Dogs and Wizards

Crunch, crunch—

Aisijin and Big Silly Hum stood off to the side, curiously gnawing on ice chunks.

"Is this big fellow a Dragonborn Kobold? He said he was from the Red Horn Tribe too."

Ruger looked at Old Gold Tooth, who was still barely clinging to life but seemed capable of gasping on for quite a while.

The kobold who had fought the giant snake lay nearby, weakly rolling his eyes. He was slightly taller than Big Silly Hum, but his shoulders were not as broad. Still, judging by the fact that he had faced the giant snake head-on, he was far stronger than Big Silly Hum.

"Ugh! Not the same. Similar, but also a little different..."

Old Gold Tooth studied him closely with equal curiosity.

Ruger stepped forward and examined him carefully. This big fellow's fur was exceptionally thick, with only a few red scales around his elbows and other areas. That was the greatest difference between him and the Dragonborn Kobolds Old Gold Tooth had seen.

Ruger scooped up a handful of shaved ice from nearby and flung it onto the red-scaled kobold's face.

Big Silly Hum watched from the side, smacking his lips twice. He apparently had not eaten enough yet, but he did not dare make a sound.

Startled by the ice chips, the red-scaled kobold gradually showed signs of waking.

A burst of commotion suddenly arose from the distant kobold settlement. Ruger and the others merely glanced over before ignoring it.

The kobold on the ground slowly moved his eyes, waking up bit by bit.

This fellow seemed rather fierce. The moment he woke, he bared his teeth in a threatening display and tried to rise, only for Ruger to kick him back down. His weakness was plain to see. To Ruger, all of that was fear born from frailty, unease at suddenly arriving in an unfamiliar place. Those who had once been strong often feared even more when they lost their strength and became weak.

"Red Horn?"

He smiled at the kobold lying on the ground.

Being kicked down by a kobold so abnormally small seemed difficult for the big fellow to accept. He was already on the verge of flying into a rage.

"I ask, you answer. I know you can understand."

He knew kobold habits all too well. No amount of reasoning worked as well as making the other side understand your strength.

So, without even giving him time to respond, a blue-white beam flickered at his fingertips. The kobold on the ground instinctively dodged, twisting and rolling halfway over just in time to take a Freezing Ray on his back.

"Your fur is very thick. Truly fine fur. You must eat quite well to grow it this dense..."

He whispered like a demon, revealing a sincere yet wicked smile. He wanted the other party to remember that smile forever. Slowly, he raised his hand and cast the spell he had prepared long ago.

In truth, he could use this spell without pointing with his fingers. The accompanying gestures and words served two purposes: one, to secretly recover some of his depleted mental strength; the other, to create a sense of pressure. That slowly raised hand would leave a deep impression on his opponent.

Zero-Ring Spell: Shedding Spell!

The warrior from the Red Horn Tribe had barely let his anger rise when the change before him cut it short.

The spell's effect was astonishingly good. It was not just a patch of fur, nor merely the spot he had casually pointed at. In an instant, the entire kobold became bald.

Old Gold Tooth and Aisijin both stared at Ruger in terror. Big Silly Hum, who had been sitting there watching the show, instinctively started inching backward.

Swoosh! Another Freezing Ray!

"Awooo!"

The kobold let out a startled cry.

Every miserable scream felt as though it pierced the hearts of the three kobolds beside him.

After several cries, Ruger finally stopped. Not only because he feared freezing this suspected Dragonborn Kobold to death, but also because he wanted to save some mental strength in case anything changed.

"We're all kobolds. We're family. I just want to have a chat with you..."

He moved his feet and sat cross-legged on the ground, looking levelly at the kobold sprawled before him.

But the kobold did not dare meet his gaze. Once kobolds were defeated by their own kind, they immediately submitted. That was not a bad trait; it ensured the tribe retained a basic order for surviving in this harsh environment.

"Red Horn Tribe? Are there many kobolds like you?" he said.

