Chapter 458: Chapter 353: Future Plans

The effect of the High-level Angel’s Feather far exceeded Shire’s expectations. When he retrieved all the feathers from old man Marshall, Marshall was clearly not pleased.

But compared to Magic Equipment, the allure of a Phoenix was clearly far greater.

It was, after all, a Mythical Creature.

The thought of a giant Phoenix one day residing in his city made Shire overjoyed. After he first obtained the Phoenix Egg, the chick inside the shell had shown no reaction at all, which had been a real headache for him. He had no idea how to get the Phoenix Baby to break out of its shell. ’I can’t just sit on the egg and incubate it all day, can I?’ The crucial problem was that the book, *Where are the Mythical Creatures?*, offered no advice on what to do after acquiring a Phoenix Egg.

Now that there was finally a sign of life, Shire could at last see a glimmer of hope.

The Phoenix, the King of the Sky. Of course, in terms of sheer size, another Mythical Creature was even larger: the Leviathan, which once roamed the heavens. However, this creature, which resembled a great winged whale, could no longer be found. It appeared only in the myths of antiquity, having become a "Mythical Creature" in the truest sense of the word.

Furthermore, the Phoenix’s flight speed was exceptionally fast. It was also resistant to Magic Attacks, could breathe fire, and its feathers could spontaneously combust. The books recorded a historical account of a Lord who audaciously attempted to capture a Phoenix. However, the resulting "rain of fiery meteors" from the flap of the Phoenix’s burning wings wiped out his entire army.

Even more critically, this creature was incredibly difficult to kill. As long as a single spark existed near its corpse, a Phoenix could be reborn from the flames.

’If I can raise it to adulthood, it will be the city’s future guardian deity.’ The thought filled Shire with optimism. If he truly had a Mythical Creature protecting his city, he wouldn’t have to fear any Holy Order Army or Feathered Serpent God.

The Royal Family of the Fran Kingdom had won their founding war by relying on their friendship with a White Giant Dragon.

The last "Mad King" from the Sword and Rose Clan had wreaked havoc, directly inciting a noble rebellion. At the time, nearly every noble in the kingdom rose up in arms, but the conflict soon devolved into a chaotic free-for-all. This was understandable, of course. After all, for the nobility, there was no such thing as righteousness—there was only the single word: "profit."

The Plantagenet Clan was one of those military powers, and by no means the strongest. Yet, with the help of a White Giant Dragon, they gradually took control of most of the kingdom’s lands and eventually established the Fran Kingdom.

Shire was quite familiar with this "Battle of Withering Flowers." It was one of the few history lessons he had actually paid attention to at the Royal Capital Grammar School.

And that White Dragon, named "Tredilif," was the very same one slain by Heroic Siegfried in year 110. As for what exactly happened in the intervening years, Shire had no idea.

’So, these Mythical Creatures can be unpredictable at times,’ Shire mused, sitting at his desk and stroking his chin. ’After all, from their perspective, the size difference with humans is already immense, to say nothing of goblins.’

’Fortunately, I’ll be raising this Phoenix Baby with my own hands,’ he thought with a small smile. ’It should be a bit more attached to me, and not so... rebellious.’

For now, all he could do was wait patiently. He also needed to have Uncle Musa find an opportunity to ask Vivian for more advice on hatching the Phoenix.

With that in mind, Shire took out a piece of paper and began to write a letter to Uncle Musa.

In the letter, he also listed some materials he needed Uncle Musa to purchase, particularly the various ingredients the Naga Race required to concoct Magic Potions, as well as mithril.

The elders of the Naga Race had finally agreed to cooperate with the goblins and concoct Magic Potions. This made Shire ecstatic; he could finally start introducing his subordinates to the Magic Domain.

He now had his own city. It was still a dilapidated ruin, but a "Ruins Lord" was still a "Lord." Who was to say that Shire wouldn’t one day become a true "City Lord"?

The city was a wreck, but that was nothing. He had thousands of followers.

Life was hard, but that was nothing. He had thousands of followers.

His followers’ combat strength was weak, but that was nothing...

Actually, that did count for something.

Those thousands of goblins would be little more than fodder against an Evil God or a Holy Order Army. Shire had to build up his strength, and fast.

He couldn’t spend all this time building up his city only for some monster to descend from the sky one day and say with a grin, "Since you’ve prepared this all for me, I’ll happily take it off your hands." The loss would be far greater than the gain.

’I can’t believe it. Even in an Otherworld, the old strategy of "Build high walls, stock up on provisions, and be slow to claim the title of king" is still effective,’ Shire thought with a wry smile. ’The wisdom of the ancestors really is something else.’

"Building high walls" meant increasing his followers’ strength until they could defend against external threats. Learning Magic was a crucial step in this process.

"Stocking up on provisions" and "being slow to claim the title of king" were Shire’s preparations for the day he would finally emerge from the forest and take back everything that was rightfully his.

’It’s just... for goblins, learning Magic will probably be incredibly difficult.’ Shire gave a wry smile. He knew it would be hard, but it had to be done. The Nightmare Forest provided a vast supply of Magic Beast Materials, which were perfect for crafting Magic Items. And in the hands of a Mage, those Magic Items would become vastly more powerful.

He couldn’t have his goblins risk life and limb to kill Magical Beasts, craft their parts into Magic Items to sell to humans, only to have those same humans bring the items back to the forest to "harvest" them more efficiently.

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