Dragonblood Kobold

"Ding! Quest: Peering Kobolds completed.

Reward: The allegiance of the Kobold Bloodline Mage has been issued. Please claim it yourself."

Loren's first war in this world ended with the surrender of the Bloodline Mage, Sim Claw.

After Sim Claw had angrily ordered the kobolds to surrender, their once-high morale visibly crumbled.

As their spirits sank and the barbarians' rose, the frenzied warriors went on a rampage.

If Loren hadn't stopped the barbarians in time, not a soul would have been left alive by the end.

But as a result, he now had over a hundred prisoners.

Before long, the battlefield had been cleared.

The barbarians, drained after their frenzy, were like deflated balls. They leaned on one another, their legs weak and the arms holding their battle-axes trembling uncontrollably.

The boost to their combat strength after entering a frenzy was almost absurd.

But every gain came at a cost. The daylong period of weakness afterward meant the skill could never become something they used routinely.

Even so, the hulking men, though physically spent, were in good spirits—perhaps even exhilarated.

After the battle, everyone felt that their strength had increased.

The barbarians lived in the bitterly cold mountains, where they fought Magic Beasts year-round and wrestled bears for food. They were keenly attuned to their own strength and could clearly sense even the slightest improvement.

And this time, the increase was unmistakable.

The postwar count showed that ten high-tier Bronze barbarians had advanced to Silver Beginner during the fighting.

The brutes roared with excitement, gazing at Loren with fervent admiration.

This was the power their new king had granted them!

Praise the Goddess! Praise Lord Loren!

The battle was over. Now came the work of tending to the aftermath.

Loren dragged his weakened body to the front of the caravan, where the wounded had been laid out.

Nearly forty barbarians were sprawled across the clearing.

Their armor was scorched black by fire, and the blood on their bodies had dried to black. Some had wounds torn open by claws, their flesh gaping; in others, bone showed through.

Their pained moans echoed through the air.

Every barbarian had been injured to some degree, but wounds inflicted by ordinary kobolds were no cause for concern. A few days of rest would be enough for their hardy bodies to recover.

The barbarians caught in the magic, however, were in grave condition. Elemental power was consuming their lives, and ordinary treatment was completely ineffective.

Loren's face was cold as ice, the killing intent around him almost tangible.

These barbarians were the foundation of his power.

Sim Claw, the kobold Bloodline Mage standing nearby, keenly sensed the icy glint in Loren's eyes. He shuddered and hurriedly looked away, nearly swallowed by fear.

For some reason, even when facing the Barbarian Chieftain, Yas, and Fiana—two powerful fighters of Gold and Platinum grades—Sim Claw had felt only anger.

But the sight of Loren, whose expression was calm and who had shown him not a trace of anger or displeasure, filled him with an indescribable terror.

It was the fear that welled up from the depths of a lesser being's bloodline when faced with a higher life form.

"How bad are their injuries?"

Loren turned to the Barbarian Chieftain beside him, his voice utterly devoid of emotion.

"Lord Loren, their bodies have been damaged by elemental energy. If we don't purge that transcendent power, I'm afraid..."

Yas's broad face was full of anguish.

Barbarians might not fear death, but no one wanted to watch a companion fall before their eyes—especially not at the hands of lowly kobolds!

For proud barbarians, that was simply unacceptable.

Loren shifted his gaze to Sim Claw, who was standing off to one side with his head ducked, pretending to be dead. He said calmly,

"You should be able to purge the elemental power from their bodies, right?"

Sim Claw shuddered. Gathering his courage, he looked up at Loren, his expression more miserable than if he were crying.

"Yes, yes, my lord. I should be able to purge it."

Loren nodded and gestured to Fiana.

"Undo his power seal."

Fiana eyed Sim Claw warily.

"Stay behind me."

After warning Loren, she stepped forward. Platinum-colored energy blazed from her like fire and instantly engulfed Sim Claw.

A few breaths later, a faint white energy rose from the kobold Bloodline Mage and dispersed into the air.

His magic had returned.

Sim felt the magic flowing through his body and had no time to celebrate before—clang!—a sharp longsword was laid against his neck. The icy touch of metal against his skin made his back prickle.

Fiana's voice was cold.

"No tricks, kobold. I've killed more Spellcasters than you can imagine."

Sim's face stiffened, and he immediately settled down.

Under the wary gazes of the others, he shakily approached the wounded.

"Respected lady, I need to channel my magic."

"Go ahead."

Once he had their permission, Sim breathed a sigh of relief. Magic surged from him, and a crimson fire element began to gather.

A few breaths later, the elemental energy spread across the area for several dozen meters.

The wounded barbarians suddenly let out cries of unbearable pain. But after that brief agony, the elemental energy that had been consuming them vanished without a trace.

