Chapter 60 Learning Things The Hard Way
After the Dwarves escaped the Kobold’s Nest, the majority of the Kobolds returned to tend to their duties.
However, when the guards of the prison returned to their posts, they noticed that all of their captives had escaped. This immediately brought a new round of alarms that could be heard through the entirety of the nest.
The expressions of Lux and the other Dwarves turned serious. They didn’t know why the Kobolds raised the alarms. However, they all knew that this was a dangerous time for all of them.
Just as the Half-Elf had expected, the Kobolds performed a thorough search for the prisoners that had escaped from their cages. They looked in every nook and cranny of their nest, with the exception of the dump site where they threw their trash.
For them, going there was a waste of time, and they didn’t believe that the Dwarves would go to that place to hide.
An hour passed then two, followed by the third.
The tension in Lux and the Dwarves was at an all time high as the hours passed by. In the end, Lux told the non-combatants to just rest, and the combatants to alternate between guarding and sleeping.
The red-headed teenager had become the temporary leader of the Dwarf survivors, and everyone listened to him. The grumpy Dwarf who had made things difficult for him earlier was no exception.
All of them wanted to live, and Lux saved their lives. Since they all owe him and they had seen his capabilities, the least they could do was trust his judgment until they managed to leave the Kobold’s Nest.
Lux positioned himself near the entrance of the cavern they were staying in. He was resting, but he would wake up at a moment’s notice. This was one of the techniques that his Grandma Vera had taught him a year ago, to allow himself to rest but still be able to react to any situation at any given time.-.
Hans, the head of the Dwarf merchant group, was paying close attention to the Half-Elf who had saved them. For some reason, he had a feeling that if he followed Lux’s orders, he would be able to leave this place alive.
Merchants usually followed their gut instinct, and his instincts were telling him that he had to stick with the Half-Elf no matter what.
Because he was paying close attention to Lux, he immediately noticed when the latter opened his eyes and made a gesture to everyone, signaling them to stop whatever they were doing.
This was a signal that Lux had established with them beforehand to let them know that Kobolds were approaching the dump site.
Earlier, he had summoned the two Skeletal Archers and placed their heads outside of the cavern. He placed them on the path facing the tunnels, and ordered them to keep a lookout for any enemies that were headed their way.
Since his connection with the Skeleton Archers wasn’t as strong as his Named Creatures, he gave them an additional order to mention the number of the approaching enemy if they saw any.
Right now, the skulls of his Skeleton Archers had just told him that three Kobolds Warriors were approaching the dump site. Since the path was narrow, the Kobolds didn’t have any other choice but to walk single file down the tunnel.
This was the main reason why Lux chose this place. The topography would render any advantage in numbers completely useless.
Lux had summoned his sword in preparation to kill the Kobolds before they could alert anyone of their position.
Hans also gripped his axe in order to help the red-headed teenager quickly deal with their enemies the moment they showed up.
The leader of the Merchant Group was a Grade C Apostle (Rank 2 Monster). The only reason why he allowed himself to get captured was because he knew that he didn’t stand a chance against the numbers of Kobolds that had ambushed them.
However, when backed to a corner, he would be willing to fight to the death if needed.
He was standing near the entrance of the cavern as well, facing Lux. The two nodded their heads in unison as they held the weapons in their hands firmly.
When the first Kobold entered the cavern, Lux immediately summoned Diablo behind the three Kobold Warriors, so they would have nowhere to run.
Diablo stabbed the back of the Kobold that was right in front of him, piercing through its chest, killing it in one hit.
Hans hacked his axe at the neck of the Kobold that had just entered the cavern, and decapitated it in one strike.
Lux, on the other hand activated his skill, Double Fury Slash, dealing critical damage and killing the second Kobold before it could even shout for help.
Lux, Diablo, and Hans, hurriedly dragged the dead monsters inside the cavern, so that they wouldn’t be easily discovered. The Half-Elf didn’t rule out the fact that they might have been sent here by their superiors to check if their prisoners were hiding inside the dump site.
Diablo took out the three Beast Cores from the Kobold’s chests, and presented them to his Master, who took them without another word.
Hans didn’t have any complaints because, for him, Rank 1 Beast Cores were useless. He would not fight Lux over them and ruin the bigger picture.
