Half a day after Robin and Andy were rescued, the Riders of Norria arrived at the place where Nevreal had asked them to meet.
Due to the importance of this endeavor, the Stronghold had dispatched almost half of its manpower, which numbered a little over five hundred Dwarf Warriors.
Four Hundred Grade D Apostles.
Ninety Five Grade C Apostles
Eight Grade B Apostles.
This level of manpower was strong enough to wipe out any hostile forces within the territory of Norria. However, even Nevreal still doubted whether it was enough to raid the Kobold Nest.
Usually, a Kobold’s Nest housed thousands of Kobolds. The Kobold Warriors were the weakest, followed by the Kobold Leaders. The Kobold Mages were stronger than the rest, and some of the older ones could reach Rank 3.
As for the Draconic Kobolds, their Ranks were at Rank 3 Minimum. These special Kobolds were known to break through to Rank 5 once they got older.
If there were a handful of Rank 4 Draconic Kobolds, or even one Rank 5 Kobold. The Riders of Norria would be in for a tough battle.
Usually, Rank 5 creatures wouldn’t be found in any Beginner Areas. Simply put, they could be considered “World Bosses”, because no one in the Beginner’s Territory would be able to fight them one on one.
At most, a group of a hundred people that was composed of Grade B (Rank 3) and A Apostles (Rank 4) could fight it in a Boss Raid.
“Since Robin is already safe then there’s no need for us to risk our lives trying to raid the Kobold’s Nest,” one of the Rider Captains of Norria, who was a Grade B Apostle, said. “We should just return to the Stronghold and call it a day.”
The other riders nodded their heads in agreement. If Robin was still inside the Kobold’s Nest then they would surely charge in and do everything in their power to rescue him.
However, since he was already rescued, the Warriors of Norria didn’t feel the need to rescue the Dwarves who had been captured by the Kobolds. For Riders of Norria, they were not that important.
“Normally, I would agree with you,” Boreas said, “but this time it’s different. We made an oath to the person that served as our guide to find this place that we would rescue his friends no matter what happens. We made this vow to the Earth Goddess, so our hands are tied.”
Nevreal nodded his head, which made the Dwarf Captains groan. The Commander of the Stronghold had come to personally supervise the rescue operation. He was the only Grade A Apostle (Rank 4) in the territory of Norria, which made him the absolute decision maker at all times.
His name was Thoram, the Commander of the Stronghold of Norria.
Thoram wore a serious expression on his face. He knew that he had to make a difficult choice. If he chose to ignore the oath made by Boreas and Nevreal, it was tantamount to abandoning them to their Fate.
If he did this then his subordinates would no doubt be safe, but they would always have reservations when it came to following his orders. Nobody wanted to follow a leader who readily abandoned his men with only a moment’s notice.
This was not the way of the Dwarves, and doing so would tarnish his reputation.
On the other hand, if he chose to honor the oath, he would be gambling the life of his men to fight against an unknown number of Kobolds. It was impossible not to have any casualties when raiding a monster den, especially a Kobold’s Den.
Thoram didn’t want to see his men die in droves if they were to encounter a Draconic Kobold, whose rank surpassed theirs.
Just as he was hesitating to decide what to do, a voice spoke out from behind him.
“We will go and rescue Colette and the others.” ꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛʀs, ᴘʟᴀs ᴠsᴛ Noᴠlꜰire.nt
All the Dwarf Warriors turned around to look at Robin who stood before them with a serious expression on his face.
“I owe that Half-Elf a life,” Robin stated. “I will not be able to sleep at night knowing that I abandoned the one that saved me when he needed me the most. I am a Dwarf, not a Goblin. I will not turn my back on those that had made their oath to the Earth Goddess.”
Robin scanned the faces of all the Dwarf Warriors who were looking at him with complicated expressions on their faces.
“So, tell me…” Robin sneered. “Are you Dwarves, or are you Goblins who abandon their kin at the first signs of trouble? The Kingdom of Gweliven has no need for Goblins. I am a Dwarf, so I will do what Dwarves do best. All of you can return to the stronghold if you want, I’m going to go and save my friends even if I have to do it alone.”
