Chapter 107: Who’s Hunting Whom?
Anse glanced at the sneaky blue-robed figures around, then decisively returned to the city.
He also coveted that green dragon, but he feared death more; he still had a bright future ahead, so why join a battle where he might become cannon fodder.
Back at the small manor, Tim and the others had packed up: two carriages, over a dozen horses, and the other hundred-plus guards had to go on foot.
Finn also got a horse, but Giant Tail’s body and weapon were too heavy, so he could only run.
Seeing Anse, Sandre looked pleased: “Is the green dragon dead?”
“No.” Anse waved his hand. “Let’s go, can’t delay.”
Whether losing or winning, they had to leave; losing was obvious, but winning would bring retaliation from the Green Dragon Queen.
“Go go, depart, maintain formation…” Sandre immediately commanded everyone to withdraw.
Tim rode over to Anse’s side and whispered, “Where’s Candlekeep’s great reader?”
“Didn’t see them, the vanguard also withdrew.” Anse pursed his lips.
The great reader was a scholar with no interests tied to the Claw City-States, so not showing up was normal, but the vanguard was core combat power, withdrawing faster than anyone, which was very demoralizing.
“I knew Selig was unreliable, and that Baron, talking about slaying dragons— the dragon’s right here, where is he!” Tim gritted his teeth, fuming.
Cliff City was gone, the Claw City-States were finished, and his life’s efforts had come to nothing.
Anse stayed silent; he understood Baron well—in this situation, an 11th-level warrior couldn’t do much, so preserving himself was reasonable.
Tim knew that too, but reason was reason, emotions were emotions; not cursing was already a sign of his good upbringing.
The team moved quickly along the main street; though fleeing, the nearly two hundred-person group advanced and retreated orderly, without chaos.
The chaos in the city was comparable to Baldur’s Gate back then; the difference was that Baldur’s Gate’s three grand dukes chose to fight head-on, while the Claw City-States’ lords led the escape.
After leaving the city, it was no longer crowded; the wilderness was dotted with lights everywhere, mostly to the southeast, the direction of Beregost.
Anse and his group also adjusted direction; that was the only way out.
North around Baldur’s Gate was full of underground creatures, east was Toothed Forest, so they could only head to Beregost, a transportation hub convenient for going anywhere.
Shortly after leaving the city, dense dog barking rose in the night, mixed with shouts, screams, and combat sounds.
Tim drew his longsword and went to the rear of the team, urging, “Speed up, prepare for combat.”
Finn’s gaze was vacant: “Greyhawk said kobolds are hunting humans, in large numbers.”
“Mm.” Anse wasn’t surprised.
Kobolds were innately vile and evil, eating almost anything; seeing so many humanoids, they couldn’t stay indifferent.
Actually, kobolds didn’t prefer eating intelligent creatures, but they crossed Emerald Plains to fight for the Green Dragon Queen without supplies; now starved desperate, they’d eat anything they caught.
But the kobolds were scattered by the green dragon, and fewer in number than humans, so they could only hunt stragglers or small groups, not a big threat.
Hearing the chaotic barking, Anse had an idea; he needed manpower, and kobolds were premium slaves!
Kobolds had intelligence around 8, spoke Abel common tongue and dragon speech, feared death, had strong comprehension, and could handle many jobs like mining, burying corpses, clearing land, chopping trees, and such.
Disobedient ones could just be killed; there were plenty of them anyway.
The more he thought, the more excited he got; he quickly found Tim to say goodbye: “We’ll part ways here; I have something to handle.”
“You’re not going back, are you?” Tim looked surprised; he thought Anse couldn’t resist the dragon-slaying temptation and wanted to return to Blue Water City to check the battle.
“Of course not, you all be safe.” Anse didn’t elaborate, waved, and left the team with Finn and Giant Tail.
Tim opened his mouth but couldn’t think of a reason to keep him, so he just sighed silently, watching them go.
He knew his daughter liked this young man; she’d been a bit listless these past two days.
