It Really Wants to Live

As the most commonly used language on the continent, mastering the Common Tongue is not a difficult task.

Provided one has sufficient intelligence.

Kobolds, obviously, are not among them.

As the humble descendants of the legendary dragons, they use Draconic, though most can only utter guttural or explosive sounds, occasionally mixed with trills and hissing noises, to form one or two phrases.

And these are limited to expressing certain intentions.

For example, "Charge," "Follow," "Help," "Flee"...

They cannot use these words to form a complete sentence with a subject, verb, and object.

But the kobold wearing a robe, instantly distinguishable from its kin, seemed afraid Black Snake would misunderstand.

It was simultaneously directing its kin in obscure Draconic while translating for itself in Common:

"...Also, the cellar, move everything!"

Hearing its command, a kobold seemed to freeze, turning its head:

"Xi Geth Varyk? (There, stones?)"

"Rua! Exactly!"

The robed kobold waved its hand with great seriousness, signaling its kin not to waste time. The other could only scratch the back of its head and leave in confusion.

Seeing that the two mercenaries had stabilized the situation, Tang Qi was no longer as cautious. He quickly feigned panic and ran over, attracting Gravel's attention:

"Bard, weren't you told to stay put at the entrance?"

Tang Qi panted, as if he had truly encountered danger:

"We, we were attacked!"

"What!?"

The two mercenaries' expressions changed simultaneously. Gravel rushed to the robed kobold, grabbed its robe, and spat:

"You have accomplices! How dare you play us for fools!?"

That kobold was even shorter than Gravel, and besides, it had already witnessed the latter's capabilities--

It had originally gathered all its kin, ready to face them in this resting area, attempting to crush the two with sheer numbers.

Until it saw the tower shield coming at them, smashing through several of its kin.

Now, it was clearly terrified and hastily explained:

"We, all, here!"

It struggled to draw a circle with its arm, gesturing to its remaining thirty kin, and repeated, "All!"

Tang Qi also explained:

"It wasn't kobolds, it was a mass of yellow-green... slime, like snot formed into a ball!

It was eating kobold corpses at first, then it started attacking us. I escaped while Jackal was tangled up with it!"

At this point, he couldn't explain too much detail.

No matter how logical a lie, it always had flaws.

That's why it needed ambiguity, room for them to fill in the blanks, making it easier to convince them.

"Predator, us, strange thing!" the kobold being held also shouted.

The two mercenaries were veteran adventurers. After hearing the description, they exchanged glances:

"Ochre Jelly monster?"

They had seen this type of ooze before.

But in the past, judging the environment's danger and performing reconnaissance were tasks left to old ranger Markwen.

To the point that they hadn't realized there were Ochre Jelly monsters lurking in this cave.

"Jackal can't handle that thing. I'll go take a look."

Gravel grabbed his mace and tower shield, then looked at Tang Qi, "Bard, lead the way!"

Because the conflict between the two amateurs was obvious, they didn't even bother asking why Tang Qi had abandoned Jackal and fled alone.

Who would care about the fate of their enemy?

Tang Qi nodded repeatedly and led Gravel back the way they came.

To Gravel's surprise, he exclaimed:

"Bard, you're too kind to be human.

You're not even leading me around in circles in the tunnels?

If we go later, we might see him dead."

They aren't a group, are they?

"Then I'd much rather see him crying for his mommy when he begs for help."

Tang Qi wasn't sure if the other party was testing him, so he just made a joke.

It wasn't until the two arrived at the open space by the entrance and saw that only a human skeleton, with a little bit of shredded meat still attached, remained inside the mass of slime, that Gravel slapped his forehead:

"Looks like he can't cry anymore, even if he wanted to."

Tang Qi certainly didn't need to take a detour.

He had estimated the time it would take to travel back and forth through the tunnel; it would take at least 20 minutes.

That was enough time for the Ochre Jelly monster to digest the corpse completely.

"This is troublesome. We knew each other, after all. Should I collect his corpse for him?

For his soul to rest in peace, so he can be reborn..."

Gravel stared at the Jackal's remains and mused.

