Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

"Hello, please..." Mary heard the doorbell ring and immediately looked up, then paused for a moment before quickly resuming her professional smile. "What would you like to order?"

The customer who entered the "Undying Alchemy Workshop" was not tall and was wearing a long linen cloak. The cloak did not seem to fit well, with many wrinkles at the bottom.

The guest walked rather slowly, looking somewhat comical, as if trying to control his pace and avoid stepping on the cloak.

"I... I need a few bottles of healing potion," the customer said in a muffled voice.

It was clear that the other person was deliberately concealing their voice, and the brim of their cloak was pulled low, as if they didn't want others to see their face.

"How many bottles do you need?" Mary asked calmly with a professional smile.

The alchemy workshop has received many strange adventurers. These adventurers all have their own quirks. Some like to talk to themselves, some like to possess others, even in the cold winter, and some like to wear masks. If they accidentally knock them off, they will immediately cover their faces with their hands.

Mary had grown accustomed to these quirks; they were just strange people. She'd even seen a vampire who loved to drink and a werewolf in a formal suit.

"Five bottles," the customer said in a deliberately low voice, while extending a hand from under the cloak. The hand looked very fair, with a small palm, clearly belonging to a woman, and there was white metal brace on the forearm, which looked to be made of high-quality material.

"Here, we offer a buy-10-get-1-free deal on healing potions. I suggest you stock up if you need them, it'll be more cost-effective that way." Mary's lips curled up as she saw the other person's exposed palm.

"Buy 10 get 1 free?" The customer paused for a moment, "Then I...I'll buy 15 bottles."

"Okay, then I will prepare 16 bottles of potion for you."

"16 bottles?" the customer asked, puzzled. "It's 15 bottles, 10 plus 5."

"We have a buy-10-get-1-free offer. If you buy 10 bottles, you can add one more," Mary explained patiently.

"Uh..." The guest stretched out his hands from under the cloak, counted on his fingers, and then nodded. "That seems to be the case. Okay."

"Okay, you just need to pay me..." Mary said with a smile, but before she could even say the price, the customer immediately put three gold coins on the table.

"Is that enough?" the customer asked again in a low voice, her tone revealing a hint of insecurity.

"That's enough, there's plenty more." Mary smiled and shook her head, then started making change for the other person, pushing the extra coins back.

"Here is your potion, it's already bundled up for you. Please handle the glass bottle with care." Soon, Mary had packed and bundled the 16 bottles of healing potion and placed them on the counter. The customer simply reached out and casually picked up the potion, not putting it into his bag, just holding it in his hand without a care.

"Is there anything else you need?" Mary asked politely.

The customer simply carried the medicine and stood there quietly, as if he hadn't heard the question. After a few seconds, he said in a low voice, "It's gone."

After saying that, she stood there for a few seconds, then suddenly seemed to realize that she was the guest. So she turned around and strode toward the wooden door of the workshop.

Unfortunately, she seemed to have forgotten that she was wearing an ill-fitting cloak. After taking only a few steps, she stepped on the front of the cloak. After a few quick steps, the guest struggled to control her body so as not to fall over. She then nimbly shook the cloak to prevent herself from stepping on it again. Finally, with a "snap," she grabbed the wooden door handle.

"Are you alright?" Mary asked worriedly, looking at the guest standing by the wooden door with his head down.

"It's alright," the guest said, this time seemingly forgetting to disguise her voice and revealing her true female voice.

After saying that, she pulled open the wooden door and went out.

"A strange guest." Mary chuckled and shook her head, recalling the person's actions from entering the workshop to leaving. Finally, she focused her thoughts on the exposed arm armor. "That white material... I think I saw it a few days ago."

After thinking for a few seconds, Mary's eyes widened immediately.

"The Crusades".

…………

"It was all your bad idea to insist on wearing clothes like this, and you even said it would help you disguise yourself." Diana hid in an alley, took off her linen cloak, and threw it hard on the ground.

"Now that things have turned out this way, it's obvious that the shop assistant has noticed us." She glanced at the three longswords she was carrying with annoyance.

"I know you sensed something. This shop has some connection to Fourth Uncle, or perhaps to that adventurer from Torch City, but we can obviously just walk right in."

