This world really does have a moon, and more than one. There are two moons, one in the northern night sky and one in the south. The northern moon emits a faint green light, which echoes the yellow and orange of the southern moon. The illumination of the two bright moons makes the mountain forest in the night not so gloomy and scary, but it is not easy to see the traces left by the goblins.
Fortunately, there is Xiao Chen. His eyes can see at night and can see footprints on the ground as clearly as in the daytime. He has become the most important support for this group of people.
When they reached a fork in the road, Xiao Chen stopped and pointed to the shadow of a tree. Zhang Sicheng turned on the flashlight and looked carefully for a while, then used a branch to move the soil on this side, pointed to the road on the right and said, "Xiao Xiao is really amazing, go this way."
After climbing over a hillside, several people stopped and looked down. In the valley ahead, there was a patch of fire, which illuminated the surrounding mountains and forests red.
"Everyone, be alert and hide. That might be the goblin camp. I don't know if there are any sentries or traps in the woods, so everyone must observe the surroundings and take the path I took." Xiao Chen whispered, leading everyone towards the camp. On this section of the way down the mountain, they walked much slower than before. Everyone held their breath, looked around nervously, and their steps were much lighter.
With a crackle, Shi Hao stepped on a dead branch supported by stones. The sound was loud and crisp, which was unusually abrupt in the woods at midnight. He was startled, tripped over a stone and fell forward, bumping into the back of Ye Zi in front of him. Ye Zi, who was so frightened, screamed "Ah". Fortunately, Xiao Chen in front of him was quick-witted and covered Ye Zi's mouth with his hand, cutting off the scream. But with this fall and cover, the three of them fell to the ground in a ball, like a rolling gourd.
Ye Zi was both embarrassed and annoyed. She first elbowed Shi Hao, who still had his hand on her shoulder, and made him cover his stomach like a cooked shrimp. Then she knocked away Xiao Chen's hand that was on her nose. She got up angrily and was about to lose her temper when she heard Zhang Sicheng lower his voice and shout, "Hide quickly, we're going to be discovered!"
For a moment, several people were a little panicked and flustered, making quite a noise, before they each hid behind the roots of trees in the grass. Everyone waited for a long time, and finally found out that it was all a false alarm.
"It's all your fault for scaring me from behind!"
"You can't yell!"
"And you stuffed my mouth with your muddy hands!"
"Teacher Zhang also sent out random warnings."
"You guys really don't know the seriousness of the matter. You are too careless."
Shi Hao and Ye Zi stared at each other, lowering their voices in the woods and complaining to each other. Zhang Siben wanted to give them some advice, but it turned into a fight.
"Everyone, please stop!" Xiao Chen said angrily. He couldn't bear to listen any longer and pointed at a few people and said, "You are soldiers, you are martial arts masters, you are team leaders and teachers. Everyone wants to save people, but this is it? Are you going to compete with the goblins to see who looks more like a mob?"
The three of them were somewhat startled by Xiao Chen's low but firm voice, and they all fell silent. Xiao Chen's voice was not loud, but it was very imposing, as if it sent a kind of pressure directly into their minds.
Awakening.
Ye Zi stared at Xiao Chen. He didn't expect that Xiao Chen, who usually had a smiling face, could be so powerful when he suddenly became serious. When Ye Zi was a child, he was often scolded by his grandfather. His grandfather was a master of internal martial arts. When he lectured, he used some internal force techniques, which could often capture people's attention. Xiao Chen's words were even more impressive.
"Keep going!" Xiao Chen waved his hand and walked in front again. In fact, Xiao Chen was also very surprised at this time. Just now, because he was angry, he unconsciously used his mental power when he stopped them. It seemed to have caused some kind of disturbance, and then it shocked the consciousness of the other people, making them all appear in a short trance. It was very similar to the Buddhist martial arts "Lion's Roar" in martial arts novels.
Is this a kind of magic
Xiao Chen and his team continued to move forward, and finally stopped at a high point on a hillside about 200 meters away from the goblin camp. From here, they could see the camp clearly. Xiao Chen lay behind a rock and carefully observed the goblin camp.
If I had to describe this camp in one word, it would be "dirty and messy". The camp was large, but the ground had not been carefully cleaned, and many bushes and tree stumps were enclosed in the middle of the camp. The wall was made of crooked wooden strips of varying thicknesses, with the tops of the strips cut into sharp angles of varying heights, and many large and small gaps in the middle. There was a gate to the south of the wall, with several skulls of unknown beasts placed on the top of the gate, and some torches were randomly inserted on both sides of the gate. The gate had no door panel, and some sundries were piled at the door, even if the camp door was closed.
