Vertok walked into the Black Forest alone with a bow and twenty arrows. The dark night covered his figure, and the campfire raised by the orcs pointed him in the direction of the investigation.
If the night owls that live in the woods do not fly away from their homes, they will definitely be eaten as snacks by hungry orcs. This is good news. At least when Wiltok sneaked into the forest, there wasn't any noisy silly bird overhead cooing at him.
An oppressive silence enveloped the dark forest, and the rustling footsteps of Virtok seemed particularly abrupt.
The perception of dire gnolls far exceeds that of half-elf professions. They have keen senses of smell, sight, and hearing. The noises in the forest are difficult to hide from the ears of the gnoll.
Vertok was not worried that he would alert the gnolls. The title "Gnoll Killer" provides him with the ability to become mentally invisible, targeting only gnolls.
Vertok needs to watch out for goblins and faunats. The perception of these two kinds of orcs is mediocre, and neither of them has the talent for night vision. The grass-eating sheephead even has the defect of amblyopia at night and must use firelight for illumination. However, once they discover the sneaking Wiltok, they can completely wake up the ferocious gnoll and automatically remove the negative impact of the title of "Gnoll Killer".
By the light of the campfire and the noise of the goblins, Vertok had pinpointed the exact location of the Bone Collector's camp. He deliberately walked around a few times, but unexpectedly did not find the sentries posted by the Bone Collector gang.
Hobgoblins are very smart. They can remember the surrounding terrain and have a three-dimensional map in their minds. When camping, hobgoblins usually set up open and hidden sentries outside the camp to alternately monitor the surrounding movements. The open sentry and the secret sentry are both decoys. They are not far apart and monitor each other. As long as the goblin on sentry is killed by the enemy, the other sentries will issue a warning.
Goblins with ordinary perception rely on this method to deal with sneak attacks from predators.
However, Vertok encountered neither the sentries of the dire gnolls nor the overt or covert sentries of the goblins.
The Dire Gnolls in the Bone Collector's gang should be gathered together, because not long ago, Vertok hunted a Dire Gnoll, and the rest of the Gnolls did not dare to disperse alone. Because of this, the hobgoblin leader should place warning sentries around the camp.
The hobgoblin leader did not place any sentries on guard tonight. This is not normal.
He directly used his talent for wind movement and silently jumped onto a big tree. He stepped on the branches and pressed his back against the tree trunk. He used the shadows to hide his figure and looked down at the orc camp.
The campfire provided him with good light, and he had a panoramic view of the camp even though it was more than 400 meters away.
Two green-skinned hobgoblins were dancing and shouting wildly in front of the fire. A group of clawed goblins, bugbears, gnolls, and goatheads were all watching the hobgoblin leader's lame "performance." They watched with great concentration. As the movements and shouts of the hobgoblins became more intense, the clawed goblins and bugbears began to respond first, then the unresponsive goatheads, and finally even the cunning and selfish gnolls also moved. stand up.
"Ho, ho, ho ho... ho, ho, ho ho..."
A large group of grotesque orcs imitated the leader of the hobgoblin, twisting their limbs and making sounds. Gradually, their movements and sounds became orderly, and the black shadows pulled out by the campfire became one, as if there was an invisible force pulling the creatures in the camp into a whole.
The forest shrouded in darkness looks absurd and terrifying because of the confusing behavior of these Bone Collector orcs.
Few know how the hobgoblins enslaved other intelligent races. Wiltok has a relatively deep understanding of this.
The memory of the great goblin Wowo shows that food distribution rights, the bugbear's intimidation, and the balancing game of power are all indispensable means for it to control its slaves.
In addition, Wowo will also hold gatherings from time to time.
Hobgoblin party activities include great singing? Awesome dance? Or, a passionate speech?
I'm afraid Disa half-elf will not admit that ugly goblins also know how to appreciate these things, but the principles are the same, just like the connection of souls.
The mind of living things is not limited by time and space. If it remains open, it will affect others and be affected by others. The mutual entanglement of souls constitutes an ocean of pan-consciousness. The power of a single mind is weak, but if the mind gathers into a group consciousness, its appeal and influence will be unimaginably enhanced.
Whether it is singing, dancing, or speaking, outsiders will inevitably have the impression that "the performers on the stage are crazy, and the audience below the stage are fools." Those who are immersed in the scene often have spiritual resonance due to the atmosphere of the scene, shouting excitedly, applauding and cheering, booing and cursing, and crying piously.
