Overlord: Welcoming the Birth of the King
Chapter 45: Mutant Goblin Individual? The Prepared Trap

Following the usual route through the forest, aside from normal bird songs, there weren't many signs of ordinary beasts.

"It's unusually quiet."

Tang Zheng removed the water pouch from his hand and reattached it to his waist, carefully listening to the surroundings.

His expression remained unchanged as he continued forward.

Since he knew he was being watched, he naturally needed to be more alert to any changes.

Hmm?

Tang Zheng's ears suddenly twitched—movement!

That direction... northwest?

While pondering this, his footsteps didn't stop as he turned toward the source of the sound.

As he drew closer, the noises became clearer—the roars of beasts mixed with goblin shrieks.

Soon enough!

A large group of goblins came into Tang Zheng's view.

At a glance, there were over twenty of them!

Currently, these goblins were besieging a massive black bear.

"ROAR!"

The bear bared its bloody maw, roaring as it tore into one goblin.

The gruesome scene didn't frighten the surrounding goblins—instead, it seemed to enrage them further.

Screaming wildly, they relentlessly attacked the bear with crude weapons and even stones.

After suffering nearly fifty percent casualties, the blood-soaked bear finally collapsed!

The surviving goblins excitedly lifted the bear's carcass and carried it deeper into the woods.

The dead goblins were casually dragged along the ground by others as they all retreated.

Comrades who had just hunted together now became mere food in the eyes of the living goblins.

Tang Zheng leaned against a large tree, arms crossed, watching the goblins depart. A cold smile suddenly appeared on his lips.

Their direction clearly led to a goblin settlement.

"So this is the trap they've been preparing for days."

"Using the exact same method again?" Tang Zheng's eye twitched slightly.

He now fully understood—the previous ambush by six ogres had clearly been a trap he'd unknowingly walked into.

And now they were trying the same trick again.

Perhaps he'd overestimated the mutant goblin's intelligence.

However!

That special goblin's ability to influence ogres intrigued Tang Zheng greatly.

"Still haven't spotted the mastermind—they're being extremely cautious."

"Unless I make them feel completely secure, they won't reveal any weaknesses." Tang Zheng raised his head slightly and followed the goblins.

As he ventured deeper,

A rather dilapidated goblin settlement came into view ahead.

But Tang Zheng's focus wasn't on the settlement—it was on the terrain.

Both sides of the path rose noticeably higher, causing the trees there to grow taller than elsewhere.

The two protruding hillocks formed a narrow, gourd-shaped depression where the goblin settlement was nestled.

"An excellent location choice."

"Luring me into this terrain makes escape difficult if surrounded—unlike last time."

"No... that's not entirely accurate."

Maintaining a clueless expression, Tang Zheng continued forward emotionlessly, "Ordinary goblins lack the intelligence for such complex 'acting'."

"Planning to sacrifice this entire settlement? How ruthless."

A cold glint flashed in Tang Zheng's eyes as he chuckled darkly.

"Come to think of it, I still haven't fully adapted to this world where humans aren't the only intelligent species."

"Some demi-humans possess intellect rivaling humans. Underestimating them as mindless creatures inevitably leads to losses."

"I need to adjust my mindset—I keep forgetting humans are actually the disadvantaged group here."

Tang Zheng shook his head slightly, muttering to himself.

Since entering the Great Tob Forest, he'd been traveling eastward consistently.

Once his general direction was discerned, setting up ambushes along his path became simple—something he hadn't initially considered.

Of course, the dense jungle's complexity made sticking to one direction the safest way to avoid getting lost.

Behind him!

A figure that had been tailing Tang Zheng from afar cautiously peeked out from the bushes.

Watching Tang Zheng enter the narrow jungle path, the green-skinned creature exhaled in relief, its nervous, fearful expression easing slightly.

That human was terrifyingly strong.

He'd cleaved powerful ogres in half with single strikes—such strength was unprecedented.

The creature had witnessed humans fighting ogres before, but it usually required multiple humans working together to kill one.

"Damn human!"

"Killed so many of our children... daring to enter the great forest alone... you'll pay with your life."

Crouching low, the green figure clenched its fists, whispering with a mix of fury and hatred in its slightly shrill voice.

Had Tang Zheng heard this goblin speaking, he would have been astonished.

As the goblin watched Tang Zheng fully enter the narrow path, its small black pupils gleamed with excitement and bloodlust.

Its timid demeanor vanished completely as it stood up and began advancing.

It needed to witness this human's death at the ogres' hands.

His flesh would surely be delicious.

Remembering the sweet-smelling food the human ate every morning, the goblin licked its lips hungrily.

Meanwhile.

Tang Zheng maintained a steady pace until reaching the path's midpoint, where he abruptly stopped.

Having lured his stalker into complacency by entering their trap, it was time to act.

Without hesitation!

Tang Zheng whirled around and sprinted backward at full speed, eyes locked onto the jungle behind him.

Simultaneously!

"I SEE YOU!" Tang Zheng roared suddenly.

Buzz—

[First-tier spell "Camouflage" detected. Caster level requirement: 1-7. Current conditions met.]

[Consume 1 skill point to learn?]

Found you!

Seeing the system notification, Tang Zheng grinned fiercely.