"Perhaps one day a necromancer will visit and assemble his skeleton, using it as a skeleton soldier—isn't that also a form of 'rebirth'?"

Tang Qi had no intention of collecting the corpse of his enemy.

"Sorry, just kidding."

"No, I like your humor."

Thinking of that scene, Gravel couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"As for this slime monster... once it's full, it'll crawl back into some crevice.

It wouldn't hunt humans unless it was starving—adventurer armor is hard on the teeth and causes indigestion."

Gravel patted Tang Qi's shoulder: "Let's go back."

Tang Qi felt a little more at ease and made one last probe:

"Speaking of which, aren't you guys companions? Jackal died, and you seem rather... calm about it?"

"Companions? Perhaps.

But I don't run in the same circles as the riffraff in Black Reef Port.

This group has been suppressed for too long, they're used to being scared, and everything they do has a slimy feel to it, like a rat-headed fish from a sewer—

Have you ever seen one? A Black Reef Port specialty, a carnivorous fish with a head like a rat.

They usually scavenge for small fish and worms in the gutters, but their flesh is firm and delicious. If you cut off the head, you can even dip it in sauce and eat it raw."

Gravel stomped his foot and spat.

"He might be good at his job, but if I hadn't received a commission from the employer at the same time, I wouldn't even bother inviting him for a drink—

Who would fully arm themselves like a bandit when they should be enjoying fine wine?

He doesn't understand the pleasure of savoring wine! He just brandishes his claws and fangs to scare civilians, what's the point?"

Well, Gravel had a lot of pent-up resentment, clearly.

"A carnivorous fish treated as food..."

Tang Qi smacked his lips.

"Big fish eat small fish, that really suits him."

The Jackal had been completely digested. The two didn't linger. When they returned to Black Snake's side, they found the kobolds moving star plums out of crates one by one.

He could even see a long-robed kobold at the entrance of a cave, hitting one of its kin and cursing:

"...Useless, speed, slow!"

Although that was how it translated, Tang Qi felt something was off.

The tone of this "scolding" lacked many of the guttural and "hissing" sounds, and even sounded rhythmic.

Meanwhile, Black Snake, after hearing Gravel's account, merely narrowed its eyes, glanced at Tang Qi, and then muttered to itself:

"A pity, we're short a person for dirty work."

Thinking about it, the Jackal's limited understanding of the dungeon didn't suggest someone who had gone through life and death with Gravel and Black Snake as an adventurer.

Tang Qi secretly breathed a sigh of relief and shifted his gaze to the kobolds, who were working in pairs to carry wooden crates.

He steered the conversation back on track:

"So you found the star plums?"

Black Snake pointed to the wooden crates:

"They stole them. They said the meat worms in the cave were getting scarce, so they were forced to hunt outside. Since it was only a few kilometers from town, they set their sights on the star plums."

Gravel let out a hearty laugh: "When we came out of the tunnel, these kobolds tried to resist, until I smashed their heads."

Tang Qi felt there were still some unresolved doubts and reminded them:

"That kobold was a bit strange..."

"Too smart?"

Black Snake agreed wholeheartedly.

"Every species has its exceptional individuals. This theft was likely its plan—a talking kobold, that's a first for me."

After scolding for a bit, the robed kobold hurried over, a human-like, fawning smile on its face:

"Twenty, all, count!"

Immediately, it pulled out another chest. Inside lay a shallow layer of gold coins, a few dozen.

Resting on the gold coins were a bow and arrows, a dagger, a sword and shield, and even a short leather jacket with a high-quality texture, and a set of neatly arranged, blood-stained plate armor that was human-sized.

It looked like an adventurer's legacy. Tang Qi could even guess that this group included a warrior and a ranger—

But their equipment was remarkably intact. The kobolds' bone hammers couldn't even leave a dent in the plate armor.

How did they get defeated by this group of kobolds?

Or was Black Snake and Gravel's strength even greater than he imagined?

"Theft, wrong!

Kuru, apologize!

All, give you!"

The robed kobold pushed the legacy forward, bent its legs, and knelt on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing.

"Surrender, spare life!"

It was clear.

It really wanted to live.