The truth is very simple. The amazing thing is that the hobgoblin's "performance" targets people of different races. They first channel the psychic power of ordinary goblins, and then distort the mental bodies of beasts or intelligent species.
The Disa half-elf would never admit that the hobgoblin's stomping of its feet and wiggling its buttocks was worthy of being called a "performance". Goblin King Wowo calls this the "Goblin Gathering." Vertok believes that the word "ritual" would be more accurate to describe the hobgoblin's bewildering behavior.
The ritual of the hobgoblin...the "secret ritual" unique to the goblin kingdom?
The night wind brought the smoke from the bonfire, and Wiltok could distinguish the smell of nectarine from it. It's a hallucinogenic herb.
There is no doubt that the hobgoblin leader of the Bone Collector gang is holding a secret ceremony!
So why do they hold secret rituals in the wild and ignore vital warnings?
Even the ferocious gnolls seemed to be in a trance during this secret ceremony. Wiltok was confident that he could sneak another 150 meters and, with his talent for wind movement, shoot two hobgoblin leaders with distorted faces and red eyes with bows and arrows.
The Bone Collector Orcs were defenseless at this time, and Wiltok's success rate in hunting down the Bone Collector leader greatly increased. But instead of rushing into action, he continued to observe in the canopy.
Over time, the skin of some clawed goblins darkens. Prior to this, at least 67 clawed goblins' earthy red skin color became lighter and had a tendency to turn green. Compared to others of their kind, they are like two different groups of goblins. It was the secret ritual performed by the hobgoblins that turned these clawed goblins back to earth-red skin.
Vertok probably understood how the clawed goblins came to be.
The goblin nobles of the orc kingdom have a special set of secret rituals that can transform ordinary green-skinned goblins into crazy, extremely aggressive clawed goblins. However, the Claw Goblin can return to normal. The hobgoblin leaders need to perform secret rituals to maintain their form.
Considering the number of orcs in this group, there were actually more than 200 clawed goblins. Vertok speculated that they actually came from two gangs of Bonecollectors, one of which might have had the hobgoblin leader dead. So another gang of hobgoblins recruited some clawed goblins. These clawed goblins are mentally and physically unstable, with a tendency to return to normal.
Therefore, the two hobgoblin leaders had to hold a secret ceremony tonight to prevent the clawed goblins from escaping their enslavement.
This may have something to do with Wiltok. His title of "Goblin Slayer" frightened the Claw Goblin twice. The ability of psychic touch directly acted on the Claw Goblin's mental body, causing a situation where he lost control.
Whether it is enslavement or charm, the influence of the hobgoblin's spiritual power on ordinary goblins is mutual. How could the hobgoblin try to appease the clawed goblin without paying a price?
The two hobgoblins had ferocious expressions, and their gnashing teeth were full of hatred and pain.
Vertok felt like they were going crazy.
The title "Goblin Slayer" first scares the Clawed Goblins and then arouses hatred. The leader of the hobgoblin performing a secret ritual on the clawed goblins is tantamount to an indirect fight with the master of the mind. It would be strange if they don't go crazy.
However, what shocked Wiltok even more was that in addition to the orcs, there were also two half-elf women.
Their clothes were ragged, their eyes were dull, and their bodies and faces were covered with mud. They crawled at the feet of the hobgoblin, doing the same actions as the other orcs. Wiltok still recognized the two half-elves from their facial features and body proportions as the archer Annie and the animal trainer Katie from the Whistle Adventure Group.
He didn't expect to see Anne and Katie again under such circumstances. They have obviously suffered a lot and are now enslaved by the leader of the Bone Collector.
It is common for hobgoblins to enslave beasts and orcs, but it is unprecedented to enslave half-elf professionals in civilized countries. At least Wiltok has not heard of it.
The primitive orc bone collectors are like fire and water to the Disa half-elves. Why don't they just eat Annie and Katie?
What happened to the other male members of the Whistle Adventure Group?
What is the purpose of this gang of bone collectors in enslaving female adventurers?
Regardless, it is extremely rare for hobgoblins to enslave half-elf female professionals. Wiltok himself couldn't explain why. He just wanted to collect more and more comprehensive information.
With strong curiosity, Vertok decided to give up his plan to kill the hobgoblin leader and observe the development of the situation secretly.
