The number of wild beasts active at night during this period seems to be quite high.
As long as they didn't provoke him, Nolan couldn't be bothered to care.
Having gained a lot of experience, he was in a pretty good mood today.
Additionally, there should be a Goblin settlement in this area.
Nolan planned to search thoroughly tomorrow.
He didn't know why.
Nolan always felt in his heart that he had overlooked something, but a careful thought revealed that he seemed to have overlooked nothing.
The only thing that concerned him was being ambushed by Ogres a while ago, but since he escaped that group of Ogres, similar situations hadn't occurred again.
The night wind blew.
The cool breeze made the lush green and numerous leaves in the jungle sway slightly.
Nolan's nose twitched, and along with the breeze came a faintly familiar scent.
At first, Nolan didn't pay much attention, but just as he was about to continue sleeping, he suddenly opened his eyes.
This smell—
Goblins!
That's right, it was the smell of Goblins, that putrid smell like stinky socks that hadn't been washed in decades.
Nolan's initially somewhat dazed eyes suddenly cleared.
He had always felt as if he had overlooked something, and it was only now, smelling this scent in the air, that he suddenly realized it.
It was this smell emanating from Goblins!
During his half-month of 'friendly exchanges' with Goblins, Nolan had long grown accustomed to the smell, so he had subconsciously ignored it all this time!
And for the past few days, in the places he camped, this smell had faintly drifted over every night!
In the dark of night.
Nolan didn't know what his expression looked like at that moment, but it surely wasn't good.
What had frequently passed under his tree during this time wasn't some wild beast at all, but Goblins!
Although the Goblin race possessed night vision, they actually had a nocturnal schedule, like humans, active during the day and resting at night.
Unless necessary, even Goblins wouldn't hunt at night in an environment like the jungle.
He had been targeted!
Damn it!
To only realize it now.
Nolan couldn't help but curse under his breath, and the vague sense of unease he had felt all this time became completely clear at this moment.
After leveling "Sword Saint" to max, perhaps because there were no monsters in the outer areas that posed any threat to Nolan.
Even Ogres, unless they reached a certain number, couldn't pose any danger to Nolan.
This made Nolan lose his initial caution, and he hadn't even discovered the Goblins secretly watching him throughout the entire process.
No!
Under his black cloak, Nolan's eyes flashed.
With the intelligence of ordinary Goblins, they couldn't possibly do such detailed tailing.
"Could I be so unlucky as to actually encounter some mutated Goblin?" This thought popped into Nolan's mind, and he couldn't help but lick the corner of his mouth.
Even if he let his guard down again,
He wouldn't fail to notice an ordinary Goblin secretly following him.
Skirmisher? Forest Priest? Druid? Rogue? Hunter?
These professions are all skilled at tracking, especially in complex environments like forests; without detection magic, they would be even harder to easily detect.
Nolan calmed down again; the Goblin that had targeted him very likely possessed such a profession.
So what was its purpose?
Nolan frowned.
That Goblin wasn't merely following him; it was also confirming his location every night, which clearly indicated a certain purpose.
The reason he was quite certain the other party was a mutated Goblin individual, rather than an Ogre, was natural.
That's because Ogres are too large; their movements create considerable noise, making them entirely unsuitable for tracking.
"Is it a trap?"
Nolan recalled the events of the past few days, and a faint guess had already formed in his mind.
The number of Goblins he had encountered during this time was pitifully small; it was only today that the number of Goblins suddenly increased.
If he hadn't suddenly discovered the suspected mutated Goblin individual hidden in the dark, he would have truly suspected his luck had turned bad. Now, thinking about it, it was clearly the other party's doing!
Having figured this out.
Nolan continued to feign unawareness, leaning against the big tree and sleeping as usual.
Now that he had discovered the other party, the roles of "hunter" and "prey" between them were about to change!
The moonlight and stars gradually faded.
The chirping of birds in the morning, accompanied by sunlight filtering through the gaps in the leaves, echoed through the jungle.
Nolan stretched, jumped down from the tree, looking full of energy.
Not only did he not sleep restlessly last night, but his sleep actually improved a lot.
Since that suspected mutated Goblin individual hadn't made a move against him, it meant that the other party's strength was far inferior to his; otherwise, it wouldn't have merely been tracking and monitoring until now.
Nolan continued as usual, taking out rye bread with cooked pork, eating heartily while carrying his iron sword and moving forward.
At the same time, he observed the surroundings with the corner of his eye, and as expected, he found nothing.
Seeing this.
Nolan at least confirmed one thing: the other party's position was definitely not too close to him.
This also made Nolan abandon the idea of immediately finding the other party; if the other party truly possessed any of the professions he had previously guessed, it would be quite difficult to ferret them out in the jungle.
"Then let me see the trap you've set specifically for me; it'll be a good chance to flush you out," Nolan thought to himself, his eyes flashing.
About ten minutes after he left the spot.
A figure with green pointed ears, resembling a Goblin but twice the size of a normal Goblin, appeared where Nolan had just stood.
Not only was there a difference in size, but his eyes were also distinctly different.
Goblins' eyes are narrow and elongated, like those of a beast, while this figure's eyes were roughly the same size as human eye sockets, with a large area of pure white and only a tiny black pupil in the center.
His gaze conveyed caution and wariness.
The figure used his slightly flattened green nose to sniff the air, his gaze fixed on the crushed leaves and broken twigs ahead.
Those were the traces left by Nolan's passage.
After a brief pause.
The figure again followed the traces.
What felt incredible was that wherever the figure passed, the grass, bushes, and even dense, interlocking branches blocking the way automatically parted to create a path for him.
And throughout the entire process, not a single sound was made!
Unconsciously.
Time had already reached noon.
Nolan took out his waterskin and took a few sips, his eyes slightly narrowed as the vertical shafts of sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves.
He didn't just have one waterskin; among his supplies, he had purchased over 60 waterskins, each with a capacity of about 5 kilograms.
That's an average of two per day, enough for a whole month's use!
If it was just for drinking water, there was absolutely no need to worry about water supply.