Chapter 44: Goblins

Since it could be more or less certain that those spying on them were goblins, a response was required.

"Let's head back to camp first."

The group returned to the camp.

Kana, the three others, and George were all inside the largest tent.

Goblins, on this continent, were essentially wild monsters that could respawn at any time. They were like weeds, cut down only to grow back again and again.

The only thing worth being thankful for was that goblins always established their nests in areas far from the settlements of intelligent life, and then conducted small-scale, scattered raids.

"We've only been camped here for less than two days, and already goblins are spying on us. That means we can basically confirm there is a goblin nest somewhere in the vicinity of our chosen location."

In the game, this area was somewhat chaotic. However, overall, after the game's launch, most of this region would fall under the control of the Blood Clan. This meant that in a year or two, all the wild monsters in this area would be cleared out by them.

Thus, his only current advantages were his knowledge of the monsters and his understanding of the local geography.

"These goblins are thin, evil, and insidious."

"Like rats?" Aliris asked. She immediately turned her head. "I'm not talking about you, Bobot."

"It's fine, I won't take it personally."

Kana nodded. "More or less. The only difference is that goblins are slightly stronger than rats, but they can't speak and aren't as smart. For now, you can think of them as somewhat dim-witted Skaven, though they are certainly bolder than Skaven."

Goblins were at the bottom of the food chain among wild monsters. Skaven were different; they were generally considered an evil race rather than mere wild monsters.

After giving everyone a brief explanation, Kana fell into deep thought, recalling certain early-game details from the game. As he thought, he remembered a group of dwarves living in the mountains.

In the early stages of the game, the available races were Humans, Dwarves, and Elves—three races in total. The narrative at the time presented that all three races had certain reasons for gathering in the starting village.

The reason the Dwarves gathered in the starting village was that they lived on the Gray Mountain Range, which served as the border between the Safro Kingdom and the Koen Kingdom. The Blood Clan also affected them.

Recalling the early Dwarf storyline, they suffered harassment from the Blood Clan, though perhaps not as much as they suffered from goblins. Why were there so many goblins in the Gray Mountains back then? There were many around the starting village as well.

Was it possible that the Blood Clan had forced many of the goblins in this area to migrate outward, causing a massive influx into the mountains and the other side of the range?

If that were the case, the goblin population in this region would be quite significant.

Dwarves were not weak. Although the number of dwarves in the Gray Mountains wasn't large enough to maintain a full kingdom, they could barely maintain a single tribe. If the goblin population in this area was high, would they exist as scattered small tribes or one large tribe?

Without external pressure, goblins would not congregate into one large tribe. Therefore, it was most likely they were in the form of small tribes.

With these thoughts, Kana roughly organized his ideas.

"Then the four of us will go scout the tracks of these goblins to see exactly how many there are in the vicinity. The rest of the soldiers will be stationed around to defend and maintain high vigilance," Kana said.

"Just the four of us?" Aliris frowned.

She didn't know what goblins looked like, but she had fought Skaven just a few days ago. That day, when the Skaven suddenly mutated, it had brought them considerable danger. Would it be too risky for just the four of them?

Kana understood their concerns and explained simply, "We are only scouting. Bringing too many soldiers would be very inconvenient, and what if another danger attacks the camp? I am the only one here who understands goblins, and Bobot doesn't know much. Don't worry, we are just scouting to determine their specific numbers, and then we will figure out how to deal with them."

Hearing Kana's words, the others nodded. As for George, he was both nervous and excited.

"It's not too late yet. Let's move immediately, otherwise, the tracks will be gone by tomorrow."

With that, the group left the camp, handing temporary command over to the soldier captain.

Entering the forest, George took the lead in tracking the signs.

"Walk slowly. Watch out for traps," Kana warned.

After trekking through the forest for about an hour, Aliris suddenly frowned, stopped in her tracks, and sniffed the air.

"There's a scent of blood. It's faint, and it doesn't seem to be human."

Kana frowned and sniffed as well, but he couldn't smell anything. This indicated that the scent was coming from somewhat far away, beyond his current capability to detect.

"It doesn't quite smell like an animal either. It's strange."

Hearing this, Kana thought for a moment. "Then it's very likely something like a goblin. Lead the way."

Aliris nodded.

The group followed behind Aliris. Not long after they started moving again, Kana also caught the scent of blood. Furthermore, he was able to distinguish certain information from the scent—a very strange sensation. Unlike Aliris, even though it was his first time smelling it, Kana was able to instantly correlate this scent with the knowledge in his mind.

"It's goblins."

Having confirmed it, the group continued forward. Soon, they heard distant shouting coming from within the silent forest. The cries were very sharp and laced with pain.

At this point, the scent of goblin blood was incredibly thick; this was no longer a scent caused by the death of just one or two goblins.

"Something is fighting the goblins. Let's proceed with caution."

Maintaining vigilance, they soon saw the source of the sound.

A large animal, resembling a leopard, was engaged in a bloody battle with a group of goblins. About three goblins had already been killed or wounded, but four others were still standing, brandishing crude weapons and attempting to surround the leopard.

"Roar!"

An angry roar erupted from the leopard-like creature, creating a visible shockwave. The two goblins standing in front were blown back directly, and the goblins behind them staggered momentarily.

Taking advantage of this opening, the leopard lunged forward, instantly killing one with a swipe and pinning another under its paw, its claws sinking into the creature's skull. With a tilt of its head, it bit down and shook violently, flinging another goblin away like a ragdoll until it slammed into a tree trunk.

In an instant, three more members were lost.

The remaining goblin finally lost its courage and began to flee, screaming. The leopard did not pursue; instead, it picked up a corpse in its mouth and turned to disappear into the thicket.

"Go, follow that goblin."

That goblin was terrified; it would surely flee back toward their nest.