Goblin Dependency-Chapter 218 - 123 Corpse_3

It’s not like he’s a Lone Wolf. There are quite a few people in "Iron Hand" George’s team. Unless there was internal strife, there’s no reason why he alone would be in danger.

As the team leader, the strongest George has ended up in this state. Even if the team wasn’t wiped out, they must at least have suffered a severe blow, with heavy casualties.

"Secondly, although the discovered armor clearly shows signs of being struck by a blunt object, judging by the extent of damage, the attacker’s weapon wasn’t particularly good. The damage to the armor was purely inflicted through brute force."

"Moreover, the wounds on the corpse bear clear bite marks, and there are insulting words deliberately left in the Universal Language on the chest."

"Thus, it can be inferred that the attacker is likely not an adventurer like ’Huo Ya,’ but rather a certain kind of humanoid demon with some intelligence, harboring deep hostility towards humans, capable of wielding weapons, and even setting simple traps."

Whether there’s a possibility that human adventurers deliberately left traces to fabricate evidence and frame demons...

All one can say is, in a place like Mist Forest, even if you kill ten thousand people the same way, by the next day, you’ll probably be left with just a pile of skeletons.

There’s no need to cover up traces at all.

"So... was it those goblins? But if it were them..."

Hearing Adeline’s analysis, Abi speculated.

Still pale, and glancing skyward as he spoke, as if he dared not look at the bloody, mangled corpse on the grass.

"Not goblins." Berg’s face was so sullen it seemed like water could drip from it, turning to gaze at the shadows among the dense surrounding foliage.

As if he could discern something from those deep, dark recesses.

If the timeline were pulled back to ancient times, before that God War, the naturally violent goblins might indeed have tortured prey in such a way.

But ever since they disappeared with their deity "Magrubie" and returned to this continent.

These foolish green-skinned rats became machines driven purely by desire and emotions of destruction, acting solely on physical instinct.

They’ll never allow a complete human corpse, full of fat and muscle, to quietly rot in the wild.

Instead of taking it back to their lair to fill their bellies.

Nor do they possess the skill or patience to forcibly suppress the hunger welling up within, to torture a delicious meal that has lost the ability to resist.

The cruelest method they can manage is to devour their prey while it’s still conscious.

"But if there are Earth Goblins, aren’t they supposed to have the intelligence..."

Recalling the knowledge about goblins learned from those in the team after joining.

Abi expressed his thoughts.

He wasn’t wrong; after all, the goblin subspecies "Earth Goblins" do indeed have intelligence comparable to high-level intelligent creatures.

But...

Adeline shook her head, having long determined the real culprit in her heart.

Her gaze turned to the shrubbery not far from George’s corpse, where signs of trampling left by some creature were evident.

She had already checked it out earlier.

A series of footprints identical to those found beside the corpse of the suspected "Iron Hand" team member.

Same five to seven inches in length, with three parallel toes extending outward and inward, even the stride was identical to before.

"Hostile to humans," "capable of wielding weapons and setting traps," "three-toed footprints," "insulting words left on the corpse’s chest"...

Combined with recent rumors circulating among low-level adventurers in River Valley Town—

The sharp, eerie howls like that of a hyena heard from afar when camping, the ghostly green eyes and hunched silhouettes silently standing in the forest at night, adventurer teams inexplicably disappearing during simple missions...

And the sudden appearance of several high bounty missions on the Association task board.

The answer couldn’t be clearer.

"It’s... Gnolls!"

Beside her, Berg clenched his teeth, lowering his voice to growl.

His face obscured by the shadow cast from the overhead canopy, his expression indistinct, leaving only an expanse of deep, deathly darkness on his face.

"We can’t stay here any longer, we must leave immediately!"

Adeline’s expression was grave, her gaze sweeping quickly through the surrounding woods, as if worried there might be an ambush lurking among them at that very moment.

Abi knew next to nothing about gnolls, other than their name, but seeing the two of them so tense, he couldn’t help but tense up as well.

Having crammed a large amount of demon-related knowledge back in town, Xia Nan understood the urgency of the situation.

In just a few seconds, the entire team retreated back into the dark woods, swiftly leaving the area.

Dusk was dim.

In the deathly still air, only an icy, bloody chill remained.

The silver arm armor lay silently on the ground, surrounded by soil and grass stalks.

The shiny metal surface reflected the bloody, mangled corpse nearby.

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