She paused for a few seconds before continuing, "I know that once I've finished what I did, I should come back to the shop and wait. That adventurer will definitely show up."

"What? Go ask them now? What if that adventurer just frequented the alchemy workshop? What if this clerk is actually his girlfriend?"

"I don't want to be chased all over town by the security forces anymore. I am the commander-in-chief of the Crusader."

After saying that, she kicked a small pebble at her feet, clearly annoyed by what had just happened.

"I don't care, I'm going to get into the Nightmare Forest first. I have to find those paladins no matter what. Evil gods and stuff aren't so easy to deal with."

"After you rescue the Crusaders, I'll help you find your fourth uncle. Anyway, the alchemy workshop can't be moved."

"Huh? You want me to call for help? Are you kidding me? Those guys have been in the forest for two days already. I'm going to the docks to ask them about it later. I need to get them out by tomorrow at the latest."

At this point, Diana stuffed the healing potion next to her into the backpack at her lower back, only to find that there was too much stuff in the backpack and no room left for the potion.

"What? Take good people with you before going into the forest? By the time I find the paladins, they'll either all be dead or have gone mad and become idiots."

"What's so great about an evil god? At worst, I can unleash all my power and fight him for a few rounds."

"No need to say anything more. I will definitely find my fourth uncle, but I must also save the paladins of the Holy Order. There is no such word as 'run away' in my dictionary, Diana's dictionary."

After saying that, she muttered to herself as she carried the medicine and swaggered toward the dock in Giethoorn.

…………

Captain Byron sat somewhat worried in the captain's cabin as laborers loaded bags of supplies onto the cargo ship "Earn Enough to Retire".

"I didn't expect that the goblin mole in Giraffe Town was indeed Miss Mary from the 'White Shell' Merchant Guild." He stared at a list on the table and muttered to himself.

Yesterday, when he returned to the docks in Giesorn and was struggling with how to ask about the cargo he was supposed to be transporting, Mary suddenly appeared in front of him.

There was no one in front of him at the time, but the door to the captain's cabin opened by itself, and Miss Mary appeared directly in front of him.

This almost made Byron jump out of his skin. He stumbled back several steps, his back slamming against the wall.

Fortunately, Miss Mary did nothing but give Byron a list of the supplies he needed to transport.

After she finished doing her job, Mary vanished into thin air, as if she had never been there at all.

As a captain who frequently made a living in Giesecke Town, Byron couldn't possibly be unfamiliar with Miss Mary of the "White Shell" Merchant Guild. He also knew that she was a receptionist at the Alchemy Workshop. However, this bizarre way of making an entrance made Byron somewhat frightened.

"So Miss Mary is actually a powerful magician?" he murmured. "These goblins are amazing; they can even connect with a magician."

"Wait, isn't the 'Undying' workshop where adventurers buy potions?" Byron frowned, sensing that things weren't so simple. "Miss Mary sells potions to adventurers, who then rush into the Nightmare Forest with them, and then..."

He hesitated for a moment, "Then these adventurers are killed by that goblin pack, and the result is..."

"Miss Mary and the goblins teamed up to swindle the adventurers, not only draining them of their money but also their equipment."

"I wonder if these goblins eat people. If they do..." Byron suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, as if he had fallen into an ice cave. Although the goblin said they didn't eat people, how could he believe what a goblin said? "Maybe they're just temporarily sparing me and my minions because they see me as useful."

Thinking of this, Byron couldn't help but grimace. "Dad, why did you have to be greedy for those few drinks? If you hadn't, you might still be the captain now."

But then I thought, maybe my father will have made enough money to retire by then, and he will most likely hand over the cargo ship to me. "Damn it, I might still be the captain of this ship."

Byron slapped himself hard. "Serves you right for being greedy and trying to earn the Crusader's gold coins. Now look what's happened! Goblins are feeding you poison, and there's a ghost-like mage guarding the town. Where can you run off to?"

He rubbed his aching cheek, feeling very remorseful.

But the guess was confirmed, and the other party seemed very powerful, so I could only take it one step at a time. "I hope that after this is over, there won't be any trouble. Even if the goblins give me a few dried rats or wriggling fat worms, I'll accept it."

