Overlord: Welcome the Birth of the King

"Guk jik, guk."

"Wah!"

"Wah, wah."

…

A faint sound echoed from deep within the forest.

Lyle's eyes gleamed as he stopped in his tracks and perked up his ears. Gradually, the muffled noise became clearer.

Something was approaching—many somethings.

Lyle narrowed his eyes and quickly scanned his surroundings. He soon locked his gaze on a relatively thick tree and moved toward it, positioning himself behind the trunk, waiting silently.

Time ticked by.

Occasionally, that familiar "wah-wah-wah" sound would ring out again, causing Lyle's eyes to brighten.

He had encountered goblins often enough to recognize their cries.

Sure enough, this place was close to an ogre's territory!

Remaining concealed behind the sturdy tree, Lyle leaned slightly forward, peeking in the direction of the noise.

Before long, a group of thirteen goblins appeared in his line of sight.

The goblins wore tattered and ill-fitting clothes, with some even tying cut-off pant legs around their heads like makeshift hats. Their ragged appearance made them look like refugees.

However, Lyle's expression grew serious. This was the first time he had encountered a group of goblins where every single one was wearing clothes—even if those clothes were in terrible condition.

In the past, the goblins he had come across were almost always unclothed.

What surprised him the most were the two goblins leading the group, both wielding iron weapons—albeit just two crude forks.

Lyle glanced back at the goblins following behind the leaders. His expression shifted noticeably for the first time.

The goblins at the rear were struggling to carry bloody corpses.

Humans.

Lyle fell silent.

There were five corpses in total—three men and two women, judging by their appearances and clothing. Their coarse, dark arms dragged limply along the ground.

He surmised that these people were likely farmers from a nearby village.

Although he was currently inside Forest of Tob, he remained on its outermost edge. To the north lay the deeper forest, while heading south would lead him out of the forest and into a more open, wild region.

Continuing south, one would come across a dirt road extending from the city of E-Rantel. This area had many villages.

Unlike Carne Village, which was under the protection of the Hamsuke, the villages near the ogre and serpent territories were far from safe.

Hence, the Adventurer's Guild in E-Rantel regularly issued quests to eliminate monsters and goblins in these regions.

"Wah, wah!"

The leading goblin grew impatient with the slow pace and screeched irritably at those in the rear, baring its tusks in frustration.

Startled, the goblins carrying the corpses quickened their pace, their green faces showing signs of fear as they struggled to keep up.

Throughout the entire process, the goblin group remained oblivious to Lyle's presence behind the tree.

Expressionless, Lyle watched the goblins pass by.

He lightly rotated the hilt of his sword in his hand, then quietly stepped forward, trailing behind them.

Though the goblins were numerous, they weren't a significant threat.

In this otherworld, ordinary farmers typically ranked around level 1, with some trained individuals potentially reaching level 2.

Most goblins fell within this range since, despite being humanoid monsters, they had certain racial advantages.

Taking them down wouldn't be difficult.

However, judging by their behavior, Lyle suspected they were headed back to their tribe's camp.

Realizing this, Lyle didn't rush to attack. Instead, he continued following them discreetly.

As the group ventured deeper into Forest of Tob, Lyle noticed the surrounding trees and shrubs becoming increasingly dense.

The forest atmosphere changed—the most notable shift being the dimming light. An invisible pressure seemed to permeate the air.

Flipping his palm, Lyle retrieved a pocket watch from his inventory. Seeing that it was only three in the afternoon, he frowned slightly, as the dim surroundings made it feel like dusk.

"Don't go too deep."

Glancing at the goblins carrying the corpses, Lyle's eyes flickered as he reached out with his sword to carve two shallow marks into a nearby tree as a precaution.

In a vast, primeval forest like this, getting lost would be extremely dangerous.

Thus, Lyle took proper precautions.

Besides marking the trees with distinct symbols, he carried a large bag of lime powder in his inventory—specifically bought for situations like this.

Since they were still in the forest outskirts and he could discern the direction clearly, he didn't use the lime powder for now.

Another ten minutes passed.

Lyle became certain that they were approaching the goblin tribe's camp.

The air carried the stench of rot, mixed with an indescribable foul odor reminiscent of dirty socks and rotten eggs.

Soon, the dense forest gave way to a relatively open clearing, roughly the size of one and a half basketball courts.

The goblins had cleared the area of tall trees, leaving only the thick undergrowth.

As the goblins entered the clearing, they grew visibly excited, particularly those carrying the corpses, who now moved with renewed vigor.

Lyle scanned the surroundings, noting the presence of numerous beast bones and several discarded human limbs scattered about.

Near the center of the clearing lay several thick animal pelts spread across the ground. Patches of withered grass were strewn with chunks of rotting meat, swarming with insects.

The stench in the air was overpowering, clearly emanating from this area.

What caught Lyle's attention most was a small hut at the center of the clearing, built from branches and dried grass.

The hut appeared significantly larger than what goblins would typically require, and it stood alone in the clearing, making it seem conspicuous.

Furthermore, the number of goblins seemed oddly low—not too many, but too few.

This was clearly a small goblin tribe, yet aside from the thirteen that had just arrived, Lyle could only see five more goblins in the camp.

He couldn't be sure whether there were additional goblins hiding inside the hut, but the overall number remained strangely low.

Even more unusual, none of the goblins in sight appeared old or young—all of them seemed to be in their prime.

In other words, this small goblin tribe had no elderly or children.