Chapter 287 - 266: The Effect of the War God’s Blessing

Chapter 287: Chapter 266: The Effect of the War God’s Blessing

Shire knew there were elephants in the forest. These massive creatures traveled along fixed routes, and whenever they reached a familiar area, they would linger for a long time before their leader guided the herd to the next location.

Shire had once observed elephants from afar with a telescope while hunting with his subordinates. He’d discovered they formed large herds, protecting their young in the center of the group and remaining constantly vigilant of their surroundings.

The reason Shire had been observing them was mainly that Red Eyes had suggested hunting one, which would be enough to feed the tribe for a long time.

Of course, if elephants were carnivores, Shire figured the goblins he had with him wouldn’t have been enough to get stuck in the herd’s teeth.

"Where did you see the elephants?" Shire brought Broken Tooth back to the stone house to question him in detail. He maintained a perfunctory attitude, however. Broken Tooth had described the elephant as being huge, but Shire figured any goblin would probably think an elephant looked like a small mountain.

In truth, Shire was more interested in the way Broken Tooth had just been moving.

"Over..." Broken Tooth gestured a few times, then looked around before finally settling on a direction. "I saw it in the direction of the rising sun."

"So, to the east," Shire nodded. "Right, how were you just zipping around in the shadows like that?"

"They’re big." Broken Tooth didn’t answer Shire’s question, instead emphasizing his point again.

"Yes, yes, I know elephants are big," Shire said, waving his hand dismissively. "I’m asking about your movements."

He gestured, mimicking Broken Tooth’s earlier actions. "I’ve never seen you go directly from one shadow into another. You always used to come out of a shadow before jumping into the next one. How can you now move between two shadows directly, like you’re teleporting?"

"I... don’t know. Suddenly, I just could." Broken Tooth looked blankly at his own hands and body. He didn’t really understand it himself after hearing his leader’s description. But then he immediately said again, "The elephants. They’re big."

"Big, I know they’re big." Shire completely ignored what his subordinate was saying. He was far more interested in how Broken Tooth had learned to teleport between shadows. With an Ability like that, he could remain hidden in the shadows indefinitely. As long as there were a few shadows close together and no one used any anti-stealth Magic, he was the perfect candidate for gathering intelligence. ’If I can just get Broken Tooth to learn Common Speech, I could send him directly to Yangjiao Town or even Black Lion City.’

He sized up his subordinate, his scrutinizing gaze making Broken Tooth shift uncomfortably. Broken Tooth subconsciously clutched his pants, looking extremely tense.

"What are you so nervous for? I’m not going to do anything to you," Shire said, a corner of his mouth twitching. ’Could it be the Blessing of the God of War and Glory I chose before? That Ability is supposed to make it easier for my subordinates to grasp various skills, but I didn’t expect results so quickly.’

"They’re big," Broken Tooth muttered again. Shire nodded impatiently. "Fine, they’re big. I get it."

He waved his hand, ready to dismiss Broken Tooth. If the elephant herd was planning to approach his clearing, he could just have the Centaurs drive them off or throw a few Stinky Spore Balls. Elephants were sensitive creatures; they would definitely turn and run.

But Broken Tooth showed no sign of leaving. Instead, he stood in place, squirming slightly. His movements made Shire frown. "What’s wrong with you? Your hemorrhoids acting up?"

"Chief, the elephants are really big. Really, really big." This time, Broken Tooth even used more words than usual, completely unlike his normal way of speaking.

"Are they that big?" Shire stared at his rapidly nodding subordinate, realizing he had to take the information seriously. "Fine. I’ll go with you and take a look. We’ll see what kind of elephants they are, and just how big."

He took Broken Tooth and went to get the Centaur girl, Evita, to prevent a situation where they suddenly encountered the elephant herd with no way to respond. The real reason he was going with Broken Tooth, however, was that he wanted to see his subordinate’s new Ability for himself to better plan for the future.

...

’This War God’s Blessing is taking effect pretty quickly,’ Shire thought, sitting on the back of a Worker Ant. He watched Broken Tooth zip back and forth ahead. Shire had tied a small flag to him, so when Broken Tooth sank into a shadow, the little flag would remain visible on its surface.

To Shire’s surprise, as Broken Tooth zipped between several patches of tree shade, the small flag would appear here one moment and there the next. He deduced that Broken Tooth must be teleporting directly within the shadows, which was why the flag was also jumping from shadow to shadow.

By following the flag’s movement, Shire calculated that Broken Tooth’s jumps couldn’t cover a very long distance. His travel speed was about the same as a goblin running at a full sprint.

’Looks like as long as Broken Tooth is careful, it’ll be really hard for anyone to find him,’ Shire thought, holding onto the Ant Saddle and contemplating his next move. ’As long as I prepare enough supplies for him, I could probably send him directly into the Feathered Serpent Kingdom to scout. After all, those guys also speak Earth Realm Speech, and it seems this shadow jumping makes no sound at all.’

’But I’ll need to train Broken Tooth in math beforehand. Forget drawing.’ He rubbed his cheeks. ’After this business with the Feathered Serpent Kingdom is over, I’ll figure out a way to reinforce his Common Speech.’

If Broken Tooth could infiltrate the Feathered Serpent Goblin Kingdom, he could certainly figure out their approximate numbers, how many Petrifying Lizards they had, and what their combat capabilities were. And then there was the Feathered Serpent itself. The previous captives all said they had rarely seen the Evil God. Shire wondered if it would be worth the risk for Broken Tooth to take a look and gather more specific intel.

Just as Shire was contemplating his future plans, he suddenly noticed that the small flag on Broken Tooth’s back had stopped moving. Immediately after, he felt the ant beneath him also stop, and it even seemed to be slowly backing away.

"Hm?" He frowned and looked at the Worker Ant, but before he could communicate with it, he felt the ground begin to tremble slightly.

"Is this an earthquake?" Shire muttered to himself, but he immediately understood what was happening. ’An elephant herd that can make the ground shake?’

He warily scanned his surroundings. Beside him, the fully armed Evita was also looking at him silently, her gaze filled with vigilance.

CRACK, CRACK! The sound of branches and tree trunks snapping came continuously from up ahead. Just as Shire was about to take out his telescope to check the situation, he saw puffs of black gas rising from behind the treetops.

"What is that? A Magical Beast?"