Red Monster

Chapter 71: Start Hunting

Red still followed the fifth group. All eleven kobolds were higher leveled than he was, but that didn’t discourage him from following them. He had set the fifth group as his prey.

Three of the level 11 kobolds were carrying bows, and the remaining two were carrying spears. Two level 12 kobolds were carrying a shield and a sword with leather armor. The third level 12 kobold had four daggers on its waist, and the last level 12 kobold had a mace and a round shield on its back.

The three level 13 kobolds were wearing silver-plated armor. The armor had lost its silver growth, but it still looked sturdy. They had helmets, one had a pauldron, one had a bracer, and one had a shin guard.

’I need to kill the archer first...’

Even though the archer was just level 11, he needed to get rid of them first because they were his only threat. Red didn’t plan to come down and hunt them like usual. He would rely on his range, arrows, and Fireball for this hunt.

’It’s time to raise my fireball level too.’

While he had set the group as his prey, he didn’t attack them right away. He needed an opening that would allow him to kill at least two archers without getting interrupted. The constant moving without rest didn’t help his plan.

It was a relief that they could not sense him above them, even though he followed them for quite some time. After a while, they finally came to a stop. They stopped by a river to quench their thirst.

’This is my chance!’

The first one to drink was the three level 13 kobolds. The rest were keeping a watch, and the three archers were spread out. They were not far, but they were standing on the root to keep a watch. That made them easy to target.

The level 12 kobolds were standing next to the river, looking into the river. They seemed to be guarding the level 13 kobolds from predators from the river, a caution. The remaining two level 11 kobolds were watching their back.

Red was surprised by how organized this group was. Maybe the other groups were as organized as this one, too. Today’s group was totally different from the previous groups, after all.

Red moved soundlessly on top of the tree, trying to find a good position. He positioned close to one of the archers, right above one, and made sure that he had a sight on the second archer and also closer.

’This is it. If they are too strong and hard to handle, I will escape.’

He was confident to move between the trees, believing he would not be caught as long as he stayed up. The downside was that he had to leave the loot behind, which was bad.

’Maybe I can do a hit and run, and return later to get the loot...’

He quickly found the flaw in which the remaining kobolds would take the body and take the loot for themselves. They would not bother to bring the body back when they could exchange the body for loot. He would do the same for his kind.

Red pulled an arrow from the quiver on his back, starting to aim at the second closest archer. He aimed for the head since the archer didn’t use head protection.

Whoosh!

The satisfying whistling noise from his arrow resounded in the air. That seemed to catch a few kobolds’ attention, not enough to alarm them. The arrow shot through the kobold’s head. The arrowhead went through the head as the kobold fell to the ground with a thud.

The remaining kobolds turned toward the noise only to find their archer was missing on the other side of the root. Two level 12 kobolds hissed, but there was no response from the archer.

That was when Red released the second shot, targeting the archer right below him. The arrow hit the head. It went through the head as the arrowhead came out of the jaw.

That was when the group realized they were under attack. The kobolds hissed, they quickly drew their weapon as the last archer made a run toward the level 12 and level 13 kobolds.

They regrouped close to the river, putting their back to the river. They were aware of the attack, but they didn’t know where the attack came from.

Red directed his right hand toward the group and activated [Fireball]. He was grateful for his skill that could keep him calm almost all the time. [Levelheaded] played a big part as he was calm enough to sense his mana movement inside him when he activated the skill. An idea popped into his head.

’What if I put more mana into the skill?’

He could reduce the mana when he used [Mana Sharpening] and [Mana Smelting]. That meant he could add more mana to the skill, at least he thought as he attempted it.

To his surprise, it worked as he doubled the mana. Fire swirling in his palm, turning into a ball. It started from the size of his thumb and got bigger as more mana poured out from his body.

The usual Fireball was the size of his fist, but with twice the amount of mana, the size of his fireball also doubled. Doing so, he exposed himself because the fire in his hand burned the leaves that covered him. Only the blind would miss a bright, burning fire on top of a tree.

That was when Red released the fireball. The fireball, twice the size of his fist, shot toward the grouped kobolds. The three level 13 kobolds reacted quicker, turning around and jumping into the river.

The remaining kobolds were frozen as the fireball hit one of the level 12 kobolds and exploded. Their screams filled the jungle as fire spread out.

[Fireball has reached level 4!]

Red didn’t wait to see how much damage his fire did. He quickly moved away from his spot, not bothering with the notification. He didn’t run away from the group, circling his way to the other side of the tree.

His ear remained sharp, trying to hear what happened to the kobold while lurking behind the thick canopy. He hoped the archer was dead, so he could try to eliminate them one by one without worrying about getting shot at.

He finally found his spot, five trees away from where he initially attacked the group. His eyes quickly locked on the spot where the fire was still burning. He spotted two bodies on the ground.

He was delighted to find out that his fireball killed two kobolds. He doubled the mana, but the explosion was three times or maybe four times bigger. His concern was that the fire was still burning the body. If the fire ate the body into dust, then he could trade them for loot.

’Focus Red! You need to kill the remaining kobolds before thinking about the loot!’

His eyes darted around, trying to find the remaining seven kobolds. He killed two archers and killed another two with a fireball. That left seven kobolds. Three of them jumped into the river when he shot the fireball, and he didn’t know where the remaining four went. They might jump into the water as well, so he quickly focused on the river.