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Chapter 54 Kobold Scale Warlock
Personality: Timid, cunning, and vengeful. Extremely averse to dwarfs and other humanoid creatures. Individually cowardly, but becomes highly aggressive when in a large group.
Danger level: Single individual ≈ adult wielding a stick, very low threat; however, when in groups (10-30 individuals) and taking advantage of the environment, the threat level increases significantly.
Their traps, poisonous insects, and ranged harassment tactics are enough to wear down an unprepared adventure team.
Commonly found in: underground mines, natural caves, deep forests, and any dark areas. The nests are complex in structure, full of traps and narrow passages.
Recorder's notes:
"They may be the weakest humanoid creatures in the world, but they are also one of the reasons for the largest number of casualties among novice adventurers."
Never be fooled by their size and timidity; there may be dozens more kobolds lurking in the shadows you cannot see.
Remember these three ironclad rules: First, they never appear alone;
Second, their nests are always ten times more dangerous than they appear. Pickaxes and traps are weapons more deadly than teeth;
Third, in a dangerous situation where there are many dogs, running away is a good option. Believe me, friend, compared to total annihilation, running away is actually much more cost-effective.
Taggan gestured to Charlin and Leah.
Lia understood, silently drew her bow and aimed at the kobold a little further away.
Xia Lin nodded to Tagen and bowed slightly.
"call out!"
Lia's arrow pierced the air, taking down a kobold guard who was "slacking off during work hours".
The other kobold guard, seeing its "work partner" being manually and urgently logged off, jumped up to scream and call the police.
Taggan burst out from around the corner like a cannonball, and the shield slammed into its face!
"Bang!" A tooth-grinding sound of bone cracking.
The kobold guard was spun halfway through the air before crashing to the ground without a sound.
Xia Lin followed closely behind, delivering the final blow to ensure its peaceful journey.
"Well done." Targen flicked the blood off his shield. "We should be in their core area up ahead. Keep things quiet."
The four of them moved forward more cautiously.
Passing through the grotto where the guards were located, the passage gradually widened, and more noise and faint flickering firelight could be heard from ahead.
They crept to the edge of a huge natural cave and, by the light of the torches burning with black smoke in the center of the cave, were able to see what was inside.
The cave was larger than I had imagined, with haphazardly piled-up ores, broken tools, moldy hides and bones everywhere, making it resemble a large secondhand market.
In the corner, there was even a patch of strangely colored mushrooms, which was probably their "farm".
In Xia Lin's view, these kobolds had far more advanced management experience than the goblins, who would not bother to tinker with this crop.
Hunger and reproduction are the most important things in a goblin's life.
Inside the cave, at least a dozen ordinary kobolds were gathered, surrounding a slightly elevated earthen platform in the center.
On the earthen platform sat a dog-headed man who was noticeably larger.
Its scales were a deeper dark red with a faint metallic sheen, and it even had a few short, crooked, horn-like protrusions on its head.
It held a short staff roughly bound together with some kind of bone and broken crystals, and arrogantly barked at its fellow creatures below, seemingly giving instructions or assigning tasks.
That appearance suddenly reminded Xia Lin of the bald leader who spoke at the weekly meeting.
Could it be that the kobold race also has all sorts of annoying performance evaluation metrics?
"Kobold-scaled sorcerer." Targen's voice was low and grave. "This is troublesome. This bastard knows magic."
As if to confirm his words, the scale sorcerer on the platform seemed to sense something.
Suddenly stopping its shouting, its small, scarlet eyes abruptly turned toward the shadows where Xia Lin and the others were hiding, emitting a sharp alarm!
The ordinary kobolds below immediately erupted in chaos, as if they saw an opportunity for a promotion and a raise.
They grabbed whatever they could find—short spears, stones, and pickaxes—and surged forward in a chaotic frenzy.
"Prepare for battle!" Targen roared, raising his shield to meet the attack.
The battle erupted instantly!
Tagen, like an iron dam, blocked the narrowest entrance to the cave.
The steel shield in his hands transformed into a moving barrier, blocking attacks from both sides.
The rubble thrown haphazardly by the kobolds and the crude spearheads thrusting through the gaps were all deflected with a "ping-pong" sound, sparks flying everywhere.
