I’ve got to say, I never thought I would find myself in this kind of predicament! Ever since that little lizard freed me from the idiotic king’s prison it was a wild ride of excitement and interest! I can safely say that this latest gig is surely nothing if not entertaining. And of course, getting to be on the payroll of a ruler has a nice perk. ~

  Who knew a monster like a kobold would have such grand ambitions as world conquest. Most would find such things laughable, not even counting the fact that it came out of a creature like him. Why would I pass such an interesting opportunity!

  Though I have got to say, the bossman sure is quite the character. He just screams to me the type of person who lives in the spotlight. It makes it hard not to notice him despite his size. That’s not to see that my fellow employees aren’t quite unique themselves.

  We got a bloody Minotaur who bends the knee to a guy who barely could reach his legs, a stoic looking bear Beastman who is quite the opposite of stoic, a young goblin who is the bossman’s biggest fan, a nervous gnoll who can cook, a damn daemon who practically worships the ground his little claws walk in. And many more.

  They all have their own reason for serving a weak kobold. Admiration, fear, self-preservation. But honestly, I think its cause he has this certain…. Charm that you don’t see every day. The type that just makes you want to root for the little guy.

  As for me? Well, I personally am just along for the ride mainly for the entertainment. I do just have a temporary contract to work for him after all. Can’t get too attached to my employer after all.

  Which brings me to my current assignment, infiltrating the Ebonatum kingdom’s underground lair. Luckily for him I am quite adept in infiltrating shady locations. Though for this job it may be more difficult than I initially had planned

  Good thing I have these three reliable kobolds with me. Just seeing how vastly different they are compared to the bossman is rather staggering. Just reminds me how much the unique the bossman is. Of course he left the hug master bear himself as extra muscle.

  We made it near the entrance to their little lair with little problem. Just like before, they had a heavy number of guards stationed near the entrance. According to Vlad, they would provide a distraction soon enough. It was just a matter of waiting.

  Sure enough, there was a big commotion going off at the borders. For sure it was the bossman. Doubt he would do anything less than grand. And it looked like it was working! More than half of the guards had rushed out to deal with them. This would make things a whole lot easier.

  “Alright let’s move guys.” I signaled to everyone.

  The ‘three stooges’ as the bossman felt inclined to call them, moved in sync as they followed my lead. Damian himself kept his distance as to not get in our way but to ready himself if needed. Still feels a bit jarring seeing how well he can just suppress his own emotions like that but at least I won’t have to worry about it getting away from our mission.

  There were still a few guards left over but not too much we could handle. Just a quick surprise from behind and securing them before they could warn the others was all it took. I took one while the kobolds took out another together. Damian himself grabbed hold of one that we just barely missed. Luckily, I brought with me a few ropes on me to tie them up and restrain them before more of them could come out.

  Honestly there was a much more efficient method in handling the guards, but I doubted the bossman would improve such methods. Tough as it may be I got to go along with my employer’s preferences.

  Making sure to hide them, Damian took charge of keeping watch as the rest of us prepared to investigate the kingdom’s dirty little secret. Last time I was unable to join the three in checking on the inside, so I’ll be walking blind myself.

  Steeling ourselves we went in, making sure not to cause any noises that would attract unwanted attention. Inside the interior felt more like a broken-down dingy jail cell unlike the one I had the honor of calling home back at the Mivtic Kingdom. It was also eerily quiet considering I was expecting some kind of activity.

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  Then I spoke to soon. I managed to pick up some footsteps and signaled the kobolds to hide in the shadows. They took advantage of their size to hide within the lower cracks of the wall while I took to the ceiling. I used my wings as a cover while I used my long neck to peek down and listened to two guards passing by.

  “Did you hear that commotion going on outside?”

  “From what I heard, it had to do with some kind of monster invasion or something?”

  “You don’t think it’s about the rumored monster that took over the Mivtic Kingdom?”

  “Bah, don’t believe every rumor you hear. They said it was some kind of weird kobold who has a bunch of strong monsters in charge as if I would believe that!”

  “Yeah…. that does sound kind of ridiculous now that you said it.”

  Ha, if only they knew how accurate the rumors were. Though I don’t blame them. I joined said weird kobold’s army, and I barely believe it myself!

  “Just make sure we keep your guard up, there’s barely any of us here and we need to make our supplies are secured. We can’t let the public know what we were growing here!”

  “I know I know, they should still be at the end of the hallway, right?”

  Bingo. It looks like I hit the mark. Now it was just the matter of waiting for an opportunity to get inside undetected. I almost instinctively reached for one of my Feather Blades for the kill, only to remind myself of my current employer’s preferences.

  Guess I have to do this cleanly. I watched their movements carefully, looking for an opportunity to ambush them or at the very least to slip past them. Lucky for me, these two guards in particular aren’t all that good in their job.

  One of the guards started to stretch their arms before asking the other. “I’m going to sit down for a minute, can you cover for me until then?”

  The other guard rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Fine, just don’t blame me if you get chewed out.”

  A few moments after one of them left I took my opportunity and swooped in from behind, grabbing him and using a reliable cloth filled with a sleeping agent made from alchemy. The substance was commonly used to knock out even the most stubborn of monsters, given enough time.

  So it only took a matter of seconds for the poor guardsman to struggle to muffle for help before the effects were too much for him to bear and he finally lost consciousness. I signaled for the kobolds to handle moving the body before I sneaked into the next area to handle the other guard.

  He was taken out just as easily with the help of the fact that he was already readying himself to take a nap. Just a quick motion of subduing him the same before placing his unconscious body at an unoccupied section before moving on.

  I took a mental note of where the guards had pointed at, making sure not to get any of us spotted until we finally reached our destination.

  How did I know this? Well maybe it was because of the patch of plants growing at the center of the area with a ditch surrounding it. Not deep enough that you wouldn’t be able to get out but just enough to fit multiple …. Yeah… let’s not delve too much into that train of thought.

  The three kobolds seemed to agree as they tried not to look if only to keep themselves focused on the mission. So can definitely confirm that they were growing these roots, but they must have kept their main ingredients somewhere close. Sure enough, we found a suspicious section nearby. It was large enough for humans to go through but unlike the other areas it looked more cramped, as if they didn’t want too many to pass through. That and the fact that there was a particular smell coming out of it. We decided that this was probably our goal.

  The open space of the area compared to the hallways before made sneaking around a bit more difficult. Good thing I’m able to use my skill on more than my feathers. Using a small rock, I threw it in a completely different direction, grabbing some of the guards’ attention. We used the distraction to slip right through them and into the suspicious section.

  Sure enough, what we found were several weakened looking humans. They looked almost worn out. And they were a bit thin I would have to assume that they didn’t eat as much as they should.

  Compared to the prisoners back in the Mivtic kingdom’s cells where they looked like they lost all hope, these poor guys seemed like their using every ounce of strength just to keep themselves alive.

  I was a bit taken back when they saw us that instead of fear, they actually looked hopeful. They even began to beg us. “Who are you…...”

  “Are you here to save us......”

  “Please….”

  …. Hmm well since we came here for them anyway, it doesn’t hurt to give them a bit of show if not only to give them something to look forward to but also cause I know that my employer would rather be pleased with this.

  I took my hat as I motioned it towards my chest and lowered my head, trying to imitate our shadowy friend.

  “Greetings, I am but a simple gentleman under the service of our ESTEEM Tiny tyrant, lord Vladimir. ~”

  From the side I could hear the kobold trio snort under their breath. Come on you three, I’m trying to give a proper presentation. Though I can understand the humor. Now to finish things off.

  “I came under his orders to free you all. Any takers?”