Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

"Wait, what did you just say was the master of Zulu?"

Diana controlled the movement of the soldier ants while staring wide-eyed at Charles beside her.

The two started chatting after making their bet, and as they talked, Charles mentioned his past experiences and revealed his identity as the Elephant Lord's Transformer.

"You heard me right, the other party is a lich." Charles shrugged.

"Oh, God above, I knew it." Diana rubbed her forehead. "From the moment you said you wanted to see the Elephant Transformer, I felt something was wrong. The evil god in the forest should have lived for a very long time, and if its Transformer is still alive, it must have become an old monster."

Charles smiled but didn't reply.

"I should have realized it was a lich. Ordinary archmages can't live that long." Diana sighed, then turned to look at Charles. "Are you really sure this operation should continue?"

"Yes." Ciel nodded with a smile, his expression quite certain.

"But the other party is a lich." Diana frowned, looking as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

"What happened to the lich?" Charles asked, blinking.

"Lich..." Diana was about to say something, but then she glanced at Zed, who was walking at the front of the group, and sighed softly, lowering her voice, "Lichs are mages of an evil magic school; they practice necromancy."

"Hmm, and then?"

"And then?" Diana was taken aback, looking at the seemingly fearless goblin in front of her. "That's right, you're a race that lives in the Nightmare Forest, so you shouldn't have to see liches."

"Do you often see liches? Tell me about it." Charles immediately became interested, lying down beside the worker ant cargo box and watching the former president of the Crusader Army with great interest.

“Lich,” Diana said, then paused, shaking her head in annoyance, looking down on necromancers. “Not all necromancers can be called liches. Only those who abandon their bodies, or rather, lock their souls in the 'life box,' can be called liches.”

"I know about the Life Box." Charles nodded.

Seeing that a goblin like Shire knew about liches, Diana raised an eyebrow and continued, "Then do you know what the phylactery is called?"

"What?"

"Soul Casket." Diana narrowed her eyes. "As the name suggests, it is a coffin for the soul. Liches store their souls in the Casket in exchange for a lifespan that exceeds the limits of their bodies, but their Casket also becomes their greatest weakness."

"So, the only way to kill a lich is to destroy his phylactery?"

"Yes," Diana nodded, "and these guys who practice necromancy are very difficult to deal with. I have had many experiences fighting against necromancy mages before."

"Tell me," Charles urged, eager to know what his team might encounter, as this would help him prepare.

"These guys are..." Diana paused for a moment before continuing, "very perverted. They like to live around cemeteries, and some even live directly in empty coffins in the cemeteries. If they're not skilled enough, they'll hide in the communal cemetery of churches, where ordinary civilians who have died are buried."

"And what about the really powerful ones?"

"High-ranking liches often choose to hide in the family cemeteries of various noble families." Diana shook her head slightly. "I once handled a commission from a noble in the Kingdom of Argon, and a lich was hiding in his family cemetery."

Ciel raised an eyebrow, showing great interest in the girl's experiences.

Diana breathed a sigh of relief. "That nobleman was a baron. His wife had just passed away some time ago, and he missed her dearly, so he was paying his respects to her in the family cemetery."

"and then?"

"He stood before his wife's coffin and spoke for a long time about how much he missed her. Then, that night, his deceased wife came to see him."

"You saw him?" Charles was taken aback.

"Yes, just like you think," Diana said irritably, seeing Charles's expression. "A corpse that was already mostly rotten climbed up the castle wall and stood in front of the Baron's bed, and at that time..."

Diana lowered her head and rubbed her forehead. "The Baron is having a secret rendezvous with the castle's cook in bed."

"Wow—" Charles exclaimed in amazement. He hadn't expected that the nobles of the Kingdom of Argon were just as corrupt as those of the Kingdom of Fran, or rather, that all nobles in the world were equally corrupt.

