Chapter 62: Orc Tracks

However, the moment Xia Duo finished speaking, almost everyone fell silent. Some team members who had been chatting were now quiet, and the atmosphere seemed to have undergone a subtle change.

"Captain Jibu?"

"Hmm?" Jibu seemed to suddenly snap back to reality. "Mage Xia Duo, is something the matter?"

"......"

Xia Duo repeated his question from just a moment ago, but added a qualifier—"in the forest." Xia Duo realized at this moment that if he didn't specify, any mention of Undead would generally be associated with the Territory's Night Watchers.

And in the Savile Territory, or even other parts of Netheril, the Night Watchers were a taboo term. Most people would try to avoid mentioning them, which was something Xia Duo only learned after joining the Mage Tower.

But since Xia Duo was an outsider, it was truly difficult for him to empathize with these taboos, and it was only upon seeing the strange expressions of the others that he recalled them.

After adding the qualifier, Jibu's stiff expression finally recovered, though even so, Jibu was unwilling to say the words "Undead."

"Mage Xia Duo, I have been in the Territory Army for nearly eight years, and I have never encountered them in the forest, though I do know of people who have encountered moving Goblin skeletons."

Xia Duo nodded and did not ask any further.

Soon, everyone finished resting and began to continue searching for combat targets.

After eliminating a wild boar, a group of deer, and a nest of Goblins, the group returned fully loaded with their spoils.

This combat training was quite successful; apart from two people who were bumped by the wild boar because they didn't dodge in time, the rest of the group was almost entirely uninjured.

This, of course, was thanks to the care provided by the veterans and the newly recruited former Adventurers, which allowed the ten absolute newcomers, including Xia Duo and Dien, to receive a good trial.

The situation on Sami and Dewan's side was also very smooth; with experienced veterans and former Adventurers, and without going too deep into the forest, the combat training was quite easy.

In fact, their kind of combat training was essentially the daily task for the vast majority of Adventurers in Savile Town. Of course, the tasks for the Territory soldiers were similar; aside from guarding the town area, most of it involved clearing out the rampant beasts and Goblins in the forest.

Protecting, or even expanding, the range of activities for the residents within the Territory—naturally, this was essentially opening up territory for the Wier Lingzhu.

In the following few days, Xia Duo would take people into the forest to kill every afternoon. In addition to meeting the needs of combat training, the team members also earned a small sum of money.

Just like that, as time drew closer to the end of the month, the atmosphere in the Military Camp became increasingly tense. Some teams even stayed in the wild for the entire day, wanting to conduct as much combat practice as possible.

Of course, there were those who were satisfied, and those who were dejected. Being slightly injured was fine; there were Radiant Servants of Amanata in the camp, and these Clerics who followed the path of Amanata's radiance possessed extraordinary healing powers.

As long as one wasn't missing any body parts, most injuries could be recovered from, but if a person died, there was no way to help.

Furthermore, if a team was short on people and recruited replacements, it was very likely they would be ordinary people, requiring retraining. With the Orc Tide coming at the end of the month, how much time was there to train?

At this moment, Xia Duo felt incredibly fortunate that his team, including himself, only had five absolute newcomers. Many other teams were simply two veterans leading nine newcomers.

If the Apprentice knew their place, it would be fine, but if they still thought about vying for command, it would be a disaster.

That afternoon, Xia Duo once again led people to the Green Pearl Forest. After the previous few rounds of combat training, Xia Duo's impressive performance was seen by everyone.

Jibu and Captain Wuke of Dien's team had completely acquiesced to Xia Duo's command, acting just like two ordinary soldiers. Even the elusive Aiwa could be dispatched at will through Jibu.

Today, the target for Xia Duo and the others was a small Goblin tribe. This was something Aiwa had scouted when they were out for combat training yesterday, but because it was getting late at the time, they hadn't gone deeper to clear it out.

Thus, they headed straight for the target today.

Aiwa and Mafeier from Dien's team were scouting ahead, while Xia Duo and the others walked slowly behind.

"Captain Jibu, you said earlier that this small Goblin tribe is very likely to have just migrated here recently?" Xia Duo asked.

"Yes. At this distance, although it is quite deep into the forest, generally speaking, it is still within the clearing range of Adventurers and Territory soldiers. If it had been here before, I definitely would have known."

After finishing, Jibu added, "The Goblin race does not engage in production at all, so it is very difficult for them to settle down in one place."

"Hmm."

Xia Duo nodded. Currently, the target for the team's combat training was mainly Goblins. It wasn't that other targets weren't good, but Goblins were the most numerous. Sometimes, a nest would be cleared one day, and another would appear when passing by the next day.

It was simply endless.

It was just that some groups were ten or twenty strong, while others were only two or three, or even lone ones. As the newcomers became more experienced, the effect of such training was becoming weaker and weaker.

But this small Goblin tribe discovered this time had nearly a hundred members, the largest number discovered in these days, so Xia Duo attached considerable importance to it.

He prepared to use this as the final combat training before the Orc Tide.

From afar, Xia Duo could already see a crude fence built from dead branches and rotten wood. Seven or eight earth-colored creatures, half a person's height, were standing there motionless.

"Stop!" Xia Duo hurriedly whispered.

He had heard the Goblin language with his own ears and knew that Goblins were also a type of intelligent life, only that compared to humans, their intelligence was somewhat low.

But a small tribe with nearly a hundred members would always have some smarter ones.

"Captain Jibu, have Aiwa come back."

"Yes."

Jibu took out a Bone Whistle and blew one long and one short note. Soon, Aiwa appeared, and even brought Mafeier back as well.

"Aiwa, what is the situation with the Goblin tribe now?" Xia Duo asked.

"There are a total of eighty or ninety Goblins, more than half of which are old or young Goblins. It is possible that several smaller groups merged together."

"Mafeier, what did you discover?"

"It's about the same as what Aiwa scouted, but I was an Adventurer before and learned a little Goblin language. I heard many Goblins talking about Orcs."

Orcs? Xia Duo's eyes lit up. "Are you sure they were talking about Orcs?"

"I am sure."

In that case, without Xia Duo needing to say it, everyone had already guessed that these Goblins were very likely driven out by Orcs from deep in the forest.

The Orcs had already come down from the mountains and had even entered the Green Pearl Forest.

Now, Xia Duo and the others were likely only a short distance away from the Orcs, the distance these Goblins had fled.

Almost subconsciously, a thought appeared in Xia Duo's mind—take the team back first!

However, this thought lasted less than a second before Xia Duo rejected it. Going back now would be a huge blow to morale; would they still have to face the Orcs in the future?

"Aiwa, Mafeier, search the direction the Goblins came from and go check it out. Be careful!"

After giving the orders, Xia Duo prepared to report the situation discovered here to Sami and the others, but unexpectedly, a message from Sami arrived first!