My monster cards can evolve infinitely.

The nest was larger than he had expected.

There are at least fifteen caves on both sides of the rock wall, and simple huts and campfires are built on the open ground at the bottom of the valley.

The number of goblins was as expected—roughly estimated at over thirty. They were gathered in small groups, some sharpening weapons, some butchering prey, and others roaring and fighting aimlessly.

Beside the largest campfire in the center of the valley, Xiuqi finally spotted his target—three earth spirits.

These goblin cousins ​​are much larger and stronger, standing nearly six feet (1.83 meters) tall with bulging muscles.

They wore simple leather armor and held weapons forged from fine steel—a battle axe, a longsword, and a mace.

Unlike the lazy goblins around him, the goblin was more alert, his eyes scanning his surroundings from time to time, showing a higher level of discipline.

"Three goblins and about thirty goblins." Xiu Qi put down his binoculars, his tone grave. "If we fight head-on, we'll probably get hurt."

Link also saw the situation. Although the enemy outnumbered them by a large margin, his eyes remained resolute: "There are too many of them. Even if we win, we will pay a price."

"So we have to break them up and take them down one by one." Xiuqi raised his binoculars again and carefully observed the terrain of the canyon and the goblins' movement patterns.

He noticed several key points:

First, the goblin sentries change shifts every two hours, and there is a brief period of chaos during the shift change.

Secondly, the goblin rarely leaves the central campfire area, spending most of his time there supervising the goblins' work.

Third, there is a stone forest on the west side of the canyon, with complex terrain, making it an ideal ambush location.

"Let's wait a while longer," Xiuqi concluded. "They're most relaxed when they're feeding, which will make it easier for us to launch a surprise attack."

Link nodded in agreement: "We can use bait to lure some of the goblins to the stone forest, deal with them first, and then take care of the rest."

"How exactly do we do it?"

Link took out the specially made bait from his bag: "I've calculated the wind direction. The wind usually blows from the west in the canyon. If we place the bait upwind of the stone forest, the scent will be blown into the canyon. Given the goblins' greed, we can lure at least half of them out."

"Where are the goblins?"

"The goblins are smart enough they probably won't come out themselves," Link thought for a moment. "But they'll send their goblin minions to investigate. As long as enough goblins come out, we can eliminate them in batches."

Xiuqi quickly mentally went through every step of the plan. The risk was high, but the reward was also great. If they could successfully eliminate half of the goblins, the rest would be no threat.

Even if the goblins themselves were to go, they would be unable to utilize their numerical advantage in the complex terrain of the stone forest.

"Ado, you're in charge of initiating the charge!" Xiuqi said, looking at the cannibal.

Ado seemed to understand the question. It nodded vigorously and patted its chest armor with its huge hand, producing a dull metallic clang.

"Alright." Xiuqi made the decision. "We'll ambush them in the stone forest. Link, you're in charge of setting up the bait and providing long-range support. Ado, you're the main force, drawing the most fire. I'll handle the flanking cleanup."

"Where's the princess?" Link asked curiously. He had heard that Xiuqi had a peculiar goblin companion, but he had never seen it.

Xiuqi took out a purple card from his pocket and infused it with magic.

A flash of silver light, and "Princess Alice" appeared on the rock.

Compared to before, the princess has indeed changed significantly. Her height has increased from about 1 meter to about 1.1 meters, and her physique is more muscular, with clearly defined muscle lines under her silver-gray skin.

On the surface of the menacing hammer in its hand, the dark red flames became even more active, as if they were alive, moving among the spikes.

What is most striking is its eyes—its originally clear, large eyes now have a hint of intelligence in them.

"The princess is in charge of surprise attacks from behind," Xiuqi said. "Her talent is suited to assassinating lone enemies."

"Start preparing now." Hugh glanced at the sky. "Launching the attack at dusk. Link, go and place the bait, and keep hidden. Ado, check the armor and weapons."

"Princess, come with me. We need to scout out the specific terrain of the stone forest."

The four split up and acted separately.

Like a nimble lynx, Link slid silently down the rocks and crept towards the western stone forest.

He needed to find the best spot upwind, so that the scent could drift into the canyon while ensuring he wouldn't be detected.

Ado began to carefully inspect the equipment.

Its massive hand ran over every joint of the cloak and chainmail, confirming the straps were secure; inspecting the mace's handle and barbs; testing the shield's grip.

The ogre's movements were clumsy, but unusually earnest.

Xiuqi then led the princess into the Stone Forest.

This stone forest truly lives up to its name, filled with strangely shaped rocks, some towering like spires, others as intricate as a maze. Sparse shrubs grow among the rocks, and the ground is covered with pebbles and moss.

"The perfect ambush site," Xiuqi said in a low voice.

He quickly selected several key positions: a high vantage point with a wide field of view, suitable for Link to fire from a distance;

A narrow passage, where Ado could block the way and hold off the enemy single-handedly;

Several rock crevices are suitable for a princess to launch a surprise attack; there are also several hiding spots that can serve as her mobility positions.

The princess followed Xiuqi, her silver-gray eyes scanning their surroundings warily.

It occasionally taps the rocks lightly with a hammer to test the echo, seemingly assessing which locations are suitable for activating its talent.