“If these are scouts then we can expect that their superior will send some other Kobolds to look for their whereabouts,” Hans said.
Lux nodded because he was also thinking of the same thing. “If we get lucky they will completely forget about this matter and only remember it in a few hours.”
Hans smiled. He knew that what the red-headed teenager was saying was only wishful thinking, but he also hoped that it was the case.
Unfortunately, an hour later, the Skeleton Archers once again issued a warning, and this time around, they said that there were a dozen Kobold Warriors headed in their direction, with one of them being a Kobold Leader, which was a Rank 2 Monster.
When Lux relayed this information to Hans and his subordinates, all of their expressions became serious. They knew that they would have to kill these Kobolds as fast as they could and prevent them from leaving the place alive.
Aside from Diablo, Hans was the strongest warrior in their group. The Dwarf also had six subordinates under his command, who were all Grade D Apostles (Rank 1 Monster). All of them were willing to fight for their survival, but Lux told them that they didn’t have to fight.
This perplexed the Dwarves, which made them think that the Half-Elf had given up all hope. However, when they saw Lux summon Diablo and seven Skeleton Warriors, they immediately understood why he asked them to stand down.
Right now, every Dwarf was indispensable. If they died fighting against the Kobolds, it would be one less fighter on their side. However, the skeletons were different. As long as Lux had mana, he could summon them over and over again, and they were not afraid of dying.
All the other Dwarves had backed away to the very corner of the cavern, so that they wouldn’t be involved in the fighting.
Colette had asked Lux to let them join the fight, but the Half-Elf rejected their proposal. Lux only told the adorable little Dwarf to protect the non-combatants and ensure that no Kobolds would harm them.
Everyone became tense when the sounds of footsteps reached their ears. The plan was relatively simple, and had no room for error. The moment the first Kobold entered the cavern, Hans immediately decapitated it, while Diablo charged and stabbed the Kobold behind it.
The Kobold Leader was in the middle of the formation, so all it could do was bark orders for those behind it to retreat.
However, who was Lux? Naturally, he already expected that this was going to happen, so he had placed a key figure at the back of the tunnel, which was none other than Ishtar.
Lux’s second Named Creature had a peculiar ability. She was able to disassemble her body, and scatter her body parts to where she wanted them to be.
Ishtar was also the one that warned Lux that there was a Rank 2 Monster amidst the group of Kobolds. As soon as the fight began, the Skeleton Hunter assembled her body parts once again and placed traps in front of her.
After doing that, she immediately began shooting her arrows into the rear of the Kobold formation, trapping them in a pincer attack.
Diablo had a strength equivalent to a Rank 3 Monster because of the Mythical Weapon, Blood Moon. With this powerful weapon in hand, Diablo made short work of the Kobolds and killed the Kobold Leader without mercy.
By the time the battle was over, Diablo had killed six, Isthar killed seven, and Hans killed one.
Just like last time, they dragged the dead bodies inside the cave, took their beast cores, and incinerated them with fire magic.
The smell of burning flesh permeated the room, but with the cleansing magic, the smell disappeared completely.
Now that they had killed the scouting party, Lux, Hans, and the Dwarves knew that they were now only on borrowed time. They couldn’t leave their hiding spot because it was the only place they could defend themselves with the numbers they currently had.
Lux gazed at everyone with a serious expression. “The next time the Kobolds appear here, we will all be fighting for our lives. I hope that when that time comes, all of you will do your best to remain calm and listen to my orders.”
“Don’t worry. No matter how many of them come, I am confident that we will be able to hold them back. The tunnel only allows one person at a time to pass through it. Even if there were thousands of them, they will have no choice but to go down this one path. As long as we block this one entrance, they will not be able to overwhelm us with numbers.”
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. After hearing Lux’s strategy, all of them felt a little better. They had seen how strong the skeletons were, so they believed that they would be able to hold the Kobolds at bay no matter what.
Technically, they weren’t wrong. However, they had forgotten one thing. Kobolds may not be the smartest monsters around, but they were not stupid.
Because of this, Lux, and the other Dwarves didn’t remember that even a well thought out plan could go terribly wrong if they did not understand the true nature of their enemies.
This was a lesson that the red-headed teenager would learn the hard way.