Hera was breathing heavily. The corpses of the three kobolds were still on the ground. Although the fight was quick, it was more than enough to wake her up completely. She used her mend spell to fix the wound on her neck and started cursing again. It was bad enough that they looked like recolored versions of the ones she fought during the test, but being that ruthless only made things worse. She was one step away from dying, and what about her friends?

"Is everyone ok?" Hera called on the comms.

"I'm fine. Kriss is fine, and so are his wildfire bombs. I'm not sure if I should leave here, though," Blue said.

"They got the captain, sorry. We didn't make it in time, but Tom just finished the last one from this group. They are not that strong," Alex said in a saddened voice.

"Runir? Bonnie? If you can hear me fucking answer! Shoot up a spell, do something!" Hera yelled.

"We are here. Everything is fine, don't worry," Bonnie said.

"Why are you so worried? Did you forget where everyone was?" Runir asked.

"Those fuckers almost slit my throat, but don't worry. Next time, I won't check on you," Hera was still shouting through the comms.

"Sorry…" Runir replied like a puppy who just got scolded.

"Are you ok? Are they dead?" Blue asked.

"No, no. I told them I wanted to talk to my friends, and they are very polite and waiting for us to finish before pushing the dagger in my neck," Hera took a deep breath, "Sorry. I'm in a crappy mood today. I'm fine. Got a small cut, but the three are dead."

"Who make noise? Zudra can't sleep. Shut up and go away," Zudra's voice came from the command tent.

"Shut up, you overgrown lizard, this mess is all your fucking fault!" Hera shouted.

"Hera, calm down," Blue said through the comms.

"Ha, stupid light fur, too afraid to sleep. Go back to tent and let the brave ones rest. We fight tomorrow.

"We are fighting now, you idiot! Three kobolds almost killed me, and I bet you were next on their list," Hera shouted one more time.

"Light fur seeing things. So stupid that can't tell dream from awake. Should run under mother legs if that scared."

"I what?!" Hera stomped towards the command tent.

"Hera? Hera? What are you doing?" Alex asked. The entire group heard what she was saying, but Zudra's side of the conversation was lost to them.

"Teaching some manners to a lizard. Worst-case scenario, we fail the quest and do it again," Hera said, walking inside the tent and deactivating her comms.

Zudra was wearing a large velvet robe and her various necklaces in front of a large glass pitcher filled with water.

"What stupid light fur want? Can't see I trying to sleep?"

"So stop fucking sleeping and look around. Your army is being attacked!" Hera shouted, getting closer to the general.

"No attack. You see dream, go back to tent," Zudra waved Hera off.

"This is not a damn dream. They almost killed me, and one of your captains is dead!"

"Stupid light fur speak lie. Go back," Zudra turned around, moving back to her bed with an ornate glass filled with water in her hand.

Hera felt her blood boiling and pulled the necklaces, choking the kobold while dragging her out of the tent.

"Stop… stop... kehuk… can't… breath.." Zudra protested. Even with her higher level, she couldn't break away from the human without breaking her accessories or the cup she was carrying. Hera dragged Zudra outside and tossed her onto the ground by the bodies of the two kobolds who weren't burnt to a crisp.

"Tell me it's a fucking dream again. C'mon, tell me!" Hera shouted.

Zudra looked around and saw the corpses as well as some of the grease fire that was still burning on the third kobold. She moved the bodies, opening their mouths and pulling their skins.

"It's… not trick? They real?" she asked.

"For the love of… Of course, they are real! You fucking touched them. Now do something aside from sitting on your scaly ass and warn the army. We are under attack," Hera looked up and saw the kitchen tent where Galva should be sleeping. She kicked the kobold that Zudra was touching and ran towards her next destination, leaving the Dragon Kin general on the ground.

The kobold wearing a green jacket and large puffy shorts walked to Zudra and helped her get up, "Light fur say true, general. Dogs attacking."

"How you know?"

"Saw the fight. Dogs jumped light fur. She hit ground, can't move. Then fire breath kill that one," the lizard kobold pointed to the charred remains of a canine kobold.

"Light fur breath fire?" Zudra asked with wide eyes.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"Yes. Maybe not light fur."

Zudra nodded, "Maybe fire heart. Maybe she true dragon in pink skin."

Hera didn't hear any of that conversation. She had deactivated the earpiece, but her voice still transmitted to the group while she confronted Zudra. Blue and Alex were impressed while Bonnie congratulated her for standing up for herself. She knew how much Hera struggled with that. She thanked them, but they had to focus on the quest. If the wolves were already so deep inside the camp, who knows where they could strike next.

Arriving at the kitchen tent, Hera saw all the pans and food tossed around, Galva's bed was ripped to shreds, but it all looked more ransacked than actually being the result of a fight. Scanning the area, Hera wasn't able to find any tracks that could lead to anything. Inside the tent, several footprints were spread around, but outside it, nothing. It was like whoever walked in there vanished the moment it stepped outside. Hera tried to move around some tables and chairs to find any clues. When she picked up the large pot that held the brown stew, a small kobold jumped from under it and tried to headbutt Hera.

"Galva not die like this. I take you with me," Galva tried to slash and claw away at Hera but was quickly stopped by her.

"It's ok. They are gone," Hera held Galva's hands to stop him from hurting her.

"Oh, it you," Galva looked around before turning back to Hera and seeing the blood and burnt fur stuck to her armor, "You fight? They dead?"

"Yeah, some, but I don't think they are the ones that came here. These seem different," Hera stared at one of the footprints that were even bigger than hers. She instantly remembered the kobold trainer she faced during the test all those months ago.

