Absolute Beast Dominion - Chapter 494: First Natural Treasure

Chapter 494: First Natural Treasure

He averted his gaze from the ground and looked at the trapped Kobolts.

“Let them go. They aren’t mindless beasts, so they might relay information to their leaders, and those leaders may come to us for negotiations. That might even include some natural treasures as tribute,” Leo said.

There was no danger to him or the others even if thousands of them appeared together to attack. And realistically, any given moment, only a handful would be able to reach them—at most 5 to 6 with bodies this small. Leo could fight them all day in that case.

Though Lyswenna and Naelith might have trouble in close quarters and could technically be overwhelmed over time, they were capable of using ranged, area-based attacks, which would once again allow them to defeat these Kobolts.

So, leaving a handful of Kobolts alive wasn’t a concern.

As for relaying the attacker’s information beforehand and risking more sophisticated traps along the way, Leo was more than confident in his ability to alter the terrain and render anything useless.

The freed Kobolts immediately fled through the narrow opening, leaving the area around the water empty.

Nyxa, Shyra, and the elves looked around to see if there were any treasures on the surface. But after finding none, they waited for Leo’s next orders.

He didn’t give any. Instead, he pressed his hand against the ground.

Grumble!

The surrounding earth trembled as the ground began to collapse and part, directly paving a path toward the chamber.

Leo’s focus intensified as the depth increased. He had never done this much digging before, so the constant trial and error was consuming a great deal of mana.

As the size of the hole increased, a mound of debris began to form around it, resembling the dirt piled beside a mine.

In the process, Leo crushed many tunnels and smaller compartments, even burying some Kobolts alive. Death notifications continuously rang through his vision, which he muted because they were of no value.

But he did notice a few particular notifications.

Kobolts (Low 1-star) killed – No XP

He pulled out a living Kobolt with that particular designation.

Kobolt (Low 1-star) – Ordinary Bloodline

Not only was this Kobolt missing the Ashfang prefix, but it was also unintelligent.

And unlike the regular Kobolts with stony grey slaces, it had much more brittle-looking black scales.

“It was digging a new tunnel… people generally make lower-class workers or slaves do that. So being unintelligent makes them equivalent to slaves?” Leo muttered before strangling the beast to death with the same vines that held it aloft.

There was no remorse in him seeing these beasts get killed, even if they were intelligent.

And if somebody claimed that Leo was simply behaving like a beast toward the Kobolts and that he should show some kindness, he could very well reply that the only reason they hadn’t attacked him first was his strength. If Leo were weak in their eyes, these beasts wouldn’t give it a second thought before launching an attack to get something to eat in this barren land.

So, being strong didn’t necessarily mean he had to show kindness to beings that would attack him if he were weaker.

And he was right, because in many other places, people were locked in deadly battles with these Kobolts. It was the Kobolts who initiated those attacks, using their greater numbers to try and kill the humans.

Even Lyswenna and Naelith knew that and were extracting the Kobolts’ beast cores that surfaced alongside the churning debris. They even tossed the corpses into Shyra’s and Nyxa’s mouths with cheerful efficiency.

After what felt like a few minutes, Leo was finally only 1 meter away from the chamber before he stopped digging. The excavation had become a conical hole, almost 6 to 8 meters wide at the top and only 1.5 meters wide at the bottom, leaving a comfortable path for Leo and the others to descend. It cost around 15,000 to 20,000 mana units since he was an amateur.

The reason Leo stopped digging any further was that, by now, more than 100 Kobolts had gathered around the chamber with all sorts of weapons ranging from bows, spears, and daggers to even simple stones, and many more were still converging. At least, that was what Leo sensed.

“Oh? Preparing resistance because Nyxa can’t take action inside the cave?” Leo remarked.

Since some Kobolts had seen Nyxa and might have already relayed information about her to their leaders, they likely knew of her existence.

And after sensing that something was digging through the surface, they might have assumed it was Nyxa herself and prepared a defence. However, because of her size, she wouldn’t be able to perform well within the narrow cave systems even if she were very strong.

At that moment, he sensed a few Kobolts reaching an elevated platform and grabbing several incomprehensible objects to relocate them. He immediately prepared himself and jumped down.

As for why the Kobolts were removing the natural treasures now, it was simple. They thought the beast had sensed the treasures and was coming to retrieve them, so relocating them too early might have caused the beast to change direction and risk exposing other chambers. Only when the digging was nearly complete did they begin moving them.

Using the Howl Trait—[Controlled Weight Flow]—he concentrated his weight into a single point, directly shattered the thin surface, and dropped into the chamber.

The moment he did, numerous arrows shot toward him.

[Astral Aura Weave]!

A layer of Aura formed a sturdy shield over his body, and the arrows bounced harmlessly off it. As a matter of fact, he didn’t even need that. His 2 defensive traits, combined with his already Peak 4-star body, were more than enough to serve as protection.

But that was something he wanted to keep as a surprise.

After the arrows came fireballs, which passed him harmlessly.

His attention immediately shifted to the Kobolt that had fired them.

Ashfang Kobolt Shaman (Low 2-star) – Ordinary Bloodline [Intelligence – Adult]

Similarly, he spotted Kobolt Warriors and Archers. The Warriors carried spears, the Archers held bows, and only the normal Ashfang Kobolts wielded daggers.

What? Is a dagger not enough to qualify for a profession? Leo wondered, considering he himself was a dagger user.

But he couldn’t dwell on that thought as his eyes landed on the 2 objects the Kobolts had nearly escaped with through a tunnel.

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A/N: I will try publishing yesterday’s missed Chapter soon.