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overlord_ Welcome the Birth of the King_chapter_0044
Chapter 44
**Chapter 44: Suspicion! Hunter? Prey?**
**2024-11-18 Author: Amnesty L**
The number of Wild Beasts active at night lately seemed to be quite high.
As long as they didn't provoke him, Tang Zheng couldn't be bothered to care.
Having gained a good amount of Experience, he was in a rather good mood today. Furthermore, there should be a Goblin Encampment in this area.
Tang Zheng planned to search it thoroughly tomorrow.
He didn't know why.
Tang Zheng had a nagging feeling that he had overlooked something, but upon careful thought, he couldn't find anything he had actually missed.
The only thing that somewhat bothered him was the incident where he was besieged by ogres some time ago, but ever since he escaped that group of ogres, nothing similar had occurred.
The night wind blew past.
The cool breeze made the verdant, numerous tree leaves in the jungle sway slightly.
Tang Zheng's nose twitched. Along with the breeze came a faintly familiar scent.
At first, Tang Zheng didn't pay much attention, but just as he was about to continue sleeping, his eyes snapped open.
This scent—
Goblin!
That's right, it was the scent of goblins, a rotten smell like a pair of stinky socks that hadn't been washed in decades.
Tang Zheng's previously somewhat dazed eyes instantly cleared.
He had always felt as if he had overlooked something. Only now, smelling this scent in the air, did he suddenly realize what it was.
It was this scent emanating from the goblins!
During half a month of "friendly exchanges" with goblins, Tang Zheng had long grown accustomed to the smell, so he had subconsciously ignored the scent all along!
And for the past few days, the place he had been camping had faintly carried this scent every night!
In the dark of night.
Tang Zheng didn't know what his expression looked like at that moment, but he was sure it wasn't pleasant.
What had been frequently passing by the tree he slept under during this period weren't Wild Beasts at all, but goblins!
Although goblins possess night vision, their activity cycle is actually diurnal, just like humans—they rest at night and are active during the day.
Unless necessary, even goblins wouldn't hunt at night in an environment like the jungle.
He was being targeted!
Damn it!
To only realize it now.
Tang Zheng couldn't help but curse inwardly. The vague, unsettling feeling he'd had for some time now finally crystallized at this moment.
After raising "Sword Saint" to Max Level, perhaps because there were simply no Monsters in this Outer Area that could pose a threat to Tang Zheng.
Even ogres, unless they reached a certain number, couldn't pose any real danger to him.
This had made Tang Zheng let down his initial caution, to the point that he hadn't noticed the goblins secretly tracking him this whole time.
No!
Under his black cloak, Tang Zheng's gaze flickered.
With the intelligence of an ordinary goblin, such detailed tracking was impossible.
“Don’t tell me my luck is so good that I’ve run into some kind of goblin mutant?” The thought flashed through Tang Zheng’s mind, and he couldn’t help but lick the corner of his mouth.
Even if he let his guard down further, he wouldn't fail to notice an ordinary goblin secretly following him.
Ranger? Forest Priest? Druid? Rogue? Tracker?
These Classes are all skilled in tracking, especially in complex environments like the Forest. Without detection magic, they wouldn't be easily noticed.
Tang Zheng calmed down again. The goblin that was targeting him very likely possessed such a Class.
So, what was its purpose?
Tang Zheng furrowed his brows.
That goblin wasn't just following him; it also determined his location every night, which clearly indicated it had some objective.
He was quite certain it was a goblin mutant, not an ogre. The reasoning was simple: Ogres were too large; their movements created considerable noise, making them entirely unsuitable for tracking.
"Is it a trap?"
Tang Zheng recalled the events of the past few days, and a faint guess formed in his mind.
The number of goblins he had encountered recently was pitifully small; it was only today that their numbers suddenly increased.
If he hadn't suddenly discovered the suspected goblin mutant hiding in the shadows, he really would have thought his luck had turned bad. Now that he thought about it, it was clearly the opponent's doing!
Now that he understood, Tang Zheng continued to feign unawareness, leaning against the tree and sleeping as usual.
Since he had discovered his stalker, the roles of “hunter” and “prey” between them were about to be reversed!
The moonlight and stars gradually receded.
The morning chirps of birds echoed through the jungle, accompanied by sunlight filtering through the gaps in the leaves.
Tang Zheng stretched lazily, jumping down from the tree, looking full of energy.
