Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

"I've actually shrunk?" The elephant looked around in a daze. Its body had become about the same size as an ordinary elephant, only twice the size of the female elephants in the herd, but much smaller than its former enormous size.

"How about it? I told you there was a way to shrink you down, even to the point of letting you into the fortress." Charles looked up at the elephant spirit before him. "Of course, I still need to familiarize myself with this thing a little more, maybe I can shrink you down even further."

Looking at the white finger bone inserted into the elephant's back, he had a few more ideas about how to use it.

Yesterday, after he inserted the lazy finger bone into his lower back, he shrank several times in size. This action initially caused panic among the goblins, especially the high priest, who immediately cried out. However, when Charles pulled the finger bone out from behind, he quickly returned to his original size.

He and the high priest analyzed that this thing should be something that the feathered serpent god deliberately hid, which was also the reason why it could crawl into that low burrow. As for why the lazy finger bone and the phoenix egg were here, the high priest said that he didn't know either, and he had never heard the feathered serpent god say anything about it.

"Perhaps this thing can be used for other purposes?" After having his men try it a few times, Charles also began to think about the application of the finger bones.

According to the information on the panel, Laziness lost this finger bone, but this guy seems too lazy to even look for it, which is really his habit.

However, this thing can only shrink things now, and it doesn't seem to be of much use to the goblin race. After all, goblins are small enough to be easily decapitated by human adventurers with a single horizontal slash, without even having to raise their swords.

However, Charles quickly realized one use for the Sloth Bone: to shrink Zunesha.

Sharl had spoken with the elephant lord many times before, partly to maintain his relationship with the herd and with the elephant lord, so that if the feathered serpent god suddenly attacked, he could ask the elephant lord to protect his goblin tribe; the other part was to learn more about the Nightmare Forest. The elephant lords led their tribes through the forest year-round, and they even had fixed patrol routes. Those elephant lords must know a lot about the forest. Sharl knew more secrets about the forest, things that human society might not know, but he was now a goblin living here, and the more he knew, the greater his chances of survival.

After communicating with the elephant owner multiple times, Charles gradually realized that this huge elephant leader actually wanted to stay with the herd. Because its body was too big, more than ten meters tall, and its body was emitting a faint black aura, it could only live in the clearings in the forest. If it weren't for the elephant owner's super vitality, it would probably have frozen to death in this winter.

However, the elephant owner also wanted to go into the fortress and sleep with the herd. After all, this is the nature of elephants. When they sleep, they huddle together, surrounding the juvenile elephants in the middle, and they will also leave one or two elephants to keep watch.

It's safe here in the Shire now; no one will harm the elephant herd, so these enormous creatures can sleep peacefully inside the fortress. But the elephant lord can only lie alone in the open space outside the fortress, sleeping by himself.

"This thing should be able to help Elephant Lord." This was Sharl's idea. He could shrink Elephant Lord and let it walk into the fortress, and it could also enjoy the "greenhouse" that Sharl had built for the herd using runic words.

At the same time, Shire also had his own intentions. Doing so would bring him closer to Zunesha, after all, it was a forest evil god, with strength comparable to Quetzalcoatl, or even stronger. Quetzalcoatl was not killed, but was seriously injured and escaped. If the other party were to launch a counterattack, Shire's tribe would be doomed.

As long as they maintain a good relationship with the elephant spirits, the tribe will at least be safe.

After numerous studies, Sharl gradually became more proficient in using the Sloth Finger Bone, but he also developed a greater curiosity about these demon lords.

"The Angry Horns could drive someone into a state of unconscious madness, while the Sloth's Fingers could shrink a person. What use would those eyes be? Would they just see the other person's name and lifespan?" Charles was very curious about this. "And what use would the Jealous Ears be? What 'parts' are Pride and Greed missing?"

