God Agent: All Hail The Great Kobold

Chapter 41: Taking A Step Forward

It didn’t take long for Ka’z to find the chamber where Tud’or was recovering. The room was quiet apart from the occasional crackling of a small oil lamp burning in one corner.

Entering slowly, Ka’z immediately spotted Lady Zira seated beside the hay bed. Exhaustion had finally overcome her. She had fallen asleep while leaning against the edge of the bed, one hand still resting lightly upon Tud’or’s arm as if she refused to leave his side even in her dreams.

Tud’or, on the other hand, remained awake.

His crimson eyes stared blankly at the cave ceiling without focus. Fresh strips of cloth covered much of his body, many of them still stained with dried blood despite Za’r’s repeated healing attempts. His once pristine crimson scales were now cracked and uneven. Some had shifted out of place while others bore ugly fractures where the wind arrays had torn through them. They no longer formed the smooth armor Ka’z had always admired. Instead, they looked like shattered pottery hastily pieced back together.

The sound of footsteps caused Tud’or to briefly glance toward the doorway before his gaze slowly drifted back to the ceiling.

Ka’z didn’t take offense. Carrying Shiki like a walking stick to support his battered body, he slowly made his way toward the foot of the hay bed before coming to a stop.

"What now?" he asked calmly.

Tud’or finally turned his head toward him.

"What?"

Ka’z met his gaze without hesitation.

"Do we send scouts to monitor the camp? Do we reinforce our fortifications and traps? Or do we start building new ones?"

For the first time since the disastrous raid, genuine surprise appeared across Tud’or’s face. He had expected something entirely different. He thought Ka’z would question his decisions, remind him of the warning he ignored, or perhaps even blame him for the deaths that followed.

Instead, the child was already thinking about the colony’s next move.

A weary sigh escaped Tud’or’s lips as disappointment settled heavily within him He had spent the entire morning consumed by guilt, replaying every mistake he had made. Nine warriors had died because he dismissed the warning of the Child of Prophecy as nothing more than youthful anxiety. Even now, after Ka’z entered the room, his greatest concern had been whether the child would expose his failure.

Yet Ka’z wasn’t thinking about blame, he was thinking about protecting everyone still alive.

The realization only deepened Tud’or’s shame.

"I apologize," he said quietly, his voice unusually subdued. "It was foolish of me to ignore the warning of the Child of Prophecy."

A smile instinctively appeared on Ka’z’s face but it lasted only a moment as almost immediately it faded into something bitter.

There was satisfaction in finally hearing the strongest warrior in the colony acknowledge his mistake, but the feeling vanished as quickly as it came.

Nine kobolds had paid for that lesson.

Neither of them spoke for several moments. Eventually Tud’or broke the silence.

"As for our defenses..." he began slowly. "We destroyed their supplies and their forward camp. If their army is truly as large as we believe, rebuilding everything they lost will delay their campaign for quite some time."

Ka’z nodded.

Moving supplies for over a hundred soldiers wasn’t something accomplished overnight.

This wasn’t the world he remembered from Earth where food could simply be ordered whenever it was needed.

Here, every meal required effort. Food had to be grown, foraged, hunted or stolen. The goblins hadn’t merely lost timber and weapons, they had lost weeks, perhaps months, of preparation.

"But that doesn’t stop them from returning and rebuilding. I think we need a permanent scouting team."

Ka’z slowly stepped closer to the cave wall and quickly drew a crude map of the southern region. His finger traced the southern hunting grounds.

"We know these forests better than they do. Every time they try to gather timber, we attack. Every time they transport supplies, we harass them. Every time they attempt to rebuild, we destroy what they’ve made."

His finger tapped lightly against the carved outline of the goblin camp.

"We don’t ever need have a direct battle. We have the terrain advantage, we can slowly wear them down."

Tud’or stared quietly at the young kobold. The proposal wasn’t complicated.

In fact, the strategy fit the strengths of the colony perfectly. For a brief moment Tud’or stared at Ka’z with kind eyes and a slow smile appeared on Tud’or’s face.

"Go ahead. Choose ten warriors. I’ll leave that responsibility to you."

Ding!

[Quest: The Past Withers, The New Blooms]

[Path of a Warlord completed successfully.]

[Description: In humanity’s darkest moments, great leaders do not seek shelter behind others. They become the shield standing between their people and destruction. In choosing to become that shield, your military journey finally begins.]

[Reward: New Shop Unlocks.]

Ding!

[New Sub Quest Acquired.]

[Recruit Your Team]

[0/10]

Ka’z only glanced at the notifications for a brief moment before looking back at Tud’or.

"I can?"

His voice carried genuine disbelief. He had expected recognition eventually but he had never imagined being entrusted with warriors barely days after turning two years old.

Tud’or gave a firm nod.

"You proved yourself last night. When our first team became trapped, the second succeeded because you took command and I’m here because of that fact. So, yes. Of course you can."

Before Ka’z could respond, another familiar voice entered the room.

"Yep, I believe so too. If it weren’t for this rascal, none of us could have made it back alive."

Ka’z turned.

Lan’ka stood in the doorway with both arms folded across his broad chest. A grin spread across the giant kobold’s face as he walked over before casually ruffling Ka’z’s hair.

The young kobold jerked in surprise, he hadn’t even noticed Lan’ka approaching.

"You’ll need help choosing the right warriors," Lan’ka said with a chuckle. "I’ll help you with that . For now give us some privacy."

He gently pushed Ka’z toward the doorway. Ka’z rubbed his messy hair with an annoyed expression before letting out a quiet sigh.

"Alright."

He gave Lan’ka a small nod before turning toward Tud’or and gave a respectful bow followed.

"I’ll be at the cells."

Tud’or returned the gesture with something Ka’z had almost never seen before. A genuine smile.

Watching the young kobold limp out of the chamber using Shiki for support, Tud’or quietly realized something. The Child of Prophecy wasn’t merely destined to lead, he was already beginning to.

"It seems the safety of this colony will soon fall out of our hands." He smiled.

Lan’ka stared at Ka’z’s retreating figure and he couldn’t help but smile as well. As his teach, ge felt deeply proud.

"I pray such day comes soon."

Without wasting another second, Ka’z continued down the winding tunnels toward the prison chambers. His mind had already returned to runes. Once his new responsibilities officially began, he doubted he would have much free time left to question Boi. Between scouting missions, training, experiments and preparing for the inevitable return of the Ashmork Clan, every day would become increasingly busy.

If he wanted to understand rune magic, now was the time. Despite the terror of war still hanging over the colony like a storm cloud, Ka’z couldn’t suppress the anticipation quietly growing inside him.

For the first time since arriving in this world his days of standing helplessly on the sidelines were finally coming to an end.