Red Monster

Red remained calm through the whole situation. He already had a plan and followed it through. It was to escape the moment he was found out, even though he planned to stay a little bit longer.

His arms were still sore and were still trembling, his chest a little bit tight from the crash. He absorbed most of the force with the block. His reaction helped him to block that kick, and he knew it was thanks to the Mystic Chef’s blessing.

’It’s a good decision to give Darla that glowing stone.’

He didn’t immediately leave the village, assessing the situation. How did he get found out? He didn’t make a noise, but the house he was in was quickly surrounded. It was as if the kobold was confident the enemy was there. He made sure to kill the small kobold before it could scream.

"Maybe the blood?"

Maybe the kobold had a sharp nose and could smell the fresh blood. That made sense if that was the case. The blood was still spilled even if he got rid of the body by exchanging it for loot.

That was not really solid ground because he was once chased by the black-armored kobold, and he was wounded. He easily shook off the pursuit despite the blood on his chest and back.

That was the only thing: the noise. It was when he threw the spear at the small kobold. That sent the small kobold flying, causing a loud thud when it landed. The ruckus might be why they caught on, and maybe the smell of blood confirmed the ruckus caused by the enemy. The noise and the blood might be why he was found out.

It was a pity, as he hoped to kill more kobolds before leaving. But he met something that was more dangerous than the black-armored kobold.

He watched the big kobold go on a rampage, destroying house after house, looking for him. Without a doubt, it was stronger than the one he encountered before. He guessed that big kobold was the Chief of the village.

But there was something weird here. Shouldn’t the Chief join the attack? If that thing joined the attack, he was unsure if his Chief could last until the reinforcement arrived. His Chief was surrounded and outnumbered. The kobold’s side lacked the deciding factor to win the battle.

’Maybe he’s not the Chief, and maybe I have the chance.’

The thought of fighting the big kobold crossed his mind. It didn’t take long for him to stop the stupid idea in its tracks. If the Infernal Berserk was not on cooldown, then he might attempt it. It was too risky without the Infernal Berserk, even with the blessing.

Red shook his head and turned his back. He followed his mark and found the path; from there, he just needed to follow the path as it led to his village.

It was much faster when he returned because he didn’t really need to scout and gather information anymore. He just needed to follow the mark he left behind. It didn’t take long for him to find the Chief and his village’s force.

He halted his steps and jumped off the tree. That quickly alerted the group. The archer raised their bows, drawing their arrows. The hobs raised their weapons, ready to battle.

The Chief raised his hand, motioning them to stop. He didn’t look pleased seeing Red. "What took you so long?" He questioned Red.

Red bowed his head and told the Chief the information: the flaming-furred creature, the deer-like creature, and also the pack of Harke that roamed in the jungle. He informed the Chief to follow his mark to avoid confrontation with the beasts.

"How about the kobold’s village? Have you found them?"

"Yes, I have found and snuck into their village, which is the reason why I am late to return, Chief. Their village is quite desolate for their size. I think they lost the majority of their people in the attack yesterday."

Then Red went to the closest tree, carving the mark. He made sure that the mark was different from the one he had when he was hunting. Four diagonal lines were his mark, and he told the Chief that he would find the mark at every five or six trees. The mark also included the direction, and they just needed to follow that direction.

"How many kobolds are staying in that village right now?"

"I don’t know, Chief. I can’t really get deeper inside the village. The big kobold..." Red explained what he encountered, hoping to find out whether it was the Kobold Chief or not from his Chief.

"That coward stays behind while sending his people to death? As expected of scummy kobolds."

The Chief sneered, confirming the big kobold was indeed the Kobold Chief.

"You leave the mark; does that mean you are not going to join us?"

The Chief caught something off when Red explained about the mark. Why did Red leave the mark and tell him to follow the mark when Red could lead them to the village?

"I lost my sword during my confrontation with the Kobold Chief. I will return to the village to get a blade before joining again. I think I will make it in time with my current speed."

"You still have a bow and those spears!" One of the hobgoblins who stood close to the Chief chimed in, pointing at the spears and the bow on his back. It was clear that the hob didn’t want Red to return to the village for unknown reasons.

Red glanced at the hobgoblin, but he didn’t respond. He made it clear that he was not obliged to listen to the hob. He only looked at the Chief.

That upset the hobgoblin, but there was nothing he could do in front of the Chief.

"Answer him." The Chief told Red.

"The spear is supposed to be a throwing spear, which is why I picked the short ones. The bow and the throwing spears will be useless in a big battle. The battle would be chaotic, and I don’t want to misfire and kill one of us, Chief."

The Chief found it was a reasonable excuse. The spears were indeed short.

"I believe it’s just an excuse so he doesn’t join the battle, Chief. We should use him as a frontline warrior instead since he knew the location of the village."

Again, Red didn’t respond to the hobgoblin. He only looked at the Chief, and the Chief motioned with his head for him to respond to the accusation.

Red chuckled, finding it funny but also annoying that the hobgoblins kept coming at him for some reason. He didn’t even remember this hobgoblin, and he believed this was their first interaction. So why did the hobgoblin come after him?

"If that is the case, then give me your blade. I can be the frontline warrior if you are willing to give up your blade for me."

Red spotted the blade on the hobgoblin’s waist. It was shorter than his sword, and the size was about right for his build as well. "Unless you are so stupid as to put someone with a bow in the front."

The hobgoblin’s eyes widened in surprise, quickly turning into fury as Red called him stupid. He looked down at his own blade before looking back at Red, realizing that Red was eyeing his prized blade. He was about to say something, but Red cut him off.

"In the first place, I don’t need to show up here if I want to escape from the battle. I can just show up later when the battle is over."

Red shook his head, pointing at the hobgoblin. "The accusation doesn’t make sense, Chief, and I believe we should remove him instead. His presence is sowing discord among our people. It’s even weirder that he wants to put a scout like me in the front as well. As if he wants me to die first, weird isn’t it?"

"My role in the upcoming battle is crucial, as I can scout the area through the trees, gathering information and avoiding a dangerous beast’s territory. It was me who found and delayed the kobold’s attack. I have been hunting the kobolds even before they attacked the village. I just don’t understand why he accused me of trying to flee from battle?"

"If we want to compare the kill. I believe I have killed more kobolds than him; I have contributed more than him. I just don’t understand why he is so hostile toward me as if I haven’t done anything for the battle."

The Chief turned toward the hobgoblin as Red made sense. In fact, Red was the one who saved them from the kobold’s attack. If Red didn’t create chaos, luring more than half of the kobolds, then he would have lured the two Elite Kobold Warriors from him. He might be dead before the reinforcement arrived.

"That’s enough for both of you!" The Chief raised his voice. He then turned toward Red, "You can return and immediately join us as fast as possible!"

"Yes, Chief!" Red cast a glance at the hobgoblin before climbing up the tree. Since the opposite party wanted to play the game, then he would gladly accept the challenge. He succeeded in planting a seed of doubt in the Chief toward that hobgoblin.

It was a pity that the Chief didn’t kill that annoying hobgoblin, but this should be enough to put a restraint on that hobgoblin.

Red left the main force, making his way toward the village. He said that he wanted to retrieve his blade, but that was not the main reason. His return was to get more blessings, hoping he could refresh the blessing now before the main battle.