Red Monster

Darla calmed down slightly, still sobbing, but she overcame her fear when she saw Red standing in front of her. She thought Red abandoned her, but then she noticed the wound across his chest.

Red never ran away; he was fighting the kobold. That wound was proof that Red fought, not running away.

Then a panic took over her, realizing the situation was bad. Red was alone, and the hobgoblin holding her had followers.

That was right, the hobgoblin was not alone. Three shorter hobgoblins and seven goblins were behind. Red remained unfazed even if he was outnumbered.

He was not blinded by anger. He was angry, but he was also calm. Levelheaded might play a part in why he was calm right now. Or else he would attack the hobgoblin, killing it with his arrow instead of confronting it.

Red was calm enough not to make such a decision. It was because they were inside the village. The Chief would not care who was at fault. The Chief would punish the one who attacked first. The justification didn’t matter to the Chief.

The hob looked at Red, then his eyes looked at the sword. The black sword was thinner than the one those kobolds used, but it was certainly the same material. One didn’t need to be smart to know about it. It was obvious at first sight.

"I found her! She is mine!" The hobgoblin was not willing to give up his claim. As he said that, the followers stepped out with no fear.

"You found her in my place!"

"What are you going to do about it? She is mine! You can take her back once my underlings and I are done with her if you want. From today, she belongs to me!"

"Then I will take her by force!"

As he said so, he thrust his sword toward the hobgoblin’s head. His move was swift and decisive, but the hobgoblin reacted.

The hobgoblin raised Darla, using her as a shield. Darla closed her eyes, thinking she would die by Red’s sword. It was not bad considering her situation right now. It was certainly better to be dead than to be ganged by these hobs and goblins.

Red guessed the hobgoblin might use Darla as a shield. He was prepared for that as the sword stopped before Darla’s face. He released his sword, then pulled the spear from his back. The spear moved toward the hob’s leg.

One of the hobgoblin followers also reacted, slamming the blade toward the spear. The blade slammed the spear down to the ground, stopping it from piercing the tall hob’s leg.

Again, Red released the spear as his body spun, landing a spinning kick toward the hob that redirected his spear. The kick landed on the belly that was covered by the armor. The armor couldn’t reduce the force behind the kick, just the damage.

The hobgoblin flung backward as his body curved into a c-shape, crashing into the house behind. The tall hobgoblin was surprised by the power behind the kick, not expecting Red to have such power behind the kick.

Red was also surprised that his kick was so powerful. He picked up a fight, but because he knew the Chief would stop the fight before a casualty occurred.

But it seemed there was a casualty before the Chief could stop the fight. That didn’t stop him from taking the next course of action, pulling his bow and aiming at the tall hob.

"Let’s see which one is faster, my arrow or your reaction."

The remaining two hobs and the seven goblins quickly moved up, surrounding Red. They had their weapons out. It seemed the situation would escalate further than Red liked.

"What happens here!?" A rough voice filled with authority echoed in the air.

The crowd split up as the Chief approached the source of attention. The group was still surrounding Red, and the Chief slapped the goblin in his way. He slapped the head, causing the neck to snap one hundred and eighty degrees, spinning in the air for a moment before falling down.

The Chief just killed one of the hobgoblin’s followers. He kicked the dead body aside, "Throw his body or exchange them for loot if you can get the cores from this trash!"

Tob was the first one to take action, exchange the loot, and quickly absorbed the two cores the body dropped. That happened within two breaths. Despite being a weakling, Tob was quick and smart. He moved before anyone else, and he absorbed it right away because the others could take it from him.

The Chief didn’t really pay attention to Tob. He looked at Red, then he looked at the hobgoblin who was holding the female human. He remembered bestowing that female human on Red. Then he spotted the black sword, a familiar one. He had two of them in his dwelling, after all.

The one on the ground was smaller, perfect for someone of Red’s size. The Chief quickly recognized that Red managed to kill at least one of the two black-armored kobolds who chased him.

Then he heard a noise and saw one of the hobs come out from the wood rubble. He looked over and saw a hobgoblin just getting up.

This hobgoblin was about to rush at Red until he noticed the Chief and stopped. The hob immediately looked down, afraid to look the Chief in the eyes.

"Release her!" The Chief ordered the hobgoblin to release the female human.

"But..." The hobgoblin was unwilling.

"I bestowed that slave on him. Are you going against my order by taking that slave from him? Are you challenging my decision?"

The hobgoblin gulped out as he released Darla. He quickly lowered his head in an act of obedience.

Darla also lowered her head, running toward Red. She was hiding next to him, trying her best not to attract the Chief’s attention.

Red was honestly surprised that the Chief seemed to be on his side. He thought this might be a troublesome issue since he struck first. Especially when one of the Matrons didn’t like him. That was not the case.

The Chief reached out for the sword and handed it back to him, "Good work burning those kobolds, but the war is not over. Go pick the house that is still intact, rest, and recover! You will have to burn more kobolds tomorrow!"

The Chief’s massive palm tapped Red’s shoulder twice before turning around and leaving.

"Disperse! You, useless workers, repair the building quickly!" That was his order before returning to his dwelling.

The tall hobgoblin looked at Red, then he looked at Darla before leaving with his underlings.

The war was certainly not over. The Chief would not stay still after the village was attacked. This was not the first attack, considering the Dire Wolf Pack was the kobold’s trick.

Red was expected for the war, but there was now something more troublesome than the war itself. He needed to think of a solution for his trouble.

He pulled Darla with him, picking the house that was still intact and going inside. Darla clung to Red like a monkey. Her hands were on his neck, and her legs were on his waist. Then she sobbed loudly as tears streamed down her face.