Chapter 48: Isn't That Also Stealing?

Meng Yang, on his side, had already charged forward, but the other settlement forces did not possess such strength.

A horde of goblins poured out from the village, engaging in a fierce battle with the assembled humans. The fight instantly reached a fever pitch. When facing monsters, there was no need for probing; one simply fought with all their might.

"Be careful—some of the goblins are at the second tier!"

No sooner had the battle begun than a man was smashed to death by a goblin. With a tremendous force, a club made of black ironwood crashed down, and a human head burst apart. The physical capabilities and reflexes of a second-tier goblin were incomparable to those of the first tier.

In an instant, no one dared underestimate the goblins any longer; all prior contempt vanished. However, second-tier goblins remained few—the majority were first-tier. Otherwise, they might have been forced to consider retreating from this instance altogether.

The fierce battle raged on. The disparity between goblins and humans was clear: goblins did not cooperate. Yet the power of coordination was not merely additive; ten working together could defeat a hundred, and such feats were not impossible.

Just as the crowd thought victory was within grasp, a mass of stone-throwing goblins appeared from the rear. If not dealt with swiftly, they would soon face a barrage of deadly projectiles.

"Push forward! Break through the defenses at the gate. If we want what's inside, we can't even get stuck at the entrance!"

Li Yun, chief of the White Cloud Settlement, shouted from the front, signaling the other leaders to charge and break through the gate's defenses together.

"Right! Everyone, get ready! Don't let those stone-throwing goblins attack!"

Everyone realized the peril: if the stone-throwers entered the fray unscathed, the crisis would escalate dramatically. They had to break through the goblin defenses before that happened.

In that instant, all thoughts aligned. The strongest took the lead, the weaker followed behind. Each party instantly formed into a spearhead formation—the best way to breach a defensive line.

The formidable ones pierced through the defenses, with the rest following close to disrupt the goblin ranks from within. The tactic was highly effective. In no time, the goblins fell into chaos, and the settlement folk began slaughtering them with wild abandon.

Lu Sheng mingled among them, casually slicing any monster that approached in half—his formidable strength on full display.

Shi Jiu and the others did not question Lu Sheng's strength; they all knew his life card granted him tenfold power when possessed.

Soon, they had fought their way inside, each with a clear objective: to eliminate the stone-throwing goblins first.

This large goblin village held at least three thousand goblins. If Meng Yang hadn't led the charge, drawing not just the majority but also much of the higher-tier goblin force away, they might not even have made it through the gate.

Now, with the five settlements united, dealing with the goblins blocking the entrance was only a matter of time.

The battle raged on. Even after breaking through the defenses and sowing chaos among the goblins, there were still unfortunate souls crushed to death by the creatures. The corpses of monsters and humans mingled, the ground awash in green and crimson blood intermingled.

Only one area stood as a forbidden zone for goblins—wherever Shi Jiu’s squad moved, every goblin was slaughtered, and none could harm a soul. With Lu Sheng present, and every member of the team having reached the pinnacle of first-tier strength, dealing with these goblins was mere child's play.

Lu Sheng deliberately controlled his power, using these goblins to hone his combat experience. Battle, after all, was the quickest way to learn. Even without formal training, repeated fighting would cultivate the finest skills. The techniques gleaned from real combat were priceless—far more precious than anything a system could teach. Knowing and doing were two very different things.

After ten minutes, the mass of goblins blocking the entrance were finally cleared away.

Now came the time to enter the goblin village and gather supplies.

Li Kuang issued orders at once: "Split up into squads! Search the goblin huts quickly! And be on guard for any goblins hiding inside!"

Each team sprang into action. Wooden doors were kicked open, the interiors ransacked, every possible hiding place disassembled. The sounds of objects crashing echoed everywhere—a scene no different from bandits raiding a village.

Anything useful was gathered; useless items tossed aside. Once a hut was searched, they moved on to the next.

After kicking down yet another door, Lu Sheng finally understood why they didn’t bother opening them gently—just in case a goblin was lurking behind. One kick would send the door flying, and any goblin behind would be in for a nasty surprise. At worst, it meant instant death; at best, a concussion—or what could be called a stunned state.

“Captain! Something’s up here!” Mu Kui called out to Shi Jiu, who quickly brought the team over.

“What is it?”

“Look, over there. That spot guarded by more than a dozen goblins—doesn’t it look like there’s a blue-green box behind them?”

Shi Jiu’s eyes lit up. Wherever something seemed off, there was bound to be a treasure. “Move in—eliminate those goblins!”

At the same time, Zhuang Feng of the Demon Wolf Settlement also led a team to this spot.

“Captain, it’s that same team from last time. There must be something good inside—should we take it?”

Memories of being overpowered by Lu Sheng last time flashed through Zhuang Feng’s mind, and he shook his head at once. “Take it? Are you crazy? Why are you always thinking of stealing from others? Don’t you see over there? There’s good stuff there too—we’ll go after that.”

“But the White Cloud Settlement people are already attacking over there. If we go, isn’t that stealing too…”

“Steal, my ass! Once the loot’s in their hands, does it have their name written on it?”

“But isn’t it the same case right here…”

Zhuang Feng smacked his subordinate. “Why do you have so many questions?”

He cast a cold look at the man, thinking he might need to get rid of him sooner or later, before he caused some real trouble. The subordinate, aggrieved, wondered—how was this any different? What did he do to annoy the captain now…

Shi Jiu and his team were locked in a fierce fight with the goblins guarding the door and quickly realized something was wrong. Among them was a second-tier goblin, noticeably stronger, faster, and tougher than the rest.

Fortunately, their squad had no weaklings. Even the relatively weaker Lu Sheng and Wei Liang, thanks to their life cards, were not to be underestimated. In Shi Jiu’s mind, Lu Sheng’s strength surely couldn’t surpass his own—at most, even with tenfold power, they were equals. He was uneasy, yet his pride as captain would not allow him to admit any of his team surpassed him.

He glanced at Lu Sheng, just in time to see him cleave a goblin in two from head to tail in a single stroke. Monstrous!

Sensing the gaze, Lu Sheng turned and flashed a row of pearly teeth in a wide grin. Good heavens, as terrifying as one could imagine.

The second-tier goblin soon fell under their combined assault, and now it was time for the spoils.

Everyone gazed expectantly at the blue-green wooden box within.

Just as they were about to open it, an arrogant voice rang out: “Don’t touch that. I’m taking this—now get lost!”