The wind swept sand and grit across the wilderness, tearing the greenskins' clamor into fragments.
The grass on the ground had long since turned yellow, sticking dryly to the soil, crunching under the feet of the marching group. Occasionally, a few dark, black stones could be seen, sticking up forlornly, like teeth that hadn't fully grown in.
The column stretched out long; the greenskins at the front were nearly stepping onto the forest edge, while those at the back were still dawdling—over fifty hobgoblins carried crooked stone spears, some had rags wrapped around their waists, others were bare-chested, their green skin smeared with mud and grass clippings.
Close to a hundred goblins jostled and shoved behind them, their short legs moving quickly. Some carried wooden sticks taller than themselves, others clutched semi-dried mushrooms, constantly pushing each other and squeaking, like a swarm of headless flies.
"Hurry up, all of you! Stop dragging your feet!"
At the head of the group, Kess shouted at the top of his lungs.
He was the leader of these greenskins, half a head taller than an average hobgoblin, and wore a dusty, small pointed hat—he had peeled it off the head of a dead human mercenary long ago. The brim had a hole, but he wore it every day as if it were a treasure. He wore a suit of beast hide armor; although the plates were crooked and a shoulder guard was missing, it was better than rags for blocking the wind.
He clutched a thick wooden stick and, after every few steps, turned back to kick any lagging greenskins, making the goblin howl, yet they dared not slow their pace.
"Boss, when are we going to get there?" A hobgoblin next to him sidled over. This hobgoblin was named Glen, an old comrade Kess had brought out of the Giant Wood tribe. He had a scar on his face from a past fight with a wild boar.
He licked his cracked lips and peered into the distance—there was nothing but yellowish grass and a dusty gray sky. "I'm starving to death. The dried mushrooms in my pouch were gone ages ago."
Kess spat onto the ground, feeling his throat dry up. "What's the rush? Keep walking and there'll be food !" Despite saying that, he felt his chest—only half a piece of hard dried meat remained, snatched last month, and long since flavorless.
They had left the Giant Wood tribe half a month ago.
The Giant Wood tribe was on the edge of the Evil Lands, surviving by relying on an old forest. Life used to be decent, but autumn arrived early this year, reducing the forest's mushrooms and causing prey to migrate south. Yet, there were still many greenskins in the tribe, leading to constant squabbling and several fights every day.
The leader was an orc named Stonejaw. He wasn't bright, only knowing how to shout "Fight! Fight! Fight!" Kess saw that things were wrong—if they stayed any longer, half the greenskins would kill each other off before winter even arrived.
"If you want to leave, leave! I'm not moving!" Stonejaw had slammed his axe onto the ground and roared at Kess.
Kess didn't argue with him.
That was the greenskin rule: the one with the harder fist ruled. Arguing with an orc was just asking for a beating.
In the middle of the night, he secretly gathered the fifty-odd hobgoblins he knew and called upon about a hundred goblins—these goblins were usually bullied in the tribe, and the moment they heard they could go find mushrooms elsewhere, they immediately followed.
"What's there to be afraid of? Where can't a Greenskin survive?" Kess had thumped his chest and shouted, "We'll find a new patch of woods, with mushrooms and prey. That's better than wasting time here with that idiot Stonejaw!"
Thinking back now, those words were satisfying to shout, but the journey itself had been truly miserable.
The wilderness offered no shelter; the wind stung their faces, the days were scorching, and the nights were deadly cold. food was even scarcer. The dried mushrooms the goblin collected were long gone, and the hobgoblins occasionally managed to catch a rabbit, which wasn't enough to fill a tooth gap. Now, every single one of them was so hungry their eyes glowed green.
"Just hold on." Kess kicked a goblin next to him who was secretly chewing grass. "It'll be better once we reach the forest. Inside, there are mushrooms, rabbits, and maybe even goats!"
Hearing "goats," the surrounding greenskins immediately perked up.
goat meat was delicious! Roasted, it was crispy outside and tender inside, leaving their mouths slick with grease—hundreds of times better than dried mushrooms! The goblin stopped shoving each other, their short legs moving even faster, softly muttering "goats" and "roast meat."
The group finally sped up a bit.
Kess walked at the front, his eyes fixed on the distance—he was afraid of taking the wrong path. The wilderness of the Evil Lands was vast, and if they got lost, it would be hard to say whether they could survive until winter, let alone find a forest.
Just then, Glen suddenly tugged his arm, his voice trembling: "Boss! Look! Up ahead!"
Kess quickly looked ahead—and sure enough! On the distant horizon, a dark green shadow faintly appeared, clinging to the yellowish wilderness like a patch. Although far away, he could tell it was trees! It was a forest!
"A forest! It's a forest!" Kess's eyes instantly lit up. He pointed forward with his stick. "Hurry! We've reached the forest! There's food inside!"
"Waaagh! Forest! There's food !"
