Red Monster

Red moved from one roof to another, heading toward where the army was coming from. He tried to get a clear look, and he wished it was not the kobold army. He wished it was not the kobolds because of their number.

The army filled up the open clearing in front of the village, and he could see more silhouettes from the jungle. There were still more armies behind them. He wished they were the goblins that came to attack more kobold villages.

He didn’t need to get too close to find out whose side they were on. It was a kobold army, more than a hundred for sure, and they were well equipped. More than the ones they fought in this village, about the same as the group who attacked his village yesterday in terms of equipment.

He could tell at a glance the difference these kobolds had made by training an army. They were not the ragtag group he used to hunt beforehand. The air around them was quite different, more disciplined than the ones he fought and attacked his village.

Red retreated after identifying them. They were enemies; he was positioning himself on the tallest roof with a bow in his hand.

’Don’t think about loot, Red! Kill them first, then loot!’

This time they didn’t have the numerical advantage anymore. In fact, they might be outnumbered this time. However, they had a positioning advantage. That was what he thought until the Chief shouted.

"The slimy weakling’s reinforcement has arrived! Kill them all! Don’t let a single one escape! Kill them all!"

The towering figure pulled his sword from the ground, pointing in the direction of where the kobolds were coming from.

Yet another thing that Red didn’t understand. They should have stayed inside, using the terrain to their advantage. Fighting inside the village would give them an advantage because of the limited space due to the buildings. They only had to fight a portion of the kobolds at a time.

The hobgoblins and the goblins listened to the order without doubting it. They regrouped and marched out toward the direction where the Chief pointed. The goblins were in the front, and the hobgoblins were behind.

Red almost cursed the Chief with his mouth. He was assessing the situation, considering the next course of his actions. Escape was not an option. Not that he wanted to flee from the battle; he wanted to fight them in the jungle.

He was deep in his mind until he sensed that he was being watched. He looked in the direction and met the Chief’s gaze. It was staring at him with no emotion. The Chief said nothing, but its eyes were clearly asking why he remained here.

Red let out a sigh and followed the hobgoblins and goblins. However, he moved between roofs, overtaking them quickly. He spotted the kobold army outside the village. They didn’t rush into the village; they waited outside the village.

He positioned himself on high ground with a bow in his left hand. That was when he realized that the pain on his shoulder was gone. He looked down at where the wound was, wondering what happened. He only realized that the arrow wound was no longer painful.

That didn’t cross his mind before because he was focusing on the battle; then he focused on the aftermath. On top of that, he was confused about the evolution stuff. There was a lot in his mind that he forgot about the wound.

His grip was steady and firm; the pain was no longer hindering him. That was the good news amidst the chaos in his mind.

’Focus on the battle, Red!’

He took a deep breath and scanned the kobold army. It was not like they were lining up in a good order, but they gathered in one place without making any ruckus.

All of them were adult kobolds; there were no young kobolds like the one they fought before. The bad news was at the back line. He saw the black-armored kobolds, not just one or two, but more than ten of them.

The Chief mentioned being an Elite Kobold Warrior. That might be a path of the kobold’s evolution, one rank above the normal kobold warrior or maybe two ranks above. They were certainly much scarier.

Red ignored them for now. First, they were too far back. His arrow could not reach them. Second, his arrow could not penetrate that black armor even if they were in range.

"What are you doing with your bow, odd runt? Use your fire! Blow them up!"

Red turned toward the voice and met the Chief’s gaze, who was slowly coming out of the village. He was the only one using a bow, so he knew the Chief was talking to him.

That was when he realized why the Chief was so confident facing the kobolds outside. It was because of his fireball.

’Why don’t I think about it?’

It was indeed the perfect timing to explode the kobolds. They were gathering in the open space, lumping together. He realized how much he didn’t want to rely on his magic, so he didn’t think about it unless it was an emergency.

Red put the bow back and rushed forward, jumping down off the roof. He focused his mind on his mana as he tried to cast the fireball. Once he was close to the entrance, he directed his right palm toward the kobold.

He didn’t hesitate to use five times his mana for this first attack. He would like to start the battle with Kaboom. The fire swirled in his palm, blazing fiercely. That was when he realized the fireball was not as unstable as before.

He could still control the fire a little bit, holding it down for a while. Not that he planned to hold such a big fireball. The fireball was three times bigger than his head. The weird thing about the fire was that he could not feel the heat from his own fireball.

Whoosh!

He fired the fireball, which caused a panic among the kobolds’ frontline. The kobolds stood in the front and tried to avoid the fireball; they moved out. The fireball ended up hitting the ones behind them and exploded.

Kaboom!