Overlord: Welcoming the Birth of the King
Chapter 40: Ten Days! Max-Level "Sword Saint"

The next day.

Rustle—

Rustle—rustle—

The sound of leaves rubbing against each other surged through the forest canopy with the morning breeze.

Tang Zheng rested his legs on a thick tree branch, leaning against the trunk as he opened his eyes and took out his pocket watch.

"8:07 AM. I wonder if time in this world flows exactly the same as my previous life," Tang Zheng murmured, closing the watch and gazing at the perpetually dim forest.

Even though the sun had risen long ago, the dense foliage blocked most of its light.

Still, visibility was much better than during nighttime.

Tang Zheng had been awake for a while—truth be told, he'd spent the entire night in a semi-conscious state, likely due to his enhanced constitution from leveling up.

Though he hadn't slept much, he felt neither tired nor drowsy.

If not for the poor visibility in the forest, he would have started moving much earlier.

Whoosh!

Tang Zheng tilted his shoulders and let himself fall from the branch.

Just before hitting the ground—

Thud!

He adjusted his posture and landed steadily on both feet.

"Time to move."

Gripping his iron sword, Tang Zheng spoke calmly as he ventured deeper into the troll territory.

As he progressed, the number of goblins he encountered gradually increased—and just as steadily, they became experience points under his blade.

One day!

Two days!

...

Four days!

Over these consecutive days, over a hundred goblins fell to Tang Zheng's sword, along with various beasts and ordinary monsters.

His "Sword Saint" class leveled up again, reaching Level 9!

While a hundred goblins might sound like a lot, it was actually a tiny fraction of the goblin population within the Great Tob Forest's troll territory.

Moreover, these were just the goblins Tang Zheng happened to encounter during his normal movements—averaging only about twenty per day.

So, not many at all.

Additionally, Tang Zheng noticed that not all goblins lived in large groups—many gathered in small bands of several individuals for hunting and daily life.

It wasn't that Tang Zheng wasn't trying to hunt more goblins.

The forest environment imposed severe limitations—for thirteen hours each day, the woods plunged into complete darkness.

This was extremely inconvenient for a human like Tang Zheng, while the weak goblins possessed the natural racial ability of night vision.

Nighttime simply wasn't suitable for hunting.

Furthermore, the dense jungle hindered Tang Zheng's movements, severely limiting his daily range and further reducing his operational capacity.

As time passed, Tang Zheng's daily routine became monotonous—either killing goblins or traveling to kill goblins.

If he was lucky, he might encounter an ogre.

Because wherever an ogre lived, there would inevitably be a goblin community nearby.

Unbeknownst to Tang Zheng himself, the growing number of dead goblins had begun to fill the forest's outskirts with a faint, foul stench of blood.

The smell of numerous rotting goblin corpses left untreated didn't attract more beasts as one might expect—instead, many animals began fearfully fleeing the peripheral areas, migrating toward the forest's center.

The beasts were starting to realize—a terrifying monster had appeared in the outskirts!

Year 4 Before New Calendar.

Late Wind Month, June 11th.

Ten days had passed since entering the Great Tob Forest on the 2nd.

In a small goblin settlement:

"Waaah!!"

"Waaa—"

"..."

The air filled with the concentrated screams and wails of goblins.

Tang Zheng expressionlessly swung his iron sword, its blade flashing repeatedly through the air.

Whether from killing so many goblins or due to his rising "Sword Saint" level, his swordsmanship had become noticeably more refined.

With a sharp kick, he sent one goblin flying into several others attempting to flee.

Tang Zheng pushed off the ground and closed the distance in a few steps, his blade flicking upward.

Several goblin heads soared through the air before thudding to the ground.

Moments later, all the goblins lay dead.

Following his usual procedure, Tang Zheng cut off their ears, packed them into a bundle, and stored them in his item box.

Gulp—

Gulp—

He took several large swigs from his waterskin before exhaling deeply.

Ignoring the corpses and the thick scent of blood, Tang Zheng pulled out a piece of well-cooked wild boar meat and began chewing vigorously.

"No ogre with this small goblin group? What a shame," he thought between mouthfuls, his cheeks bulging with food.

The surrounding goblin corpses didn't affect his appetite—after all, he'd grown somewhat accustomed to such scenes during his time in the forest.

Deciding to rest, Tang Zheng squatted down, placing his sword aside as he alternated between drinking from his waterskin and biting into the boar meat to replenish his energy.

Several days ago, he'd caught a wild boar and used his "Heating" magic to cook it thoroughly before slicing and storing the meat in his item box for easy access.

From a distance, Tang Zheng now resembled a wild man.

His sturdy linen clothes hung in tatters, covered with leaves and twigs from bushes.

His originally short black hair had grown out into a messy mop.

These were actually his fifth set of clothes—the previous ones had been even more ragged.

If not for his "Odorless" magic, his entire body would likely reek by now.

However, through the tears in his clothing, one could see that his exposed skin had developed noticeable muscle definition and firmness.

"Status panel," Tang Zheng mentally commanded.

[Status Sheet]

Player: Tang Zheng

Justice Value: 35 [Neutral]

HP: 113 (8%) MP: 13 (1%)

Physical Attack: 113 (8%)

Physical Defense: 13 (1%)

Agility: 113 (8%)

Magic Attack: 13 (1%)

Magic Defense: 13 (1%)

Composite Resistance: 0 (0%)

Special: 0 (0%)

Total: 28%

…………

[Ability Sheet]

Innate Ability: [Player]

Composite Level: 11Lv

EXP: 1721/5000

Class:

Basic Class: Genius 1LV (Warrior...)

Intermediate Class: Sword Saint 10Lv

Skill Points: 19

Passive Skills: Item Box, Slash Enhancement (10%)

Active Skills:

Warrior: Instant Reflex, Four Light Combo Slash, Swift Strike, Stealth

Magic: Papermaking (1st Tier), Heating (1st Tier), Minor Healing (1st Tier), Magic Arrow (1st Tier), Odorless (1st Tier)

Professional Skills: Medicine Making, Alchemy