Chapter 9: Increasing Synergy

“Silence,” Thorian’s voice cut through the shouts and howls. “Today, there will be no sleep while the sun is out. We will hunt.”

It took a few seconds for the kobloids to understand Thorian’s words, and they were not happy about them. All of the monsters were looking at each other in confusion, fear, and loss.

“I understand that you’re fearful,” Thorian lowered his voice and talked more gently. “But there is no need to be scared. You have seen it tonight, right? There aren’t any strong monsters here. You can kill almost everything.”

Seeing that even his clear explanation did not have much effect, Thorian lightly shook his head before opening his palm with a confident smile. A burst of flames raged as he conjured his spell. “Don’t you want this power? Don’t you want it now? I can give it to you!”

Thorian’s fireball dazzled the small kobloids as they looked with open eyes and mouths. They screamed and howled in excitement with only a few intelligible “Thoreen”s and “king”s shouted here and there.

This is surprisingly easy.

Charismatic speeches were something Thorian was accustomed to throughout his life. However, even with his experience, it would have taken him some degree of preparation to have the same effect on a crowd of humans. However, for kobloids, there was no need to plant his people, or do any extensive research, just showing them what they wanted to see was enough.

Well, maybe they are not that different.

“Nox,” Thorian gestured to his most trusted follower. The night kobloid immediately walked toward him with a serious expression. “Take everyone outside and wait, we will start our hunt soon.”

Nox nodded before looking at the rest of the kobloid. A slight smile parted his lips before he masked it with a neutral expression, “Outside, go!”

The group of fourteen or so white kobloids followed after the black one, leaving only Thorian and the injured kobold in the cave. The large kobold looked at Thorian with a mix of fear, rage, and bitterness, but Thorian did not say a word.

“Smelly Poo! Me no follow!”

“I can give you that right,” Thorian walked toward the injured monster with confident steps. His demeanor conveyed a certain pride and arrogance as if he was the owner of the cave. “I can give you the right to leave.”

Thorian reached close and his words grew heavy. “You can leave the tribe, unharmed, and live the rest of your days in the wilderness. And when the true monsters come, you can live like a rat, hiding in every cave or corner you can find, afraid that the truly strong ones would come one day and destroy you with a flick of their thumb.”

Thorian stared deep into the injured kobold’s eyes. He could see his uncertainty and fear as he slowly spoke every word, making sure that the monster thoroughly understood him.

“Or you can follow me,” Thorian’s tone shifted to a gentle one as he smiled at the fearful creature. “Follow me and you’ll grow stronger than any kobold ever had. You will command thousands; armies will listen to your every word and countries will fear you.”

The kobold looked in shock at Thorian with his mouth agape. After a few seconds, Thorian turned around and made his way to the entrance of the cave without looking back. He knew that his work was done.

Now, it’s your choice and your choice alone.

Thorian walked out of the cave to see the pack of kobloids filling the small clearing. The rabbits, squirrels, and small animals that stayed in the tall grass all ran away in fear into the dense forest.

“Nox, we are going to split the pack in two,” Thorian grinned before continuing, “I will lead one group, and you will lead the other. You think you can handle it?”

Nox raised his eyebrows in surprise before lightly bowing, “Me handle group. Me leader!”

“Yes, you will now be a leader,” Thorian lightly chuckled and looked up to the sky. The sun was already clearly visible, standing at forty degrees or so from the horizon. “We will be hunting until midday and then we will come back here. Do you understand what midday is?”

“Yes,” Nox nodded. “Sun up!”

“Good, it’s when the sun is up in the middle of the sky,” Thorian nodded in approval. “And remember, hunt deep in the forest, and do not make a big fuss. Whatever you do, don’t let humans see you.”

Nox hesitated for a second before nodding, “Humans no see.”

Seeing the slight hesitation, Thorian took a deep breath and looked at Nox with cold eyes. “If they find you, kill them immediately. We cannot let them go back and tell the others about us; not this soon.”

After giving his directives, Thorian focused on the group of kobloids behind Nox. He pointed at seven of them at random.

“You all are now part of Nox’s group, the night kobloid. His words have the same weight as my words,” Thorian’s tone shifted to a low and aggressive one. “If I hear that you did not listen to his orders or disrespected him, I will personally take the head of the culprit, understood?”

Several gulps followed Thorian’s statement before they responded with, “Understood.”

“Good, the rest of you will follow me,” Thorian grinned. “Let’s turn forest red.”

Thorian was walking toward his group when he heard some shuffling behind him. The injured kobold was walking out of the cave with a burned upper body and a conflicted expression on his face.

“Have you made your choice?” Thorian gestured at him with a frown.

The kobold let out a labored breath before nodding, “Me follow, me see.”

“Oh, you will see,” he chuckled. “You are going to see everything.”

Thorian bid farewell to Nox’s group before leading his own to the left. His group was composed of seven kobloid including himself, and a large if injured kobold. Even though the difference between his group and Nox’s was striking, Thorian didn’t think that his follower would have much trouble. Unless they somehow meet up with a bear or another monster species, few creatures could pose a threat to them in the whole forest.

As they walked through the dense trees, Thorian sat on all fours with a click of his tongue. Even though he didn’t like hunting in such an animalistic position, he couldn’t deny its advantages.

Thorian galloped through the bushes and around the trees while the rest of the group followed after him. However, due to the massive differences in speed, Thorian was forced to slow down to the pace of their slowest member. A few minutes passed before his ears suddenly perked up. With a hand signal, the whole group came to a stop.

Without making a sound, Thorian peeked from the bushes to see a sounder of wild boars drinking from a stream. He couldn’t help but grin at the unexpected prize.

He looked back at the rest of his group and signaled them to walk around the area. By taking up more space, there would be less of a chance for their prey to escape.

Once everyone was in position, Thorian gave them the signal and rushed at the boars. Even though the poor animals reacted immediately, they could not handle what came next.

Fireball

Thorian conjured up his spell and launched it at the boar that was furthest from him, making the others squeal in panic. He then pounced at the slow prey next to him, bit its neck, and crushed its throat.

On the other hand, even though the kobold was injured, he was still the fastest in the group. He jumped to the other side of the stream and cut the boars’ escape path. This little scuffle gave the rest of the group enough time to catch up and hunt their prey.

Once the boar stopped trashing, Thorian jumped at the next and slashed its side with his claws. Blood and gut gushed out as the poor beast screamed and fell to the ground. With a merciful strike, he cut its neck open, leaving it to die.

The rest of the kobloid finished the job and killed all the boars before digging in fervently. Their eyes glistened hungrily as they ate their prey.

“Stop!” Thorian’s order cut through the haze of victory. All the monsters looked at him in confusion. However, they soon became fearful when they saw his expression.

“We are here to hunt, to become stronger, not to indulge in this gluttony,” Thorian scanned each and every one of his group members with cold eyes. “Are you going to waste hours eating these weak beasts when you could be hunting more prey and growing stronger?”

He then walked out of the stream and without even turning back and looking at them, he barked out his orders, “Stand up, let’s move.”