"Gurgle, gurgle."
"Waah!"
"Waah, waah."
"...!"
From the depths of the forest, faint noises echoed.
Saelran's eyes sharpened. He stopped and listened carefully. The muffled sounds gradually became clearer.
Something was heading this way, and there were quite a lot of them.
Saelran narrowed his eyes, scanned his surroundings, and quickly fixed his gaze on a relatively thick tree. He slowly moved behind it, leaned against the trunk, and waited silently.
Time passed slowly.
From time to time, the familiar "waa waa" cries echoed, making Saelran's eyes light up.
He had dealt with goblins many times before; this was unmistakably the cry of goblins.
Sure enough.
They were getting close to the Grunnfang territory.
Saelran stayed pressed against the large tree trunk, tilting his head forward just enough to see in the direction of the noise.
Shortly after, a group of thirteen goblins appeared before him.
These goblins wore torn, ill-fitting clothes; some even had pieces of trousers on their heads like hats.
They looked like refugees.
However, Saelran's eyes narrowed. This was the first time he had seen a group of goblins wearing clothes, even if they were ragged.
Every goblin he had encountered before had been practically naked.
What surprised him the most was that the two goblins leading the group were carrying iron weapons, even if they were only pitchforks.
As he continued watching the goblins in front, Saelran's expression changed for the first time.
Several goblins behind them were struggling to carry badly damaged corpses, following closely behind the leaders.
Humans.
Saelran fell silent.
There were five corpses in total; judging from their appearance and clothing, three were men and two were women. Their dark, rough arms hung limply as they were dragged.
Saelran realized they were likely farmers from nearby villages.
Although he was currently inside the Arkenwald Forest, he was still on its outer edge. To the north lay the inner forest, while going south would eventually lead out of Arkenwald and into a remote wilderness-like region.
If he continued far enough south, he would reach the dirt road extending from "Antara."
There were many villages in that region.
Compared to Naret Village, which lay under the protection of the Forest Guardian Karaman, the villages surrounding Grunnfang and Slythar territory were far more dangerous.
Because of this, the Adventurer Guild in Antara regularly issued missions to eliminate monsters and goblins.
"Waah, waah!"
The goblin at the front seemed to notice the group's slow pace and howled threateningly, baring its fangs.
The goblins carrying the corpses panicked upon hearing the howl and hastily continued dragging the bodies.
Throughout the entire process, none of the goblins noticed Saelran hiding behind the large tree.
Saelran watched the group pass by without any expression.
He quietly rotated the hilt of his sword, lifted his foot, and followed them at a slow pace, trailing behind the goblins.
Even though there were many of them, they were not a problem.
In this world, ordinary farmers were usually around level 2 and could reach level 3 with training.
Regular goblins were around the same level; after all, they were a demi-human race with certain physical advantages.
Therefore, dealing with these goblins would not be difficult.
However, judging from their behavior, Saelran suspected they were likely returning to their tribe.
Realizing this, Saelran had no reason to confront them immediately.
While following the goblins deeper into the Arkenwald Forest, Saelran could clearly feel the trees and shrubs growing denser.
The atmosphere of the forest changed as well. Most noticeably, the light dimmed, and an invisible pressure filled the air.
Saelran turned his hand and took a pocket watch from his Inventory Box. It was only about three in the afternoon, yet the surrounding light felt like dusk.
"They should not go too deep."
Saelran glanced at the goblins carrying the corpses and raised his sword slightly, carving two marks on the large tree beside him.
In a vast ancient forest like this, getting lost was troublesome and dangerous.
Naturally, he was prepared.
In addition to marking the trees he passed, he also carried a large pouch of chalk powder he bought specifically for this purpose.
For now, they were still near the forest's outer edge, and visibility was relatively clear, so the chalk powder was not needed yet.
After that, Saelran continued following the goblins for another ten minutes, and he was certain they were close to their tribe.
He could already smell the foul stench in the air, an indescribable odor like a mix of rotten socks and spoiled eggs.
Soon after, an open area appeared, surrounded by tall trees and dense forest.
The clearing was not large, only about the size of one and a half basketball courts, and it had clearly been cleared deliberately, with no large trees remaining inside.
The goblins immediately became lively upon entering, especially those who had been carrying the corpses, who suddenly moved with renewed energy.
Saelran swept his gaze across the clearing.
He saw numerous animal skeletons mixed with several human arm and leg bones scattered carelessly around.
Near the center, several thick animal hides of unknown origin were spread out across the ground.
On one of these hides, covered with withered yellow grass, several rotting chunks of meat lay exposed, attracting swarms of insects.
The stench from the clearing was overwhelming.
However, what caught Saelran's attention the most was a straw-roofed hut made from wild grass and branches situated in the center.
Saelran studied it carefully, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.
The hut was much larger than the tiny goblins, and more importantly, it was the only hut in the entire clearing, appearing strangely out of place.
Additionally, the number of goblins was unusual.
Not too many, but too few.
This was clearly a small goblin tribe. Aside from the thirteen goblins who had just returned, Saelran saw only five more.
He could not tell whether there were more inside the hut.
But one thing was clear: the remaining goblins in this tribe were far too few. Although Saelran could not judge goblin age by appearance alone, it was obvious that the goblins present were all young and capable.
In other words, this small goblin tribe had no elders or children.