TAP TAP TAP...
The crisp sound of hard soles striking the rocky ground echoed like a drumbeat.
Lorin dropped his backpack and gripped his Longsword with both hands. Like a falcon gliding low over the ground, he darted swiftly through the mine, using the wooden scaffolding and scattered crates as cover. He felt an unprecedented level of focus. Everything along his path flashed by as if in slow motion, yet remained perfectly clear.
Three on the left, two on the right, and one more trailing in the back. They carried Short Spears, wore no armor or Leather Armor, and had something hanging from their waists—maybe a Catapult?
The visual information was rapidly deconstructed into fragments and pieced back together in his mind, leading him to a single conclusion: start with the two on the right and take them out one by one.
"I’ll take the right!"
Hearing this, Pip pounded his left chest twice with a heavy fist. His breathing grew ragged, his face flushed red, and his entire body visibly bulked up.
"Hairless trash, eat my hammer! Ahahahaha!"
The Halfling turned into a blur of red light and hurled himself entirely at the three Kobolds on the left. The scene reminded Lorin of a bowling alley. The three pitiful Kobolds were like bowling pins—except made of glass—sent flying backward one by one by the immense impact.
"Tsk, tsk."
Feeling a wave of reassurance, Lorin swung his arm, guiding the Longsword in a smooth arc that neatly cleaved an incoming Short Spear in two. With a flick of his wrist, the blade slashed across a Kobold’s neck, drawing a thin line of blood. Its eyes widened in terror. Clutching its throat with both hands, it stumbled back two steps and crashed into its companion.
"Useless!"
The Kobold behind it cursed frantically. Shoving its dying comrade aside, it stepped forward, gripped its Short Spear tightly with both hands, aimed at the human in front of it, and thrust!
It had practiced this move for a long time. At first, it only trained against straw dummies, then its own kind, and finally enemies. Now, the motion was as fluid as instinct. Even the strongest of foes would fall to its spear, and this human would be no exception!
The Short Spear pierced through the air, but the familiar resistance never came. It let out a confused grunt, wondering if its Power had grown that immense. It looked forward. A Flame abruptly appeared in the human’s hand. He reached out and grabbed it. It was so bright...
Lorin retracted his hand, completely baffled. The Kobold before him slumped to the ground, emitting the smell of charred meat.
WHEEEET—
A piercing whistle rang out. Lorin looked toward the sound. The last Kobold in the back had pulled out a whistle from somewhere and was blowing it with all its might. So, the previous one had been buying time for its companion...
As this thought crossed his mind, he couldn’t help but feel a newfound respect for the corpse on the ground. However, he made no move to stop the whistling Kobold. They had been walking for so long without seeing the end of the mine. God knew where the rest of the Kobolds were hiding; it was better to let this one summon them all.
"Pip, light the rest of the torches first," he said, patiently waiting for the Kobold to finish whistling.
"Hold on till I finish off these mongrels."
Pip went around, delivering a hammer blow to each of the Kobolds he had just sent flying to ensure they were dead. Only then did he pull the remaining torches from his bag, light them, and toss them around the area.
As the Flame flared up, the burning grease gave off the smell of roasting skin. It mixed with the surrounding musky stench, making the air even thicker. They were currently in the mine’s central hall. The torches revealed several thick stone pillars emerging from the darkness, seemingly connecting to a vaulted ceiling. Two rusty train tracks lay on the ground, twisting unevenly into the shadows, their wooden ties already somewhat rotted.
THWACK.
Seeing that the whistling Kobold was trying to flee, Lorin chased after it and plunged his sword into its back. The ear-piercing whistle finally stopped.
It hadn’t been long since his first wretched battle with a goblin, yet now he was dispatching these Kobolds with surprising ease. Lorin couldn’t help but sigh in marvel.
"Are we just going to wait here for them to come throw their lives away?" Pip asked, kicking a corpse on the ground.
Lorin glanced around, and as he looked at the crisscrossing wooden scaffolding above, an idea began to form in his mind. "Let’s climb up and hide too. We’ll ambush the Kobolds when they arrive."
"Alright." Lorin thought it made sense.
He climbed the stepladder to the spot where they had encountered the very first Kobold. Its corpse had fallen long ago and was now lying on a wooden plank not too far away. The planks on the scaffolding were rather narrow, so he slowed his pace and tiptoed over to the corpse, taking the opportunity to search it.
He found a Short Spear. The spearhead was at least made of metal; though its tip was slightly cracked, it might still come in handy for an ambush. As for the Catapult... he didn’t know how to use it. The rest was just a bunch of useless odds and ends. These Kobolds were honestly even poorer than a goblin.
Unsure if these Kobolds had a good sense of smell, Lorin worried that the charred scent on the corpse might draw attention. He had no choice but to take the Short Spear and his Longsword and move to a different spot. He lay quietly on his stomach, waiting.
His current position was perfect. Not only could he clearly see the area illuminated by the torches, but he could also keep an eye on Pip’s location, making it easy to launch a synchronized attack at any moment. However, Pip, who was still in his berserk state, clearly lacked patience. He simply found a random wooden crate, hid behind it, and anxiously picked at his Leather Armor.
"$#%&￥!"
A cacophony of noise soon echoed from a certain direction. Four pairs of eyes emerged from the darkness, slowly approaching the torches in the hall. They appeared extremely cautious, taking a long time just to reach the edge of the torchlight. Lorin was terrified that Pip wouldn’t be able to hold himself back and would charge forward, but surprisingly, the Halfling waited quietly in place.
A Kobold peeked out from the shadows. It had a hunched back, and its gear was no different from the previous ones. It cautiously sidled up to a torch, squinted, and picked it up, intending to extinguish the Flame.
As the firelight shifted along with its hand, it illuminated the other three Kobolds behind it. There were two Ordinary Kobold Scouts, sandwiching an incredibly muscular Kobold that was nearly the same size as Pip in his berserk state. It carried a scale-studded Round Shield in one hand and held a One-Handed Broadsword in the other. It was clad in a very thick set of Hard Leather Armor.
"Idiot *￥@!" it urged the first Kobold angrily.
It seemed this was the elite unit. Lorin observed it carefully. Was it a Dragon Shield Guard? He had read a partial description in his manual before: *An elite Warrior among the Kobolds, with thin Dragon Blood flowing through its veins. From a young age, it underwent rigorous training to learn how to awaken its Dragon Race bloodline.*
Could Lightning Traction combined with Burning Hand one-shot it? That Shield looked quite Solid. If the ambush failed and his attack was blocked, it would be troublesome. It would be better to take out the smaller ones first, then let the two of them slowly wear it down together.
Having formulated a plan, Lorin stopped masking his presence.
"Clear out the small ones first!"
He leaped directly down from mid-air.