Following the Trail, Discovering a Small Goblin Tribe

"Guk, gu."

"Wa!"

"Wa, wa."

"...!"

Faint sounds drifted from deep within the jungle.

Tang Zheng's eyes flashed. He stopped, pricked up his ears, and listened. The indistinct sounds gradually grew clearer.

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Something was coming this way, and there were quite a few of them!

Tang Zheng narrowed his eyes and swept his gaze over the surroundings. He quickly picked out a relatively thick tree, then walked lightly behind it, pressed himself against the trunk, and waited in silence.

Time passed little by little!

From time to time, the familiar "wa wa" cries rang out, making Tang Zheng's eyes light up.

He had dealt with Goblins quite a few times. These were clearly the cries of Goblins!

Sure enough.

He was already close to the Troll Tribe's territory!

Tang Zheng remained pressed against the thick tree trunk. He leaned his head slightly forward, turned to the side, and looked toward the direction of the sound.

Soon!

A Goblin group numbering thirteen appeared within Tang Zheng's field of vision.

The Goblins wore tattered clothes that fit them terribly. Some had even pulled a severed pant leg over their heads and worn it as a hat.

Their attire made them look practically like refugees.

Yet Tang Zheng's gaze sharpened. Among all the Goblins he had seen, this was the only group in which every member wore clothes, even if those clothes were incredibly ragged.

The Goblins he had seen before had basically been little different from naked!

What surprised Tang Zheng most was that the two Goblins at the front were both carrying iron weapons, although they were only pitchforks.

Following the Goblins at the front, Tang Zheng looked toward the rear.

For the first time, a clear change appeared on his face.

Several Goblins at the back were struggling to carry corpses that were somewhat mangled and bloody. They followed closely behind the Goblins in front.

Humans!

Tang Zheng fell silent.

There were five corpses in total. Judging by their appearances and clothing, they seemed to consist of three men and two women. Their dark, rough arms hung toward the ground as they were dragged along.

Tang Zheng realized that these people were probably farmers from villages in the nearby area.

Although he was currently in the Great Forest of Tob, he was actually still at the forest's very outskirts. Heading north would lead into the forest, while heading south would allow him to leave the Great Forest of Tob and enter an area resembling the wilderness.

Continuing south, he would be able to see a dirt road extending from E-Rantel.

There were quite a few villages in this region.

Compared with Carne Village, which was located in Wise King of the Forest Hamsuke's territory, the villages around the Troll Tribe's territory and those around the Demon Snake of the West's territory were both rather unsafe.

That was why the Adventurer's Guild in E-Rantel had year-round missions to exterminate Monsters, Goblins, and the like.

"Wa, wa."

The Goblin at the front seemed to feel that they were moving too slowly. It shouted several times at the rear, its fangs exposed in a display of agitation.

Hearing the roar, the Goblins carrying the corpses at the back revealed panicked expressions on their green cheeks and continued forward with some difficulty.

Throughout the entire process, the Goblins failed to notice Tang Zheng hidden behind the great tree.

He watched the Goblin group pass in front of him expressionlessly.

Tang Zheng gently twisted the hilt of the sword in his hand, raised his foot, and followed after them with light steps, trailing behind the Goblin group.

Although there were quite a few Goblins, they were hardly troublesome!

In the New World, ordinary civilian farmers were generally around level 1. With training, they had a chance of reaching level 2.

Ordinary Goblins were roughly at that level as well. After all, they were a Demi-human race, and their species offered them some advantages.

So dealing with these Goblins would not be difficult.

However.

Judging by the Goblins' behavior, Tang Zheng guessed that they were very likely returning to their own tribe.

Having realized this, Tang Zheng naturally was not in a hurry to deal with them immediately.

As he followed the Goblin group deeper into the Great Forest of Tob, Tang Zheng could clearly feel the surrounding trees and undergrowth becoming increasingly lush.

The atmosphere of the forest began to change. Most noticeably, the light suddenly dimmed considerably, and an invisible sense of oppression seemed to spread through the woods.

Tang Zheng turned his palm and took a pocket watch from his Item Box. The time was only around three in the afternoon, yet the surrounding light made him feel as though evening had already arrived.

"They shouldn't be going too deep."

Tang Zheng looked toward the Goblins carrying the corpses at the rear. His gaze flickered, and he simultaneously raised his Iron Sword and lightly carved two marks into a nearby tree as a sign.

In such a vast primeval forest, getting lost would be extremely troublesome and dangerous.

Naturally, Tang Zheng had made preparations.

Besides drawing his usual marks on the trees he passed, he also kept a large bag of specially purchased lime powder in his Item Box.

They were still in the forest's outer region, and Tang Zheng could still identify their direction clearly, so there was no need to use the lime powder for now.

Next!

Tang Zheng followed the Goblins for roughly another ten minutes before confirming that they were about to reach their tribe.

He had already smelled the rotten stench filling the air, along with an indescribably foul odor resembling a mixture of smelly socks and rotten eggs.

Soon.

An open area suddenly appeared within the dense jungle, surrounded by thick, towering trees.

It was not very large, only about the size of one and a half basketball courts. The entire area had clearly been cleared, with none of the tall trees remaining.

The moment the Goblins entered, they immediately became lively. The Goblins carrying the corpses at the back, in particular, became much more excited.

Tang Zheng swept his gaze across the area.

He saw quite a few animal bones, mixed with some human leg bones and arms, all casually discarded to the side.

Near the center, several thick hides of unknown animals had been spread across the ground.

One of them had been laid over a patch of withered yellow grass, with some rotting meat placed on top. A large swarm of insects had gathered there.

The waves of foul odor permeating the air were coming from that spot.

What drew Tang Zheng's attention most was a hut in the center of the area, one that was clearly constructed from weeds and branches.

Tang Zheng examined it carefully, and a trace of puzzlement flashed through his eyes.

The hut was clearly much too large for the short-statured Goblins. More importantly, there was only this single hut in the entire area, making it seem especially out of place.

Besides.

The number of Goblins was also somewhat abnormal.

It was not that there were too many.

There were far too few!

This was clearly a small Goblin tribe. Apart from the thirteen Goblins that had just returned, Tang Zheng could see only five Goblins remaining behind to guard the tribe!

He was not sure whether there were any other Goblins inside that hut.

But the number of Goblins guarding the tribe was simply too small. Although Tang Zheng could not distinguish the ages of Goblins by their appearance, he could still tell that the Goblins guarding the tribe were clearly young and strong.

In other words.

This small Goblin tribe before him actually had no elderly or children.