"Over here, over here. This way." One-Eyed waved, signaling for the elephant herd to move in his direction.

The other goblins had already donned their Rune Language Headbands to control each of the elephants. Leading the herd was the Elephant Lord, its massive body compacting the soil with every step.

Shire had begun leveling the South District of the City of Ten Thousand Races. He assigned this task to One-Eyed, who was to lead the goblins in the construction.

For now, the work was just leveling the land and filling in some holes, which was a relatively easy task for the goblins. After all, the South District was quite far from the Square Stone Pyramid where the Feathered Serpent God had previously resided. The goblins had been unwilling to live there, so the area contained only some large trees, bushes, and a few scattered holes.

The other three districts did have many buildings, but they were now just ruins. More numerous, however, were the holes in the ground—an entrance appeared every ten meters or so. Filling them all in would be a massive undertaking. Besides, Shire hadn't planned the specific road layout yet. So for now, they could only focus on completing the South District and letting the "construction team" gain more experience.

As the leader of the "construction team," One-Eyed was thrilled. Shire had previously told him that he, not Red Eyes or Broken Tooth, would become the most important one for the tribe's future. He was now beginning to understand his own importance. After seeing the city plan Shire had drawn for him, One-Eyed felt as if his leader was describing an Illusion Realm.

"A great Forest City." Those were the leader's words when he unrolled the design plans. Once One-Eyed truly comprehended the full vision of the city Shire described, he was so shocked his jaw hung open.

"M-Me? I'm in charge?" He couldn't believe his ears. The thought of being entrusted with building such a massive city, of leading the tribe's goblins to complete it, filled him with a sense of dread. "All I know is how to carve wood and ride ants to dig holes."

"It's all up to us," Shire said, patting his subordinate's shoulder. "No other Race will help us. Not humans, not Dwarves, and certainly not Elves. If we want a better home, if we want to live in a city of our own, we can only rely on ourselves."

"Besides, don't be afraid. It'll be difficult, but no one is born knowing everything. We can learn and figure things out as we go."

Finally, Shire smiled at his subordinate and said, "Don't worry, I'll be here to help you. If you run into any problems, you can always come and ask me."

He had high hopes for One-Eyed. The goblin was currently obsessed with carving. His bed was stuffed with interesting wood carvings; while his technique was still crude, you could already make out the subjects of some pieces. Moreover, One-Eyed had asked Mary for help buying a few human art books, had started learning Common Speech from Buck Teeth, and had even begun to count.

'If he keeps this up, he might become the first "artist" in the Goblin Race,' Shire thought.

"We need to go over this area a few more times." One-Eyed clutched the rolled-up plan for the city's South District and stomped on the ground the elephants had just trampled. It still didn't feel solid enough. According to the leader's plan, this vertical line on the map marked where a road would be, and it had to be sturdy. Otherwise, it would turn to mud in the rain and eventually become a bumpy mess. One-Eyed didn't really understand the need for it to be so solid. The goblins were already used to the ups and downs of the forest floor. 'Flat or not, what does it matter?'

Shire had simply shown One-Eyed a drawing of a human carriage and explained the problems that an uneven surface would cause. Only then did One-Eyed begin to have a clearer picture of the city.

Although the ants could also transport goods, the number of Worker Ants was finite. Shire couldn't exploit the ant colony without limit, as it also needed Worker Ants for its own daily operations. Moreover, the Worker Ants were mainly used for forest transportation, since horses couldn't travel through the dense woods. They had to rely on the 'six-wheel drive' of the Worker Ants.

Therefore, future transportation within the city—for example, from the docks to the eastern residential district—would require carriages.

However, while planning the surface roads, Shire hadn't forgotten the goblins' natural tendencies. He also designed several underground tunnels to serve as direct routes, like a 'subway.' Worker Ants, steered by Ant Farmers and carrying ten seats on their backs, would serve as 'underground trains.' This would allow goblins to travel quickly between districts.

"Two more passes! Pay attention, everyone!" One-Eyed shouted to the working goblins. Everyone cooperated seamlessly. One-Eyed knew they all wanted to earn those round, glittering things that shone in the sun, the things called Silver Coins.

Their leader had told all the goblins involved in the work that once the job was finished, every diligent goblin would receive a few Silver Coins. These coins, in turn, could be used to buy the goods posted on the bulletin board.

This was Shire's idea. He had consulted the High Priest and learned that a primitive form of barter did, in fact, exist among the goblins. The main items of trade were various types of food. While they usually accumulated wealth by robbing others, if they were evenly matched with an enemy, they weren't opposed to trading.

Of course, these exchanges often failed, sometimes even devolving into a massive brawl. After all, a goblin's logic was simple: 'I'll trade you this one little blueberry for that grouse in your hand.'

What? You don't agree? You want to trade a handful of grass for my three mice over here?

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