"The result was that the Baron fled for his life in his castle without wearing pants, while his cook was scared to death." Diana frowned, glancing at the excited goblin beside her, unsure why this guy cared so much about human gossip.

But after thinking for a moment, she continued to persuade him, "So, are you really going to see that lich?"

"Yes." Charles nodded with a smile.

"The opponent is very strong. Even if you brought so many people, including Cao Cao and Chi Mu, you are no match for them."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Xia Er nodded again. Shui Yumo's answer didn't include any other precautions, which meant that the operation shouldn't be too dangerous. Of course, necessary precautions still needed to be taken.

"I really don't know who gave you, a goblin, the courage to face a powerful lich." Diana sighed, but despite her words, she continued to follow the group and did not immediately turn back.

"Don't worry, we just made a bet. If the other side is too strong and the operation goes wrong, then you've won, haven't you?"

"I'd rather not win," Diana muttered to herself.

"Here's what we'll do. If you win, you can ask me two questions, and I'll answer them unconditionally, as long as I know the answers." Charles smiled and held up two fingers. He had previously asked the other party to instruct Red Eyes and Little John on swordsmanship, and now he would respond by answering two questions.

"That depends on whether you're alive to answer." Diana shook her head softly, seemingly not optimistic about Charles's actions.

But she knew that Charles was the kind of person who wouldn't easily change his mind once he made a decision, so she didn't try to persuade him further.

The group returned to the dense forest in this strange atmosphere. Once inside, the sky was darkened by the canopy of trees, and the grass and shrubs on the ground were very sparse. More importantly, the sounds of various animals could be heard almost nowhere, as if they were deliberately avoiding the area.

"Wait for us outside," Charles said calmly to Diana, standing in the doorway.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come?" Diana frowned. "The other side is a lich. Are you really capable of handling it?"

"Hmm." Charles nodded.

Diana didn't speak again, but instead looked down at the goblin in front of her from bottom to top. For a moment, she didn't know what to say. After a dozen seconds, she sighed, "Fine, I'll protect these giant ants outside by myself."

Then she muttered to herself, "What kind of blessing did God give him to have such confidence?"

Charles heard the whispers, but said nothing, only smiled, and then the group followed Elephant Lord toward the Elephant Grave.

…………

To be honest, Charles didn't intend for Diana to come along to see the lich, mainly because he was afraid that the President would act faster than he thought.

Before he could even ask any questions, the Holy Army commander thrust four flying swords directly at him, rendering any further words useless.

Moreover, judging from Diana's tone when she talked about liches before, it was clear that she disdained and loathed such necromancers. This meeting was just a discussion with them, not some kind of "Dragon Gate Banquet" hosted by Hung Hing and Tung Sing. There shouldn't be any situation where they start fighting over a disagreement. But if Diana were present, it's hard to say.

"We should be there soon."

With the help of the torchlight, Charles could already see a pale reflection ahead, which must be the huge pile of bones. A foul smell wafted through the air, forcing him to cover his nose.

"That old elephant should be dead." Charles frowned. The rotting smell made him uncomfortable, and the others in the group also frowned.

It's quite interesting that goblins and trolls are actually uncomfortable with the smell of decay.

Upon thinking of this, Charles couldn't help but shake his head slightly.

Since acquiring the runeword Temperature, his tribe now frequently takes baths in the large pool; after a busy day, a hot bath is definitely more comfortable.

However, due to the current limitations of living space and raw materials, the Shire could only build two huge pools for the tribe to use.

Having enjoyed a few baths, Diana became somewhat addicted to this lifestyle.

In her words, she never expected that goblins would have cleaning methods that were no less effective than those of humans, and perhaps even superior.

As a member of the Crusaders, she knew that after a day of training, many members would choose to go to the bathroom to clean themselves, and the Crusaders even had a special fund for fuel expenses.

