Red Monster

Chapter 89: Under Attack

Red thought it might be the Matron’s antic after their short stare down at the village hall. He would not be surprised if the Matron came up with something to get him in trouble.

Darla had woken up, but she remained resting on his chest, looking up at him with full concern. The scream was quite concerning. Yesterday’s fear came back to her, thinking something worse might await her.

"Wait..."

Red wanted to check the outside for what had happened, but then she held him tightly. He could easily shake her off, but decided not to.

"Wait!" He raised his voice slightly; only then did Darla loosen her grasp.

He sat up on the bed, was about to get up, when he heard the bell ringing. That was when he realized this was not an antic from the Matron. Their village was under attack.

He quickly grabbed Darla and went to his armory. He put on his leather armor, strapping the five throwing spears on his back, and then he grabbed the two blades before putting them on his waist.

He filled the quiver with his spare arrows, all of them. Then he took the bow out. He was ready to go out and fight until he saw the sight of Darla. She looked like she didn’t know what happened, but her eyes reflected her emotion: anxious and fearful.

Red hadn’t really checked the situation outside and didn’t know how bad the situation was. He didn’t know if he could fight while protecting Darla until an idea crossed his mind.

"Wait!" He pointed at his small armory, which was actually a closet with two doors. The closet could fit three Darla, not an uncomfortable place to hide. He wanted her to hide there.

Darla looked at Red, then looked at the door outside. She genuinely didn’t know what happened, but she could guess it based on Red’s reaction. But did she want to hide here?

’What if he never returns?’ ’What if he abandons me?’

Her mind was filled with negativity. Red might be a gentleman compared to the other monsters, but he was still a monster. There was a chance she would be abandoned.

’But what can I do? I will just make him angry if I don’t listen to him...’

"Quick... Wait!" Red pressed her, and she listened. She had her back against the closet, looking with her shaky eyes.

Red was about to leave, but then he grabbed one of the blades on his waist. Then he placed it on Darla’s hand, "Take!"

Darla looked at the blade, then looked up at Red. Her eyes widened, thinking of the worst-case scenario.

’He is abandoning me! He gives me his weapon so I can struggle! He is abandoning me!’

’No! Red is different! Trust him, Darla. He just wants you to have the blade so you can protect yourself!’

She gripped the blade harder, nodded. There was a resoluteness in her eyes this time. The fear remained, but she chose to believe in Red.

"I come back!" Red said that as he closed the closet.

’I will come back.’ She translated the incomplete sentence in her head.

Darla was nodding her head, believing in him. If he said he would come back, then he would come back for her.

Red rushed out, but he didn’t immediately open the door. He checked the situation outside through the gap in his wall. The village was under attack. It was the kobold. They finally attacked the village. The goblin was being outnumbered three to one, and the situation was getting worse.

A hob was surrounded by three to five kobolds, and the goblins kept falling without being able to do anything. Even so, he didn’t rush out. Levelheaded was triggered, forcing him to calm down as he assessed the situation.

The first thing he did was to use his Appraisal, looking for the high-level kobolds. The average of the kobolds’ level was lower than he thought. Most kobolds were level 7 and level 8. They were lower than the ones he encountered in the jungle.

He quickly identified each kobold, looking for the highest level. Three level 11 kobolds, one level 12 kobold, and one level 13 kobold. He spotted his target.

Level 13 kobold was fully equipped with his helmet, but that helmet was not an issue for his tempered arrow.

Red opened the door slowly, ensuring he was not attracting the kobold’s attention. He took out an arrow and angled himself from inside the house, aiming for the level 13 kobold. The level 13 kobold was not engaging, more like commanding the low-level kobold.

He took a deep breath and held it. He fired the first shot while holding his breath.

Swish!

The arrow whistled through the air and hit the level 13 kobold in the head. At that time, he was ready with his second arrow. The next target was a level 12 kobold. If not for needing to adjust his position to get the angle, he should have fired the second shot by now.

The adjustment delayed his second shot because he was still inside the house. His sight was limited to his door, which required an adjustment.

While the adjustment didn’t really take more than three breaths, it was something he noted under the influence of Levelheaded. Those three breaths might make a big difference in a different situation.

He fired the second arrow, hitting the level 12 kobold in the head. The kobold fell to the side, which caused panic among the kobolds. A few noticed that their leaders were taken down, starting to hiss, screaming. The chaotic battle became even more chaotic with the scream from the kobolds.

Red fired his third arrow, hitting the level 11 kobold in the head. He was becoming more and more confident with his aim. He always aimed for the head instead of the body shot.

That was when the kobolds noticed where the arrow came from. A few noticed, screaming in hissing tones while pointing their weapons at the house where he was. Another arrow fired out from the house, hitting the second level 11 kobolds.

That was when the kobolds swarmed toward the house. There were at least seven kobolds that rushed at the house initially. Some of the kobolds were still confused because they could not see Red inside.

Red changed his approach, targeting the closest kobold to the house. This was the situation where he didn’t need to aim the head. He just needed to hit his shot, stopping them from coming to the house. He sacrificed his aim for fire rate, and it paid off.

Arrow after arrow flew from the door, hitting the level 7 and level 8 kobolds in the body. More and more kobolds rushed toward the house, and that was when the goblin started to fight back.

Red’s involvement turned the tide of the battle. While his arrow didn’t kill that many after the first three shots, his arrow immobilized many kobolds. That allowed the goblin to fight back and kill them.

He turned the tide with just a bow in his hand. He stepped out of the house after no more kobolds approached the house. His eyes scanned the battlefield and spotted the last level 11 kobold near his house.

Red took an arrow and aimed at the last level 11 kobold. The level 11 kobold spotted him as well and turned around to flee after seeing that the red goblin was aiming at it.

Swish!

The arrow whistled through the air and hit the level 11 kobold in the head, another one-shot kill. As the body fell, Red received a notification.

[Bow Master (Passive) has reached level 4!]

Red quickly identified the three level 11 kobolds, the level 12 kobold, and the level 13 kobolds. He made his round while retrieving his arrow, exchanging the bodies for loot. He just absorbed whatever came out, leaving the rest for the goblins.

It was not because he was being generous, but he didn’t know which was a higher level than him. The average level was level 7 and level 8. He was level 9 now. If he exchanged the level 8 kobold and lower, he only got coins, not cores.

There were a few of level 9 and level 10, but he could not use appraisal on the dead. He could use them, but they didn’t tell him the level. It just told him it was a dead kobold.

The other goblins followed, exchanging the dead bodies for loot. Some of them even fought for it.

Red didn’t have time to mediate the conflict. He needed to find out what actually happened, what happened to the Chief and the other hobs? There was no way this was the only kobold attacking the village.

He was about to rush over, but then he remembered about Darla. He glanced back, then he looked in the direction of the village. There were two choices. First, let Darla hide in the house while he helps the village. Second, they could use this chance to escape from the village.

Red believed Darla wanted to leave the village, but that was the problem for him. He didn’t know the world outside his village and the jungle. Then there was a fear that Darla would leave him once they were out. There were so many variables, and he didn’t like it.

’That will be my last option. Let’s check the situation first.’