Chapter 161: Elite Kobold Archer

Red jumped from his bed, grabbed the bow, and the quiver brimmed with arrows. He stopped himself when he was about to leave the house. That’s because of his armor. He almost left with no armor on.

He grabbed his leather armor and quickly went out. The first thing he did was to climb the house instead of going to where the voice came from. He doubted the hay roof could withstand his weight, but the building was surprisingly sturdy.

He moved across the roof, approaching where the voice came from. When he heard they were under attack, he thought the enemy had already barged into the village. That was not the case.

The alarm came from the side of the ruined wall, and there was no enemy inside the village. However, there was indeed an enemy. They were at the edge of the clearing, nearing the jungle. He saw rows of kobolds and also bigger silhouettes inside the jungle.

The situation was reversed now. They were inside the village, and the kobolds were outside the village. He squatted at the edge of the roof, thinking of how he should approach this fight. He could certainly stay inside and fire his arrow from safety, which he would follow with a fireball later on.

That was the safest way to approach the fight, but his last fight against the last Elite Kobold Fighter made him want to join the battle. It was more satisfying to kill the kobold with his sword than his bow.

’Or I can do both. I will fight once the kobold decides to storm into the village.’

"We don’t need to find them; they find us! This is better!" The chief’s voice resounded.

Red turned his head. The Chief was followed by the three Goblin Champions, approaching the ruined wall. The Chief didn’t go further, staying next to the house where he was.

He looked at the wound; the whole hole had been filled with new and fresh flesh, beginning to scab. It was still not completely healed, but the Chief could still fight in that condition. His other wounds were covered by scabs and should not give him an issue in a battle.

"Why don’t you go there and check their numbers, Red? We need to make our plan based on their number."

’Why?’

Red wanted to ask, but the word stuck in his throat. Regardless of their number, it was better for them to stay inside the village. While the wooden wall was ruined because of him, the house still gave them an advantage. Checking their number was useful, though, so he responded with a nod.

He left through the other side entrance, then entered the jungle before climbing up to the tree. As a precaution, he climbed up to the fourth branch higher instead of staying on the lowest branch. He didn’t know what kind of kobold they would bring this time.

Red also reminded himself there might be a Kobold Scout as well, and there was a chance for an elite version with them as well. Thinking about it, he went up one branch higher before approaching the group.

He finally got closer to the enemy’s line as he saw them through the small gap between the canopy. However, he was up too high to get a clear look. It would be impossible for him to estimate the kobold numbers if he was too high.

He went to a lower branch, climbing down through the trunk instead of jumping down. It would be too risky for him to make noise. He got to see a glimpse of the kobolds. The usual Elite Kobold Fighter, and there was something he hadn’t seen on the kobold.

It was a kobold that was one head shorter than the Elite Kobold Fighter, but instead of using the black armor, it wore a black cloak to cover its head, wearing leather armor instead of the black steel armor. A quiver was attached to the waist, holding a black bow in the left hand.

The bow was thicker than the one he had, also longer, and there was an interesting short curve at the tip. The tip of the bow curved outward, and the string was tied to the middle of that small curve.

He was interested in the model of the bow and wondered how it was compared to the one he had. He knew for sure that bow was better than his, but he wanted to know that gap.

’The bow is mine!’ He was determined to get that bow. ’Archer... Maybe Elite Kobold Archer..."

Red used Appraisal on that cloaked figure right away and got the information.

[Elite Kobold Archer - Level ??]

He still couldn’t see their level, so he tried Appraisal on the Elite Kobold Fighter, and it was the same. He got the type, but he didn’t get the level. The same two question marks.

’When can I see their level?’ He was a little bit frustrated. His Appraisal just went up by a level recently, and that was still not enough to identify the elite kobold.

He shook his head and focused on the task at hand. Discovering the new type of kobold before the battle was pivotal. If the Chief decided to attack them in the jungle, this Elite Kobold Archer might reduce their numbers by a quarter or maybe half, depending on the number of Elite Kobold Archers.

He still could not see the whole picture, so he decided to climb down one more branch. That was when he got a better look at the kobolds inside the jungle.

There were still lines of normal kobolds inside the jungle, more than what they showed at the edge of the clearing. They were not his main focus, but the elite kobolds.

He frowned as he finished counting. There were fifty Elite Kobold Fighters, and there were twenty-five Elite Kobold Archers. They had more elite kobolds than the ones they fought two days ago. It would be fine if they had their original number, but their number had been halved.

The bigger issue was the Elite Kobold Archers. It would be troublesome fighting them outside. Those archers might be able to kill the Goblin Champion. Then he started to count, an estimate of the normal kobolds. His face crunched as he estimated there were at least a hundred kobolds, mixed with Kobold Archers, Kobold Warriors, and Kobold Hunters.

At least one hundred kobolds, might be more. Those were generally stronger than the goblins. Then there might be the Kobold Scout. With the possibility of the Kobold Scouts, he decided to do another round of scouting. He climbed one more branch and started to look for the Kobold Scout.