Kru

Biodata

Power Progression

Appearance

• Dragon wings: A distinguishing feature that helped persuade Wentesi to appoint him chief; Kru is later shown flying to deliver a report 1 8.
• Sharp teeth and claws: He bares his teeth when greeting Wentesi and uses his claws to point out the territory’s crops 1 29.
• Beast-tooth necklace: Worn during his first appearance 1.
• Golden cultivation glow: A faint golden light surrounds him while he absorbs Greater Yang Qi 19.

Personality

Kru is clever, hardworking, and deeply deferential toward Wentesi. His master values his loyalty, levelheadedness, and tireless management of farming and mining. He avoids interrupting cultivation, once waiting outside for about an hour before delivering his report 1 8 16.

His loyalty does not prevent him from scheming against fellow subordinates. Walker’s superior strength and potential make Kru fear for his position, prompting him to manipulate the gnoll into making a dangerous request. Nevertheless, when the territory faces an immediate threat, Kru sets that rivalry aside and orders his troops to support Walker 15.

Kru treats Wentesi’s wealth as something to protect even from Wentesi’s own generosity. He considers giving laborers one-tenth of their harvest wasteful and argues that keeping them barely fed should suffice. Although he only partly understands Wentesi’s explanation of productivity incentives, he accepts the policy and obeys 45.

History

Appointment and Rivalry with Walker

Wentesi chose Kru—initially called Gru—as kobold chief because he was stronger and cleverer than the other kobolds and possessed dragon wings. After subjugating Walker’s gnolls, Wentesi placed Kru in charge of them and ordered him to organize a period of hard labor 1 4.

Walker’s arrival threatened Kru’s previously uncontested position. Kru grew anxious when Walker killed badger beasts that had repeatedly raided the vegetable garden, a problem Kru had failed to resolve for more than half a year. After Walker advanced in level, Kru flattered him and suggested requesting a Dragon Blood Blessing, expecting Wentesi to punish the presumption with death 8 15.

Beast-Transformed Leopard Attack

Kru led more than forty kobolds against a level-six Beast-Transformed Leopard at the fishing area. Their three-member formations could not withstand it for long, and he maintained their faltering morale by promising Wentesi’s imminent arrival and threatening deserters with execution 15.

When Walker arrived alive and empowered by golden Law Power, Kru realized his scheme had failed. He nevertheless ordered the kobolds to support Walker. After Wentesi killed the leopard, Kru received orders to tally casualties, collect usable remains, and ensure that nobody ate its cursed flesh 15.

Conversion and Dragon Religion

Wentesi selected Kru as his second Field of Merit because of his loyalty and administrative competence. Kru initially mistook the offered blessing for a Dragon Blood Blessing, but willingly accepted when told it was something different. The conversion merged his former worship of the kobold god with his loyalty to Wentesi, directing both toward his master 16.

Kru and Walker received the Hairy Head Sun Method through the Golden Land and became the founding converts of the Great Love Dragon Religion. They were ordered to cultivate diligently, recruit others, and obey Wentesi absolutely. Among the followers, their cultivation method was called the Great Love Dragon Scripture 16 17 19.

Stewardship During Wentesi’s Absence

Before entering dormancy, Wentesi instructed Kru and Walker to prepare defenses and evacuation plans, then entrusted Kru with the territory’s affairs. During the seven-month absence, Kru oversaw a population increase of one-tenth and sold the stored three-flower honey to a shapeshifter caravan for gold, following Wentesi’s instructions 18 19 28.

His most consequential discovery concerned the imported Spirit Plants. When ordinary soil failed to sustain them, Kru found that the Golden Land supported exceptionally high survival and growth rates. Acting on his own initiative, he moved all the spirit seeds there. Wentesi returned to flourishing crops, including thirty mu dedicated to White Jade Grain, and repeatedly praised Kru’s work 28 29.

Expanding the Territory

Kru reported the arrival of twenty bearfolk and thirty minotaur refugees and later directed further land clearance as the growing population increased food demand. Although six granaries held substantial reserves, he expanded cultivation as a precaution 29 35.

By this stage, his reports covered Spirit Plant growth, honey yields, patrols, and defenses in enough detail that Wentesi rarely needed to handle routine administration personally. Wentesi also judged his cultivation progress steady 44 45.

Abilities & Skills

Territory Administration

• Oversees farming, mining, labor assignments, food reserves, trade, patrols, and defenses 4 16 28 35 44.
• Handles outside messages and announces visitors, including a powerful elderly human claiming to be Wentesi’s ally 29 36.
• Recognizes practical opportunities, notably the Golden Land’s usefulness for growing imported Spirit Plants 28.

Hairy Head Sun Cultivation

• Absorbs Greater Yang Qi using the method Wentesi transmitted through the Golden Land 16 19.
• Progresses quickly despite spending much of his time managing the territory; by the time he approaches the Third Level of Embryonic Breathing, Walker remains at the First Level 36.
• Continues supplying cultivation to Wentesi during his master’s dormancy, helping support Wentesi’s advancement 20.

Field of Merit Connection

• Transfers roughly one-tenth of his absorbed Greater Yang Qi to Wentesi through an invisible Qi vein 19.
• Can receive cultivation power and methodological understanding through the same two-way connection 16.
• Is subject to Wentesi’s mental access: Wentesi reads his thoughts to discover why he is hesitating after a report 44.
• Has his religious devotion redirected toward Wentesi by the conversion 16.

Flight and Battlefield Command

• Uses his dragon wings to fly 1 8.
• Commands kobolds in the Three-Three Formation, which coordinates offense and defense through mutually supporting groups of three 15.
• Cannot compensate for a major strength gap through formation alone; the level-six leopard steadily overwhelms his troops 15.

Cultivation Instruction and Testing

• Carries out Wentesi’s order to teach the Formless Muscle-Changing Sutra to stronger kobolds 9.
• Tests two successful practitioners with a blade, finding that his light slashes leave only white marks on their hardened skin 9.

Equipment

• Beast-hide armor — Worn when Wentesi summons him for conversion into a Field of Merit 16.
• Beast-tooth necklace — Worn in his first appearance 1.
• Blade — Used to test the defenses of kobolds practicing the Formless Muscle-Changing Sutra 9.

Relationships

• Wentesi — Lord, cultivation teacher, and eventual object of worship. Wentesi entrusts him with Emerald Valley’s administration and values both his management and cultivation aptitude 16 28 36 44.
• Walker — Rival subordinate and fellow founding convert. Kru unsuccessfully tries to engineer his downfall but cooperates with him in defending the territory and cultivating under Wentesi 15 17 19.
• Kobold tribe — His original followers and military force; he directs their labor, training assignments, and battlefield formations 4 9 15.
• Minotaur laborers — Workers under his administration. A young minotaur hears that Kru has promised them one-tenth of their fields’ harvest, although Kru later privately objects to that payment policy 35 45.