“Garuruh.” (So they came.)

In front of the small group, a hulking blue Kobold slowly emerged from the bushes. It held a large Battle Axe in one of its hands, and, combined with its large and muscular body, created an imposing sense of intimidation.

“Wa, waauh!!” (Ah, Elder brother!!)

“Guruoao…” (Calm down…)

The Kobold Smith who was not fond of fighting curled his tail between his legs and started to inch backward. Even as he pacified his brother, the Kobold Striker, who had met someone bigger than him for the first time, was also shaken deep inside, but he could not show his shock in front of the others.

(Tsk, don’t you dare falter!!)

He scolded himself inwardly and regained his composure.

(My agitation will spread to the other members of the pack I’m leading if this continues! If that happens, then there would be no chance of us winning either!!)

“Guruoaaoooh!!”

The hulking blue Kobold stopped in its tracks when he released a menacing howl, but the situation could only be described as “someone’s bark is worse than their bite”*… 

Unconsciously, the other members of his pack increased their vigilance.

The only scent that flowed in the wind was the trees, other animals, and the faint smell of the creatures who belonged to the same race as them.

(Only one of them came forward!? Such arrogance!!)

The big blue Kobold, who they assumed to be the chief of the Kobold pack in the area by his appearance and strength, approached and spoke to them in a relaxed tone.

“… Guua guruuo waoooan, woafuoouu?” (… You guys are intruding on our territory, so can I ask you to leave?)

While the intruders’ attention was focused on Ax who appeared in front of them, Blazer, who was aiming for their unprotected backs, had hidden downwind and erased his presence as he moved diagonally behind them.

Two of his companions lurked on either side of him, while three others hid among the bushes on the other side. The three Kobolds hiding on the opposite side were supposed to attack in waves as part of Blazer’s attack operation.

(… I still don’t know how this will turn out. But that guy sure has lots of openings!!)

Ensuring the safety of the people entrusted to them by the pack head took priority. 

Though he did not show it openly, Blazer admired their pack leader and honored his instructions, even going so far as to go against his principle and getting out of the fight to observe how things were going to unfold instead. 

“… Gau, guruuguruoh, gauruoao?” (… Hey, you look pretty strong. Your pack must be huge.)

After being defeated by the horde of Goblins, their pack fled and scattered in different directions, and the floppy-eared Kobolds went in a bind, thus were forced to wander Easteria forest. In the process, two of their comrades were killed by a monster whom they had the misfortune of encountering, and their group was currently reaching their limits.

At the end of the day, they desired to join a strong pack that would not let them go through such a bitter experience again. 

“Wafuu, ua woruon voaruoooouu.” (Hmm, as far as I can tell, we’re the biggest pack around here.)

As soon as he heard those words, the challenger steeled his resolve.

“Gaouru, kyuao garua gauru guonn!!” (I challenge you to a duel! Whoever wins has to join their opponent’s pack!!)

“Uu, guruoauu?” (Ehh, do we really have to do this?)

“Guruoooh!!” (I will not run!!)

Legs wide apart and hips low, the Kobold Striker took a stance as he placed his left hand in front of him and the right by his flank. In response, Ax took hold of the Battle Axe propped up against the nearby tree and slowly approached them.

Blazer, who was watching everything from a distance, covered his face with one hand and involuntarily looked up at the heavens.

(Tsk, this has gotten nasty… I have confidence in Ax’s strength, but there’s also an unlikely chance that they could get him. If Ax, who is the strongest among us falls while Leader and the others are away, then it could cause chaos within the ranks of the pack.)

He pondered about the worst-case scenario.

(Even though it’s cowardly, the only way we could go forward with this is to attack with force once Ax is about to lose and leave everything undecided. Once the duel starts, those guys will focus on Ax and we’d probably be able to take them…) 

Regardless of his intentions, the two Kobolds in front made their move!

“Gau, gaooon!!” (The first to attack wins!!)

Striker closed the gap by sliding his feet, aiming for a left jab at his opponent’s face and a series of right-hand punches to the solar plexus. 

“Wafuh.” (Fuh)

Upon taking a short breath, Ax stopped the left jab with his right hand and smoothly used his left leg to step back to keep his upper body from getting hit by the follow-up punches from the right, and used his right leg to sweep at his opponent’s feet from close quarters.

“Garuah!!” (Nice try!!)

Anticipating the counter-attack from his opponent’s right, the Kobold Striker jumped back, reducing the impact of the strike.

“UOOOOOOH!” (EAT THIS!!)

From a slight opening, he released a right kick aimed at Ax’s heart. 

“Guuh!!” 【Continuous Activation ：Impact Resistance】

Although he was kicked on the left side of his chest, Ax’s Impact Resistance as a Kobold Defender mitigated the damage. However, not wanting to miss the opportunity of his opponent breaking his stance and staggering backward, the Kobold Striker swung his kicking leg down and built some momentum to deliver a full-forced palm-strike to his opponent’s unprotected gut.

“Wuooon!!” (This settles it!!)

“Gyauh!” (Ow!)

No matter how impact-resistant one is, what’s painful will always be painful. Involuntarily, Ax let out a yelp of pain.

“Kuoofuh!!” (What the hell are you doing!?)

“Gufaah!?” (Uoooh!?)

A pissed off Ax haphazardly swung his thick arm and caught the Kobold Striker in the flank.

“Gau!” (Tsk!)

Frustrated that the attack was less effective than he had expected, the Kobold Striker put some distance from his opponent, stepped in again, and hit his opponent in the face with a full-bodied straight punch at the same time!

“Ruaaaaaaaah!!” (Shaaaaaah!!)

“Kuuuuh!”

However, the high-powered, sweeping strike merely grazed the opponent’s cheek and left a small cut. This was because Ax slightly bent his upper body backward and turned his head to the side.

“Kuh!?”

Furthermore, the hulking blue Kobold quickly grabbed his opponent’s arm with both hands, and, with all his strength, spun around and crouched low as he threw his opponent down from his shoulder.

Yes, this was the so-called one-arm shoulder throw.**

“Kuruaaaaaaaan!!” (Deryaaaaaaaaaaah!!)

The sound of Ax’s spirited roar echoed through Easteria forest!

The Kobold Striker, who was thrown by the force of his opponent’s hane goshi*** while getting his arm pulled, flew through the air and slammed into the ground on his back with a loud thud.  

“Guhah!? …ugh.. agh..”

With his dominant foot, Ax stepped on the defeated Kobold’s belly to block his movement.

“Gueh…”

“Waauh!!” (Elder brother!!)

“Guruah!!” (BOSS!!)

As the Kobold Striker’s companions reflexively made a move, Blazer and the others who had been laying low jumped out from behind their right flank, while the other three Kobolds also appeared from the opposite side.

And, with nary a pause, the tall, skinny Kobold barked out a command.

“Guruoh, garufuuooh!!” (You guys, don’t move!!)

“Wauh!? Gaoah!” (Wha!? It’s an ambush!)

“Kuuh!!”

Quickly surrounding the trembling, floppy-eared Kobolds, Blazer and the others held out their weapons to block their opponents’ movements.

“…Gurua wooon.” (… We win.)

Putting aside the fact that he planned to take the opponents by surprise once his friend was placed at a disadvantage and declaring a draw, Blazer declared victory. And with this, their encounter with the unfamiliar group of Kobolds came to an end. 

……………

………

…

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Translator’s Note:

*Someone’s bark is worse than its bite – the original is “弱い犬ほどよく吼える” (yowai inu hodo yoku hoeru), which is literally translated into “the louder a dog barks, the weaker it is”.