He could see the situation inside the camp clearly, and at the same time, he smelled a faint wisp of smoke, a bit like the smell of burning straw.
After a while, Fang Zhen turned and hid completely behind a large tree.
Leaning his back against the tree, Fang Zhen closed his eyes slightly.
Just as Fang Zhen had deduced, behind the Dark Path and the goblin stronghold, there was a Goblin Camp.
This also confirmed the fact that merchants were indeed trading with the goblins.
Goblins couldn't possibly make tents on their own. Fang Zhen even suspected that tasks like setting up the tents and driving in the stakes were also done with the help of merchants.
Fang Zhen closed his eyes, reconstructing the environmental information he had just observed in his mind.
He had just observed eight goblins in the camp, and he had also spotted two sentries in the woods.
That made ten... He wasn't sure if there were more goblins inside the tents, but when sizing up an enemy, it was best to overestimate. He'd assume there were, and at least four of them.
With that in mind, there were at least fourteen goblins in the camp, and possibly more. Moreover, it was obvious the goblins here were better equipped; some were even wearing full sets of small leather armor.
Although there were only two goblins in leather armor, it was still clear that, compared to the ones he'd encountered before, these were elites.
Fang Zhen visualized the environment in his mind and did a simple analysis, then suddenly realized something.
"At least fourteen of them... I can't beat that many." Fang Zhen gave a bitter smile.
He had a relatively clear understanding of his own strength.
If he used goblins as a unit of measurement, his own combat power was roughly equivalent to seven to nine goblins. If he pushed himself, he might be able to take on ten.
But the enemy had at least fourteen. A simple calculation told him he wasn't strong enough.
However, he wasn't discouraged.
One of the goblins' weaknesses was their low intelligence. In other words, they were easy to trick.
He couldn't win in a direct confrontation, but he was defining the current situation as a war. And in war, any means were acceptable. It's not like he had to face them head-on.
'Heh, as one of the Xia Country People, I've read plenty of *The Art of War* and the Thirty-Six Stratagems. They're just goblins. Using strategy, victory might not be effortless, but it's practically guaranteed. I can't bring shame to our ancient sages.' Fang Zhen gave himself a mental pep talk, quickly adjusting his mood and starting to focus on the factors in his favor.
His mind began to race.
He reviewed the classic historical examples of the weak defeating the strong that he knew, and before long, an idea began to form.
All victories of the weak over the strong were, at their core, still victories of the strong over the weak. They were achieved by various means, creating local superiority from an overall position of weakness, and then dismantling the enemy step by step.
Although there were more than fourteen goblins here, there were still many opportunities to divide and conquer them.
These creatures had a natural vulnerability that could be exploited to split their forces, which was...
Fang Zhen was suddenly struck with a combat inspiration, and his eyes lit up.
'Since the goblins have set up camp here, they must have to satisfy their basic biological needs, right?'
They had tents for shelter. For food, they could hunt small animals in the forest, eat fruit, or trade for meat. All of that could be managed.
But there was another thing: if they had to eat, they also had to drink water, didn't they?
He had observed this "dungeon world" and hadn't noticed any game-like mechanics. Everything seemed to follow real-world logic.
This gave Fang Zhen the opening to make deductions based on real-world logic.
The goblins in the camp would always need to drink water. Just like humans, they could probably survive a few days without food, but a few days without water would be fatal.
Therefore, he could determine that there must be a water source near the camp.
Besides, since they were camped here, a whole camp of goblins couldn't possibly go drink one by one, lapping at the water source like wild animals.
No matter how low their intelligence, goblins still possessed some.
So, they would most likely go to the water source to fetch water. He didn't need to worry about containers; if someone sold them tents, selling them a container or two would be perfectly normal.
So, as expected, a camp of over a dozen goblins would consume a fair amount of drinking water each day. It was highly likely they had tribe members specifically assigned to fetch it.
Having sorted through his thoughts, Fang Zhen was confident in his judgment, and his mind became clear.
The goblins needed a water source, and they wouldn't all go to fetch water at once. At most, a few of them would go together.
That would be a natural opportunity to split their forces. He wouldn't have to waste any energy to make it happen. All he had to do was follow them. Facing just a few goblins, he would have the advantage in strength. If he eliminated them as quickly as possible with all his might, the initiative would be his.
He furrowed his brow slightly, and a battle plan surfaced in his mind.
First, scout for a nearby water source. Then, wait for the goblins from the camp to go fetch water. After that, ambush the water-fetching goblins.
The plan then branched into two possibilities.
If he killed the water-fetching goblins smoothly without using too much stamina, he would then create a disturbance to lure out another portion of the goblins from the camp.
Logically, since the goblins had a camp, some would have to stay behind to guard it. It was unlikely they would all rush out.
Fang Zhen could then pull off a variation on the tactic of besieging a point to ambush reinforcements, killing the little greenskins that came to help. At that point, the camp would have at most half its goblins left. From there, Fang Zhen could either pick them off one by one or launch a frontal assault, relying on his superior equipment and strength. Both options would work.
In the other scenario, if an unexpectedly large number of goblins came as reinforcements, he would take advantage of the chaos. Using his superior speed from his longer legs, he would bypass the goblin reinforcement squad and launch a surprise attack on the camp, raiding their base directly.
If successful, he could still reduce the number of goblins in the Goblin Nest by more than half.
After thinking it through, Fang Zhen felt the plan was complete and highly feasible. The details could be handled with improvisation, and the risks were not significant.
He had incorporated principles of attacking the unprepared, besieging a point to ambush reinforcements, and mobile warfare. Now it was just a matter of seeing if these goblins would fall for his strategy.
With the battle strategy set, Fang Zhen's heart settled.
Now, he just had to execute it.
He took a deep breath and gently lowered himself, half-sitting on the exposed roots of a large, thick tree to conserve his energy while observing the situation in the Goblin Camp.
Five minutes passed.
Ten minutes passed.
As fifteen minutes approached, Fang Zhen's stamina had fully recovered, but a slight uncertainty crept into his mind.
'If these goblins are the type of creature that's resistant to thirst, won't that delay the progress of my battle plan?'
Fang Zhen considered it for a moment before casting the thought aside.
Plan first, then act. Fang Zhen refused to doubt his own judgment and reasoning.
Just then, Fang Zhen suddenly heard a few strange cries from the Goblin Camp.
He immediately glanced over.
In the forested area, he saw four smaller, weaker-looking goblins being shoved out by several larger, stronger-looking ones. One of the brawny goblins even threw two wooden buckets out of a tent.
The goblins that were shoved out looked reluctant and let out muttered complaints, the kind that showed they were angry but didn't dare to speak up.
The strong goblin roared irritably and shoved the weaker goblins a couple more times.
The latter immediately fell silent. Looking completely unwilling, they picked up the wooden buckets, which were half as tall as they were, and began dragging them off in a certain direction into the woods.
Fang Zhen raised an eyebrow at this scene.
'Heh, the strong bullying the weak happens everywhere. You even see it in a Goblin Nest.'
Just as he had predicted. It seemed those weaker goblins had a low status and were being forced out to do the hard labor of fetching water.
Fang Zhen started to get a little excited.
The four goblins leaving the camp to fetch water looked quite weak, and he couldn't see any decent armor or weapons on them.
Fang Zhen estimated that it wouldn't even take him two minutes to deal with these goblins.
A smile touched the corners of his mouth, but it quickly vanished. He then picked up his long spear, stood up, and quieted his footsteps. Circling around through the woods, he began to tail the four water-fetching goblins from a distance.