Mysterious Tracks in the Forest

"This guy can really be so considerate sometimes that it makes me feel guilty."

Opening the lid of the earthenware bowl, Hopp picked up her chopsticks and began eating heartily.

In the end, she did not even spare the meat broth. She lifted the bowl, tipped back her head, and drank it all down.

She quietly opened the door to check on Carl. After finding her sleeping as soundly as usual, Hopp turned and walked out of the cabin.

The scenery outside the cabin had not changed much. Hopp assumed a stance and began exercising in the clearing.

Around six o'clock, Carl woke from her dream.

Hearing the commotion outside, she hurried out of the cabin and began discussing with Hopp the information she had gathered while Hopp was unconscious.

"What?! There's a Mind Flayer in this forest!"

Hearing that there was actually a Mind Flayer base deep in the forest, Hopp's feelings became rather complicated.

She had chosen the current campsite herself, yet she had never expected to end up neighbors with a hidden Mind Flayer base.

"And there's the goblin tribe in that canyon. Their Dire Goblins and Hobgoblins seem to have returned. I saw the Mind Flayers come face-to-face with them at the edge of the forest, but I have no idea how things are going now."

As she spoke, Carl rubbed her neck.

Seeing Carl constantly twist her neck, Hopp asked with concern, "Did you sleep wrong?"

"It's nothing. It should get better later. What should we do next? Fish in troubled waters, or attack first?"

Crossing her arms, Hopp lowered her head and thought for a moment.

"I think fishing in troubled waters is better. Neither the Mind Flayers nor the goblin tribe are opponents we can take head-on right now. Let's see how things develop first."

While Carl and Hopp were discussing matters on their side, the goblin Barbarians of the Rage Tribe had practically poured out in full force elsewhere in the forest, preparing to hunt down the Mind Flayers.

Walking through the forest, the goblin army wandered around like headless flies.

When entering the forest, they had deliberately taken a detour because they feared an ambush.

As a result, they now could not find any clues leading to the Mind Flayer base.

To search for their target, the current chieftain managing the Rage Tribe had split up the troops, trying to find it by casting a wide net.

He seemed to have completely forgotten why they had taken a detour upon entering the forest in the first place.

"Hey, brother, look ahead. What is that?"

Near a pool in the forest, a three-man squad of Dire Goblin Barbarians was trying to find clues to the Mind Flayer base.

But as they passed by, one of the Dire Goblins suddenly pointed at the pool beside them and cried out in alarm.

The other two Dire Goblins immediately went on guard. Shoulder to shoulder, the three cautiously approached the pool.

The Bioluminescent Mushrooms around them were somewhat brighter than those elsewhere, but the pool was like a deep, enormous mouth, black enough that they could not see the bottom at all.

It was clearly foolish to approach such a place recklessly, but the three Dire Goblins actually leaned over, trying to find the "strange thing" their companion had just seen in the water.

At that moment, the Bioluminescent Mushrooms around them suddenly began to sway.

Several Brain Eaters suddenly dropped from the tops of the mushrooms. As they fell, psionic energy rippled around their bodies.

The three Dire Goblins who had leaned over immediately stared blankly.

But just as two of the Brain Eaters were about to land on the Dire Goblins, one of the Dire Goblins suddenly activated Rage.

"Whoosh!"

A sharp metal battle axe swept upward from below, cleaving one Brain Eater in half on the spot.

Seeing that the remaining Brain Eaters had failed to control them, they hurriedly released psionic energy again, attempting to stop their opponent's movements.

However, Barbarians with the Berserker subclass were immune to control after reaching level six. Thus, with a single horizontal slash from the Dire Goblin, two more Brain Eaters died on the spot.

"Ha! Damn you! Die!"

Wielding his weapon, the red-eyed Dire Goblin Barbarian hacked away furiously under the effect of the Reckless Rage trait.

But in a corner he failed to notice, a Brain Eater suddenly vanished amid the fluctuations of psionic energy.

At the same time, one of the Dire Goblins who had originally been hypnotized by psionic energy blinked and regained the ability to move.

Seeing his companion awaken, the enraged Dire Goblin immediately tightened his defenses.

Soon, the duration of his Rage ended, and he entered a state of exhaustion.

"There are still a few of these disgusting things left. Find the right moment and slaughter them! I'll go see how that guy is..."

As he spoke, the blade of a battle axe suddenly chopped into the Dire Goblin's chest.

The one gripping the haft of that battle axe was precisely the Dire Goblin who had just regained the ability to move.

Faint psionic energy rippled around his eyes and body. Looking at the disbelief in his "companion's" eyes before death, "he" tilted his head. The corners of his mouth gradually rose into a chilling smile.

After wandering aimlessly through the forest for half a day, the entire goblin force had found nothing.

Just as the Hobgoblin chieftain was growing increasingly agitated, a squad that had been sent out earlier suddenly returned. They said they had found slain beasts along the way, and suspected the Mind Flayers were responsible.

The goblin chieftain immediately sent people to recall the other squads and ordered them to follow this squad forward.

But a force composed of goblin Barbarians naturally could not maintain strict discipline. Soon, noisy sounds rang out through the forest, startling the beasts into fleeing in all directions.

Such a commotion naturally alerted Carl and Hopp as well.

In fact, while the goblin squads were searching everywhere, one of them had already come within five hundred meters of Carl and Hopp's camp.

Neither of them had expected that they had only just discussed how to respond, yet one of the parties involved would immediately pass by their doorstep.

If Carl's equipment had not yet been finished, the two of them would have gone down to join the excitement no matter what.

"Chieftain! Ahead! The place where I found the tracks is right ahead!"

At the very front of the goblin force, a heavily furred Dire Goblin led the group toward a pool in the forest.

Flickers of psionic energy occasionally flashed around his body, but since none of the goblins present knew anything about psionics, no one noticed.

"Very good! Once we find the Mind Flayer base and seize the treasures inside, you'll receive the credit for this achievement!"

The goblin chieftain patted the other's back heavily twice with his fan-like palm. Carrying a Great Axe of Fury, he strode toward the front.

Among the mushroom clusters in the forest, Brain Eaters that resembled living brains darted rapidly through the undergrowth.

They were defective products made by the Mind Flayer and the other Brain Eaters from animals after returning to the base. Although their abilities were inferior to those of ordinary Brain Eaters, they could serve as scouts and help the Mind Flayer keep track of the situation in the forest.

The Dire Goblin leading the way had naturally been the one whose brain had already been replaced by a Brain Eater.