After the rain, the forest became even more sweltering, and the air was filled with a rotten smell, the decay emanating from leaves falling on the ground and decomposing rapidly by microorganisms. Mosquitoes, flies buzzing all around, emerged from damp corners, leaving a swollen bite that was both painful and itchy.
Vini, the Kobold leader, wandered despondently through the woods, ignoring the mosquitoes biting him. He leaned on a bone that was half the height of a person, pushing aside huge saw-like scythes to open a path forward, his tattered clothes marked with blood.
Behind him followed six or seven Kobolds, all looking emaciated and dispirited. One among them was a mother, cradling an infant Kobold that had only been born a few months ago.
Kobolds grow quickly, reaching a developmental stage akin to two or three-year-old human children within months; they can speak and walk, but the journey was tough. The Kobold mother bore the fatigue and carried the child in her arms.
This was a ragged crew fleeing desperately, enveloped in a shroud of sorrow, uncertain of where the future lay. Even the little Kobold sensed the unease, timidly gazing at the unfamiliar woods. With the adults silent, she dared not speak, only clinging tightly to her mother, hungry after a day without food, she pretended to eat by nibbling on her finger.
The Kobold mother was clearly malnourished, her body frail and skinny. Feeling the child move in her arms, she knew it was hunger. She rummaged through her pocket and took out a shrunken green fruit.
The young Kobold's eyes initially brightened, but upon seeing the shriveled Kawa fruit in her mother's hand, she turned away in disappointment. The fruit was bitter and astringent, barely better than tree roots; she simply couldn't swallow it.
The Kobold mother appeared somewhat at a loss, powerless amidst her emaciated frame.
Walking ahead, Vini witnessed this scene, his dog head drooping down,
his heart plummeted to an all-time low.
This group of Kobolds originally belonged to a Beastman Tribe settled over a hundred miles away in a northern forest. Though their status was barely better than slaves, they could at least survive by eating coarse grains and vegetables.
However, due to the power struggles among the tribe's upper echelon, they were discarded like pawns and forced out, left to find a means of survival elsewhere.
Yet the outside world proved even harsher, with ferocious Magic Beasts, hostile living conditions, and extreme scarcity of food pushing these Kobolds to their limits.
"There's a lake ahead. We'll rest there and then look for food."
Upon hearing Vini's words, the Kobolds breathed a sigh of relief. After such a long trek, they were exhausted.
Passing through the bushes, the Kobolds arrived at the lakeside. The lake was small, just the size of a pond. Through the clear water, one could see many fish swimming beneath. But no Kobold dared to enter the water to fish, even drawing water was done carefully at the edge.
This lake was too calm, and based on past experiences, the calmer a place, the greater the danger it conceals.
The lakeside was densely populated with towering trees of unknown species. Vini led a few young and barely robust Kobolds to search for food in the surroundings, not daring to venture too far.
Meanwhile, the Kobold mother with her child and an elderly Kobold with a leg injury stayed behind, gathering dry twigs, lighting a fire, and ceremoniously using their tribe's most precious possession, a stone-carved stone bowl, to boil water.
A temporary camp was established by clearing away the grass, which could easily cut like saw blades.
"Mama, where are we going?"
When the Kobold mother had lit the fire and boiled the water in the stone bowl, and everything was in place, the young Kobold finally voiced her timid question.
"Don't worry, Nina, we're going to a wonderful place. Once we get there, we'll never go hungry again."
The Kobold mother gently touched the little Kobold named Nina and said softly.
"Then can we have bones to eat every day?"
Nina's eyes widened, reflecting the sunlight with bright pupils, causing drool to trickle down her mouth.
What's referred to as bones were the last remnants of meat the crew had ten days ago, actually just bones left over from a hunt long ago, crushed into a tough paste.
Back then, the Kobold mother, malnourished, couldn't produce breast milk and had to forcibly wean Nina. That was the most delicious meal Nina had since she started eating solid food, having to rely on those bitter and astringent Kawa fruits thereafter.
"Yes, we'll have bones to eat every day, and we'll never go hungry again."
The Kobold mother's nose tingled with sentiment as she pulled Nina over, clutching her tightly in her arms. Behind Nina's sight, tears streamed from the eyes of the gaunt-faced Kobold mother.
She couldn't tell the child that she didn't know what lay ahead, that they might die of hunger tomorrow from lack of food or stumble into some Magic Beast's domain and become prey, nor cry in front of the child, holding her desperately instead.
The old Kobold with the broken leg watched this scene dumbfoundedly, a hint of sadness crossing his gaze as well.
This is the plight of the weak in the Kawa Forest, doomed to the uncertainty of life, struggling every day at the survival line, particularly for this group of loser Kobolds, consisting mostly of the old, weak, sickly, and injured, without knowing where they might disappear into the forest.
"They're back!"
Not long after, Vini and the other Kobolds who went out to forage returned elatedly, carrying several plump, gray rabbits. The rabbits struggled constantly, but Vini clutched them securely, while the tribe members bore unknown fruits hanging from their bodies.
They couldn't help but rejoice, for the forest near this lake was a treasure trove, allowing them to finally have a full meal after half a month.
After a hearty meal, the Kobolds lay scattered on the ground, enjoying the rare bliss of being well-fed, while the nearby firelight flickered.
Vini lazily lay on the grass, basking in the sun, a piece of foxtail grass in his mouth.
"Perhaps we should just stay here. This place is simply a paradise, with fruits everywhere, rotting on the trees. Those gray rabbits are so dumb, easily catching several at a time. This place is truly like heaven!"
Vini chewed the foxtail grass, his dog head riddled with concern.
However, such a treasure land could hardly be claimed by such a weak group as them. Were there no ferocious, predatory Magic Beasts nearby?
Thinking of this, having just regained strength after being fed, Vini used the Kobolds' Talent Ability, sniffing the air.
One sniff was enough to send Vini into a sudden leap, as his nose led him to gaze toward a towering ancient tree, dozens of meters high beside them.
"Oh, finally discovered? Hmm, little Kobolds have you entered my domain, did you have my permission?"
An ancient, solemn voice with a trace of ridicule reverberated like thunder in the air, oppressive and overwhelming like a mountain on Vini, forcing him to lie on the ground trembling all over.
Atop the towering tree's branches, that shadow unfurled enormous wings, casting a bluish glow, lightning arcs sparking across the fearsome Scale Armor, the giant wings eclipsing the sunlight, casting a vast shadow over the whole group of Kobolds!