"How many Goblins can be recruited from the surrounding area?"
"This..."
Zhu Cai said, "The closest Goblin village to us probably only has a few dozen people."
"Only that many?"
"I apologize, Lord Bai Luo."
Zhu Cai said, "Our people are too few, and the forest is too vast, so we truly cannot conduct a more accurate search."
The Jura Great Forest in the original work seemed small.
But only after truly transmigrating to this world did Bai Luo realize how vast the real Jura Great Forest was.
Though called a great forest, it actually featured diverse terrains, including grasslands, swamps, lakes, and hills.
These areas were separated by dense forests, which formed the monster circle of the Jura Great Forest.
"It's alright, you've done your best."
Bai Luo naturally wouldn't blame the loyal Great Ogre Clan.
"I know about Goblins, you see."
Just as Bai Luo was contemplating how to better search for tribes in the forest, a figure slowly appeared before Bai Luo and the others; it was the Tree Elf, Miss Toreni.
"Miss Toreni!"
Nearly a month had passed since Bai Luo displayed Explosion Magic last time.
During this time, Miss Toreni had paid close attention to Bai Luo's movements.
She would occasionally visit Bai Luo, who would then warmly invite her to taste the village's delicacies.
Tree Elves are the guardians of the forest.
With them, the forest can thrive endlessly.
Therefore, it was beneficial to get along well with Miss Toreni.
"These are our newly made potato chips; please taste them, Miss Toreni."
Zhu Cai brought a bowl of freshly fried potato chips, and Miss Toreni's attention was instantly drawn to them: "Well, then I won't be polite."
"Crunch!"
Miss Toreni held a potato chip in one hand and gently stroked her cheek with the other, her eyes filled with enjoyment and intoxication: "Ah, this food called potato chips is too delicious."
"..."
Bai Luo didn't quite understand Miss Toreni's love for potato chips.
However, he had read the original work and knew about Miss Toreni's potato-elf meme, which was why he offered potato chips to cater to her preferences.
The effect was self-evident; Miss Toreni was completely immersed in the potato chips, unable to extricate herself.
Bai Luo felt that in a while, he might even be able to convert her into a new subordinate.
Yes, a subordinate.
Miss Toreni and her sisters are the guardians of the Jura Great Forest.
In the original work, she eventually followed the Fairy Queen.
But this has not happened yet.
Bai Luo had every opportunity to win over Miss Toreni, and by extension, bring this forest completely under his supervision.
'Unfortunately, now is not the time.'
In Bai Luo's opinion, it wasn't difficult to gain Miss Toreni's favor.
Even now, he had a certain chance to persuade her to become his subordinate.
But the problem was that Miss Toreni's monster level was still above Bai Luo's current level.
Don't underestimate Miss Toreni.
The Tree Elf big sister seemed not strong, but her magic essence value was over 100,000.
The Capturer cannot convert beings with magic essence higher than Bai Luo into subordinates; this is also a major flaw of the Capturer.
"Miss Toreni, are you willing to help us subdue the Goblin tribes in the forest?"
"I've always been entertained by you, and sometimes I want to do something in return."
Miss Toreni thought highly of Bai Luo; she believed Bai Luo had hope of unifying the Jura Great Forest.
The Storm Dragon is the lord of the forest, but he is sealed beneath the labyrinth and rarely interferes in daily matters.
If a powerful monster could step forward and lead the monsters in the forest, Miss Toreni wouldn't have to worry about external forces infringing upon this land.
"Then Miss Toreni has truly helped us a great deal."
Zhu Cai asked, "Miss Toreni, do you know how many Goblins are currently living in the forest?"
"I remember Goblins should be monsters that reproduce very quickly," Shion said, "When I was little, there seemed to have been a Goblin disaster, with over 5 million Goblins rampaging through the forest."
"How many?!"
This was the first time Bai Luo had heard this number, and he could only say, as expected of Goblins.
But a problem arose.
Bai Luo didn't remember Rimuru having so many Goblins under his command.
In the original work, Rimuru seemed to have only subdued one Goblin village, with a total of only sixty or seventy Goblins.
Even counting the Goblins who joined later, the total number wouldn't exceed 2,000.
But according to Zhu Cai, the number of Goblins was so vast that they could almost establish a country.
"That's right, there was indeed such a thing."
Miss Toreni, who was listening, recalled, "At that time, Goblins were rampant, and their figures could be seen everywhere in the forest."
"They expanded recklessly, eventually attracting a massive subjugation by human adventurers."
"It was because of that incident that the number of Goblins sharply decreased, and a large portion of them fled to the eastern part of the forest."
"Is the east safer?"
Bai Luo thought the Goblins in the forest had migrated, which was why Rimuru only had so few Goblins under his command.
It would be too ridiculous for the most common Goblins in a Japanese-style otherworld to end up with fewer numbers than even the Pighead Clan.
"No."
Miss Toreni shook her head: "The Goblins who went to the east almost all died out."
"Uh..."
Soon, Bai Luo learned the reason from Zhu Cai.
The Jura Great Forest, in terms of ownership, was considered the territory of the Storm Dragon, Verudora, and the Demon Lord's Domain to the east, the Western Nations, and the Northern Empire all tacitly acknowledged this.
There were a large number of magical beasts and monsters in the forest, and many countries would hunt monsters living on the forest's edge.
During the Goblin rampant period, the Northern Empire and the Western Nations acted together to drive them back into the forest.
They thought that as long as they stayed away from humans, they would be safe.
However, the three Demon Lords in the east similarly looked down on this group of weak Goblins and carried out a massive purge against them.
"By now, only the Goblins living in the central area of the forest remain, estimated to be no more than 30,000."
Normally, the Goblins in the Jura Great Forest shouldn't be as few as they were in the original work.
Otherwise, wouldn't human adventurers not receive any quests to subjugate Goblins?
But the situation at that time was quite special.
The Storm Dragon's aura disappeared, and the monsters in the forest became unrestricted, beginning to devour each other.
It's not surprising that the number of weak monsters like Goblins plummeted from tens of thousands to around 2,000.
"Will Goblins not go extinct?"
"They won't."
Miss Toreni said, "Monsters are very difficult to truly exterminate."
Monster factors will not disappear because of the extinction of a certain race.
Even if all the Goblins in the world were killed, new Goblins could still be born in the future.