The greenskins instantly erupted! The hobgoblins, who had been listless moments before, shouted while holding their stone spears, and the goblins squeaked as they charged forward.
The column instantly descended into chaos—those in front ran desperately, while those behind couldn't keep up and were shoved around. A few goblin even tripped, groaning on the ground, but immediately scrambled back up and continued running, terrified of being left behind.
"Slow down, all of you! Don't push!" Kess was excited too, but he didn't forget to shout a few warnings.
He knew how greenskins were; they lost their minds when excited. If they charged recklessly into the forest and ran into wild boars or another tribe, they were sure to suffer losses.
But no one listened to him now—the hobgoblins were running breathlessly, and the goblins wished they could grow wings. The group was a mess, like a pot of porridge. He couldn't bother managing them anymore and ran forward too, with only one thought in his mind: reach the forest, find a mushroom field first, and devour two big handfuls of fresh mushrooms!
Glen ran faster than anyone, shouting as he went: "I'm going to find a rabbit first! And roast it!"
"Dream on! That rabbit is mine!" another hobgoblin shouted back.
The greenskins rushed toward the forest with a whoosh, sand and grit flying up everywhere they stepped. The clamor was so loud it startled the distant birds into flight.
Kess ran in the middle, his small pointed hat blown askew by the wind, but he had no time to adjust it. His eyes were fixed on the rapidly approaching forest—the silhouettes of the trees became clearer, revealing crooked branches. He could even smell the dampness and the scent of decaying leaves drifting from the forest, a hundred times better than the dusty smell of the wilderness!
"Charge! Go grab the mushrooms in the forest!" someone shouted.
"Charge!" the greenskins shouted back, each one acting as if pumped with adrenaline, surging towards the edge of the forest.
Kess also rushed into the forest.
The grass underfoot turned into a thick layer of decaying leaves, soft to step on. Branches shielded them overhead, the wind died down, and the cool dampness hitting his face was so comfortable he almost groaned aloud.
He stopped and looked around—the forest looked quite large. The trees grew crookedly, vines wrapped around their trunks, and the ground was covered in a thick layer of fallen leaves. Occasionally, a few small mushrooms popped up; though tiny, they were very fresh.
"Stop, all of you!" Kess yelled at the top of his lungs. "Don't run around! Find mushrooms first! Build shelters!"
The greenskins slowly stopped then. Some squatted down, raking through the fallen leaves to find mushrooms, some leaned against trees to catch their breath, and others curiously peered into the depths of the forest.
Glen was holding his stone spear, about to poke a beetle crawling on a tree, when Kess smacked his hand with the wooden stick. "Stop messing around! Find food first!"
Glen quickly pulled his hand back and squatted down to rake the leaves—and he really did uncover a fat, white mushroom. He immediately stuffed it into his mouth and chewed, shouting indistinctly: "Delicious! So fresh!"
The goblin imitated him, squatting down to rake the leaves. They stuffed any mushrooms they found into their mouths, and some even tucked mushrooms into their clothes. Their small faces were smeared with mud, but they were smiling happily.
Watching this scene, Kess felt much more settled. They had finally arrived. With the forest, they had mushrooms and prey, and they would definitely survive the winter.
He was just considering having the hobgoblins build a temporary shelter when he suddenly heard Glen shout: "Boss! Look what that is?"
Kess looked in the direction Glen pointed—there was nothing, only crooked trees and thick fallen leaves. He frowned. "There's nothing there."
"There seemed to be a shadow just now, in that clump of bushes over there." Glen scratched his head, took two steps toward the spot, parted the bushes, and peered in. "Huh? It's gone? Maybe I saw wrong."
Kess didn't take it seriously.
It wasn't strange for there to be shadows in a forest with birds and rabbits.
He waved his hand. "Forget it! Hurry up and find mushrooms! Get the shelters built before dark!"
"Got it!" the greenskins answered, and got busy again.
No one noticed that the moment they charged into the forest, at the very back of the column, an inconspicuous little hobgoblin—half a head shorter than a regular hobgoblin, with no hat on his head, and greenskin smeared with mud, looking almost like a goblin—quietly slowed his pace.
He watched the greenskins ahead rush into the forest, then looked around. Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he quickly darted into a nearby clump of bushes.
The leaves in the bushes scraped his face, but he dared not stop, scrambling deeper using his hands and feet, and soon vanished.
Only a few shed greenskin scales, rubbed off and fallen onto the dry leaves, were quickly covered by leaves blown by the wind, leaving no trace.
In the forest, Kess was squatting on the ground, having unearthed a mushroom the size of his palm. He took a bite—it was incredibly fresh! He grinned, feeling that this migration had been worthwhile.
He looked up at the busy greenskins and gazed into the depths of the forest, thinking: Tomorrow, he needed to send a few hobgoblins to scout ahead, to see if there were any other tribes in this forest, if there were any large mushroom fields, and ideally, if they could find a herd of goats...