Not only did he not sleep restlessly last night, but his sleep had actually improved significantly.
Since the suspected goblin mutant hadn't made a move against him, it meant its strength was far inferior to his. Otherwise, it wouldn't have limited itself to just tracking and monitoring him until now.
Tang Zheng continued as usual, taking out rye bread with cooked pork, eating heartily while carrying his iron sword and moving forward.
At the same time, he observed the surrounding movements with the corner of his eye. As expected, he found nothing.
Seeing this, Tang Zheng confirmed one thing at least: the opponent's position was definitely not too close.
This also made Tang Zheng abandon the idea of finding the opponent immediately. If the opponent truly possessed any of the Classes he had previously suspected, it would be quite difficult to flush them out of the Jungle.
"Then let's see this trap you've set for me. It'll be the perfect chance to drag you out into the open," Tang Zheng thought, his eyes flashing.
Approximately ten minutes after he left the spot, a figure appeared where he had just been standing. It had pointed green ears and an appearance similar to a goblin's, but its body was twice the size of a normal one.
It wasn't just a difference in size; its eyes were distinctly different as well.
A goblin's eyes are narrow and elongated, like a Wild Beast's, but this figure's eyes were roughly the same size as human eye sockets. The majority of the eye was pure white, with only a tiny black pupil in the center.
Its gaze conveyed caution and wariness.
This figure used its slightly flattened green nose to sniff the air, then looked at the crushed foliage and broken twigs ahead.
Those were the traces left by Tang Zheng.
It paused briefly.
This figure then resumed following the traces.
What was incredible was that wherever this figure passed, the thickets of grass, shrubs, and even the dense, interlocking foliage blocking its path automatically parted to make way for it.
And throughout the entire process, it made not a single sound!
Before he knew it, it was already noon.
Tang Zheng took out his waterskin and took a few gulps of water, his eyes slightly narrowed at the vertical shafts of sunlight spilling through the gaps in the foliage.
He didn't just have one waterskin on hand; when preparing his supplies, he had bought over sixty waterskins, each with a capacity of about 5 kilograms.
Averaging two a day, that was enough for a full month.
As long as he was only drinking it, he wouldn't have to worry about his water supply at all.
(end of chapter)
**2024-11-18 Author: Amnesty L**
The number of Wild Beasts active at night lately seemed to be quite high.
As long as they didn't provoke him, Tang Zheng couldn't be bothered to care.
Having gained a good amount of Experience, he was in a rather good mood today. Furthermore, there should be a Goblin Encampment in this area.
Tang Zheng planned to search it thoroughly tomorrow.
He didn't know why.
Tang Zheng had a nagging feeling that he had overlooked something, but upon careful thought, he couldn't find anything he had actually missed.
The only thing that somewhat bothered him was the incident where he was besieged by ogres some time ago, but ever since he escaped that group of ogres, nothing similar had occurred.
The night wind blew past.
The cool breeze made the verdant, numerous tree leaves in the jungle sway slightly.
Tang Zheng's nose twitched. Along with the breeze came a faintly familiar scent.
At first, Tang Zheng didn't pay much attention, but just as he was about to continue sleeping, his eyes snapped open.
This scent—
Goblin!
That's right, it was the scent of goblins, a rotten smell like a pair of stinky socks that hadn't been washed in decades.
Tang Zheng's previously somewhat dazed eyes instantly cleared.
He had always felt as if he had overlooked something. Only now, smelling this scent in the air, did he suddenly realize what it was.
It was this scent emanating from the goblins!
During half a month of "friendly exchanges" with goblins, Tang Zheng had long grown accustomed to the smell, so he had subconsciously ignored the scent all along!
And for the past few days, the place he had been camping had faintly carried this scent every night!
In the dark of night.
Tang Zheng didn't know what his expression looked like at that moment, but he was sure it wasn't pleasant.
What had been frequently passing by the tree he slept under during this period weren't Wild Beasts at all, but goblins!
Although goblins possess night vision, their activity cycle is actually diurnal, just like humans—they rest at night and are active during the day.
Unless necessary, even goblins wouldn't hunt at night in an environment like the jungle.
He was being targeted!
Damn it!
To only realize it now.
Tang Zheng couldn't help but curse inwardly. The vague, unsettling feeling he'd had for some time now finally crystallized at this moment.