"And why did those high elves want to seize a part of the demon lord's body, and how did they do it?" This made Charles even more curious. After all, that was the demon lord. Even though he failed to kill Quetzalcoatl, that was just an avatar. If the original Quetzalcoatl had been standing in front of him in the Eternal Dark Plane, Quetzalcoatl would probably have only died. You should know that in this world, the demon lord's strength is only below the four gods.

"Are they collecting the 'parts' of the demon lords to gather enough to summon six dragons?" Charles smiled wryly, not understanding their motives. However, he at least realized that the parts of the six demon lords had other uses. "What if one day I found all six parts and wore them all on myself?"

"With angry horns on my head, ears of envy on my ears, the bones of laziness behind my back, eyes on my forehead, and the things of pride and greed, wouldn't I suddenly become very strong?" Charles imagined himself wearing the Demon Lord's "Saint Cloth," then sighed, "Forget it, I don't know if I'll become strong or not, but I'll definitely be a 'freak'."

"Thank you, goblin." Zunesha's eyes were fixed on Shire in front of it. This was probably the first time it had seen Shire's face clearly. Before, its body was too large and the goblin was so small that it would take some effort to see him clearly.

"It's nothing, helping you is helping me too." Charles waved his hand with a smile, then reached out and patted the elephant's trunk. Sensing the goblin's goodwill, the elephant extended its trunk and rolled Charles up, placing him directly on its back.

"This?" Charles was startled for a moment, then he realized the elephant's goodwill, so he sat comfortably on the elephant's neck. However, the fur on the elephant's back was a bit stiff and not very comfortable.

"You probably don't know how this will help me, goblin."

"Isn't it okay to stay with the elephants at night?" Charles was taken aback and put his hands on the elephant's neck.

"No, that's only a small part. Now that we have this method, I can enter the elephant herd's graveyard, and I can return to the embrace of my people after I die." The elephant's voice came again, this time with a hint of joy, as if it didn't care about death at all.

"Elephant Graveyard?" Charles repeated. When he first met the Elephant Lord, it mentioned it, saying that it was the final resting place for the deceased members of the elephant herd, and that a powerful magician was "buried" there. "Could you take me to see the Elephant Graveyard sometime? I just want to know how big the entrance is so I can continue researching this 'magical artifact' and help you more."

Charles tentatively offered his idea, and after a long silence, Zunesha finally said, "Okay."

Hearing the elephant's answer filled Charles with joy. It meant that he could see what the elephant herd's graveyard looked like. He had heard before that when elephants were about to die, they would leave the herd and go to the mysterious graveyard to quietly await their death, but no one had ever seen it, and there was no information about the graveyard. This time, he could see a real elephant graveyard, and there might be a lot of ivory there. If the quality was good, he could try to "save" it.

Shire abhorred killing elephants for their ivory. Now, having been in contact with the elephant herds, he has grown to love these creatures of the forest more and more. They are intelligent, sometimes mischievous, but very kind. The goblins and centaurs now adore the elephant herds. If they weren't wild elephants from the forest, the centaurs would even like to keep a few elephants as pets.

However, the ivory from the elephants that died in the elephant graveyard could be collected. If the quality is good, it could be made into handicrafts or directly exchanged for money.

As for the high-level mage's coffin, Xia Er thought it best not to disturb it for the time being. He had heard that these guys would set up all sorts of magical traps for themselves, and if they accidentally triggered them, they might just unleash a "Fireball" spell, blowing the "tomb raider" to pieces.

"My current strength is not enough to deal with those high-level mages, or even their lackeys. To take down their graves, I must be strong enough." Digging up the graves of high-level mages is not an easy task. It is completely different from fighting evil gods. You don't know where those old guys will set traps, or whether you have entered their graves. You may find yourself in an illusion after wandering around. What's worse, you don't even know if they are dead or not.

"Then I'll study it some more and see if there are any new uses for this thing." Charles patted the elephant's neck, signaling it to put him down.