At first, Diana was surprised that Ciel had the goblins collect a lot of firewood to boil water for everyone to bathe in. But when she discovered that the hot water in the large pool had been kept hot for a long time, she was shocked that Ciel had gone to such lengths. She wondered how much fuel it would take and how long the goblins would have to collect branches and firewood to achieve this.

But Sharl said his tribe did not collect firewood. "What a joke. The whole tribe has endless things to do every day. Where would they find the manpower to collect firewood?"

These words drove Diana somewhat crazy. As the commander-in-chief of the Crusader, she knew exactly what the fuel expenditure was, yet the goblin casually said that there was no need to prepare fuel.

But those two large pools were indeed filled with hot water, and the members of the tribe could soak and leave as they pleased. They would also change the hot water every day when it got dirty, which made Diana even more confused about what this goblin tribe actually possessed.

Shire also knew that his tribe was shrouded in mystery for Diana.

Shire also knew that his tribe was shrouded in mystery for Diana.

The portal that left the other party completely bewildered, the "self-heating pool" that was incomprehensible no matter how you looked at it, and all sorts of strange forest foods—every aspect of it overturned the former president of the Crusades' understanding.

However, Charles didn't specifically explain, and when Diana asked, he just smiled mysteriously.

As runewords are the "black technology" of the current race, he does not intend to explain them to the other party now. All the research content and materials of runewords are stored in the runeword material warehouse, which is guarded and studied by Agatha and the cripple.

He still remembered the note on the fragment of the Tower of Babel Key: "We must not let the gods know that we have found a way to surpass them." Perhaps runic words are the way to surpass the gods, or one of the options.

Diana was once the leader of the Crusaders and swore a blood oath before defeating the statue. If she were to learn the details of runewords, it's uncertain whether it would attract the attention of the Four Gods.

Especially after the incident involving the Cardinal, Charles became even more cautious in his actions.

"You're all here. Get your weapons ready and come forward with me quickly." After giving his orders, Charles led the troll, who was covered in bone armor, a few steps forward cautiously.

At this moment, Cao Cao was wearing the white bone armor that the old man Marshall had made for him, making him look even more majestic and reliable. Marshall followed behind the troll, already holding the magic scroll for "Grease Your Feet" in his hand.

"I wonder if that gigantic, wriggling claw will be any more agreeable this time." Charles glanced at the old elephant carcass lying on the ground in the distance, then immediately looked warily at the pile of bones in front of him.

He kept slowing Cao Cao down while constantly watching for changes in the pile of bones.

However, even as they stood beside the pile of bones, the entire pile of elephant bones remained unresponsive; the giant claws did not reappear, and the pile of bones itself made no sound.

"Strange, is the claw not at home?" Charles frowned.

But the sound coming from the pile of bones made him take a step back.

A "crash" sound rang out, and something seemed to be moving in the pile of bones in the distance.

"Is that the giant claw?" Charles cautiously held up his torch, straining to see into the distance.

Fortunately, goblins have good vision and can see clearly even in dim light. The pile of bones in the distance is shaking and even moving around.

Moreover, the broken bones below were constantly arching up, as if something underneath wanted to pop out.

"Could it be that giant bone claw?" Charles clenched the scroll in his hand tightly. "Has it gotten even bigger and is trying to emerge from underground?"

For a moment, he had a strong urge to send someone to call Diana in immediately, since Diana was "professional" at dealing with liches.

But as the friction sound grew louder and the surging of the bone pile became more obvious, all the members were on high alert, except for Cao Cao, who was standing in front of Xia Er, who was leisurely eating gingerbread.

"With this effect, is that bone claw really that huge?" Charles hesitated. "Should we retreat first?"

Unfortunately, he didn't have much time to think about it. After a few loud crashes, a huge stone coffin was lifted up from the middle of the pile of bones. It looked very old.

Behind him, Elephant raised its trunk and let out a high-pitched nasal sound.

"Is it its owner?" Charles frowned.

"Crack!" A sound of stones scraping together rang out as the coffin lid opened a crack.