Tribal Treasure! The Birth of a Treacherous Hobgoblin

Tang Zheng took it from the Hobgoblin Muguo with great interest.

The ancient, pale bone necklace in his hand was completely clean on the surface, unlike the somewhat filthy Hobgoblin Muguo.

At first, he hadn't noticed it.

Only after examining it carefully did he discover that a faint, pale-green glow occasionally flickered across the surface of the billiard-ball-sized bone.

It was the magical luster unique to magic items.

"This is the bone of a Great-Horned Elk."

"The Great-Horned Elk is a Monster that lives deep in the jungle. It has enormous antlers, about this big..."

The Hobgoblin Muguo explained the origin of the magic item while constantly gesturing with both hands.

From its pained expression, it was clear how important this magic item was to it and the Jike Tribe.

After deciphering the other's somewhat jumbled speech, Tang Zheng finally understood the ability of the bone necklace.

According to the Hobgoblin Muguo, the Great-Horned Elk, which possessed enormous antlers, was a Monster that originally lived in the Great Forest of Tob.

It was naturally capable of moving freely through the jungle, so this magic item made from the skull of a Great-Horned Elk possessed the same ability.

Hearing this, Tang Zheng already knew what ability the bone necklace contained.

"Forest Traverse"!

Like "Camouflage," it was another Faith-based System spell.

The spell's specific effect was to allow its user to move through jungle terrain without being obstructed by plants. Tang Zheng had forgotten whether it was a 3rd Tier or 4th Tier spell.

However!

This "Forest Traverse" spell was much more practical than "Camouflage."

Now that he knew the bone necklace had this effect, Tang Zheng naturally had no intention of returning it. However, instead of wearing it around his neck like the Hobgoblin Muguo had, he wrapped it around his wrist.

Magic items had to be fixed in a specific position on the body to unleash their effects.

For example, a ring could only display its ability when worn on a finger.

But this bone necklace was actually just a billiard-ball-sized piece of bone. Calling it an ornament wouldn't be wrong.

The rope made from some kind of slender vine was merely for the Hobgoblin's convenience in carrying it!

Even if the vine rope were removed, it wouldn't affect the magic item in the slightest.

"All right, enough small talk."

"Now, it's time to discuss business."

After obtaining a magic item, Tang Zheng was in an excellent mood as he looked at the Hobgoblin Muguo.

Business?

Confusion appeared in the Hobgoblin Muguo's eyes.

"That's right." Tang Zheng nodded, and a faint cold glint rose in his eyes.

The reason he hadn't killed this Hobgoblin was that everything earlier had merely been incidental. His true objective was what he was about to do.

"Since you came to the outer area to select outstanding Goblin individuals, you must know all the Goblin groups in the outer area very well."

"So, how about taking me there?"

Tang Zheng spoke with a broad smile.

For more than half a month, Tang Zheng had hunted Goblins in the forest, relying entirely on luck and constantly running into them by chance.

The Great Forest of Tob was simply too vast!

The difficulty of moving through the jungle, along with the disadvantageous nighttime environment, had greatly slowed his leveling progress.

Before reaching level ten, things had been manageable. Every day, hunting Monsters and Goblins had earned him at least one or two hundred experience points. But after reaching level ten, he now needed a full 5,000 experience points to gain a single level.

If he continued gaining experience at his previous pace, he wouldn't be able to raise his level by much during the remaining half a month.

The appearance of the Hobgoblin Muguo gave Tang Zheng a new idea.

When it came to the locations of the various Goblin groups around the outer area, who could know them better than the Goblins themselves?

Exactly!

He needed a guide now, and this talking Hobgoblin before him was practically the most suitable candidate... No, it should be said that it was the most suitable Goblin.

"Human... l-lord, can't kill... kill..."

Seeing the smile on Tang Zheng's face, the Hobgoblin Muguo stammered, its entire body trembling as though it had seen a Demon.

As expected!

With intelligence close to that of a human, it could understand from Tang Zheng's words what Tang Zheng intended to make it do next.

"This isn't a negotiation."

Tang Zheng smiled, stepped forward, raised his foot, and stomped down hard on the Hobgoblin's left ankle, crushing its bones beneath his foot.

"Ah!!!"

The Hobgoblin Muguo's scream once again echoed through the forest, startling a chain of birds into song.

After a little friendly exchange!

The Hobgoblin Muguo quickly accepted Tang Zheng's excellent proposal and immediately revealed the location of the nearest Goblin group.

Tang Zheng carried the Hobgoblin Muguo with satisfaction and headed toward the location of that Goblin group.

A figure darted rapidly through the forest.

Vast numbers of bushes, grasses, and interwoven branches parted on their own, clearing a path for the figure.

With the magic item's "Forest Traverse" ability, Tang Zheng's speed instantly increased severalfold. His previous disadvantage, in which his Agility could barely be brought to bear because of the jungle terrain, was completely overturned at this moment.

Furthermore, he made very little noise during the process.

"Forest Traverse" combined with "Camouflage" made it nearly impossible for him to be discovered unless someone possessed detection-type magic.

No wonder the Hobgoblin Muguo had followed him for so long without him noticing anything!

The time that followed became a massacre!

With the Hobgoblin Muguo providing locations and the magic item's effects, hardly any Goblin could escape Tang Zheng's grasp!

During this period, Tang Zheng even wiped out a large Goblin tribe with more than two hundred Goblins and five Trolls.

If Tang Zheng had faced the siege of five Trolls before obtaining the magic item with "Forest Traverse," he probably would have had no choice but to temporarily avoid their onslaught.

But after gaining the "Forest Traverse" ability, the jungle environment was no longer an obstacle. Relying solely on his speed advantage, Tang Zheng easily kited the five Trolls to death.

After Tang Zheng cut his way from the head of that large Goblin tribe to its tail with a single sword, slaughtering them all!

The Hobgoblin Muguo, which had still been struggling somewhat, finally gave up all resistance and obediently became his guide!

How could Tang Zheng not understand the Hobgoblin Muguo's little schemes?

Given the Goblins' greedy and deceitful nature, it would have been strange if it offered no resistance at all.

However, after seeing even such a powerful large Goblin tribe wiped out by Tang Zheng, the Hobgoblin Muguo had clearly given up resisting completely.