I stood at the front of the Kobolds, they were all here. Each and every one of them.
It was sad to see so many of them dead and buried but still I must endure. They were counting on me to be the string leader and I would not deny them of that.
It was why as I buried the last body of the Kobolds that I turned my back and wiped the droplets of moisture around my eyes before addressing them.
It was weird. I had only known them for a day yet they felt like family. As if they were more family than even my parents.
'Heh' that I laughed ti myself, that would have pissed then off so much but the things that I had gone through with them was more than enough to call them more than friends and comrades.
I turned, the moisture gone from my eyes as I gazed over all of them.
They were hardened by the conflict, even though I could see signs of cracks they still held up well.
"I take responsibility…" I suddenly said, jolting the Kibolds out of their mourning.
Soft chittering could be heard all over but it soon silenced as I passed my gaze over the face of each and every one of them.
'15' I counted, there were originally twenty but now those numbers had been cut short.
"For the four that had died today in a battle I had not fully prepared for. And for the one that sacrificed his life to save my own. I take responsibility."
There was more chittering before once more they calmed down.
I looked back at them again, though this time I saw something in there eyes.
It was a flash of a moment but I saw it. A dim glow of hope and inspiration.
As if the grim speech that I had made was truly inspiring.
"That being said, I… no we started this war and we shall finish it proper. I will be right there in the frontlines regardless of circumstances."
With that said I finally turned my back to them, my hand in the pommel of my sword.
With slow steps I marched through the thick grass and towards where I knew the enemies were.
It wasn't something that I had noticed until the Kobolds had gathered but that same sight that showed me the energy of that dead plant could in turn show me the energies of the various living things.
When I had turned and saw the gathering of them I had been stunned for a moment at the sheer energy that they had projected yet when I looked away I saw another gathering.
One even greater than the Kobolds. That could mean many things but what I hoped it meant was that I had found a camp.
…
Through the grass I marched, the Kobolds behind me.
Their faces were scrunched in focus as they scanned the surrounding s for ambushes just as I did.
However there was a note of a… a carefree step in my gait.
Maybe it was the assurance that I knew when they would approach or at least I assumed they would or something else.
I shook my head, a small smirk on my face as I pushed aside the latest grove of grass.
"Wha-" I almost yelled yet caught myself I time.
It was like a mass grave. Countless wolves, some looking as old as a few days were sat dead in the hill.
My eyes narrowed as disgust filled me. This could have been the work of those creatures but I doubted it.
Just looking at them I could sense the power in them but they died of a single cut to the neck.
As if they were killed by someone they trusted.
But who? Who could have done this?
It was then that it hit me, one of the other contestants. I had forgotten about them for so long but now that their likely aftermath was in front of me it hit me like a hammer to the face.
My teeth grit in anger and disgust. If they truly were from Earth just as I was then they should have had some basic compassion.
'To kill ally's given to them. They must have really been power hungry huh'
I crouched down to touch the corpse of the nearest wolf. I wasn't expecting it but it did confirm something.
I hadn't gotten a rune from them. That meant something to me. It told me that they were power hungry and thought that killing their allies would benefit them more than using them.
They didn't even give the pups a proper burial.
A low growl echoed from my throat, surprising even me. I didn't know how angry I was at this until I actually felt myself growl.
But now that I think of it it made sense how angry I was. I had dogs and cats growing up. I had also bonded quite well with them.
But now to see what are essentially dogs massacred around here without even the proper respect of a burial.
It was beyond angering. I was furious at the person who had deigned to do this.
I swept my heated gaze around and noticed the vantage point that I was on.
I hadn't noticed earlier in my anger but now that I did I could actually see some things.
Most prominent of which was the camp of creatures seemingly roasting something.
'Perfect…' I thought to myself as I watched them perform their rituals and cook.
They would be excellent as a stress reliever but first I would need to organize my own troops and how we would ambush them.
…
The plan was simple, there weren't many moving parts.
Partly because I couldn't strategize that well and partly because I knew that anything I came up with would not work.
It was not a motivating thought but I just needed experience as I did with everything else that I did.
However those were beside the points. As I was saying the plan was quite simple.
I split myself away from the rest of the Kobolds and due to the fact that I could reinforce my limbs with mana I would be the main distraction.
Once I charged in and took their attention the rest would get into position and strike from behind.
They were quite good at stealth, so much so that I couldn't find them at all if they just slightly tried to hide.
But with them seriously trying to hide there should be no problem in this little ambush.
I smiled as I walked through the grass, it would take a couple minutes for the ambush to take place, a couple minutes that I would need to buy.