"This bad. Why dogs lie?"

"This is war, Galva. This is what people do. They lie and cheat, all to get any advantage. At least, that's how my kind wage wars," Hera replied, still looking for more invaders. There was some movement coming from the corner of the camp. She started walking towards that area when she felt a tug on her chain skirt. Looking down, Galva had a frightened expression, "What's wrong?"

"Do others war like you kind?" the kobold asked.

Hera could feel the fear in his voice and took a knee by Galva's side, "You don't have to worry about that, ok? Everything will be fine," for a moment, Hera forgot she was inside a dungeon. The kobold's reaction was so lifelike, as if watching someone understand that misery of war for the first time.

Galva seemed to be tranquilized by Hera's presence, but a loud clang spooked him once more. Hera got up and pulled out her weapons, and without looking away from the direction of the noise, she said, "Galva, run towards the command tent. Don't make a sound, and if a dog appears, yell."

With a nod, the kobold ran towards a safe location while Hera activated her [Hide] and moved towards the camp's corner. Going behind one of the supply tents, she crouched down, trying to hear what was moving nearby.

"Worthless lizards, why do they insist on challenging us? The lesser should bow down and accept our ruling."

Hera stopped moving when she heard the sounds of the creature.

"I do not like this. They are children pretending to be adults. We should not resort to such underhanded methods. Much less to bring those things here."

"They are still part of our tribe, brother. It would do you well to remember that."

"Our tribe is made of honorable kobolds, not rabid dogs. Those things are nothing but animals. We should keep them in their cages!"

The sound of a fist hitting someone came from the corner. Hera took that as a cue and dashed out of her hiding. Between the tents, there were two kobolds. One was on the ground holding his jaw while the other was staring him down. Taking advantage of the position, Hera jumped to the one standing, wrapping her arm around the kobold and lifting it from the ground. At the same time, she put her handaxe towards its throat.

"How many of you came here?" she asked.

"I will not tell you a thing. If you want to kill me, then do it!" the kobold barked and struggled, trying to push away from her.

"I wasn't talking to you," Hera turned to the kobold on the ground, "Are you answering or watching your brother die?"

The kobold on the ground tumbled to the side and jumped towards Hera, brandishing a dagger. Hera moved in tandem, trying to use the one in her arms to block the attack. The blade sunk into the kobold's stomach, going through and hitting Hera's chest. Thankfully, her armor and the body in front of her were enough to turn the attack into a slight poke. She moved her axe, finishing the kobold in her arms off, and tossed it towards the remaining one. The kobold moved to the side, avoiding the body, but Hera's chakram was right behind it. The kobold dodged the attack and rolled to the side once more, trying to hit her again. She pulled back, hitting the wooden wall with her back, and flung a paralyze towards the monster. The creature wasn't expecting a long-range attack and slammed into the projectile head first. The makeshift claw grabbed the kobold and sent a green electric current through its body, leaving the monster paralyzed.

Hera checked to see the creature's status and confirmed that the status effect had triggered and that the kobolds didn't have an advanced title. They all were just named kobold. Hera slammed her handaxe on the neck of the creature, killing it on the spot. She pressed the communicator right away, "I got two by the wall. They said something about bringing the ones in cages. Am I the only one who thinks that's about the feral?"

"It does make sense. Did anyone noticed something like that around?" Bonnie said.

"Nothing here," Alex replied.

"I might have some of those around," Blue said.

"Where are you?" Hera rushed away from the tents, wanting to help her friend.

"I'm in the alchemist cabin. It's the secluded place on the left side of the camp. I can't say what is coming, only that they are big. But they don't seem to notice us just yet."

"Stay hidden. I'm on my way."

"I'm heading there now," Hera and Alex replied at the same time.

As the two ran towards Blue, bells started to ring around the camp, with the kobolds getting up and getting ready for a fight. Tom and Bonnie, who were fighting close to the entrance, saw the hundreds of small humanoid lizards getting out of their barracks and chasing away the two dozen or so invaders. If they ignored the current threat to their lives, the scene would be almost comic.

Hera navigated through the literal wave of kobolds, leaving the tents looking like clown cars. Even during the day, the number of creatures inside the camp was several times smaller. Yet, as she got closer to the cabin, the army vanished, almost like they avoided the area. As she got closer and was about to step into an open field, Hera felt someone grabbing her arm and pulling her back.

She quickly grabbed her axe and turned towards her attacker, only to see Alex with wide eyes and a single finger in front of her lips, indicating for her to be quiet. Hera nodded and looked to the cabin. Alex pointed at a few shadows circling the wooden building. Three kobolds with pitch-black fur and silver fangs kept sniffing the ground, trying to find a scent. Hera and Alex moved to the side, hiding behind one of the barricades in the area. They waited, trying to learn what they could about the monsters before facing them. One of the creatures made a wider arc around the cabin, getting close enough to allow Hera to use her [Observe].

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Feral Kobold Warrior – Level 7

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Hera swallowed her saliva and made a motion to Alex, informing her of their levels. There were three of them, meaning that each would have to fight one in order to protect the cabin and save Blue. Alex pointed at her earpiece and received a nod from Hera.

She went flat on the ground and covered her mouth with her hands while Hera kept watching the monsters, "Guys, we need help. Blue is…"

Before Alex finished her sentence, the three Feral Kobolds snapped their necks to where the two were hidden and barked while running towards the barricade. Hera pulled Alex up and got ready to face the incoming beasts.