The fourteen kobolds were angry, hissing and screaming. They chased after the killer of their comrade.

Red revealed himself, but he was quite smart with it. He showed himself in one moment, then he sought cover behind the thick canopy the next moment. He killed one archer, but there were still two more. He needed to be careful with them.

Sure enough, arrows were flying at him, but they had low accuracy, or he could say their accuracy was zero. None of the arrows hit him. He even slowed down, just to ensure the kobold didn’t lose him. The protruding roots were quite challenging for them, hindering them from catching up.

Their anger just made it worse for some of them. They were seething, focusing on the red-skinned creature that some of them tripped by the roots.

Red could shake their pursuit easily if he wanted to, but that was not the plan. He increased the distance and spotted the ambush spot, but he made sure that the kobolds could still see him.

He was three trees ahead of the ambush spot and climbed the branch higher. Just like usual, he used the thick canopy as his cover as he put another arrow, pulling his bow, and aiming at the kobold who was still chasing.

Red took a deep breath, maintaining his posture. He was waiting for the kobold to reach the ambush spot. While at it, he put his focus on his target. It was the second-highest-level kobold that was fully armored with plate armor. It was still a challenge for him to hit a moving target, but the roots truly slowed them down. That would help him.

The moment his target stepped on the ambush spot, he fired the shot. He didn’t have a high confidence in hitting a moving target, but he still aimed for the head. He felt like he would hit it.

Swish!

The arrow whistled in the air, so fast that it was barely noticed by the pursuer.

Thung!

Schk!

The sound of armor pierced by an arrow was followed by the sound of piercing flesh afterward. The high-level kobold fell backward with an arrow on its head. The helmet could not stop the arrow.

Red already had his second arrow on his bow. He initially aimed at the same target, but he quickly changed the target. The second fully armored kobold. He didn’t have time to adjust his aim, so he aimed at the body.

The second arrow flew and hit the shoulder. The kobold tumbled while pointing in his direction. It was saying something in their language. That quickly attracted the other kobolds’ attention. The kobolds rushed forward with murderous intent.

The third arrow flew, hitting another kobold in the head. The body felt a thud. That was not enough to stop their advance. In another five steps, another arrow whistled through the hair. This time, it hit the kobold’s belly, causing the kobold to stumble backward, crying in pain.

They climbed another root, but another arrow was fired again, hitting the kobold that had just jumped off the root in the chest, pushing it backward, leaning against the root.

At this point, Red was aware that the kobold’s aggro was on him. Their hatred of killing their comrades clouded their judgment. Another two were dead, and three were immobilized with a severe wound on them. This was the moment.

"Now! Attack now!"

Under his cue, the seven hobgoblins sprang into action. Three hobs came from the right side, and four came from the left side of the kobold group. They followed the instruction well as the three hobs rushed toward the archer. He told them to take down the archer first.

The remaining four hobs went after the closest kobold. The one who tripped and was left behind while chasing Red. From the initial fourteen kobolds that chased after Red, only nine of them were still standing with no wounds. That was their target of ambush.

The kobolds were caught off guard, not expecting an ambush. The kobolds on the back line cried in panic, trying to alert the kobolds ahead of them. By the time the kobolds in the front heard the warning, the three archers were already dead.

The kobold with a wound on the shoulder was knocked out in one hit, and the other three hobs were engaging in a fight. The frontline kobolds tried to turn, trying to assist. But that was their mistake as another arrow came for them.

The three hobs rejoined and pushed the kobolds, and Red shot them from the other side. The battle didn’t last that long, less than fifty breaths before they wiped out the kobold completely.

The seven hobgoblins roared in excitement as they managed to kill fourteen kobolds without casualties, but some of them still suffered a shallow cut from the fight.

"Enough! You will attract the other group of kobolds if you scream like a fool!"

That silenced the group. The seven hobs turned toward the voice, seeing Red jump off the tree.

"There are three more bodies there. Fetch them, then we will split the body evenly!" Red ordered while retrieving his arrow. None of his arrows missed; he took them from the bodies.

The seven hobs exchanged glances; some of them were unwilling to listen to the order. From their perspective, they were the hobgoblin, the Warrior of the tribe. It was Red who was supposed to receive their order, not the other way around.

However, no one talked back as the older hobs sent three young hobs to fetch the body. Red gathered the three kobolds with full armor. He could not see their levels with [Appraisal], hence he assumed they were the highest level in the group.

Three hobs brought back the three dead kobolds not long after, carrying them on their shoulders. They threw the body on the ground.

"I will take these three bodies, and you each will take two bodies for loot."

Red quickly distributed the share, but one hob raised his arm, "Wait? Why do you get three?"

What the hob tried to say was that Red was the "weakest" among them because he hadn’t evolved yet. He should get the least loot.

"Because I killed more kobolds than each of you. I killed those three that you brought back, and I killed six more. Be grateful that I am willing to share them evenly!"

Red didn’t budge, but he was ready. He was in a position to run and climb the tree if these seven hobs tried to act unreasonably. He would kill one or two by then, then he would retrieve his loot. He was ready to do it.

The seven hobs looked at the dead bodies, then they recalled the ambush. They were lost for words for a moment and decided not to contest the loot, "You can take three then."