After raising "Sword Saint" to Max Level, perhaps because there were simply no Monsters in this Outer Area that could pose a threat to Tang Zheng.
Even ogres, unless they reached a certain number, couldn't pose any real danger to him.
This had made Tang Zheng let down his initial caution, to the point that he hadn't noticed the goblins secretly tracking him this whole time.
No!
Under his black cloak, Tang Zheng's gaze flickered.
With the intelligence of an ordinary goblin, such detailed tracking was impossible.
“Don’t tell me my luck is so good that I’ve run into some kind of goblin mutant?” The thought flashed through Tang Zheng’s mind, and he couldn’t help but lick the corner of his mouth.
Even if he let his guard down further, he wouldn't fail to notice an ordinary goblin secretly following him.
Ranger? Forest Priest? Druid? Rogue? Tracker?
These Classes are all skilled in tracking, especially in complex environments like the Forest. Without detection magic, they wouldn't be easily noticed.
Tang Zheng calmed down again. The goblin that was targeting him very likely possessed such a Class.
So, what was its purpose?
Tang Zheng furrowed his brows.
That goblin wasn't just following him; it also determined his location every night, which clearly indicated it had some objective.
He was quite certain it was a goblin mutant, not an ogre. The reasoning was simple: Ogres were too large; their movements created considerable noise, making them entirely unsuitable for tracking.
"Is it a trap?"
Tang Zheng recalled the events of the past few days, and a faint guess formed in his mind.
The number of goblins he had encountered recently was pitifully small; it was only today that their numbers suddenly increased.
If he hadn't suddenly discovered the suspected goblin mutant hiding in the shadows, he really would have thought his luck had turned bad. Now that he thought about it, it was clearly the opponent's doing!
Now that he understood, Tang Zheng continued to feign unawareness, leaning against the tree and sleeping as usual.
Since he had discovered his stalker, the roles of “hunter” and “prey” between them were about to be reversed!
The moonlight and stars gradually receded.
The morning chirps of birds echoed through the jungle, accompanied by sunlight filtering through the gaps in the leaves.
Tang Zheng stretched lazily, jumping down from the tree, looking full of energy.
Not only did he not sleep restlessly last night, but his sleep had actually improved significantly.
Since the suspected goblin mutant hadn't made a move against him, it meant its strength was far inferior to his. Otherwise, it wouldn't have limited itself to just tracking and monitoring him until now.
Tang Zheng continued as usual, taking out rye bread with cooked pork, eating heartily while carrying his iron sword and moving forward.
At the same time, he observed the surrounding movements with the corner of his eye. As expected, he found nothing.
Seeing this, Tang Zheng confirmed one thing at least: the opponent's position was definitely not too close.
This also made Tang Zheng abandon the idea of finding the opponent immediately. If the opponent truly possessed any of the Classes he had previously suspected, it would be quite difficult to flush them out of the Jungle.
"Then let's see this trap you've set for me. It'll be the perfect chance to drag you out into the open," Tang Zheng thought, his eyes flashing.
Approximately ten minutes after he left the spot, a figure appeared where he had just been standing. It had pointed green ears and an appearance similar to a goblin's, but its body was twice the size of a normal one.
It wasn't just a difference in size; its eyes were distinctly different as well.
A goblin's eyes are narrow and elongated, like a Wild Beast's, but this figure's eyes were roughly the same size as human eye sockets. The majority of the eye was pure white, with only a tiny black pupil in the center.
Its gaze conveyed caution and wariness.
This figure used its slightly flattened green nose to sniff the air, then looked at the crushed foliage and broken twigs ahead.
Those were the traces left by Tang Zheng.
It paused briefly.
This figure then resumed following the traces.
What was incredible was that wherever this figure passed, the thickets of grass, shrubs, and even the dense, interlocking foliage blocking its path automatically parted to make way for it.
And throughout the entire process, it made not a single sound!
Before he knew it, it was already noon.
Tang Zheng took out his waterskin and took a few gulps of water, his eyes slightly narrowed at the vertical shafts of sunlight spilling through the gaps in the foliage.
He didn't just have one waterskin on hand; when preparing his supplies, he had bought over sixty waterskins, each with a capacity of about 5 kilograms.
Averaging two a day, that was enough for a full month.
As long as he was only drinking it, he wouldn't have to worry about his water supply at all.
(end of chapter)
