Chapter 1265 - 621: The Long-Awaited Encounter

Not wanting to waste the villagers’ precious food, after confirming he could not gather any more information, Xia Nan once again politely declined the villagers’ enthusiastic invitation and left the village.

However, the direction he headed was not towards the Blood Castle located in the northeast, but rather in the northwest, where the barbarian Fugang had gone, as mentioned by the village chief.

Honestly speaking, according to his previous thoughts, Xia Nan didn’t really want to disrupt his original plan and rhythm of travel.

But the situation had changed.

According to the village chief, the barbarian had only left this small village two days ago, and he hadn’t seemed hurried when he departed, disappearing slowly into the dense forest.

Although they shared a common destination, if he could encounter Fugang along the way, Xia Nan had no reason not to make the effort.

The only thing that left him a bit puzzled was the choice of route the barbarian took.

At least, under his own perception, there was no notable dangerous demon territory ahead, nor any extreme terrain that obviously obstructed the way.

With Fugang’s transcendent strength nearing Legendary Level, he could head directly to Blood Castle in a much smoother manner than Xia Nan.

Yet now, he had actively changed direction and chose the northwest.

Why?

Did he perceive some troublesome dangers on the path ahead that Xia Nan hadn’t sensed, or was there a discovery to the northwest that prompted a temporary change in route?

Xia Nan was somewhat at a loss, but instinctively increased his vigilance.

His temporary plan was very simple now.

First, follow the barbarian’s disappearing direction indicated by the village chief, and fiercely chase towards the northwest forest for two days using Battle Skill to see if he could discover anything.

Anyway, he had already clearly marked his position on the map with the help of the village chief, so if there was no progress, he could circle back to the original route, only slightly delaying by three or four days at most, a price within bearable bounds.

Deciding to continue his journey, while preserving stamina reserves to handle emergencies, Xia Nan performed [Teeth Hunting], using [Tidal Shaping] and his excellent physical condition to swiftly traverse between the undulating mountains.

But unfortunately, charging northwest for two days non-stop, he had found no trace that hinted the barbarian Fugang had passed through.

The dispersing piercing gales shredded the falling leaves beside him, and with his chest heaving, Xia Nan gradually came to a halt, exhaling deeply.

The powerful breath hit the ground, causing the dense long grass in front of him to shake violently.

Looking ahead, what lay before him was the unchanged high, dense forest and the undulating green mountains that resembled a copy-pasted scene from the past few days.

Estimated that the plan to chase Fugang had completely failed, Xia Nan was not particularly discouraged and maintained a calm mood.

He retrieved the map from the [White Pot] Pocket Watch, determined his location, and began planning to return to the original route.

Suddenly, he seemed to smell an extremely sensitive, enticing scent that was intoxicating.

The action of folding the map halted involuntarily.

His eyes instinctively turned to the direction from which the scent came, glanced down at the mapped route, and internally felt slightly conflicted.

"Anyway, along the way, even if I stop briefly, at most it would waste around ten to twenty minutes."

"Or should I..."

Xia Nan hesitated for a moment, then took the [Glimmer of Fate] dice from the necklace around his neck.

Of course, it wasn’t possible to waste the valuable effect that could only be used once a month here, and the special effect of luck plus/minus, with a cooldown of only one day, wouldn’t be particularly beneficial in this situation either.

In such relatively trivial decisions, Xia Nan merely wanted to slightly utilize the three points of luck boost provided by the [Glimmer of Fate] dice.

His right hand exerted slight force, tossing the copper dice high.

If it’s ten points or below, continue on the journey;

If it’s more than ten points, then allow some relaxation to relieve tension.

"Snap."

His hands came together, catching the dice.

He moved his palms away, glancing towards the dice.

In his view, the face of the dice pointed upwards.

The ancient, evenly concave numbers came into sight:

——Twenty points.

...

...

The lair of this goblin settlement was not difficult to find.

To Xia Nan, the filthy stench permeating the air was like the quest guidance in past-life games for players.

Merely slightly deviating from the planned route and speeding through the woods for less than ten minutes, he came upon a conspicuous cave at the base of a hillside.

Though already very skilled, adhering to basic guidelines for an adventurer’s mission, he still maintained a considerable caution.

He didn’t rush to indulge himself, but carefully inspected the surroundings of the cave several times.

With extremely ample experience in clearing operations, he could keenly deduce the approximate scale of this Goblin Tribe merely by details such as footprints on the ground near the lair’s entrance, the width of tunnel dimensions, and the size and manner of death of prey remains around.

The number of individuals should be between thirty and forty, and they likely have a Bear Goblins with a Challenge Level of "1" as a leader.

It’s just barely enough to satisfy him.

His heartbeat involuntarily quickened as he took a deep breath and unsheathed the [Ash Fall] Straight Sword from behind.

Like some kind of intruder in a private residence, he lightly strode cautiously into the dimly lit cave.