Each swing of his warhammer was accompanied by a tooth-chilling cracking sound and a short scream, sending kobolds flying, crashing against the rock face and rolling away, never to be heard again.
Lia drew her bow from behind, precisely killing a kobold that was trying to climb up the side rock wall. The arrow pierced its throat, sending a spray of blood into the air.
Ezio, meanwhile, roamed the edge of the battlefield, his dagger gleaming coldly, specifically targeting lone or wounded enemies.
Xia Lingang sidestepped the wildly swinging pickaxe of a kobold eager to make a name for himself, and then slashed horizontally with his sword.
The sharp blade sliced open the opponent's vulnerable abdomen, spilling blood and fragments of internal organs like an opened can of strawberries.
Woody's warning rang in his ears: "Big guy, watch out for that kobold scale warlock! Its spell is coming!"
On the earthen platform, the kobold-headed scaly sorcerer brandished his bone staff, the shards of crystal at the top of the staff glowing with a murky green light.
It let out a shriek, and a thick, pungent acid arrow shot towards Taggen!
Tagan, with his extensive combat experience, immediately unleashed his steel shield to meet the attack with all his might upon seeing the situation!
"laugh--!"
The strong acid arrow struck the shield, immediately sending up plumes of pungent white smoke, and the sound of metal corroding was chilling.
A shallow pit had been etched into the top of the shield in Taggan's hand, and the steel edges sizzled.
He thought about the considerable repair costs for the shield and felt a pang of pain, his face contorted with misery.
"We must deal with that spellcaster first!"
It's too dangerous to leave a long-range artillery turret in the rear.
"I'll hold them off!" Targen, shield in hand, smashed through several kobolds blocking his path and moved toward the Scaled Sorcerer to draw its attention.
The kobold-scaled sorcerer tapped his bone staff repeatedly, this time conjuring a blazing fireball.
It actually possessed more than one type of magic.
Suddenly, a lithe figure darted out from the shadows on the side.
It's Xia Lin!
The fireball arrived in an instant and slammed into Xia Lin's scale shield!
The anticipated explosion and shield destruction that resulted in injuries did not occur.
Beneath the dark, textured scales of that dragon scale shield, a fleeting, almost imperceptible glint of light flashed by.
The intense heat and impact force seemed to encounter some kind of invisible barrier the moment they came into contact with the shield, and were greatly dispersed and weakened.
Most of the flames scattered along the arc of the shield, landing on a few "lucky" kobolds nearby, causing a burst of "excited" shouts.
Xia Lin felt a scorching heat rushing towards him, but it was no longer able to cause any real harm.
The kobolds' prized spells are far less effective against this fire-resistant scale shield!
Taking advantage of the brief gap and smoke generated by the fireball, Xia Lin pushed off with his feet, his figure shooting out like a cheetah that had been poised for a long time!
He held up his shield with one hand to protect his side and front, while the veteran's longsword in his right hand was dragged behind him.
The sword tip sliced through the air with a soft hiss, and all the power and speed of the body were concentrated at the tip of the sword at that moment.
The kobold-scaled warlock cast spells in quick succession and was currently in a brief period of post-cast sagehood.
At this moment, his small eyes widened in disbelief, never expecting that his flames would fail to repel the opponent!
In its panic, it frantically tried to swing the bone staff again, attempting to force itself to fire one more shot.
But it was too late!
The sharp blade has already pierced through the smoke, precise, ruthless, and unstoppable!
"Pfft—!!"
The dull thud of a sharp blade piercing flesh was still clearly audible amidst the chaos of the battlefield.
The veteran's longsword pierced the kobold-scaled sorcerer's abdomen, penetrating the scales, cutting through the muscles, shattering the life force, and bringing out warm blood and fragments of bone!
The kobold-scaled sorcerer froze completely, his crimson eyes filled with disbelief and terror.
It left in a hurry.
Immediately, the bone staff clattered to the ground. Its body, slightly larger than its kind, swayed and crashed heavily onto the cold earthen platform, kicking up a cloud of dust.
A brief silence.
Immediately following was the panicked scream of the remaining dog-headed humans.
The hasty departure of the "leader" threw them into complete chaos.
"Well done!"
However, before they could even catch their breath, a furious and even louder roar suddenly came from the depths of the cave!