Andy and Helen stood beside Robin with determined expressions on their faces. Clearly, they also wanted to enter the cavern and save their friends to the best of their abilities.
Thoram sighed as he knelt in front of Robin.
“I, Thoram, son of Malrom of Thordrom, hereby swear that I will wield my axe to pave the path to victory! I swear this upon the honor of the Earth Goddess!”
All the Warriors of Norria knelt toward Robin and thumped their weapons on the ground to voice out their approval.
Robin nodded his head in acknowledgement as he patted Thoram’s shoulder.
“Fight for victory,” Robin stated. “Fight for Gweliven!”
“”For Gweliven!””
It was at that moment that the five hundred strong Dwarf Battalion of Norria marched towards the Kobold Nest with one goal in mind. To rescue Robin’s friends, and fulfill their oaths to the Half-Elf who was now currently fighting for his life.
—–
Kobold Nest…
“Sh*t!” Lux cursed as he and the Dwarves held their weapons firmly in their hands.
All of them were staring at the walls of their hiding place, as the sound of digging became stronger.
Just as he expected, the Kobolds had discovered that the men that they had sent to scout the Dump Site hadn’t returned after an hour. The Kobold Chieftain and the Kobold Sorcerer dispatched a hundred kobolds led by a Kobold Mage and four Kobold Leaders to the Dump Site and made them check what was going on.
A great battle ensued when they arrived at their destination. Out of the hundred Kobolds, seventy were able to retreat and report their findings to their Kobold Chieftain.
After discovering that the escaped prisoners had holed themselves up in the Dump Site, the Kobold Chieftain sent the Kobold Sorcerer, who was the leader of the Kobold Mages, to take command of the Kobold Army.
Instead of forcing their way into the narrow tunnel which led to their destination, the Kobold Sorcerer ordered the Kobolds to do what they did best. Naturally, that was mining!
Thousands of Kobolds started to chip away at the walls that led to the Dump Site, while they positioned some of their troops to observe the tunnel that led to where the Dwarves were hiding. This development had far surpassed Lux’s understanding, which made him grit his teeth in frustration.
After three hours of nerve-wracking tension, the sounds of the mining stopped, which made Lux frown.
“The sound of mining has stopped,” Lux informed everyone. “I don’t know what they’re planning, but everyone, brace yourselves.”
Diablo and the Skeletal Fighters raised their shields as they faced the wall. Ishtar was standing in front of the main entrance of the tunnel, ready to snipe the Kobolds who would use that route to pincer attack them.
Just as everyone was wondering what was going on, a loud explosion broke the wall in front of them. Dirt and rubble flew in different directions as the wall collapsed. It was hit by a fireball made by the Kobold Sorcerer.
When the dust had settled down, a two-meter wide hole appeared in front of everyone. Soon, the blood curdling war cries of the Kobolds were heard as they charged down the path made by their brethren.
Diablo and the Skeletal Fighters immediately formed a defensive wall using their bodies, continuously hacking the Kobolds who were trying to overpower them with sheer numbers. If Lux hadn’t upgraded his minions, the Kobold might have stood a chance, but with Diablo’s strength, which was now at the peak of a Rank 3 Monster, the Rank 1 Kobold Warriors quickly died under his mythical blade.
Lux and the Dwarves could feel their hearts rising towards their throats as the battle turned more intense.
Soon, even Ishtar, who was standing far away from them, had started to fire arrows at the main tunnel leading to their hiding place. Just like Lux had anticipated, the Kobolds planned to do a pincer attack.
Thanks to Ishtar’s Ice Elemental Damage, Kobolds’ advance was slowed down. Even so, it was merely delaying the inevitable.
“Everyone, get ready. Go to your positions!” Lux ordered “This is a do or die moment, so do everything in your power to resist. Once the Kobold breaks past our defenses, it’s all over. So fight with everything you’ve got!”
“”Yes!””
As the battle in the Dump Site area intensified, the Warriors of Norria had just killed the guards that were manning the entrance of the Kobold Nest.
Over five-hundred strong warriors, with Thoram at the lead, ran through the passageway that led to the depths of the Nest.
A battle that had never before seen in the territory of Norria was about to begin.