The houses in the camp were also made of branches, covered with dirty leaves and straw. The houses were so low that people could not enter them at all. Even goblins who were only half a person's height could only bend over to enter and exit. The ground between the barracks was full of puddles of mud. The front and back of the houses were filled with animal corpses, bones, meat, feces and various garbage. Whenever the wind blew through the camp and toward the mountain, a distinct stench would hit us in the face.
However, the most attractive thing at this moment is the five pillars erected on the largest open space at the entrance of the camp. The five pillars are evenly spaced to form a pentagon, with a stone platform in the middle of the pillars. The stone platform and the pillars are both empty. There are a few goblins in relatively gorgeous clothes using sticks as pens, drawing something between the pillars and the platform.
"How disgusting." Ye Zi covered his nose and squatted beside Xiao Chen. "These goblins must have evolved from pigs."
"Although their camp is a mess, we might be worse off than them if we set up camp in the woods. This is an intelligent race, and we must treat them seriously as enemies." Xiao Chen didn't hold his nose. Besides feeling dizzy from the smoke, he still had the mind to ponder the IQ of the goblins.
Shi Hao took out a telescope and scanned the camp. After a while, he frowned and said, "There are too many broken houses and we can't see our people! But those goblin warriors patrolling back and forth are very similar to those who attacked us. I think this tribe did it."
"Then what should we do? What if they hide someone? It won't be a solution for us to keep watching here." Ye Zi looked at Xiao Chen and Zhang Sicheng, hoping they had some good ideas.
"I think they are preparing for something big. Look at these pillars and stone platforms. They are obviously the venues and props for some kind of ceremony. Shi Hao also said that our people were captured alive. When you think about the sacrificial customs of primitive peoples..."
"You mean living sacrifice?" Zhang Sicheng asked anxiously.
Xiao Chen nodded: "Very likely."
"You mean, Professor Lin and the others will be killed on the pillar? Then we can't just wait here foolishly. Otherwise, what if they start fighting and we don't have time to take action?" Ye Zi grabbed the spear and wanted to run downstairs.
Xiao Chen grabbed her and said, "Can you let me finish? We need to see the situation first and confirm that the person is here. If we don't see anyone, you will go and make a scene. Not only will we take risks in vain, but it will also be a big trouble if Professor Lin and the others get hurt or taken away. What we need to think about now is how to rescue them if they are taken out and tied to the pillars."
"Yes, the situation is unclear and there are too many enemies. We can't be so reckless." Zhang Sicheng echoed.
Xiao Chen looked at Zhang Sicheng and said, "Teacher Zhang, you are the team leader. The situation is very complicated now. We need you to take the lead in making decisions and come up with a rescue plan. What do you think we should do?"
Zhang Sicheng thought for a while with a bitter face and said, "Xiao Xiao, I am not cut out for this. If you ask me to fight with archery, I will never back down, but this kind of battle arrangement is really not my forte. I thought that if we charge in, our force is too small. If we set fire to create chaos, we don't have the materials. If we use long-range sniping, we can't kill many people. If we sneak in secretly, we are too different from the goblins. Just tell us what you think. We are all listening."
"Okay." Xiao Chen knew that this was not the time to be modest. He glanced at the gun in Shi Hao's hand and asked him, "Are you sure you can accurately hit the goblins in the square below?"
Shi Hao estimated the distance and said, "But we only have six bullets, and we can only fight with bayonets."
Xiao Chen nodded, and then asked Zhang Sicheng, "Can you shoot from outside the camp gate to the house behind the camp with this bow?"
Zhang Sicheng thought for a moment and said, "I estimate that the straight-line distance from the entrance to the camp is less than 200 meters. I can projectile it, but the accuracy and power will definitely be lost. If I want to hit a house, I must be about 100 meters away to be sure."
Xiao Chen nodded again, and then looked at Ye Zi very seriously. His eyes were very deep and his gaze was very direct, which made Ye Zi feel a little embarrassed. He said, "You are the only girl. I shouldn't ask you such questions, nor should I put pressure on you. But our situation is very critical, and you are the best at close combat here. So, I must ask you: Do you have the determination to rush in through the main gate and save people directly when the camp is in chaos?"
Ye Zi noticed that Xiao Chen was asking about determination, not confidence. She knew that this was because rushing into such a camp alone was a matter of life and death. Even a skilled person could not say that they were sure of victory and could get in and out safely. However, she was ignited by Xiao Chen's words. An impulse broke out from her heart, and her hand holding the gun trembled slightly. It was not fear, but the excitement of wanting to fight. She said, "Yes!"
Xiao Chen smiled, and this smile made people feel at ease. He said calmly: "Okay! Teacher Zhang and I will go in with you. Now, I think we have a plan."