“From now on, this tribe will be under my rule. I will be your king!”

Thorian’s words resonated through the cave drawing all the monsters’ attention. They looked at him in confusion and surprise, before the white kobold let out a chuckle.

“Smelly Poo! Smelly head!” The kobold’s chuckle transformed into maniacal laughter. The rest of the kobloids followed his lead and a cacophony of laughter encompassed the cave.

Is that really the level of insults we are dealing with? Thorian raised an eyebrow but did not say a thing. He just stood with his chest proud looking directly at the kobold that stood half a meter above him.

“No Smelly Poo!” Nox shouted from the back before walking in anger toward the white kobold. “Thoreen strong!”

“That’s not my name,” Thorian muttered under his breath. However, he had a smile on his face as he looked at Nox facing an opponent that was stronger than him.

“Thoreen?” The kobold raised an eyebrow and growled. “Black weak! Smelly Poo weak!”

The white kobold raised his hand and punched at Nox, but the latter quickly stepped back and dodged the attack. Nox took a stance and readied himself for battle.

The kobold clicked his tongue but did not say a word. At the same time, some of the other kobloids walked toward Nox and surrounded him.

“Stop!” The white kobold growled. “Me fight!”

Thorian looked in surprise as the group of kobloids dispersed to give space to Nox and the white kobold. I have underestimated you, creatures. Your sense of honor is admirable.

The two fighters stood at a standstill as they tried to read each other’s movements before the kobold burst into action. In less than a second, he dashed toward Nox and swiped at him with his claws. The night kobloid side-stepped the attack, but it was only the first of a flurry from the white monster.

Bites, swipes, hooks, and jabs formed a speedy combo from the white kobold. However, with his small size and extremely high agility, Nox was able to dodge most of them. Even the attacks that were too fast to side-step only grazed his fur and flesh.

Good thing I told him to put all his free points into agility. His speed should be around the same as that white kobold.

Thorian nodded with a proud expression as he saw Nox fight a being that was a full evolution ahead of him. While the white kobold had a much higher Strength and Constitution, he could not use that advantage when none of his strikes hit their target.

On the other hand, Nox slowly chipped at the white kobold with small counter-attacks. Whenever the two-meter tall monster would miss an attack, the night kobloid would sneak in a quick swipe to the stomach or a hook to the liver.

Damage slowly accumulated on the kobold’s body, and after a few minutes, he was bloody and bruised.

“Black rat!” The white monster growled in rage. He opened up his palm and a white light gathered on top of it; Thorian immediately knew what it was and prepared his own spell.

Meanwhile, the white light took a proper shape inside of the monster’s palm before he launched it like a bolt at Nox. The night kobloid could only look in shock and confusion at the spell hurling toward him with unimaginable speed.

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Boom!

White and red light clashed in front of Nox before dissipating into embers and ashes. It took half a second for the night kobloid to understand what happened and turn to look at Thorian.

“Stop. That is enough,” Thorian ordered as he walked between Nox and the white kobold. He looked at the giant monster with calm eyes and a confident demeanor. “If you want to fight someone, you can fight me.”

The white kobold’s eyes were wide open as he looked at Thorian, his mouth hung slightly ajar and his cheeks were hollow. Noticing his own fear, the monster clenched his teeth and growled at the small white kobloid in front of him.

“Smelly Poo! Weak!” White light emerged once again atop the kobold’s palm before he launched his white bolt at his enemy.

“Stupid.” Thorian activated Fireball and launched it to counter the kobold’s spell. Before the two skills could clash, he dashed to the side and closed his left eye. In a fraction of a second, the two spells countered each other letting out a burst of white and red light. While Thorian’s vision was slightly hindered, it was nothing compared to the kobold who had to close his eyes not to be blinded.

With a calm and confident attitude, Thorian rushed toward his impaired enemy and punched him right in the stomach with all his power. The wind got knocked out of the white kobold and he took a few steps back, giving enough time for Thorian to unleash another spell. Flames grew atop the white kobloid’s palm as he looked at his opponent with indifferent eyes.

The moment the kobold regained his bearing, Thorian’s spell was fully cast and he launched at the monster’s chest. A small explosion threw the white monster to the ground with flames burning his fur.

He screamed and shrieked as he rolled on the ground to put out the fire. However, he was already too late. The flames burned his fur, and melted some of his skin, leaving the white kobold in excruciating pain.

Fireball.

Flames gathered atop Thorian’s palm as he slowly walked toward the white kobold. The poor pained monster shrieked at the sight and crawled away in fear.

“Do you admit defeat?” Thorian said in a low voice. “Do you accept me as your king?”

The white kobold opened his mouth and eyes in a mix of fear and rage. However, It didn’t take long for fear to overwhelm any other emotion.

“Yes, Smelly Poo strong!” The kobold nodded. “Smelly Poo king!”

The scared white kobold’s words were like a declaration as the other small kobloids followed after him. The full cave was chanting, “Smelly Poo king! Smelly Poo king!”

Each utterance of those three words was like a strike of a hammer on Thorian’s nerves, making him grit his teeth and clench his fists.

“That is not my name!”

Thorian’s shout cut through the noise like the red sea. Everyone looked at him with shivering eyes, afraid that they will be next on the menu to be roasted.

“Not Smelly Poo. Thoreen!” Nox walked forward and explained with an enthusiastic expression. “Thoreen king!”

“Thoreen king!” Nox’s explanation and words were like a lifeboat to the dozen or so kobloids that chanted his two words.

That is not my name either… Thorian wanted to explain the misunderstanding but he just sighed in the end. His name was seemingly too hard for the kobloids and kobolds to pronounce.

Minutes passed and the chants soon died down. After some silence had finally returned to the cave, Thorian took center stage.

“As your king, my orders are absolute. If I say to do something you will do it without any questions or complaints. You will also lay down your lives for me if need be, is that understood?”

Thorian scanned the cave with his eyes as the kobloids were nodding and responding with “Understood”, or “Yes.” Their facial expressions were undisturbed without any hint of unease.

Interesting… Either they are master-grade actors or they’re truly simpleminded.

“In exchange, I will make you strong,” Thorian took a deep breath and spoke with power and certainty. “I will give you power that your brains could not even dream of.”

Thorian glanced over at Nox as he said those last words. The night kobloid’s expression was full of reverence and awe.

“Thoreen king!”