He didn't think he could get any decent compensation from doing business with goblins. He even thought the contract was copied from the Crusader's commission, with no changes to the amount. It was obviously a copy, and the handwriting was very messy.

"After this deal is done, I need to find a church immediately. I'll spend whatever it takes to get them to treat me properly. I doubt any ordinary doctor could cure this strange toxin." Byron clenched his fists worriedly. "I'm never coming back to Goat's Horn again, no matter who tries to persuade me. Business is tough in Black Lion City, but it's better than losing my life here."

"Bang, bang, bang," someone banged on the wooden door of the captain's cabin, and the force of the person outside was very strong.

"Who?" Byron jumped up.

"Is the captain here?" a strange female voice asked.

"Captain, the captain isn't here." A thought immediately flashed through Byron's mind: Miss Mary has sent someone to urge me.

"The captain isn't here?" The person outside the door was taken aback. "Then who are you?"

"Me?" Byron said immediately, "I'm the first mate of this ship."

"First mate?" The person outside the captain's room chuckled twice, then with a "bang," the wooden door was kicked open. Byron was startled and leaned back, his eyes fixed on the person standing outside the door.

It was a woman wearing white armor with a high ponytail, but she wasn't very tall, about the same height as a goblin. The first mate of the "Make Enough to Retire" ship was being held in her hand and looked like he had already passed out.

"Who...who are you?" Byron asked in a trembling voice.

"Never mind who I am, you and your first mate always seem to ask the same questions. I just want to know when you entered the Nightmare Forest?"

"I'm going into the Nightmare Forest?" Byron shuddered, his eyes fixed on the somewhat arrogant girl before him. "I... I'll be there soon, very soon..."

"What do you mean, 'soon'?" The newcomer frowned, seemingly dissatisfied with the answer. "Interesting, this guy's rambling too."

She glanced down at the unconscious first mate on the ground, then looked up at Byron. "I'll ask you one more time..."

Just as the girl was preparing to question him again aggressively, a commotion arose on the dock. "Where is that short, murderous man?"

"The security team?" The girl frowned. She had finally managed to find out which ship the Crusaders were hiring by asking several people, but they all stammered and gave vague answers. When she finally found the first mate, he started rambling on and on, saying things like, "The weather is really nice today. Look at those clouds in the sky, don't they look like goblins?" and "The Crusaders are very rich. The gold coins they give out should have goblin heads engraved on them."

These nonsensical answers infuriated her, so she knocked the other person unconscious with a single slap, then dragged the first mate along and began searching for the captain's cabin.

"Someone must have seen us." The girl stamped her foot, her tone very impatient.

"What do you mean by 'I'll definitely get caught'?" she suddenly shouted. "I didn't want to either, but these guys have been doing this all along the way, how can I not be angry?"

As the commotion grew closer, the girl glared at Captain Byron with annoyance. "You wait, if you're still here after I turn around, I'll have a good talk with you."

After saying that, the girl turned and ran out.

"Who is this?" Byron murmured.

"Captain, there was someone just now..." A sailor rushed over in a panic, only to find the first mate lying on the ground, and stood there in place.

"Hurry up," Byron sighed. "Is everything packed?"

"There are still some," the sailor stammered. "No, not many."

"Speed ​​up, let's set sail immediately."

…………

"'Make enough money to retire' ran away?" Diana was stunned when she heard what the dockworker said. Then she immediately ran to the gangplank and scanned the Darren River.

A cargo ship was swaying precariously on the river, but unlike the other ships, it was heading north, towards the Nightmare Forest.

Fortunately, it was winter and the wind was unfavorable, so the cargo ship changed its sails and moved slowly across the river by sailing against the current.

"Damn it, I missed it!" Diana stomped her feet in anger. The security team had chased her like a rabbit, even resorting to encirclement and interception. She didn't want to be caught. Who knew if Torch City had issued a warrant for her arrest? If they actually sent the suspect's portrait of "damaging the Sacred Oak Cathedral" here, her title as the commander-in-chief of the Holy Crusade would probably be useless.

"What's going on?" She frowned, watching the cargo ship sail away, then paused.

"Yes, Uncle, I can ride a griffin to chase after it."

Meanwhile, Charles was frowning as he listened to the paladin in front of him explain the reason.

"You mean, a businessman visited your deputy commander?"