quite interesting." Charles thought of the situation when he met Frog Two, Three, Five, Seven One before, and the corner of his mouth curled up.

"So, what exactly do we need him to do, ribbit?" The frogman chieftain patted his belly and asked.

Charles paused for a few seconds with his hands behind his back. He turned to look at the lake, where there were still some ripples. The benthic magic fish should still be lingering there. Then Charles turned back and gave a confident smile.

"I plan to use it to feed the big fish."