C39 The Action of Luring the Enemy

"We'll begin our assault at the Goblin mines," Qiang Nantie said, scrutinizing the terrain before devising an excellent strategy. "Let's move stealthily, making sure the Goblins don't detect us."

They advanced cautiously toward the mountain base where the Goblins resided, undetected, and successfully reached the foothills.

"Once inside, swiftly eliminate them all; not a single Goblin should escape. Le Dunwei and Le Kuihao, you're on gate duty. Any issues?" Qiang Nantie commanded.

"No problem!" came the unified response.

With their roles clear, Qiang Nantie nodded in approval, signaling everyone to arm themselves and commence the operation.

Huamo was lightning-fast, leaving only a stunning silhouette as she blitzed into the fray against the Goblins. Their screams filled the air.

Qiang Nantie's troops, each endowed with formidable attributes and unique skills, were overwhelming for the Goblins, who were quickly reduced to wails of defeat.

Caught off guard by the ambush, the Goblins hadn't anticipated an enemy strike.

The spacious stone cavern was surrounded by numerous tunnels, with torches ablaze in several spots, casting away any darkness.

Qiang Nantie lay in wait outside a mine entrance. At the first sound, Goblins peeked out only to be swiftly decapitated by his blade.

The next Goblin stumbled over its fallen ally and before it could recover, met the same fate at Qiang Nantie's hand.

He patrolled the nearby tunnels, dispatching emerging Goblins one after another—it was like a real-life game of whack-a-mole in their Territory.

Noticing a flood of notifications, Qiang Nantie knew this operation had netted him a substantial amount of Soul Coins.

After half an hour, they had meticulously inspected each mine, ensuring no Goblin was left.

"Lord, the Goblins that left earlier are returning with carts," Le Kuihao reported to Qiang Nantie.

"Clear the Goblins from the entrance; we'll ambush them here," Qiang Nantie ordered decisively.

Their strength was unmatched, and they quickly cleared the area of Goblin bodies. After all, in a mine, there was never a shortage of stones.

After ducking behind the rocks, they concealed themselves.

Soon, a group of Goblins strolled in, pushing rudimentary wheelbarrows into the mine.

"Brothers, time to haul the ore," the Goblins called out.

But they were stunned by what they saw.

Without a moment's hesitation, Qiang Nantie, concealed behind the rocks, brandished his weapon and mercilessly slaughtered them.

"Leave one alive to escape," Qiang Nantie commanded.

Though puzzled, the group allowed one Goblin to flee the cave.

Wounded grievously, the Goblin emerged outside the cave, crying for help.

Before it could get far, Tung Xinghan hurled a short spear, ending the Goblin's life.

Confusion spread among them.

Hadn't Qiang Nantie intended to let it go? Why then did he kill it?

"Drag that Goblin back, toss the other corpses aside, and wait for the rest of the Goblins to attack," Qiang Nantie instructed once more.

Huamo and Bi Yu now grasped his strategy; it was a classic bait-and-trap.

Indeed, the Goblin warriors training on the mountain, hearing their comrade's plea at the base, were momentarily baffled.

Peering down, they saw nothing.

"What's going on? I thought I heard something."

"What kind of noise? Was it the gasping of a green flower?"

"Move over, I'm going to check it out."

"Me too, I'll have a look."

Initially suspecting a monster attack, the Goblin warriors saw no such threat and proceeded into the mine.

About to call out, they sensed something amiss—the air was thick with the scent of blood.

Before they could react, Qiang Nantie and his allies emerged, launching another devastating assault.

"Let one escape."

Now, the plan was clear to all.

They released another severely injured Goblin.

Like the previous one, this Goblin also let out a loud cry as it left the cave: "No!"

Its eyes wide with terror, the Goblin perished.

Its body vanished from sight, but this time the commotion was significant. The rest of the Goblins had rallied and were advancing toward the mine.

"We need to move quickly this time. Once we've eliminated all the Goblins, we'll exit the mine immediately," Qiang Nantie commanded.

His team was perplexed by his orders. They believed their previous strategy of luring the Goblins in for an ambush was superior. Nonetheless, they complied.

This time, they didn't bother tossing the Goblin bodies aside; they simply left them strewn on the ground, a grim wait for the unsuspecting Goblins outside.

As the external Goblins stumbled upon their fallen comrades, they reflexively approached the bodies, oblivious to Qiang Nantie and his hidden allies.

"Take them down!"

Thanks to Qiang Nantie's astute leadership, they executed one successful raid after another.

A significant gain was the collection of numerous bows and arrows.

"Wow, where did these Goblins get all these bows and arrows? And all Black Iron, no less!"

Qiang Nantie was taken aback, eager to uncover the secrets the mountain held.

This raid resulted in the demise of dozens of Goblins, including those on patrol.

Subsequently, Qiang Nantie led his men in a swift withdrawal from the mine, heading straight for the mountain.

He stationed his forces at the cave's mouth. Shortly after, several Goblins emerged, only to be stunned and dragged to the edge of a cliff, then discarded down the slope.

The grim reaping of enemy lives commenced.

The Goblins were clueless that their territory had been entirely overrun.

It seemed the earlier Goblins had failed to inform their leader of the dire situation, earning a begrudging respect from Qiang Nantie.

After all, these were mere Goblins, their intellect a poor match for human cunning.

At the mountain's base, a macabre hill of Goblin corpses amassed, numbering well over a hundred.

It was nothing short of a slaughter.

But fortune is fickle. Soon after, a band of Goblins burst from the same cave, sparking a fierce skirmish.

The fight was over in mere seconds.

Yet the clash had roused the attention of many Goblins still inside.

"Follow me, let's storm in!"

Qiang Nantie had initially considered employing more strategic tactics, like a fire assault.

However, he felt that using his intelligence to outwit these Goblins was simply unnecessary.

His main concern was the potential for other treasures inside that could be damaged by fire, resulting in a loss that wasn't worth the risk.

After all, he prided himself on being a "model citizen"—arson and violence were not on his agenda.

Men, he believed, were meant to battle!

Huamo blazed the trail at the forefront, her formidable lethality reminiscent of a goddess of war.

Her strikes were swift as lightning; monsters often didn't even get the chance to launch an attack before Huamo preemptively struck them down.

Her talent was overwhelming, far beyond the capacity of any ordinary monster to resist.