Fang Zhen immediately held his breath, his heart rate picking up slightly.
Kobolds!
This was Fang Zhenâs first time seeing this type of monster. He immediately focused his Spirit, ducking behind a rock at the corner and peeking out to carefully observe the dog-headed, man-bodied creatures.
About forty-something meters ahead, there were over a dozen Kobolds, split into two groups, mining ore.
Fang Zhen was some distance away, and the candlelight wasnât very bright, so he could only make out their general forms.
These Kobolds were a bit taller than goblins.
A goblinâs height ranged from a short 1.2 meters to a more normal 1.3-something. Even a Goblin Leader was only about 1.5 meters tall. Yet the ordinary Kobolds before him stood at 1.4 meters, and two particularly sturdy ones were even taller than 1.5 meters.
Of course, they were still quite short compared to Fang Zhen, but in this dungeon world, they were already on par with some of the residents of Redstone Town.
The Kobolds were all bipedal. Most wore linen clothes, while a few were equipped with worn-out leather armor.
Seen from behind, their bodies looked human, but their legs retained canine features. The curve and direction of their knee joints were different from a humanâs, closely resembling the arc of Fang Zhenâs Nepalese Curved Saber. After all, that type of blade was also called a Dog Leg Saber.
Most of the Koboldsâ bodies were covered in thick, brown fur with black spots. Their heads were exactly like those of hyenas, with rounded ears and furry faces.
Fang Zhen watched for a while until he got a clear look at these Kobolds.
Fang Zhen didnât know if the dungeon world followed the theory of evolution. If it did, then the ancestors of these Kobolds were definitely in the same family and genus as hyenas, not other canines.
Fang Zhen observed them carefully again, counting the number of Kobolds.
âOne, two, three... eleven, twelve.â
âTwelve Kobolds!â
After getting a clear count of the Kobolds ahead, Fang Zhenâs heart sank.
There were twelve Kobolds in total, a number that was a bit beyond Fang Zhenâs current combat capabilities.
Moreover, these twelve Kobolds were not all miners.
Among them, nine Kobolds wore linen clothes and were also quite short, around 1.4 meters tall. These nine were the ones doing the hard labor.
Behind these nine Kobolds, a lean, taller Kobold in leather armor patrolled the mining area. It had longer legs, stood nearly 1.5 meters tall, and had a sheathed dagger on its left hip. In its hands, it held a Crossbow Arrow!
And behind the Dogman Miners, there were two much taller and stronger Kobolds.
These two tall Kobolds were both over 1.5 meters tall, with one approaching 1.55 meters. One of them wore an iron chestplate and a leather tasset, and carried a Hand Axe in one hand. It looked ferocious, baring its teeth and roaring periodically, seemingly to urge the Dogman Miners to dig faster and not be lazy.
The other Kobold wasnât particularly tall, just over 1.5 meters, but it looked seasoned and steady, with a cunning glint in its eyes. It carried a sword over eighty centimeters long on its back and was also clad in iron armor, which looked newer. Its free hands were currently holding a candle as it also supervised the work.
After getting a clear look, Fang Zhen had already made his assessment.
âThe dungeon information I spent merits on before entering mentioned that Kobolds are a highly organized species.â
âHighly organized and highly social... to put it plainly, it means they have a division of labor, social classes, and a strict hierarchy.â
âItâs obvious that in a Kobold tribe, the miners are the lowest class. They just do the labor, and when necessary, serve as cannon fodder and militia.â
âAnd based on their equipment and condition, the other three Kobolds have different roles. The lean, tall one in leather armor holding the Crossbow Arrow is a Scout-type, with a higher status than a Dogman Miner. The two tall, strong ones in iron armor with weapons are probably Warriors among the Kobolds, and their status seems even higher than the Scoutâs.â
âEspecially the one holding the candle. It looks both strong and cunning. And itâs holding the candleâaccording to the dungeon info, candles are so precious and important to Kobolds that theyâre almost like religious artifacts. The one carrying the candle must be a leader.â
Fang Zhen quickly saw through the organizational structure of the Kobolds ahead.
After figuring out the Koboldsâ hierarchical structure and leader, and making some comparisons, Fang Zhen suddenly hesitated.
âThe difficulty is a bit high.â
The combat prowess of the Kobolds was obvious. Even the Dogman Miners were clearly stronger than average goblins. Plus, they were carrying pickaxes, which would deal blunt-force damage in a real fight.
Fang Zhenâs riot gear could protect against stabs and cuts, but not blunt force.
If he took a direct hit, the riot gear might not break, but his bones might not be able to withstand it.
There were twelve Kobolds in Mine Section A. Besides the nine Dogman Miners, the Scout and the Dogman Warriors looked tough to deal with.
Especially the big, cunning-looking Kobold holding the candle. It might be a mini-boss, like the Goblin Leader, or at least an elite monster.
And if that Dogman Warrior was really a leader-class monster, Fang Zhen wasnât confident he could take down all these Kobolds.
Fang Zhen frowned.
âMaybe I should just retreat for now.â
âMy mission objective was to scout the enemy, not to force an attack. This group of Kobolds is tough. It wouldnât be too late to go back, get some specialized gear, and come back to deal with them.â
âIâve already achieved my basic scouting objective. Completing the mission I set out for isnât giving up halfway, so itâs not a failure.â
Fang Zhen thought to himself.
He was leaning toward retreating.
Suddenly, Fang Zhenâs gaze was drawn to something gleaming white on the ground in Section A of the mine.
The area had been unlit before, but as the candle-holding Dogman Warrior made its rounds, the candlelight fell on that spot, allowing Fang Zhen to see clearly what the pile of white things on the ground was.
It was bones.
To be precise, human bones.
It was a gruesome spread of bones. Spread, because there was no flesh left on them at all, just stark white ribs, leg bones, and skulls all jumbled together in a pile.
It wasnât the bones of a single person, but of several, all heaped together. Looking closely, he could see three skulls, as well as rotten scraps of clothing on the ground.
Beneath the bones was a patch of dark red bloodstains that had already dried and turned blackish.
Fang Zhenâs gaze fell upon the pile of stark white bones and froze for a moment.
There were no other creatures in the mine. It was either humans or Kobolds.
When the Redstone Town Mine was still in the hands of Ande and the miners, there couldnât have been human bones inside.
But now, there was a pile of human bones here.
And there was another point that was horrifying to consider.
The Kobolds had seized the mine from the Redstone Town miners a month ago.
A month wasnât long enough for human flesh to decompose completely.
So, where did the flesh from those stark white bones go?
Several things quickly came to Fang Zhenâs mind.
Clean-picked bones.
A pyramid of skulls.
Human flesh.
The stark white teeth of the Kobolds.
In an instant, Fang Zhen understood what had happened.
He knitted his brows.
WHOOSH. Fang Zhen felt a surge of rage well up in his chest. His emotions churned, and for a moment, he couldnât calm himself.
He took several deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling slowly, and narrowed his eyes.
âTwelve Kobolds, is it?â
âItâs not an impossible fight.â
âTime to kill them!â