If Cliff City were still there, he’d have the face to propose marriage, but now in their precarious situation, it would seem like using his daughter as a bargaining chip for protection, and with his personality, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
——
In the night, Anse and his group gathered together.
He notified Brat via the Paradise Seal to prepare, then after he donned his armor, waved to teleport him out.
Brat saw the surroundings and asked in surprise, “Something happened again?”
“Yeah, the green dragon came…” Anse briefly explained the situation.
“You want to catch kobolds?” Brat’s eyes widened, his tone rising. “Are they easy to tame?”
“Let’s try.”
“What are we waiting for!”
The four set off eagerly to hunt kobolds; soon Greyhawk brought good news: a kobold crowd ahead, about twenty or thirty.
“Finn and I will ride to block them from the front, you two intercept from behind, mainly intimidate.” Anse instructed.
“No problem.” Giant Tail grinned, banging his shield with a thud.
Nolnos was fast, entering the kobolds’ sight before Finn.
The kobold crowd thought Nolnos was an ordinary horse and didn’t flee, instead surrounding him actively, barking loudly to intimidate.
Anse threw back his cloak, his head turning into a ferocious dragon head, booming dragon speech erupting from his throat: “Worms, kneel and submit, or die!”
The kobold crowd shuddered, weapons dropping everywhere; at least half knelt prostrate, the rest exchanged glances and turned to run.
Anse raised his hand, firing a ray of frost; white light flashed, the fastest-running kobold fell, covered in thin ice, cold air steaming, like an ice sculpture.
“Whoo whoo—”
Finn circled to the front, arrows falling one by one, forcing some kobolds back.
From the rear, Giant Tail charged, sweeping his greatclub to send a kobold flying meters away; it landed with a splat like rotten flesh, no longer humanoid.
“Worms, kneel and submit!” he roared, mimicking Anse’s tone.
“Submit submit…”（Dragon Speech）
The remaining kobolds muttered broken dragon speech, crouching hug-headed on the spot, movements swift and practiced.
By the time Brat arrived with shield, everything was over; he felt both excited and helpless.
Nolnos snorted, kicking over a kobold with a hoof.
Anse smacked its forehead; these were no longer enemies. He called loudly: “Gather in the middle.”（Dragon Speech）
The others closed in from all sides, applying pressure.
Seeing the kobolds hesitate, Anse waved again, firing another ray of frost, turning one into an ice sculpture.
【Target Death, gained 22 combat experience】
The other kobolds tensed, moving quickly, crawling on all fours to gather together.
Anse said calmly: “I need a batch of laborers, food and shelter provided, no fighting.”
The kobolds exchanged glances quietly but didn’t dare speak.
Anse paused, then continued: “I’ll use magic to take you to my domain; those willing, don’t resist; unwilling… I won’t force you.”
He raised the Scepter of Sanctuary; the milky white gem shot over twenty mana seals, landing on the kobolds.
Most kobolds didn’t resist; light flashed, and most of the kobold crowd vanished, teleported to the underdeveloped Hollewen.
“The rest are yours.” Anse patted Nolnos lightly and dismounted.
Nolnos bared teeth, charging the remaining kobolds, kicking and tail-whipping, killing them all despite their wails and pleas.
Anse’s expression was calm; he had no time to discern if these kobolds were too bold, slow to react, or just stupid—they were unqualified, so waste utilization.
He pulled up Nolnos’s character card; experience had finally passed nine hundred, eligible for level up, but now wasn’t the time.
He checked the space via the scepter’s mental projection: the kobolds huddled in the plaza, not running amok, just as he wanted.
“That was too easy.” Brat grinned, looking at Anse’s dragon head, understanding that was the key to success.
Kobolds accepted enslavement by higher dragonkind more readily.
“Let’s go, continue.” Anse laughed.
This success boosted his confidence; for safety, they didn’t stay put but withdrew while hunting, staying far from Blue Water City.
