Red Monster

That fireball explosion distracted the other six Elite Kobold Fighters on Chief. The Chief took that chance to take down one of them before retreating, getting some distance from the remaining five Elite Kobold Fighters.

The Chief suffered a lot, with gushing wounds on her chest, belly, and thigh. Stabbing wounds on his back and chest. He caught his breath after breaking free of the encirclement. The kobold was truly close to taking down the Chief. It was just a matter of time until Red showed up.

Red assessed the situation. The Chief was without a doubt the key to winning this battle. He could not allow the Chief to die here. Even if he killed all Elite Kobold Fighters, if the Chief was dead. That would be the end of their village.

The kobold’s next attack would destroy the village without the Chief’s protection. So even if they killed all of Kobold’s reinforcements, but the Chief died, then it was their loss.

"I have to help the Chief... I need at least to lure out two Elite Kobold Fighters with me..."

He remembered that the Chief managed to kill the three Elite Kobold Fighters that attacked their village when he lured two of them with him.

As he was thinking about how to lure them out, he sensed the ground slightly vibrate, followed by the thumping sound. Two surviving Elite Kobold Fighters from the fireball walked toward him. Each of their steps was so powerful that it created a thumping sound and a slight vibration. Their eyes were bloodshot red, furious.

One of them had half of their body burned, his left hand no longer carried the round shield. The second one was fine; there was no major injury.

He wanted to lure out the two that were on Chief, but he lured the two that were on the hobgoblins.

"But this is fine as well. The hobgoblins should be able to provide help for the Chief!"

The Elite Kobold Fighter who was still healthy started to run, and Red didn’t hesitate to turn around to run as well. He was not going to fight them head-on, not without Infernal Berserk and Fireball being on cooldown.

With his high Dexterity, he easily created distance. That was when he saw a shadow hovering over him. He halted his steps, turning to his right before kicking the ground. He made a short leap before dashing forward.

A loud sound resounded behind him. He had expected the Elite Kobold Fighter would close the distance with their ridiculous jumping ability. He guessed that might be a skill for them, as their jump was ridiculously high.

Once more, he easily created the distance between him and the kobold. But this time he slowed and took a peek. The kobold that had just jumped was running behind him. He tried to look for the second kobold, looking toward the village.

His task was to lure two more Elite Kobold Fighters. He needed to ensure that two of them were following him. He didn’t find the second kobold until another shadow hovered over him. He lunged, rolling forward with a hasty kick to the ground.

His roll was quite awkward because of the spear on his back. He managed it, quickly standing back on his feet. The loud thud and the wind wave brushed his back. That was the second Elite Kobold Fighter without a doubt.

Red charged forward, running as quick as possible and only stopped when he was at the edge of the jungle. That was when he turned around, dropping his sword to the ground as he grabbed a spear on his back.

He took four steps forward and threw the spear toward the half-burned kobold. He aimed at the side that didn’t get burned. That would make it awkward to block.

His spear was so fast that the kobold realized it was hard to dodge. However, Red was aiming at the right shoulder, the side where it held the sword. That was awkward to block, especially with how big the sword was. That was what Red thought, but the kobold raised its sword, blocking the spear with the sword’s flat side. It was a big sword, which made it a good shield too.

Clank!

Spark flew off as the spear hit the sword. The kobold’s right arm was pushed away by the spear, caught by surprise by the power behind the spear.

Red predicted that it might not be enough, but not expecting it to be completely blocked. Since he predicted that it might not be effective, he was already on his second spear. The second spear flew from his hand a moment before the first spear was blocked.

The second spear shot through the air, moving toward the chest area. He thought it would be a hit this time. Again, the kobold surprised him as it raised its burned hand in the spear’s trajectory. The spear pierced through its burned hand as it let out a loud hiss.

At this moment, the second Elite Kobold Fighter had caught up. It rushed forward by putting the round shield forward, expecting a spear to be thrown at it.

Red didn’t throw the third spear as he grabbed his sword, turned his back, and started to run again. His Fireball was still on cooldown, or else he would wait a little longer until they were close enough to shoot one fireball.

He used the tree as cover, climbing up the tree and disappearing. The two Elite Kobold Fighters arrived at the same time, looking around, confused.

The two kobolds suddenly went cautious, slowly advancing deeper into the jungle. They seemed to exchange some words, hissing at each other before agreeing to go further.

Red was spying from above. The two kobolds didn’t split. He was glad that they didn’t split up. Once the fireball was no longer on cooldown, he planned his ambush. He came up with something crazy. It was crazy enough that he might hurt himself in the process.

He didn’t hesitate to execute the plan. He jumped off the tree, not far from them. Just one tree away from them. That was when they were turned toward him and quickly rushed at him. However, they halted their steps when they saw a big fireball in his hand. It was even bigger than the previous one.

That was right; Red used six times the mana in this fireball. He jumped first, cutting the distance to ensure the kobold could not react or even dodge. He immediately released his fireball at the kobold with no major wound.

The Elite Kobold Fighter still reacted in time, raising his shield to block the fireball. The fireball couldn’t be blocked. It erupted with a deafening boom; the blazing fire bloomed, swallowing both Elite Kobold Fighters.

The shock wave spread out, slamming into Red. That sent Red flying backward. His back and the back of his head hit the tree behind him. His vision blurred for a moment as he fell on his knees. He saw a blur of orange mass coming toward him.

That forced Red to get back on his feet as quickly as possible, quickly making a run. He tripped on the root, falling forward. His chin hit the root. He scrambled back, trying to keep going. That was when he felt it; the heat went up. The fire was closing in.

His feet kicked the ground desperately, pushing himself forward. He grabbed the root, stood, and threw himself forward. He scrambled frantically and finally made his way out of the range of the fire.

Red could feel it; the Levelheaded skill was triggered, forcing him to calm down. He leaned his back against the tall root, seeking cover behind the big root. His chest heaved up and down heavily. He still could feel the heat, the searing pain on the back of his neck and the back of his calf.

He was shocked by his own skill, not expecting that adding thirty more mana would result in such a massive explosion, more than he predicted. He calculated it; getting blown by the shock wave would send him into the safe range, but he was wrong.

"Maybe I shouldn’t have tried it without testing it first..."

Red muttered out, still in shock that he almost burned by his own skill. It was ridiculous to die by his own skill.

The reason he used six times the mana was because he wanted to kill both kobolds in one shot. He needed to go back to the village to help the Chief.

The Chief was exhausted and wounded. He might not be able to handle the five Elite Kobold Fighters in his current condition.

Red needed to return immediately, so he wanted to kill the two kobolds with one shot. That was why he used six times the mana, risking himself to shoot it from close range so the kobolds could not dodge it.

He calmed down, and the fire also calmed. He went out of his hiding spot, looking in the direction where the fireball erupted.

A figure on fire was standing on top of the fire with its eyes still open.