…………

"Is this a phoenix egg?" Agatha frowned as she examined the meter-tall, pure white "giant egg" lying on the ground. "Aren't phoenix eggs supposed to be silver?"

"I guess it was soaked in Quetzalcoatl's venom and that's why it faded," Charles said, somewhat speechlessly.

"Fading? This isn't clothing, how can it fade?" Agatha pursed her lips, then reached out and tried tapping the eggshell. "But judging by the size, it does look like the phoenix egg described in the book."

"What else is written in the book?" Charles asked.

"Let me help you look for it." Agatha turned around and placed the book she was holding in her other hand on the table. Charles glanced at it; the title was "The Nobles of Plantagenet City Behind the Bed Curtains," Book Two.

Then, Agatha went to the bookshelf, stretched out a long, slender finger, and ran it along the spine of a book. "Where was it again? Not this one. Where did it go?"

Charles looked at his old classmate and couldn't help but shake his head slightly. He figured if he put some gossip-related books on the bookshelf, she would be able to find them immediately.

Soon, Agatha exclaimed, "Ah, here it is!"

Then he pulled it out directly, "This is about mythical creatures."

Charles glanced at the book title, "Where Are the Mythical Creatures?", and read that the author was Rondo Adal.

"Let me see, the phoenix," Agatha opened the book and began to look for information about the phoenix. "These birds are huge. They like to build their nests on towering trees or mountaintops. A pair of phoenixes will only lay one phoenix egg every many years."

"Did they say anything else about why this thing ended up in the cave?" Charles approached the phoenix egg, reached out and pressed his hand on it, trying to feel if the chick inside was still alive.

“I don’t know that, but the book says that some humans steal phoenix eggs,” Agatha explained, turning the pages. “Those humans would first hunt harpies, then pluck their feathers and stick them on themselves. They would then impersonate a harpy to approach the phoenix’s nest, waiting for an opportunity to steal the eggs. Such opportunities are extremely rare. First of all, phoenixes are very alert when incubating their eggs, making it difficult even for vassal species like harpies to get close to the nest. Moreover, the chance of waiting until both adult phoenixes are not in the nest is extremely slim.”

"Then why do these people still steal?" Charles raised an eyebrow, somewhat puzzled by their thinking.

"You know, these are mythical creatures. They are born with immense power," Agatha said, holding up a finger and waving it. "There are probably no ten phoenixes in the whole world. If you could raise one, that would be an incredible thing."

"Compared to phoenixes, there are more dragons. These mythical creatures are more powerful. They also lay eggs, and after reaching adulthood, they can use magic unique to dragons. The book also says that some adult dragons can use transformation magic to change their appearance and blend into human society."

"I know that. It seems that the white dragon that the hero Siegfried slew 110 years ago was hidden in a human city. What was its name?" Charles pinched his brow and thought for a few seconds. "Yes, its name was Terendilif."

"Yes, it's mentioned in the book, but not in any specific details." Agatha nodded and continued, "There are other mythical creatures, the Kraken in the sea, Behemoth on the land, and Leviathan in the sky."

"But now Behemoth and Leviathan are nowhere to be seen, and Kraken lives in the sea, so they are not easy to find either."

"Does the book say how to hatch a phoenix egg?" Charles frowned and glanced at the giant egg beside him. He could see from the panel that the egg should be intact, otherwise it should have been labeled as "Pre-phoenix Egg" or "Dead Phoenix Egg".

"No, not at all," Agatha shook her head. "The book only explains why these people stole the phoenix eggs."

"Sell it for money?" Charles said with a smile. Such a valuable thing, probably one of them could be exchanged for a city.

"Selling it for money is one thing, but there are also many powerful people who steal it, including some high-level mages," Agatha said, glancing at the pages.

"You must know that mythical creatures are born with power. If you kill them, you can immediately obtain their power."

Follow the brushstrokes of Kapibala while he takes a bath and embark on an adventure in "The Forest Doesn't Keep Idle Goblins".