God Agent: All Hail The Great Kobold

By the time Kong’gong finally left, Ka’z was alone again, sitting at the entrance of his secret chamber and staring out at the night sky. The stars were unusually clear tonight, scattered across the darkness above the Evergreen Forest while the faint sounds of the colony drifted from somewhere beneath the hill.

Somehow, the place no longer felt as secret as it once had. Kong’gong had discovered it without any difficulty, which meant Ka’z could no longer consider this little chamber a place nobody else could reach.

Still, the knowledge he had gained from the old kobold was priceless.

Under normal circumstances, Ka’z would already be thinking about how to spend the System Points he had accumulated, especially now that he had received another two hundred as a reward. Tonight, however, he didn’t even feel like opening the System Store. He just wanted this night to pass as quickly as possible.

Ka’z rested his arms against his knees and stared into the darkness beyond the cave.

"Now Tud’or is dead, I’m certain they will come back soon, and they will probably attack with their army this time. With Kong’gong, we should be able to survive and win."

The words sounded reasonable when he said them, but even Ka’z could hear the uncertainty buried beneath them. He had seen what Grash was capable of. He had watched that goblin tear through experienced warriors as though they were nothing, overpower him repeatedly and even force Tud’or into a battle that ultimately cost the warrior chief his life.

Kong’gong was unquestionably stronger than Grash, but strength alone didn’t guarantee victory. There were too many unknowns.

How many warriors did the Ashmark village possess?

How many other powerful goblins were there?

Ka’z’s claws slowly tightened against his knees as the memories of Grash’s battle axe, lightning magic and cold eyes resurfaced in his mind. Grash had left scars across more than his body. The goblin had left something inside Ka’z’s mind that refused to disappear.

Ka’z had never truly been terrified of another creature before, but Grash had changed that.

"We need to start digging a second route people can escape through, just in case things aren’t going well," Ka’z muttered.

The thought immediately made sense. The cave was their greatest defensive advantage, but that advantage could easily become a death trap if the enemy discovered the entrance and blocked it, they may all be the wiped out

"We need another route out of the colony."

Ka’z’s eyes narrowed as he began mentally mapping the hill and considering where another tunnel could possibly emerge. They needed an escape route. Not because he expected them to lose, but because a smart leader prepared for the possibility that they could.

"Escape."

Ka’z’s eyes suddenly widened.

The word hung in his mind for several seconds.

Escape.

His expression slowly changed.

The exhaustion disappeared from his face, replaced by a cold realization that made his stomach twist.

"I was a fool."

He slowly rose from the haystack, his body protesting immediately. His chest still hurt, his legs remained weak and the healing he had performed earlier had done little more than stabilize him, but the pain barely registered anymore. His hand slowly clenched into a fist as murderous light appeared in his amber eyes.

He had spent so much time thinking about how to defeat Grash that he had neglected the person who had made Grash’s unannounced arrival possible.

Rok.

Ka’z turned away from the night sky. Several minutes later, he was walking through the prison corridor.

The guards noticed him immediately.

Every conversation around the corridor died almost instantly as their eyes followed the young kobold approaching the cells. Ka’z didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. His expression was enough.

The anger that normally remained buried beneath his calm demeanor was visible now, and something about the way he walked made the guards instinctively shift aside.

One of them swallowed nervously.

Nobody wanted to ask what he intended to do and nobody wanted to be present when he did it either.

Ka’z eventually stopped in front of Rok’s cell. He stared through the bars for several seconds before the door was unlocked. The moment it opened, Ka’z stepped inside without saying a word. The guard immediately pulled the door shut behind him.

Bam!

The metal door slammed closed.

Rok, who had been embedded in the wall with only his head visible. His eyes immediately found Ka’z, and for a moment there was silence between them. Then the goblin’s lips curled.

He began laughing.

At first it was quiet, almost breathless, but the sound rapidly grew louder until Rok’s entire body shook against the wall.

"Didn’t I tell you?" Rok laughed. "When Grash comes, none of your people will survive!"

Ka’z didn’t respond. He simply walked toward him.

Rok’s laughter continued, but the confidence in his expression began to weaken when Ka’z didn’t react to the provocation.

Ka’z stopped directly in front of him and slowly raised his hand and Rok’s laughter faltered.

Ka’z’s claws wrapped around his head.

"Ignis!" Ka’z sneered.

Heat immediately radiated from his palm and Rok’s eyes widened.

Steam began pouring between Ka’z’s fingers as the skin beneath his palm rapidly reddened. The smell of scorched flesh filled the cell, and Rok’s laughter vanished completely. His body jerked against the restraints as he tried to pull his head away, but Ka’z’s grip held him firmlyn

"Wait! Stop!" Rok cried, his voice immediately breaking into panic. "Wait, stop!"

Ka’z’s expression didn’t change.

"You lied to us about the time of Grash’s arrival," Ka’z growled. His voice remained low, but the anger behind it was far more frightening than shouting would have been. "And because of your stupidity, we lost good people."

Rok’s eyes shook with terror as Ka’z slowly pulled his hand away.

Deep burn wounds covered portions of Rok’s face, and the goblin immediately screamed, his body trembling as he tried to turn away from Ka’z. The laughter from moments ago was completely gone.

"There will be no goblin prisoners when we reach your village," Ka’z continued, his eyes narrowing. "You understand me?"

A faint crimson light appeared within them as Ka’z extended his hand toward him.

Something felt different this time.

Inside Rok’s body, Ka’z could feel movement. Every pulse of blood traveling through the goblin’s veins suddenly became strangely clear to him. He could feel the liquid moving through the body, circulating through the limbs and returning toward the heart. It was almost as though Rok’s blood had become another substance within Ka’z’s reach, something that could be grasped if he simply extended his will far enough.

Ka’z’s fingers slowly curled. He grabbed the air and then he pulled.

Rok’s entire body violently jerked.

His eyes bulged as he immediately began choking, his hands desperately clawing at his own throat. Blood suddenly began forcing its way from his nose and mouth, followed by thin streams emerging from the corners of his eyes and ears. His body convulsed against the restraints as he struggled to breathe, but the sensation was unlike anything he had experienced before. It wasn’t merely pain. It felt as though something inside him was being dragged in several directions at once.

Ka’z stared at him.

His own expression remained cold, but even he could feel how unnatural the ability was.

Blood Magic.

Rok’s body shook violently as blood continued leaking from his face. His attempts to scream became distorted choking sounds as his lungs struggled for air. His eyes were wide with terror now, completely stripped of the arrogance he had displayed moments earlier.

Ka’z tightened his fingers and Rok convulsed again.

The sound that escaped the prison cell was so inhuman and desperate that the guards outside instinctively stiffened. Nobody spoke. Nobody moved toward the door. They could hear Rok suffering inside, but every guard understood that entering now would mean stepping between Ka’z and whatever judgment he had decided to deliver.

And none of them were willing to do that.