"Careful!"
Ye Feng shouted softly, pulling Xiao Xiao to the side and pushing the old man behind a large tree.
"Bang bang bang!~..."
A large number of stones smashed into the trees behind where Ye Feng and the others had just been standing, denting the trunks and even peeling off the bark.
A wooden spear more than a meter long was deeply embedded in the tree trunk!
"What great strength!"
Ye Feng frowned slightly.
Then, with a few leaps and a burst of speed, he quickly approached the location of the second-tier strength-type goblin from the flank.
"What the!"
Seeing the second-tier strength-type goblins hiding behind them and throwing stones at them, Ye Feng was a bit surprised, as there were two of them.
When the system had prompted before, it mentioned their tiers, and for both zombies and goblins, there was only one. This had created a habit of thinking for Ye Feng.
He had been wondering why one goblin could throw so many stones...
"Whoosh!~ Whoosh~!"
The two second-tier strength-type goblins spotted Ye Feng.
One of them hurled a bowling ball-sized stone at Ye Feng, while the other threw a spear at him.
Ye Feng's eyes narrowed. He stomped on the ground, twisted his body, and swiftly dodged the spear.
At the same time, he extended his right hand, directly grabbed the bowling ball-sized stone, stomped on the ground again, and flung the large stone back with his other hand.
"Bang!~ Crack~"
The goblin that had thrown the stone had its head smashed to pieces by its own projectile, dying on the spot.
"Ding~ The host has killed a second-tier strength-type goblin and obtained 10 usable points~"
The system's voice sounded immediately.
"Thump!~"
Ye Feng's body accelerated again. With a leap, he arrived in front of the goblin that had thrown the spear and was now turning to flee.
"Gak-ka~"
The spear-throwing goblin let out a shriek and thrust its wooden spear at Ye Feng.
"Boom!~"
Ye Feng slapped it with one hand, breaking the wooden spear.
The spear-wielding goblin was not slow to react. It lunged at Ye Feng with bared teeth, its mouth gaping, and tried to bite Ye Feng's neck.
"Bang bang!~"
Two muffled thuds echoed as Ye Feng extended his hands and firmly gripped the spear-wielding goblin's wrists.
"Gak-ka~ Gak-ka~..."
The spear-wielding goblin shrieked madly, trying to bite Ye Feng, but its hands were firmly held by Ye Feng, keeping it at a distance where it couldn't reach.
"Gak-ka~ Kak~..."
The spear-wielding goblin screamed again and twisted its hands violently, trying to break free from Ye Feng, but it was futile.
"Is this the strength of a second-tier strength-type goblin?"
After the spear-wielding goblin struggled for a while and Ye Feng had more or less tested its strength, he muttered.
The next second,
"Boom~ Crackle!~"
Ye Feng lifted the spear-wielding goblin entirely, headfirst, and slammed it into the pile of stones they had gathered.
The spear-wielding goblin's skull fractured, its brain matter exploded, and it instantly fell silent!
"Big brother, are you okay?"
At this moment, Xiao Xiao ran to Ye Feng's side, her voice full of concern.
"I'm fine~"
Ye Feng shook his head. "I was just testing how strong this second-tier strength-type goblin really is~"
"It seems the goblin's size doesn't necessarily correlate with its tier and strength~"
Looking at the two second-tier strength-type goblins on the ground, each about 1.6 meters tall and not particularly muscular, Ye Feng drew a conclusion.
After all, the first-tier strength-type goblins he encountered in Maple Leaf Town were nearly 2 meters tall and covered in thick muscles.
"Hoo~"
Ye Feng let out a sigh. "The system's prompt didn't mention quantities. It seems I'll have to be more careful when encountering high-level monsters in the future~"
"Well... let's eat first~"
It was already noon. Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao had been walking all morning and had killed many goblins. They were hungry.
Moreover, according to the old man, they were not far from the goblin's lair. They needed to eat to have the strength to deal with the goblins.
Afterward, Ye Feng found a spacious area with a good view, took out food and water, and prepared to eat.
"Huh? Dali, where are you going? Aren't you eating?"
Seeing the old man turn to leave, Ye Feng called out.
"Explorer-daren... I... can I stay and eat?"
Hearing this, the old man looked astonished.
"Yes!~"
Ye Feng nodded and handed him a few coarse grain bread rolls, a braised egg, and a bottle of mineral water.
"Thank... thank you~"
The old man accepted them somewhat mechanically, feeling an unreal sense of dreaminess.
Ye Feng took a hot fried chicken leg he had just purchased from the [Shop] and ate it heartily with coconut juice.
Xiao Xiao, on the other hand, was eating a hot egg tart and had steeped some oatmeal in hot water in a ceramic cup.
"Big brother, what are those people doing?"
While eating, Xiao Xiao pointed behind Ye Feng, indicating the explorer teams that were following them from a distance.
It turned out that ever since Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao had set out from Twin Fish Town, she had noticed quite a few explorer teams following them.
At first, Xiao Xiao thought they were just heading the same way, but now that the three of them had ventured deep into the forest, those explorer teams were still following...
"Oh, they're probably trying to pick up leftovers and follow us hunting, or something like that~"
Ye Feng had noticed them long ago.
There were many familiar faces among those explorer teams, including the male and female archers they had encountered near Twin Fish Town, the flintlock explorer team, the braised meat team, the grilled fish team, and so on.
They followed Ye Feng. When Ye Feng killed goblins, sometimes one or two would be missed, which they would then kill, before exploring the surroundings, picking wild fruits, and hunting...
These explorer teams kept their distance from Ye Feng and didn't bother him, so he couldn't be bothered to care.
...
After a hearty meal,
The three of them rested briefly and then set off again.
"Dali, aren't you hungry?"
Ye Feng had given the old man three coarse grain bread rolls, a braised egg, and a small bottle of mineral water.
However, the old man had only eaten half a bread roll and then stopped, turning to eat the steamed buns he had brought with him.
"N-no, I'm not hungry. I'm already very content to be able to eat such sweet bread~"
The old man waved his hands repeatedly, gazing in the direction of Twin Fish Town, fantasizing about enjoying this rare delicacy with Xiao Cui, his face filled with anticipation and a blissful smile.
"Oh, alright~"
Ye Feng had guessed something and didn't say any more.
Next,
"Gak-ka~ Gak-ka~"
"Bang~ Bang~"
"Hiss~"
"Clang~"
"Gak-ka~ Kak~"
"Boom~!"
...
Along the way, the sounds of goblin roars, screams, gunshots, the slicing and chopping of blades, and collisions echoed constantly through the forest.
Wherever Ye Feng and his companions passed, goblin corpses lay scattered everywhere, many of them first and second-tier goblins.
...
About two hours later,
Near the mountainside,
"Explorer-daren, about 100 meters ahead, there's the ruins of a wooden house. Next to it, hidden by leaves and weeds, is a cave. That's the goblin lair~"
"This place used to be a temple, and later it was occupied by goblins!"
The old man scanned the surroundings nervously and whispered to Ye Feng.
"Good!~"
"Xiao Xiao, you and Dali wait here~~"
Ye Feng nodded, instructed Xiao Xiao, and then checked his equipment before walking forward.
Xiao Xiao nodded seriously, took out her mecha from a rift fragment, put it on, and held her AK-47, keeping watch for Ye Feng.
...