The bald kobold nodded vigorously.

"The King, the King gave us strength. Many, many tribesmen went everywhere searching, bringing back one tribe after another. I couldn't compete with them, so I went very far away..."

The bald kobold's voice grew quieter and quieter. Already weak, he had begun to shiver, with large clumps of ice crystals clinging to his shoulders, back, and other areas.

Ruger gave a look, and Big Silly Hum immediately stepped forward. He first piled the fur over the kobold, then began smashing the ice crust with his fists. Big Silly Hum even secretly stuffed a piece of ice into his mouth, though it apparently did not taste very good.

"Your King is a Dragonborn Kobold?" he said.

The bald kobold nodded, then shook his head.

"The King failed. Back then, he was not yet King. He was very small and weak, but he had started becoming very smart. The King said he had awakened distant inherited memories, and more and more things appeared in his head. He said kobolds had no master, that we once had our own civilization, that kobolds once had our own empire, very, very great..."

The bald kobold kept talking.

But Ruger and the others had already turned to look at Old Gold Tooth.

"Then one day, the King suddenly grew tall, and red curved horns grew from his head. The King killed the Saint Lord of the tribe. The King said it was only a draconic beast, not a true dragon, which was why the kobolds in the tribe always failed. The King led us a long way to a pool filled with red water. It was very hot. He made us drink it. We became smarter and stronger. We cheered. We ate the dead Saint Lord into our bellies. It was the King's order..."

As the bald kobold spoke, his eyes gleamed as he looked at the three of them. He also glanced at Old Gold Tooth, who was lying there as well.

Ruger immediately understood. It seemed this fellow really had become smarter. He had suddenly become so cooperative because he was showing off his strength and the King's ideals, boasting on the King's behalf, trying to persuade them to join the Red Horn Tribe.

Clearly, the warrior from the Red Horn Tribe had taken a liking to the three kobolds who were obviously smarter than usual.

"Where is your King now? And what is this wizard you mentioned?" Ruger found it amusing and could not help smiling.

"The King? The King usually soaks in the pool. He only comes out when facing powerful enemies. The King's curved horns are getting redder and redder. The King said we have a curse. A wizard's curse makes little kobolds stupid from birth. We must kill the wizard."

At that, the bald kobold paused and looked again at Ruger and the others.

"You are very small, but very smart and very strong. The King will definitely like you! The King likes smart kobolds. The King always says we are stupid..."

The bald kobold's recovery ability was powerful. The ashen weakness he had shown upon waking was gone, and the fervor in his eyes could no longer be described as ordinary enthusiasm.

Ruger considered giving him another blast. The moment he raised his hand, the bald kobold shrank back in fright, and all his momentum vanished at once.

"By the time you got here, how many times had you been hungry? What else does your King usually make the kobolds in the tribe do?" he said.

The bald kobold began thinking seriously, but in the end, he seemed to fail at thinking.

"The King's orders are to mine more ore, catch more bugs, find more kobolds, claim bigger territory, mine more ore, catch even more bugs, and... and I forgot how many times I was hungry..." As he finished, his eyes involuntarily drifted toward Ruger's hand.

Seeing that he was not scolded, the bald kobold began once more to speak in fragments about the King's greatness.

Ruger did not listen closely, nor did he interrupt.

He was thinking about how to deal with this unusual kobold from the Red Horn Tribe.

"Does your place also have these complicated areas with big tunnels and small tunnels?" he said.

The bald kobold had been telling Big Silly Hum about the King's bravery when Ruger's voice suddenly interrupted him, startling him. He turned his large head and nodded repeatedly.

"Have you ever reached the end?" Ruger asked again.

The bald kobold shook his head forcefully.

The clamor from the distant kobolds had only just quieted down when it grew louder again, waves of sound rising one after another.

Faintly, they could hear voices saying that the great Gray Longneck Saint Lord had disappeared.