The barbarians who had been on the verge of death quickly regained some strength, and their breathing steadied.

Loren immediately used Eye of Truth to inspect them.

Barbarian

Level: High-tier Bronze

Status: Gravely wounded

(omitted).

The thirty-odd barbarians had been on the brink of death. They hadn't fully recovered, but their condition had improved to gravely wounded. At least their lives were no longer in danger.

Loren breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they didn't die, their hardy bodies would have them back on their feet before long.

With the barbarians out of danger, Loren's mood improved considerably. He opened the system panel again, finally ready to inspect the quest reward for defeating the kobolds: the kobold Bloodline Mage, Sim Claw.

Curious, he activated Eye of Truth.

Sim Claw

Level: Silver Beginner

Bloodline: Dragonblood Kobold (B+ grade, awakened)

Loyalty: 0 (may defect at any time)

Bond: Kobold Bloodline Mage. When the number of kobolds nearby exceeds 100, magic recovery speed increases by 30%, and spell power increases by 20%.

Evaluation: He had learned powerful spells through his bloodline. The trace of dragon blood in his body enhanced their power.

Loren felt as if his eyes were going to pop out of his head. A Dragonblood Kobold?

He looked at the fool before him, trembling in a black cloak, and his expression grew complicated.

No wonder the fellow's spells were so powerful. This was incredible!

Any creature with a connection to dragons, a transcendent species by nature, was bound to be extraordinary.

This kobold had hit the jackpot.

He glanced at the huge crater blasted by magic in the distance and at the thirty-odd barbarians lying on the ground. His eyes narrowed slightly.

A Bloodline Mage with dragon blood who knew two potent spells—this quest reward was ridiculously generous.

The second-circle Fireball Spell aside, the third-circle spell that could greatly increase the combat power of hundreds of kobolds—Bloodthirsty Wonder Technique—could only be learned by a high-tier Gold Mage.

That spell alone made the kobold worth a fortune.

Spellcasters were extremely rare on the Nol Main Plane. They had always been an elite force that was hard to come by.

And among their already limited numbers, those who knew spells above the third circle were rarer still. Spellcasters capable of casting an area-wide spell like Bloodthirsty Wonder Technique were rarer yet.

Under normal circumstances, spells that granted group-wide enhancements like this could only be learned by Platinum Mages. High-tier Gold Mages merely met the minimum requirements to study them.

Now that this kobold who knew Bloodthirsty Wonder Technique had become his subordinate, didn't that mean, by extension, he effectively had a Platinum Mage?

In Decker City, even hiring a Silver Grade Spellcaster came at a steep price. Gold and Platinum ones were even harder to find. There were probably fewer than ten Platinum Mages in the entire city.

Loren's mood soared.

But why hadn't this kobold pledged his allegiance yet?

After thinking for a moment, Loren suddenly understood. The system prompt had said he had to claim the reward himself?

He looked indifferently at the kobold Mage.

His voice was utterly devoid of emotion.

"Sim Claw, you led your subordinates in an attack on my caravan, causing many casualties.

"Now, in the name of the Lord of Gray Eagle Territory, I judge you for your crimes!"

"Fiana, seal his power."

Fiana nodded and used her Platinum-grade energy to seal Sim Claw's magic once more.

Loren stepped forward, then took the longsword from Fiana. As Sim stared at him in terror, he rested the blade against the kobold's neck.

The cold blade against his skin made Sim feel weak all over. He stared at Loren in horror.

What was this tyrant going to do?!

Loren's voice was cold.

"After reviewing your case, I've determined that you and all the kobolds are guilty of an unforgivable crime punishable by death.

"You have two choices. First, join Gray Eagle Territory, become my subordinate, and serve me to atone for your crimes.

"Second, I sentence you to death. The sentence will be carried out immediately."

Looking at the utter lack of emotion in Loren's eyes, Sim crumbled.

No, he couldn't die here. He still had a future. He had only awakened his bloodline a month ago!

He didn't want to die. He didn't want to die!

"No! Great noble lord, I'm useful! You can't kill me, you can't!

"I—I'll join you. I choose the first option! The first!

"I'm willing to become your subordinate!

"I'm a Mage, and there are many more spells in my bloodline waiting to awaken. You have to believe me—I can still be useful to you!"

He stammered, his kobold face full of panic and desperation, afraid that Loren might simply wave his hand and slit his throat.

But the two barbarians holding him from behind kept him pinned down, and all his frantic struggles were useless.

Loren nodded slowly and glanced at Fiana.

"Does he have a point?"

Fiana, her expression cool, felt rather strange. Then she looked at the kobold Mage with some sympathy as he desperately gestured at her, pleading for her to put in a good word.

Why did this scene feel so familiar? Hadn't the heads of those merchant guilds who had come to the inn that morning to seek his cooperation gone through the same thing?