Did I really think the kobolds would understand what having my hands up and empty meant? Not at all. Did I think that it would help to buy time as they prepared for an unknown form of attack? That was what I was praying for.
Kobolds were not known for using ranged combat but it did not take a genius to pick up a rock and throw it. Not only were kobolds superior to goblins in speed, but they had slightly greater strength to weight ratios because they were naturally D grade at the start. Their fist-sized rocks could hit like small catapult stones.
As well, they shared the same bottom-of-the-barrel mana stats so it was not impossible for kobolds to use magics. In fact, since they started at D grade and were born with a developed mana pool it was slightly more likely to face kobold mages than goblins. However, their race seemed to be restricted to only female mages.
There were over a dozen kobolds little more than fifty yards away from and above me and most of them were female, so there was as much as a one-in-twenty chance that one of these dozen-plus was a mage. Despite this, I still stopped fifty yards away from the hill and drew my big sword before tossing it a dozen yards to the side. Then, I pointed at the adult female in front of the kobold group who had been pointing their weapon at me the entire time.
Unlike the males who had carried long-bladed scrap spears, this female wielded a light poleax with a twisted metal spear point at the top. After seeing me openly challenge the only remaining leader, though, the adult kobold found itself faced with a hard decision. I myself was faced with no small amount of problems.
If I was a normal Protector at D grade, like a swordsman, my upper and lower body strengths would be roughly equal at about five hundred pounds per limb. This adult kobold was was capable of carrying kills twice its size for several miles which gave it a full-body strength of about a thousand pounds per limb. Thanks to my operation, instead of having slightly lower upper strength and greater lower strength I felt like I could lift and throw the ogre I once fought with one arm.
However, when the kobold finally begrudgingly threw down is spear into the ground at the bottom of the hill not far from where we would be fighting- quite tactfully- I knew that I was in for a show. I was a redesigned speed fighter fighting an evolved speed fighter who had natural claws and fangs for weapons while I only had a possible advantage in lower body strength. This was going to be fun.
Taking up a ready stance with one foot facing forward and the other held back sideways, I keep one half-closed fist up close by my chin while holding out a complete open hand at chest height. The kobold simply walked forward down the hill with its fingers curled and claws fully extended to over three inches in length. Its long and bushy tail slowly swayed from one side to the other with every step, accentuating the kobold's approach.
If I was a normal person, I would need to dry my suit right now. As it was, I could only tighten and slightly shift my stance to keep my alignment with their path down the hill. Then, once they hit the bottom, they started rushing across the remaining thirty yards.
Like a gentleman, I obliged by running forward away from the weapon I had earlier tossed. When I was entering their range they lowered their hands and closed their fingers to draw their claws together in preparation. Instead of obliging them once again as they lowered themselves to lunge across the last ten yards, I leaped straight up into the air.
Flying forward from my leap just as they made their super lunge, I land behind them where they lunged from just as they were skidding to a stop. Whirling around on landing, I take two running steps toward the kobold as they do the same before dropping into a slide on my knees while they tried once again to lunge for me but higher this time. Instead, I passed under them.
Elbowing myself up from the ground and throwing the same hand forward, I slam the heel of my palm up into the kobold's ogre-sized solar plexus to throw off their flight as well as force the air from their lungs. The kobold was thrown up by its upper body, almost flipping over onto its back as I slid to a stop.
By the time I turned around, the kobold was landing in an awkward kneel from which it fell while trying to avoid landing on its own tail. I was already on the move as they whipped back around like an animal on all fours, simply jumping up to punch and kick with all of its limbs at once. Caught off guard by what I had thought would be a full-on tackle, I could only cross my arms in front of my to block the spearing claws coming for my chest before two large back feet planted against my abdomen.
And threw me off of my feet, flying at least ten feet before landing on my back and into a roll. Ending the roll on my feet and stumbling backwards as I fight to regain my balance, I just manage to brace myself a split second before the tackle I anticipated early arrived. I did not half time to close up but instead accepted the hit to my abdomen.
The cushioning of my combat suit alone was enough to mitigate more than half of the blow, the rest of my armor just made it feel like I was being roughly pushed up into the air. The kobold did not try to wrap me up but instead shouldered into me and lifted with its body, throwing me up into the air with the strength of its legs in the motion of lightly jumping with my weight.
The kobold alone rose a foot or two off of the ground but I flew four or five feet up from the kobold's height before coming back down. Instead of hitting the ground as I expected, curling up sideways in the air to hit hard on the rocky ground, I was struck in the back in midair. The kobold probably kicked me and now sent me flying about ten yards back before hitting the ground. Even after hitting the ground I just kept rolling.
