God Agent: All Hail The Great Kobold

Thud!

Kong’gong stopped in front of what remained of Grash, and the expression on his face slowly changed. The confidence that had remained throughout the battle disappeared, replaced by a quiet sadness as he looked down at the fallen goblin.

Grash was barely recognizable. Large sections of his body had been torn apart by the Earth Spears, wounds covered his legs and torso, and a gaping hole had destroyed his left eye. Blood covered nearly every inch of him, while damaged organs were visible through several of the larger openings across his body. His battle axe lay several feet away, its once brilliant azure glow completely extinguished.

Grash lay in the middle of his own blood, his chest rising and falling with tremendous effort. Every breath sounded painful, shallow and uneven, yet his eyes remained open. He stared at Kong’gong without hatred. There was no anger toward the kobold, no resentment and no regret for the decision that had brought him here. There was only acceptance.

Slowly, Grash’s cracked lips moved. "I... I lost."

Kong’gong looked down at him for several seconds before letting out a quiet breath. A bitter smile appeared on his face. If he were younger, he might have hated Grash. He might have looked at this dying goblin and felt nothing but satisfaction after losing someone so precious to the colony. But Kong’gong had lived for half a century. He had watched countless creatures live, fight and die within the Evergreen Forest. He had learned that death was simply another part of life in the jungle.

Grash had fought for his people.

Tud’or had fought for his.

Neither had needed permission to value the lives of their own above the lives of their enemies.

"You lost because you were impatient," Kong’gong admitted with a bitter smile. "If you had waited us out, my Vaal’kor clan would never have defeated your army on the open field."

Grash’s lips twitched and a faint chuckle escaped him.

The laugh immediately turned into a violent coughing fit that shook his entire body. Blood spilled from his mouth as he struggled to breathe, and Kong’gong waited patiently until the coughing finally subsided. Grash swallowed painfully and slowly shook his head.

"If I... if I waited too long..." he began, pausing to draw another strained breath. "Your people would have dug another tunnel around the hill and escaped."

His eyes slowly shifted toward the darkness behind Kong’gong.

"That boy that can use the power of words..." His voice weakened, but there was still conviction in it. "Capturing him would have benefited my people greatly. I could not let that opportunity slip."

Kong’gong’s expression tightened.

Now he understood.

Ka’z had been the reason Grash had taken such a dangerous gamble. The goblin chieftain had not simply come to slaughter the colony. He had recognized the value of Ka’z’s knowledge and believed capturing him could change the future of the Ashmork clan.

If Ka’z had not been his target, perhaps Grash would have waited. Perhaps he would have surrounded the hill, starved the colony of supplies and forced them to surrender or flee.

But the moment Ka’z became part of the equation, Grash had chosen to gamble everything.

"And now that mistake has cost you your life and the lives of your entire clan." Kong’gong lowered himself slightly, his expression becoming solemn. "Do you have any regrets?"

The question hung between them as Grash remained silent for several seconds.

Then he slowly shook his head.

"Win boldly... Fail boldly... Live boldly and die boldly..." His voice became thinner with every word. "That is what my father taught me."

His eyes gradually lost focus.

For a moment, the battlefield disappeared from his mind.

He was young again.

A small goblin standing near the entrance of his village, watching his father prepare for another expedition. The young Grash remembered the excitement that filled his eyes whenever his father returned from another journey, bringing stories of monsters, humans and distant places hidden within the Evergreen Forest.

Then came the years of training. He remembered his father’s hands correcting his stance, his muscles aching after another day of practice, his first real battle, his first victory and his first defeat.

He remembered fighting creatures that should have been capable of killing him, challenging humans, exploring dangerous territories and slowly building a reputation among the goblins. He remembered the day he discovered the Red Scripture and the years that followed as he used its knowledge to transform the Ashmork clan from a struggling group of goblins into a force capable of challenging the other races of the Evergreen Forest.

His life had been filled with battles, danger, discovery, failure and triumph. It had been messy and violent, but it had also been extraordinary.

Grash’s lips slowly curled upward. If he were given another opportunity, he would live it all again.

"When I... When I get to the other side..." His voice trembled as he stared toward the ceiling. "I will beg for their forgiveness."

A faint smile appeared on his bloodied face.

"I wonder if they would be happy to let me lead them in the next... life..."

His voice faded as his chest rose once and then it stopped. The battlefield seemed strangely quiet for a moment.

Kong’gong remained still.

He stared down at Grash’s lifeless body before slowly lowering himself beside him. With surprising gentleness, the old kobold reached down and closed the goblin’s remaining eye.

"I’m sure they would be happy to follow you till the very end again," Kong’gong whispered. "Rest now, Chief. Your watch is now over."

He remained there for another moment, paying his final respects to an enemy who had earned his respect.

Thud!

A sound behind him made Kong’gong turn.

Ka’z stood several meters away. The young kobold was dragging Lucy’s corpse by the hair, her body limp against the ground as he walked. Tu’ka stood beside him, supporting the wounded Lan’ka, whose remaining arm was wrapped around Tu’ka’s shoulder.

Kong’gong’s eyes immediately narrowed.

Something about Ka’z had changed. His eyes were still blood red, and a faint crimson glow remained beneath his scales. Even his normally black hair had begun developing strange streaks of red, as though the blood magic was slowly leaving its mark on his body.

But the moment Ka’z noticed Kong’gong, his expression changed. The crimson light in his eyes slowly faded and the glow beneath his scales weakened.

His gaze moved past the old kobold, then stopped and his eyes widened.

Grash, the monster who had haunted his thoughts since the first battle was lying motionless on the ground. The goblin who had cut through his hardened scales, overwhelmed him and nearly killed him was finally dead.

Ka’z released Lucy’s hair without realizing it and her body dropped softly against the ground.

"The war is over..." he whispered.

Tu’ka looked toward Grash and slowly nodded.

"We won."

Kong’gong turned toward the two young kobolds. Despite everything that had happened, a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Yes, child..." he said calmly. "The war is over. We have won."