Kobold Sentry No. 1 — for the time being, let’s call it that.
Sentry No. 1 let out a big yawn.
Several teardrops squeezed out on its ugly dog-like face, and its mouth smacked repeatedly as if savoring how delicious the food it had eaten for lunch had been.
It looked quite sleepy, but it was still standing at least.
Its eyes, which were rather small compared to its face, would occasionally scan the surroundings, half-heartedly fulfilling its duty as a sentry.
Even with this level of performance, it could already be considered diligent and responsible compared to its companion.
After all, its companion — Kobold Sentry No. 2 — was simply sitting on the ground hugging a spear, its head drooping.
It might have already fallen asleep and was dreaming of the glorious old days when the Demon King led them to slaughter in all directions.
If no one disturbed them, Sentry No. 1 and Sentry No. 2 might have continued standing lazily at their posts all afternoon.
Then, when evening came, they would change shifts, return to the camp to feast on wild boar hunted by their clansmen, and finally find an unoccupied spot to sleep soundly until the next morning.
This was how comfortable and simple the kobolds’ recent life had been.
But today, this peace seemed about to be broken.
The still-standing Kobold Sentry No. 1 twitched its nose slightly.
Although it was a kobold, it had still inherited some canine traits.
For example, a keen sense of smell.
Just now, it had caught a very peculiar scent.
It smelled somewhat like…
The scent of burning flames?
When the kobold consciously activated its nose, it could pick up scents carried by the wind from even farther away.
Not only was there the smell of burning flames, but it was also mixed with extremely faint traces of blood.
This blended scent only appeared for a brief moment before disappearing.
Sentry No. 1 scratched its head and looked up at the sky.
It was still afternoon.
It shouldn’t be time to eat yet.
The kobold’s limited intelligence was not enough for it to determine whether this contained any dangerous signals.
Still, it stirred up a bit of vigilance in it.
It straightened its slightly hunched body and moved closer to its companion sitting on the ground.
Before it could open its mouth to call out to its companion, a cold glint suddenly flashed from behind a certain tree and instantly pierced through its throat.
“Guh…” It struggled, letting out a faint sound, but as blood flooded into its windpipe, the strength of its struggling quickly faded.
Kobold Sentry No. 1’s body went limp and fell straight backward.
However, before it could hit the ground, a young man’s hand had already caught it, gently lowering it to the ground without making any noise louder than a bird’s chirp.
Sentry No. 2’s ears twitched.
It hadn’t actually fallen into deep sleep.
Although its companion’s faint cry for help before dying wasn’t loud, it still roused some awareness in it.
But the moment it raised its head to see what was happening, a sharp wind blade suddenly sliced through the air, viciously cutting across Sentry No. 2’s unprotected throat and drawing a bright splash of red blood.
Then, that same young man’s hand caught it.
“The last two,” he said softly as he watched the blood spread across the ground in two patches of rose-like crimson.
It had gone very smoothly.
In less than two minutes, all six kobold sentries on the western side of the camp had been eliminated without a single one managing to raise the alarm.
“Well done, Bailis.”
Ed turned around and watched the girl who had stealthily crept out from behind the tree like a little thief, smiling lightly as he praised her.
However, the girl unusually did not immediately show a proud expression.
She looked left and right, and only after confirming there were no possible enemies did she slowly let out a sigh of relief.
“That was close.”
She patted her chest, trying to keep her voice down.
“That guy with the sharp nose almost noticed us.”
Ed glanced at Sentry No. 1 on the ground.
“That was my misjudgment,” he said, flicking his sword lightly.
The blood droplets on the blade splattered onto the ground, leaving a long trail.
“I should have warned you earlier. Kobolds usually have very sensitive noses. It’s best not to use fire magic when sneaking up on them.”
The girl looked embarrassed.
“Sorry,” she said softly.
Ed crouched down and pulled a chain off the kobold sentry’s corpse.
“No need to apologize. We’re companions. Companions should be understanding with each other; otherwise the team will fall apart sooner or later.”
While comforting Bailis, he narrowed his eyes and examined the familiar-looking emblem on the chain — it was the Merchants’ Association emblem.
Ed rubbed the chain a few times, then tucked it into his chest and stood up again.
“Besides, your reaction was quick, wasn’t it?”
“R-really?”
Bailis turned her head slightly and scratched her cheek with her fingertip.
“Have a little more confidence in yourself. Even though the final method wasn’t very elegant, you and I did escape together from the demons’ encirclement after all.”
He familiarly patted her small head.
“I know your strength best, and I trust it the most. That’s also why I let you follow me and charge into this kobold camp together.”
For some reason — whether it was because of the praise or something else — the girl felt that the more time she spent with Ed, the easier it was for her to feel shy.
Her face flushed red instantly.
She raised her arm as if wanting to brush away the hand on her head, but due to nervousness, she only waved it randomly in the air before slowly lowering it.
Idiot. Feeling the warm palm leave the top of her head, she squeezed the words out between her teeth.
You could have kept patting a little longer…
“Hm? Did you say something, Bailis? You can speak louder. Neither those two nor the kobolds can hear us here.”
“It’s nothing.”
The girl huffed lightly.
“By the way, do I really have to use magic in front of those two? If they find out…”
“No problem.”
Ed looked toward the forest behind the girl.
“As long as you mumble some nonsense while casting, ordinary people will find it hard to tell whether you’re chanting a spell or not. — Oh, they’ve arrived. Earlier than I expected.”
Two figures appeared in the forest and waved at Ed and Bailis.
Ed made a gesture meaning “no issues.”
The leading young adventurer nodded and pulled the potion-maker girl along as they hurried over.
“Mr. Ed.” The young adventurer caught his breath. “There are no more sentries on the west side. Their next shift change isn’t until evening, so we have plenty of time to launch the attack.”
“Very good.” Ed nodded.
“From the high ground earlier, I saw that there are three or four kobold sentries each on the north, east, and south sides of the camp. Once we start the attack, some of them will definitely circle around from the perimeter to check the west side. Kelta, do you have the confidence to protect Sylvia while stopping them?”
The young adventurer straightened his body and drew the short knife tied at his waist.
“Please trust me,” he said. There wasn’t a trace of trembling in his voice.
“They’re just a few kobolds. Even if I have to smash them with stones, I’ll kill them all. I won’t give them any chance to sneak up on you and your sister from behind, and I won’t let them harm even a single hair on Sylvia!”
As he spoke, a fierce light seemed to flash in the young adventurer’s eyes.
“Good. I understand your determination.”
Ed turned around and looked toward the kobold camp.
“Then let’s begin the operation.”