Chirp!
Tweet! Tweet!
Above the dense jungle, birds flitted through the canopy, their calls mingling with sporadic insect hums from all directions.
Adam's figure crouched behind a sturdy tree and thick underbrush, his calm gaze studying the small goblin tribe.
The absence of elderly goblins was unsurprising.
Goblins were omnivorous. In times of scarcity, injured or aged goblins often became emergency rations.
But the lack of young goblins was odd.
Though not an expert on goblins, Adam had learned much about their habits from the "Rock" Team.
June and July were peak activity months for goblins.
This was their breeding season, driving them to hunt forest beasts, magical creatures, and even villagers outside the Great Forest of Tob.
In the small goblin camp, the return of the group with five human corpses sparked excitement. The remaining goblins let out thrilled "waa waa" Cries.
The panting goblins carrying the corpses didn't rest. They lugged the bodies to the crude, low hut at the camp's center, placing them at its entrance.
Then, they retreated a distance, staring at the hut with a mix of anticipation and fear.
Adam's eyes narrowed at the sight.
Boom!
A tremor shook the hut, accompanied by a beastly growl.
A figure emerged, over two meters tall, bulky, with dark yellow skin, crawling unsteadily from the hut.
An ogre!
Adam's eyes lit with recognition.
This was the creature that nearly wiped out the "Rock" Team, etched deeply in his memory.
"Hungry… hungry…"
Muttering hoarsely, the ogre's thick arms braced the ground as it stood.
Its hairless head was covered in uneven fleshy lumps, unsettling at a glance.
As it raised its head, its grotesque, savage face came into view. A small goblin dangled from its mouth.
The goblin was silent, limp, clearly long dead.
Crunch!
A palm-sized tongue flicked out, pulling the goblin's half-bitten body into its mouth. It chewed, bones snapping.
Pale green blood sprayed from its gaping maw.
The surrounding goblins trembled, their breathing hushed.
The brutal, feral scene made Adam's brow furrow, a wave of nausea rising within.
He now understood why this tribe lacked young goblins.
The ogre was injured!
Despite the distance, Adam clearly saw a massive wound on its chest, larger than a washbasin, swarming with flies.
No wonder its movements, crawling out and standing, were sluggish.
For ogres, consuming vast amounts of food was the best way to heal.
"Food!"
The ogre's savage eyes locked onto the five human corpses, its face twisting with excitement as it roared.
It grabbed a corpse and devoured it, bones crunching like brittle twigs.
Adam looked away, taking a deep breath.
"Quite the New World welcome." He murmured, reopening his eyes, now icy with resolve.
In his old world, humans reigned as nature's masters, dividing creatures into edible and inedible.
In this world, humans were prey, a link in the food chain. The sight struck Adam's soul with visceral shock.
Beyond nausea, a primal fury surged within him.
It wasn't just the ogre's act of eating humans.
It stemmed from his past life's human pride, the savage instinct forged through millennia of clawing to the food chain's apex.
Swish!
He raised his iron sword across his chest.
His gaze, cold and calculating, fixed on the ogre. It was larger than the one that attacked the "Rock" Team.
The goblins were no issue compared to the ogre.
Injured, it was vulnerable, now was the perfect time to strike.
But Adam didn't rush in. He waited.
Any creature, sated, reacted slower and moved less nimbly than when hungry.
Not overcaution, but necessity.
Lacking detection skills, Adam couldn't gauge the ogre's level, relying on adventurers' wilderness survival tips.
He had little experience identifying magical beasts.
With only one life, he wouldn't risk it on carelessness.
Ogres, with their massive size and strength far surpassing humans of the same level, were typically judged two or three levels higher for safety.
Adam recalled ogre racial traits.
Ogres often coexisted with goblins due to a peculiar habit. Ogres fought; goblins provided food, forming a mutual benefit.
In this forest, most goblin tribes likely had ogres. Larger tribes probably had more.
Hm!
Adam noted the ogre stopped eating after three corpses.
Its bulging belly and lazy expression confirmed it was full.
Expressionless, Adam lifted his sword, moving stealthily toward the camp.
With the ogre done, the goblins cheered, feasting on tree fruits, rotting beast carcasses, and even leaves.
***
Every 5 reviews and 200 power stones, a bonus chapter will be dropped.
(5,10,15, 200, 400, 600, and so on then two bonus chapters will be dropped, 1 for 5 reviews and 1 for 200 power stones, so that's 2 bonus chapters!)
And if you want to read more than 50 chapters early, feel free to visit pat re on. com / Xelenea (remove space).