When I finally came to a stop and hurried to my feet, the kobold was chasing after me and was already in my face. I did not have time to block or prepare at all before a larger open clawed hand slapped mercilessly across my helmet's side and face. I was slammed right back into the ground and my vision inside the helmet actually blurred for a second.
From there I was further kicked in the chest by the kobold to lift me about a foot or so off of the ground and send me flying backward for another ten yards. This time I landed on my side facing the kobold and dragged one of my arms along the ground to steady my bumpy skidding. Once again, the kobold was charging in before I had even come to a stop.
Her slightly leading side and posture while running gave away the fact that she expected me to get right back up so she can tackle me again. This time, though, I pretended to hesitate to buy time without throwing her off before lurching up from the ground in a tackle of my own. Even as the kobold switched plans to try wrapping its arms around my head and neck, I had around wrapped my arms around both of its upper thighs.
Standing straight up while letting them freely wrap an arm around my proto sleeved neck, I jump up with all the strength I can muster not unlike how they had jumped to throw me. Instead, I did not throw them after my feet reached six feet from the ground but instead leaned back. With their upper body bent around my head and shoulder to grip my neck, the kobold soon found itself falling head first underneath me.
We traded concussions for concussions and, when I rolled away from the landing to jump to my feet, they were still picking themselves sluggishly off of the ground. Knowing this one at least had above average kobold intelligence, I was wary of trying to take advantage. Instead, I fainted a two-step charge before sidestepping.
When their only reaction was to push away from the ground and away from me, I stepped into a slide before scissor kicking the kobold's legs out from under her. Rolling away from the dazed and falling kobold so they can cleanly hit the ground, I roll right back on top of their back to wrap an arm around their neck.
Knowing from instinct and experience what was going to happen next, the kobold tried to resist and fight but could not even get off of the ground in their current condition. A healthy evolved 'adult' kobold has the blood-oxygen supply and requirements to need five minutes before blacking out. This kobold stopped fighting after one minute and was asleep after two.
"Poniard," I call to my familiar who carried rope in his ruck. After having remained a short distance away from the traveling fight, especially since the other kobolds had come down to the foot of the hill, Poniard calmly walked forward and stood in front of me with his back to me. He already knew what I was going to do.
After using some braided paracord to hogtie the adult kobold's hands and feet behind its back, I raise its lower body above its upper body to rush blood to its brain before dumping Poniard's small twenty-ounce canteen of water on the kobold's head and face. Snorting and sputtering, the kobold slowly came around and tried to sit up, only to find that its hands and feet were tied together behind its back.
Of course the kobold tried to fight and break free, but another name for paracord was five-fifty cord. Meaning it could maintain weights of around five hundred and fifty pounds. This was a six-strand Celtic belt braid synthesized form portal materials with an E grade of around one-thirty. Even at E grade, this MP enhanced version of paracord could easily hold over seven hundred pounds of weight.
From three strands folded over to make six, the weakest part around one wrist where the braiding started still had a test strength of at least two thousand pounds.
After letting the beast struggle for a few moments I hauled it up onto its knees and made it look at the other kobolds who were all staying back behind this one's spear. "Si-Pon, tell it to make them come forward and lie down one at a time."
"You seem to think that I can speak the language of every primitive species," Si-Pon says testily, looking at me with its otherwise expressionless bird face.
"Can you speak their language?" I ask blandly.
"Yes," he answered in an almost lazy and whimsical manner.
"Then please do so," I say flatly as more of an order than a request.
A few seconds later, the first kobold hesitantly walks forward to Poniard who then pushed it down and hogtied it as quickly as possible without damaging the new stock. Then they were dragged over to kneel beside their only remaining leader. Like this, tensions eased into a strangely gloomy atmosphere as the kobolds shuffled forward one by one to be tied up and set aside.
I was honestly surprised none of them were working together or resisting, they just quietly sat there. Since most of them were females it was probably part of their culture to attack other groups and take prisoners or to even trade people for goods. I had no way of knowing but these guys eventually just gave up all hopes halfway through so it went smoothly.
Once the rest of the kobolds were tied up I untied the adult's feet so that it could stand and then used regular rope to tie the lessers back to back. Once they were ready for transports, I freed their feet one pair at a time while feeding a normal rope through through wrist bindings. Tied back to back, there was little they could do and Poniard kept his wand trained on the adult throughout the entire process.
After the loose end of the rope was woven through the leader's bindings a few times, I started leading the prisoner procession forward up and over the hills while Poniard went to collect the sword I threw.
*