Two hours later, everyone returned to the original rock platform to reunite.

Link, his face flushed with excitement after completing the task, said, "The bait is in place, between three giant rocks upwind of the stone forest. I calculated that the westerly winds at dusk will carry the scent into the canyon."

"Very good." Xiuqi looked towards the canyon.

As the sun began to set, the clouds on the horizon were dyed golden red. Goblins in the canyon began to gather around the campfire, their piercing howls echoing between the rock walls.

The goblin's roar occasionally rang out, as if urging his minions to prepare food.

"They're going to eat," Link whispered.

Xiuqi nodded and took out two bottles of potions from his spatial ring—a healing potion and an antidote—giving one to Link.

"Remember, safety first. If things go wrong, evacuate immediately."

"clear."

"Now, everyone to your positions."

The four of them silently slid down the rocks and moved towards the stone forest.

Link climbed to the pre-selected high point—a flat, protruding rock, secluded but with an excellent view. He took the longbow from his back, checked the bowstring, and placed the quiver within easy reach.

Hodor hid at the entrance of the narrow passage, its massive body completely shrouded in the shadows of the rocks. It gripped its mace tightly in both hands, its shield held upright at its sides, and its golden eyes gleamed with a beastly light in the dim light.

The princess disappeared into the shadows of the stone forest, her silver-gray figure almost blending into the rocks. Only the occasional faint red glow from the hammerhead betrayed its location.

Xiuqi chose a secluded spot near the passage. He drew "Bavarian Moonlight," its cool glow standing out starkly in the twilight. His left hand silently formed a hand seal, preparing a spell.

"【Blade Protection】".

A cold, metallic sheen covered the entire body, bringing a subtle sense of tension.

"【Shuqi's Elementary Deflection Field】."

A pale blue force field spread out around him, and the fine spiral patterns on the surface of the force field were faintly visible in the twilight.

After this period of practice and improvement, this spell has transcended the realm of ordinary magic tricks, and its defensive power has increased by at least 50%.

Everything is ready.

Time passed in tense anticipation.

The sun completely sank below the horizon, and the last rays of light disappeared into the sky.

As night fell, the gray forest was shrouded in deep darkness, with only the campfire flickering in the distance from the direction of the canyon.

The wind picked up.

Just as Link had predicted, at dusk, the westerly wind began to blow. The wind howled through the crevices of the stone forest, carrying the rich aroma of the specially prepared bait toward the canyon.

At first, the goblins in the canyon seemed unaware.

But a few minutes later, through his binoculars, Xiuqi saw several goblins near the canyon entrance begin to stir restlessly. They stretched their necks, flared their nostrils, and peered into the wind.

A goblin let out an excited scream and pointed towards the stone forest.

Soon, more goblins were alerted. They dropped their food and rushed towards the canyon entrance. The aroma of meat was fatally attractive to these greedy creatures.

The goblin roared in an attempt to maintain order. But even the goblin's commands were powerless against dozens of goblins that had gone berserk.

Finally, a goblin wielding a battle axe roared as he made his decision.

It brandished its battle axe and led about sixteen goblins out of the canyon, rushing towards the stone forest.

"Success!" Link clenched his fist at the high vantage point.

Xiuqi also saw the situation. Sixteen goblins and one goblin were just the right number they could easily handle.

More importantly, the other two goblins and the remaining goblins remained in the canyon and did not come out together.

"Proceed according to plan." Xiuqi relayed the instructions to Ado and the princess through the contract connection. "Wait until they are fully within the ambush zone."

Led by the Goblin Axe Goblin, the goblin horde charged into the stone forest like a pack of ravenous beasts. Completely captivated by the aroma of meat, they paid no heed to their surroundings.

As the last goblin stepped into the narrow passage, Xiuqi gave the attack signal.

"Now!"

Ado suddenly appeared from the shadows.

The ten-foot-tall ogre resembled a giant rising from the earth, its robes and chainmail gleaming with a cold, hard luster in the dim light.

It let out a deafening roar, its enormous body completely blocking the exit of the narrow passage.

The goblins were stunned by this sudden turn of events.

Before they could react, Ado had already launched an attack.

The spiked club swept across, crushing the nearest swarm of goblins.

boom! boom! boom!

A goblin was hit directly, its fragile body torn apart like rags by the barbs of the spiked club.

Blood and entrails splattered, and screams echoed through the stone forest.

The axe-wielding goblin finally reacted, letting out an angry roar and charging at Hodor with its axe.

The axe blade struck Ador's cloak and chainmail, producing a crisp metallic clang. But only a white mark remained on the armor's surface; Ador didn't even take a step back.

With level 4 Blade Protection, level 2 Hardened Skin, and level 6 Cloak of Chainmail Protection, the triple protection makes Hodor a true mobile fortress.

The goblins' daggers and bone clubs were ineffective against them, and even the goblin's battleaxe could only leave shallow marks.

And every counterattack by Ador was fatal.

Each swing of the spiked club takes the life of at least one goblin. A shield slam can send goblins flying several meters, the sound of bones shattering clearly audible upon impact.

Even a stomp of its massive feet can turn a goblin that can't dodge into a bloody pulp.

The three goblins died at Hodor's hands in the blink of an eye.