Entrusted with an important mission, Yang Yu set off, watched by the rest of the group.
Before leaving, Andeno gave him a small compass-like tool to help him reunite with the team easily. He also provided Yang Yu with a backup map of the forest to avoid getting lost in its complex terrain.
Accompanying Yang Yu were Bai Jin and Hemeng.
Although Bai Jin had a frail attribute that could cause her to lose levels and stats, her intelligence, nearing 200, made her a top-tier D-level adventurer and a primary damage dealer.
Hemeng, the slightly arrogant slime, often slacked off, but Yang Yu trusted that it would never abandon him in danger. Having gained substantial experience and leveled up to 13 by following Yang Yu, Hemeng was a secret weapon.
Yang Yu opened the map and instructed Bai Jin to scan the surroundings for any surveillance. Bai Jin, familiar with the unusual magic, could detect even the faintest traces of it with her magical sensing abilities.
After a thorough search, they found fewer surveillance eyes in the forest than expected. Covering the entire forest with such surveillance would require enormous resources and magic power.
Yang Yu reasoned that if the mastermind had enough magic to fill the forest with surveillance eyes, they wouldn’t need any schemes and could just use a massive fireball to burn everything down.
From this, Yang Yu concluded that their previous actions were likely anticipated by the mastermind. Even his decision to leave the group and search for the goblins’ base might be within the mastermind’s expectations, so he needed to be extra cautious.
Avoiding the surveillance points, Yang Yu continued deeper into the forest.
“Yang Yu, there’s an area ahead with many dense surveillance points,” Bai Jin pointed out. The area featured a cave but nothing else of note. Yang Yu narrowed his eyes. “We’ll carefully bypass it and proceed along the forest’s edge, then continue forward.”
“Could this be another route the mastermind expected us to take? Who knows what might be in that eerie cave? Monsters could pour out and devour us if we go that way,” Bai Jin speculated, her face returning to normal after a brief look of fear.
“Who knows? It’s possible. That’s why we’re taking a slight detour,” Yang Yu said, smiling knowingly as they moved out of the forest’s depths, avoiding surveillance points before heading back into the dense woods.
Soon, Yang Yu noticed signs of human presence—fresh tracks indicating someone had fled in a panic. Following the trail, he found evidence of a recent battle, with stone axes and spears scattered around.
Unlike the goblins in the game that attacked from the ground, these goblins preferred leaping and throwing weapons from the trees.
Judging by the number of weapons, there were at least thirty goblins. Fighting them head-on would be foolish; fleeing was the smart choice.
Yang Yu quickly sped up, following the trail.
“These tracks seem to be from someone who escaped from the goblin camp. We might get valuable information from them. Bai Jin, stay ready for battle.”
“Understood!”
Following the trail, Yang Yu soon found the escapees—a familiar four-member group led by Sekamens, the Silver Wind Squad.
They were facing off against a horde of goblins. The assassin, Qi, was exhausted, his clothes dirty and bloody; Iron Wall’s armor was damaged, and his massive hammer was scratched; Sekamens’ once-neat hair was now disheveled, though his silver spear and armor still shone, hinting at their near-legendary quality; only the priestess, Rococo, looked relatively unharmed, though pale and drained from continuous healing.
Surrounded by over thirty goblins, most level 16 to 19, with two around level 22, the Silver Wind Squad was low on mana and stamina, though their health was still good.
Yang Yu estimated that if he replaced Sekamens, he’d have a 50% chance of defeating the goblins and escaping. However, just escaping would be easier.
“Use [Black Lightning Surge], don’t worry, they can handle it. Then, on my signal, use [Ice Spike] to control the goblins.”
Though hesitant, Bai Jin began casting. The sky darkened, thunder rumbled, and black lightning struck the goblin horde.
The lead goblin, shocked and pained, saw Yang Yu emerge from the forest, taunting them.
“Hey, how’s it feel to gang up on someone? Enjoying the lightning therapy? Don’t worry, there’s more to come. Come at me if you dare!” Yang Yu provoked, gesturing with a smirk.
Enraged, the elite goblin led the charge against Yang Yu, determined to show these humans their strength.
“You idiot! You can’t handle this many goblins! You’re just asking to die!” Sekamens shouted, thinking Yang Yu was overconfident.
“Not necessarily!” Yang Yu lifted his sword, ready to face the charging goblins with a confident smile.