SWDnovel Chapter 37 Exploring the Depths of the Forest
Chapter 37 Exploring the Depths of the Forest
Jiang Ming's left arm passed through the leather strap inside the newly synthesized [Ghost Face Round Shield], and his five fingers gripped the handle tightly.
As his arm muscles tensed, the hideous gray-white ghost face on the shield seemed to come alive, its empty eye sockets radiating a chilling aura.
The sharp bone spikes around the edge of the shield sliced through the air with a soft whistling sound.
"This thing..." Wang Yang leaned closer, reaching out to touch it before pulling back, his Adam's apple bobbing. "It looks even weirder than my flaming axe."
"Defense +8, plus damage reflection and fear effects." Jiang Ming briefly reported the attributes, casually swinging the shield and feeling its heavy weight.
Although it was much heavier than the previous iron shield, with his 10 points of strength under control, this weight was negligible.
Li Bin pushed up his glasses, staring at the shield, a glint of fanatical calculation flashing in his eyes behind the lenses.
"Defense +8... If we don't count the crushing damage from those large monsters, a regular goblin's blade hitting you is probably like a tickle."
Stop being so envious.
Jiang Ming put away his stance and turned to look at the boy who was slumped down next to the tree root.
That was Zhong Chengyu's roommate. He had almost been strangled to death by the silk of the Ghost-faced Spider. There was still a ring of purplish-blue bruises on his neck, and he was coughing violently while clutching his throat.
"Can you still walk?" Jiang Ming walked over and looked down at him.
The boy shuddered in fright and quickly grabbed the tree trunk to stand up. Although his legs were still shaking, he kept saying, "I...I can walk! Brother Jiang, I'm fine!"
In this unfamiliar forest, falling behind means trouble.
Jiang Ming's decisive and ruthless demeanor just now has been etched into everyone's minds, and no one dares to be a burden at this moment.
So no matter how difficult it is, he has to grit his teeth and persevere.
"Then let's get moving." Jiang Ming didn't waste any more words, turned around and looked into the depths of the dense forest. "The smell of blood is too strong. If we don't want to attract other carnivores, we have to leave quickly."
The team set off again.
This time, the six-person formation was more compact.
Jiang Ming, wielding the Ghost Face Shield, stood at the forefront, while Wang Yang and Li Bin, possessing the Blazing Battle Axe and wielding the Poisonous Piercer, provided support from the center. Zhong Chengyu and the other two held up simple iron shields to protect the rear flanks, with one of them pushing an electric vehicle carrying supplies.
After passing through this terrifying woodland, the surrounding vegetation began to return to normal.
Li Bin's [Herbal Proficiency] skill played a huge role at this time.
"Stop." Li Bin suddenly called out to everyone, using a golf club to push aside a clump of bushes and pointing to a cluster of plants that looked like ginger. "This root-like plant has a hemostatic effect. Chewing it and spitting it onto the wound can speed up healing."
Then he discovered a patch of brown fungus on a rotten, fallen log.
"These are 'full-boosting mushrooms,' they're not poisonous, and they taste like frog meat. You can wash them or grill them and eat them directly. There's enough for us to eat our fill today."
Upon hearing that it was edible, Zhong Chengyu and the others' eyes lit up and they quickly stepped forward to pick it.
Since they traveled through time yesterday, apart from that mutton meal, they haven't eaten anything substantial, and their stomachs have been rumbling for a long time.
As Jiang Ming watched them pick mushrooms, his ears twitched. His heightened senses allowed him to detect a hint of moisture in the air and the sound of flowing water in the distance. "Did you hear that?"
"The sound of water?" Wang Yang looked up in surprise.
"Come on, let's go wash off this stench."
Jiang Ming led the way in the direction from which the sound of water came.
After passing through several clumps of dense ferns, the view suddenly opened up.
A small river, about three meters wide, meanders through the woods. Its water is crystal clear and shimmers in the sunlight.
The riverbank was covered with pebbles, and several unidentified water birds took flight in fright.
Upon seeing the water source, everyone who had been on edge breathed a sigh of relief.
The blood, sweat, and stench of the goblins on their bodies made everyone feel so uncomfortable that they wanted to peel off their skin and wash themselves.
"Leave two people to keep watch, the rest of you take turns washing." Jiang Ming wasn't blinded by comfort and quickly assigned tasks, "Old Wang, you take Zhong Chengyu to keep watch first, Old Li and I will wash first."
Although Wang Yang also wanted to jump into the water immediately, he obediently stood on the high ground of the riverbank with his axe.
Jiang Ming walked to the riverbank and scooped up a handful of cool river water, splashing it on his face.
The cool touch instantly took away the heat and fatigue.
He was about to take off the coat stained with green blood when he suddenly stopped.
The bushes on the opposite bank of the river were swaying.
It wasn't blown by the wind.
"Something's up." Jiang Ming said in a low voice, his hand that was originally reaching for his collar instinctively grabbing the black iron longsword beside him.
Li Bin reacted extremely quickly, instantly grabbing the [Poisonous Piercer] and retreating behind Jiang Ming.
"Wah la wah la!"
Accompanied by a piercing scream, seven or eight dark green goblins sprang out from the grass on the opposite bank.
Armed with rusty scimitars and sharpened wooden spears, they saw the humans on the riverbank as if they were seeing a mobile buffet, excitedly brandishing their weapons and charging straight into the river.
"That's all?" Wang Yang stood on high ground, looking at the few short creatures floundering in the knee-deep river water, a sinister smile spreading across his face. "They've come to give me experience points!"
"Don't let your guard down, everyone stay alert!"
Jiang Ming slammed his left foot on the cobblestones, and instead of retreating, he charged forward towards the group of goblins.
The goblin at the front had just climbed onto the riverbank and hadn't even had time to raise its scimitar when it saw a shield with a hideous ghost face printed on it rapidly enlarging in its field of vision.
[Fearful Gaze] Triggered!
The goblin's movements visibly froze, the greed in its eyes instantly turning into terror, and its original slashing motion turned into an instinctive clutching of its head.
"Bang!"
Jiang Ming's shield bash landed squarely on its face.
With a cracking sound of bones breaking and a scream, the goblin flew backward like a rag doll, knocking down its two companions who had just come ashore.
"die!"
Jiang Ming's right hand wielded his longsword like a venomous snake, taking advantage of the enemy's disarray to instantly pierce the throat of another goblin.
At the same time, a wave of heat swept in from the side.
"Take this from your grandpa!"
Wang Yang was like a runaway tank, his [Blazing Battle Axe] sweeping across the battlefield with a whistling sound.
The dark red axe blade sliced through the air, leaving a visible trail of heat.
A goblin attempting a sneak attack raised its wooden shield to block.
"Snap!"
The wooden shield, along with half of its body, was cleaved open by the axe. The wound was charred black, and the high temperature sealed the blood vessels before any blood could flow out.
The battle ended faster than expected.
In less than three minutes, eight goblin corpses appeared on the riverbank.