Overlord: Welcoming the Birth of the King
Chapter 49: Tribal Treasure! The Birth of a Goblin Traitor

Tang Zheng took the item from the high goblin Woodfruit with great interest. The ancient, pale bone necklace in his hands was remarkably clean, in stark contrast to the dirty high goblin Woodfruit. At first glance, he hadn't noticed anything special, but upon closer inspection, he saw faint traces of pale green light flickering across the ping-pong ball-sized bone surface - the telltale glow of magical energy from an enchanted artifact.

"This is made from the bone of a Great Antlered Elk," Woodfruit explained while gesturing wildly with its hands. "The Great Antlered Elk was a magical creature from the deepest parts of the forest, with enormous antlers... about this big..." The pained expression on its face revealed just how valuable this magical item was to both Woodfruit and the Jike Tribe.

Through Woodfruit's somewhat jumbled explanation, Tang Zheng finally understood the necklace's power. According to the high goblin, the Great Antlered Elk with its massive antlers had once inhabited the Great Tob Forest. These creatures possessed an innate ability to move freely through dense vegetation, and this necklace crafted from an elk's skull bone inherited that same ability.

Tang Zheng immediately recognized what power this bone necklace contained - "Forest Traversal"! Like "Camouflage", this was another faith-based magic. The spell's specific effect allowed unimpeded movement through forest vegetation, though Tang Zheng couldn't remember if it was third or fourth tier magic. Regardless, "Forest Traversal" was far more practical than "Camouflage".

Having learned of the necklace's properties, Tang Zheng had no intention of returning it. Instead of wearing it around his neck like Woodfruit, he wrapped it around his wrist. Magical artifacts needed to be worn in specific positions to function - rings had to be worn on fingers, for example. This so-called "necklace" was really just the ping-pong ball-sized bone attached to a vine cord for easy carrying by goblins. The vine cord itself was unnecessary for the artifact's function.

"Enough small talk," Tang Zheng said cheerfully after acquiring the new magical item, turning his attention to Woodfruit. "Now let's discuss serious business."

"Serious... business?" Woodfruit's eyes filled with confusion.

"Exactly." Tang Zheng nodded, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. His decision not to kill this high goblin earlier had merely been incidental - his true purpose was what came next. "Since you were sent to the outer regions to select exceptional goblins, you must be very familiar with all the goblin settlements here. How about showing me around?" Tang Zheng asked with a smile.

For the past few weeks, Tang Zheng had relied purely on luck while hunting goblins throughout the forest. The Great Tob Forest was simply too vast! The difficult terrain and nighttime conditions had severely hampered his leveling progress. Before reaching level 10, he could gain at least 100-200 experience daily by hunting magical creatures and goblins. But now at level 10, each level required a whopping 5,000 experience points. At his current rate, he wouldn't gain many levels in the remaining time.

Woodfruit's appearance gave Tang Zheng a new idea. Who would know the locations of outer region goblin settlements better than a goblin itself? He needed a guide, and this talking high goblin was the perfect candidate... or rather, the perfect goblin-didate.

"Human... great one... no kill..." Woodfruit stuttered fearfully, trembling like a leaf before Tang Zheng's smile as if facing a demon. The high goblin's near-human intelligence allowed it to understand exactly what Tang Zheng intended.

"This isn't a request." Still smiling, Tang Zheng stepped forward and crushed the high goblin's left ankle under his foot with a sickening crunch.

"AAAAHHH!!!" Woodfruit's agonized scream echoed through the forest, startling flocks of birds into flight.

After this "friendly discussion", Woodfruit quickly came to appreciate Tang Zheng's excellent proposal and immediately provided the location of the nearest goblin settlement. Satisfied, Tang Zheng hauled Woodfruit along as they headed toward the indicated goblin tribe.

A figure darted swiftly through the forest. Thick shrubs, grass, and interconnected branches miraculously parted to make way. With the "Forest Traversal" magical artifact, Tang Zheng's speed increased several fold. The forest environment that had previously hindered his agility no longer posed any obstacle, allowing his full mobility to shine. Moreover, his movement generated minimal noise. Combining "Forest Traversal" with "Camouflage" made detection nearly impossible without specialized detection magic - no wonder Woodfruit had been able to track him undetected for so long!

What followed was nothing short of a massacre. With Woodfruit providing locations and the magical artifact's effects, no goblin could escape Tang Zheng's onslaught. During this period, Tang Zheng even wiped out a large goblin tribe consisting of over two hundred goblins and five ogres.

Before obtaining the "Forest Traversal" artifact, facing five ogres simultaneously would have forced Tang Zheng to retreat. But now, with the forest no longer an obstacle, he could easily kite and eliminate all five ogres using just his speed advantage.

After witnessing Tang Zheng single-handedly slaughter an entire large goblin tribe from start to finish, any remaining resistance from Woodfruit evaporated completely. The high goblin became a thoroughly obedient guide.

Tang Zheng was well aware of Woodfruit's scheming nature. For a greedy, cunning goblin to show no resistance would have been suspicious. But seeing such a powerful tribe annihilated had clearly broken Woodfruit's spirit completely.