"Hey, what are you doing? Why did you kill that goblin?"
Ye Feng was a bit annoyed. He had specifically kept the goblin alive to lead the way, only for it to be bludgeoned to death with a hoe.
"This goblin has been a menace to this area, of course, it had to be killed. And this one is a goblin scout. If we let it escape..."
The old man holding the hoe stopped mid-sentence. He looked at Ye Feng in surprise, "Ex-Explorer, sir?"
"Seriously..."
Ye Feng was speechless.
The old man who had suddenly rushed out was actually Dali, the one he had met yesterday.
Because they were some distance apart, and the man was wearing clothes for farm work, Ye Feng hadn't recognized him immediately when he rushed out from behind.
"Why are you here? Didn't you say there were a lot of goblins around here?"
"You almost died here yesterday, and you dare to come back today?"
Ye Feng looked at him, puzzled.
"This... Explorer sir, Cuifen and I, and many people in our village, have been carefully tending to our rice paddies for almost a year. The harvest season is approaching..."
The old man didn't say it directly, but his meaning was clear.
He was just a farmer. Perhaps when he was younger and stronger, he could have been an explorer, but now, he couldn't possibly venture out. All he could do was farm to make a living.
Although goblins were numerous and dangerous here, his roots were here.
Coming here might mean being killed and eaten by goblins, but not coming here, without food, would be a sure death...
"With so many goblins here, you still come to cultivate?"
Ye Feng found it strange. Even if they wanted to clear land, this wasn't the way to do it.
"Well... Explorer sir, our village was originally quite peaceful, without so many goblins."
"Even if there were, the goblins would hide in their caves and dare not come out. During good harvests, we could even hire some explorer teams to deal with them."
"But six months ago, for some reason, the goblins here suddenly became very cunning. They started setting traps, making bows and arrows, and ambushing us!"
"Several explorer teams that accepted missions to eliminate goblins were basically wiped out... After that, not many explorers would take our missions anymore..."
"As for those powerful explorer teams, we can't afford them..."
The old man's expression was bitter.
"Oh, I see."
Ye Feng nodded slightly, understanding the old man's situation.
After all, he had previously seen a quest that involved killing a large number of goblins, but the reward was only about ten pounds of rice.
"By the way, what did you mean by goblin scout just now?"
"Was that goblin really special?"
He paused, glanced at the goblin lying dead on the ground from a hoe strike, and spoke again.
"Yes, Explorer sir, I only learned about this goblin scout not long ago from a powerful explorer."
"This type of goblin has enhanced eyes, giving them better vision. They are specifically responsible for scouting and gathering intelligence."
"And when a goblin scout appears, it's best to kill it immediately. Otherwise, more goblins will come here later."
"And the goblins that come later will become more cunning and harder to kill."
The old man explained slowly.
"So that's how it is!"
Ye Feng quickly understood. It seemed this goblin scout had been reconnoitering near the Explorer Guild last night.
Immediately, Ye Feng nodded to Xiao Xiao and walked forward again.
"Ex-Explorer sir, you can't go that way! That leads to the goblin lair, and there are many goblins there!"
"And there are goblins that ride wolves, they are very ferocious!"
Seeing this, the old man anxiously shouted at Ye Feng.
"Goblin lair? You know where the goblin lair is?"
To the old man's surprise, Ye Feng showed no fear. Instead, his expression was tinged with excitement.
"Ye-yes, when I guided explorer teams before, I once ventured very deep and happened to discover it."
Although he didn't know why Ye Feng was so happy, the old man still answered honestly.
"How about you guide me? If you successfully lead me near the goblin lair, I'll give you 30 pounds of rice and 10 pounds of flour as payment?"
Ye Feng immediately proposed.
Although he could probably find it himself, he didn't want to waste time and wanted to quickly gather usable points.
Moreover, judging by the actions of that goblin scout, perhaps the daughter of that important person was captured and taken to the goblin lair...
"Okay! Okay!"
Even though he knew going to the goblin lair was a matter of life and death, the offer Ye Feng made was extremely tempting. After a moment of thought, the old man gritted his teeth and agreed.
Soon, led by the old man, Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao walked forward quickly.
...
Meanwhile,
At the Explorer Guild, in a sealed room,
"Uncle Liu, do you think we can really find the person we need?"
Ling held a fragment of a spatial rift that emitted white light, her expression somewhat worried.
"Whether we find them or not, we have to set off in a few days, otherwise, we might run out of time!"
Old Man Liu's expression was also quite serious.
"Uncle Liu, can't we choose a reliable person from the factions we are friendly with to help us search for the Eternal Frozen Ice?"
Ling looked at Old Man Liu with some confusion. She had brought this up before, but it was directly rejected.
"Ling, the reason those powerful explorers and major factions are friendly with us is for only one reason: President Wu Ye... If they knew we were looking for Eternal Frozen Ice, then the rumors about the President being injured would likely..."
"And by posting missions through the Explorer Guild, the explorers we find might not be as strong as the powerhouses from those major factions."
"However, the people we find this way are mostly without conflicting interests. They are just accepting a mission..."
Old Man Liu explained slowly to Ling.
After hearing Old Man Liu's words, a cold sweat broke out on Ling's forehead.
Those people who were polite to her daily, who seemed reliable and friendly, were actually doing so out of respect for her grandfather. If they found out... the consequences would be unimaginable...
...
On Ye Feng's side,
"Bang bang!"
Two gunshots rang out, and two goblins fell to the ground.
"There are really so many goblins."
Ye Feng muttered as he reloaded his magazine.
As he and Xiao Xiao walked with the old man, a pile of goblin corpses lay on the ground behind them.
"Beep~ Hint: Detected a Tier 2 strength-type goblin, 10 meters behind and to the right."
Suddenly, the system's prompt sounded.
"Quack~"
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!~..."
Almost at the same time, a strange cry came from 10 meters behind Ye Feng, followed by a barrage of stones, each about the size of two adult fists, hurled towards Ye Feng and the others.
Amidst the stones were several wooden spears!