"You went to pick Bang-Bang Fruits?" Shire asked.

"Yes, Chief." Nine-finger gently set down a bundle. "I found them while I was gathering fruit in the trees."

"No protection at all, just charging straight through the Bang Bang Forest... that’s certainly brave." Shire chuckled and let out a breath. "Go on, get something to eat."

Shire watched his subordinate walk away. There was something he didn’t say out loud. ’Going to climb trees and pick fruit with only one hand, and while it’s still healing... You’re pretty brave yourself.’

"Come here." He beckoned, calling the five goblins over.

"You came from the north?" he asked.

The five goblins’ lips trembled. They huddled together, shoving against one another, but none of them answered. Shire frowned and asked again.

Finally, a goblin who wasn’t as hunched over as the others was pushed to the front. He answered Shire’s question, "Yes, Chi... Great King."

’Great King?’ Shire’s lip twitched. ’Getting called "Great King" already.’

"How did you get through the Bang Bang Forest?" he asked.

The goblin looked down at his shackles and said, "We ran."

"Weren’t you afraid of being blown up? You’ve got guts," Shire said with a laugh.

"Getting blown up wouldn’t be so bad," one of the goblins huddled in the group muttered under his breath.

"If one of you had been blown up, you’d never have made it through the forest dragging a corpse," Shire corrected him. But seeing the resolute look in the goblin’s eyes, his expression immediately turned serious. "What would you have done if a companion had died?"

"Bite through his ankle and leave him behind," the goblin answered calmly, as if this was the only way.

Shire fell silent. What could possibly be in the north that would make these goblins risk their very lives to cross the Bang Bang Forest?

"Go get something to eat first. We’ll talk after," he said, not pressing them further. He waved them over and at the same time told Bai Mao not to give them too much. People who had been starving for a long time could be in danger if they suddenly ate their fill.

The five goblins took wooden bowls and shuffled to the back of the line. They watched the goblins ahead of them, who were getting food with their legs spread wide like crabs. After staring at each other blankly and whispering a few words, they too spread their legs and shuffled forward.

While scooping food from his own small pot, Shire observed the newcomer goblins.

They ate quickly, swallowing after only a few chews. Even when the food burned their tongues, they didn’t change their pace. What was more surprising was that, compared to the SLURP SLURP of his own subordinates’ eating, they were completely silent. Shire even felt that these five goblins weren’t eating a meal, but performing a ritual—one they had rehearsed many times.

Still, Shire could read a lot from their eyes. They kept their heads down, but their eyes were glued to the large pot, filled with a desperate hunger for food. If Shire hadn’t ordered their portions to be controlled, they probably would have eaten the pot itself.

"What’s in the north?" After lunch, Shire began to question them.

"There are Giants," the same goblin from before answered. They had relaxed a little and weren’t as timid.

"Giants?" Shire thought for a moment. The natural history books described them as tall, cruel, and stupid humanoids. A standing adult Giant was over two meters tall, about the same height as a Fearsome Claw Bear.

Moreover, they had voracious appetites and would eat any prey they could kill.

Giants liked to live in caves. If there were no caves, they would dig their own and cover the entrance with dead branches. They also enslaved goblins to find food for them.

"So you were enslaved by a Giant?" Shire asked.

"Not one. Two," the goblin replied respectfully.

"It was three," another one corrected from the side.

"No, Caocao doesn’t count."

"But he is one."

"How many are there, exactly?" Shire cut off their argument.

"There are two," the lead goblin answered.

"Was it just you five goblins? There must have been more, right?"

The goblins huddled together, counting on their fingers. Finally, all five of them held up both hands. "About this many."

"Nearly fifty goblins." Shire immediately sat up straight. "Are they still in the north?" 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"They’re still there. We’re the only ones who escaped," the goblin said.

’So many goblins could get a lot done, and their population growth rate is decent.’ Shire decided he had to find a way to bring this group of goblins under his command. "Are they like you? How many females are there?"

"They’re just like us. There are no females," the goblin answered calmly. "The female goblins were all killed."

Shire understood what he meant after a moment’s thought. He paused, then said, "Alright. I will rescue your old tribe."

"No, Great King, just take us in. Please, don’t go," the goblin immediately objected. "The Giants are too strong. Nothing in the forest can beat the two of them. We saw them drive off a giant bear that was smoking with black fumes. If you take your followers to attack the Giants, it’s suicide! The Giants won’t cross the forest, so it’s safe here."

"Then what about your old companions?" Shire asked.

The goblin fell silent. His expression was natural, showing no sign of any great emotional turmoil.

Looking at the five skinny goblins, Shire suddenly understood their thinking. ’Getting through the Bang Bang Forest took an incredible amount of luck. But if I lead my people to attack, we’ll definitely be killed. Then this newfound hope, so hard to come by, will vanish completely.’

Shire got up and walked toward his followers. As he passed the goblins, one of them said, "We just want to join your tribe. Being able to eat what we just had every day is enough. You can make us do anything—beat us, curse us, don’t let us sleep in the cave. We only beg you not to go north. The Giants are very powerful."

Shire paid him no mind and simply walked to the center of the clearing. He announced loudly, "We’re going north to fight the Giants!"

The goblins, who had just eaten their fill, looked at each other in confusion. They didn’t understand why their chief would say such a thing.

"Are you afraid of Giants?" Shire asked.

His subordinates hesitated slightly. Clearly, many of the goblins had heard of Giants and knew how terrifying the creatures were.

Shire kicked the Fearsome Claw Bear’s head toward Red Eyes. "We killed a Fearsome Claw Bear!"

Red Eyes stared at the filthy, broken skull in front of him and instinctively followed suit. "We killed a Fearsome Claw Bear!"

Shire said it again, "We killed a Fearsome Claw Bear!"

Red Eyes repeated it too, his voice louder this time, "We killed a Fearsome Claw Bear!"

Then he kicked the skull to another goblin.

Gradually, all the goblins started chanting, "We killed a Fearsome Claw Bear!" The skull was passed between them with their feet, like a toy.

Seeing his subordinates riled up, Shire felt his resolve harden. ’It doesn’t matter what their combat strength is for now,’ he thought. ’At least if a fight breaks out, no one will be running away.’

’This afternoon, I’ll go see Agatha first,’ Shire mused. ’I’ll ask her for intelligence on these Giant creatures.’

He walked back to his small pot, his gaze sweeping over the five newcomer goblins. Their eyes were filled with anxiety and sorrow.