Absolute Beast Dominion - Chapter 495: Tunnel Captain
Chapter 495: Tunnel Captain
What the Kobolts had in hand appeared to be a vibrant orange flower with 7 flame-shaped petals that gradually shifted from deep crimson at the base to brilliant gold at the tips. Each flower was only about 15 centimetres in length, but there were 6 of them, two on each hand of 3 Kobolts
[Blazebloom Flower] – Mid Green-tier
– The flower releases remarkably gentle fire essence that is easy to absorb. Being around it improves precision and control of fire abilities, reducing mana waste and helping practitioners with strength lower than or equal to Mid 2-star to master fire techniques more efficiently.
Direct consumption can momentarily enhance fire abilities comprehension for even mid-3-star individuals for more than a day.
The Kobolts carrying the treasures were just about to enter a narrow tunnel and escape when, with a casual swipe of his hand, Leo collapsed it entirely.
“That’s a very good natural treasure for people with fire affinity. Shame that Naelith can’t benefit from it, but I can guarantee it can be sold at an extremely high price in Ember City… or even to the Ember Family.”
Leo briefly considered that the Ember Family might already possess quite a few of these flowers, but even then, he could simply sell them elsewhere for the desired amount.
A Mid Green-tier treasure generally costs around 30,000 AC, but since it was a specialised treasure, fire users could pay as much as 100,000 AC for it.
Twik!
An arrow harmlessly bounced off his back.
“Tsk.”
“It would have been better for you to run, but since you’re so eager to die, so be it!”
Before doing anything else, Leo extended his hand. Several vines burst from the ground, wrapping around the Kobolts holding the natural treasures before yanking them toward him.
Hrrreeekk!
These Kobolts carrying the treasures were weak compared to others, making them rather easy targets.
When they were dragged near him, Leo effortlessly pried open their palms as if their resistance were worthless. All the while, arrows and fireballs slammed into him. He did notice, however, that when the treasures were within firing range, many Shamans hesitated to attack for fear of damaging them.
< Blazebloom Flower detected as a living target.
Due to abundant ambient spiritual and mana particles, it will remain fresh indefinitely within the Spiritual Soil. >
Leo calmly stored all 6 Blazebloom Flowers, in stark contrast to the relentless bombardment he was receiving.
Suddenly, he noticed that the stones some Kobolts were carrying didn’t actually look like ordinary stones.
Since the Kobolts had already gone into a frenzy after seeing the valuable treasures disappear, they threw everything in their arsenal at Leo from a distance, including the stones that were not actually stones.
And Leo was correct. The moment they struck his aura shield—
BOOM!
A blast reverberated through the chamber and tunnels. In the distance, Leo saw an Earth-affinity Shaman quickly use its magic to stabilise the ceiling.
“Lord!” Lyswenna called worriedly from above when Leo’s figure became obscured by smoke and dust.
“It’s nothing. Just stay on guard up there!” Leo replied as the dust settled around him, revealing him completely unscathed once more.
At the sight, the Kobolts’ morale wavered, and several instinctively stepped back.
It looked like the bombs were their winning bets.
As a matter of fact, they likely wouldn’t have chosen to fight this losing battle at all if Leo had released his presence. But he hadn’t done that because he needed the Kobolt Shamans’ beast cores to test Talent’s talent extraction abilities.
Chik-chik-chik!
Chik-chik-chik!
Several Shamans shouted in what seemed to be their primitive language, which even the world couldn’t be bothered to auto-translate for Leo.
Upon hearing it, the Kobolts immediately began retreating. A few Fire Shamans launched fireballs, and one even unleashed a flamethrower at Leo to distract him.
“Well… good that you attacked first,” Leo said as earthen spears formed in his hands.
He hurled them toward whichever Shaman was attacking him. Within moments, 4 Fire-attribute Shamans were pierced through the chest and collapsed in pools of blood.
The remaining Shamans panicked and immediately withdrew, throwing themselves into narrow tunnels. The lone Earth-attribute Shaman proved particularly clever, having already retreated before Leo had killed the 4 Fire Shamans.
The reason Leo allowed so many of them to escape was simple: there was no benefit in killing them. He didn’t have any tamed Kobolts he could use to strengthen the bloodline.
Wait… a tamed Kobolt beast.
Leo paused as he walked toward the Shamans’ corpses and curiously examined their appearance.
“A tameable beast that can use tools, has fingers, and can perform sharp, precise movements while being humanoid… not too big, but a bit small,” Leo mused.
The Shaman wore clothes made from animal hides, and to signify its status, it had accessories crafted from feathers, bones, and earth crystals.
But the main difference was the paint covering its torso, arms, and part of its face, which appeared yellow. Most likely another sulfur-based compound.
The unique thing was the red coloured headband on its head, rather than the brown-coloured headband on the Earth Shaman’s head previously.
Leo very much wanted to try taming an unintelligent Kobolt to observe its growth, but he hesitated upon seeing their frame, which barely reached 1.2 meters.
At that moment, his senses picked up a formidable presence approaching through one of the larger tunnels that had yet to collapse.
“Oh? A High 2-star Kobolt? Now that’s interesting.”
By the time the Kobolt reached Leo’s location, he had already used his dagger to collect the beast cores and mana crystals. Unfortunately, none of them possessed soul crystals.
RAAHHHHRRRR!
The incoming Kobolt roared as it smashed through sections of the tunnel wall to make room for its larger frame.
What emerged was a Kobolt whose appearance spoke of a veteran warrior.
Standing 1.5 meters tall, the Kobolt wore a necklace of canine teeth—some large, some small—most likely trophies from its hunts. Scars crisscrossed its entire body, and the end of its tail was missing. Unlike the leaner Kobolts, it possessed a noticeably bulkier build and wore armour crafted from stone and hardened wood.
The only metallic object on its body was a sword nearly the length of its entire frame, a greatsword by Kobolt standards. Even so, the weapon’s craftsmanship appeared crude, as though it had been forged by a novice blacksmith during practice.
Ashfang Kobolt Tunnel Captain (High 2-star) – Mortal Bloodline [Intelligence – Adult]
