For the kobolds, the first close-up view of that awe-inspiring presence that made their whole bodies feel the heat should have been a moment of glory, but now, this place seemed like hell.
Fire!
Their vision was filled with the high-temperature dragon flame that was enough to distort the air.
Once touched by even a bit, it clung like a venomous snake all over them, no matter how the kobolds rolled, it was to no avail.
Within a few seconds, the terrifying dragon flame could burn them into a pile of black ashes.
"The dragon is here!"
"Run quickly!"
Faced with the threat of dragons and death, the dazed kobolds finally awakened, dropping their picks and scrambling to escape.
Gauss on the dragon’s back watched as the numbers on the Monster Atlas rapidly increased, showing no empathy in his gaze.
"Already killed kobolds*12"
"Already killed kobolds*24"
"Already killed kobolds*15"
"..."
Gauss watched as notifications refreshed before his eyes.
He felt deep down that in specific terrain, Hephaestus could inflict significant damage.
Its Dragon Breath flame had grown much stronger compared to the beginning.
Not only was the temperature higher, but the burn duration had increased as well, and it was harder to extinguish.
It would continue burning until the target was reduced to ashes.
In the mines, seemingly detecting the chaos outside, more high-level kobolds emerged.
Almost immediately, they captured the sight of the giant beast circling in the sky.
The giant dragon was so striking, so beautiful.
If the dragon weren’t burning their home at the moment, they might even have an instinctive urge to kneel in worship.
"It’s the Red Dragon!"
Seeing the figure clearly, the expressions of this group of high-level kobolds revealed a touch of despair.
For other creatures, they might not have felt such pessimism.
But why did it have to be a dragon?
"Prepare for battle!"
Among the confused pile of kobolds, a short elderly kobold floated out, holding a burning golden candle and sitting cross-legged.
Its appearance seemed to rekindle some hope among the other kobolds.
Right, they still had the chieftain!
If it’s the chieftain, maybe...
However, they didn’t notice that their chieftain’s face was gradually becoming solemn as he looked at a certain figure on the dragon’s back.
While the tribesmen saw the monstrous dragon beast igniting the valley, he knew that the threat was the master riding on its back.
Of course, he wouldn’t and couldn’t tell the tribe this, or they would only feel even more despair.
After taking a deep breath.
Watching the elite leaders of the tribe reorganize, their appearance showing just a bit of regained confidence, yet each one was inwardly restless, he knew he must hold off the man and dragon alone, or else the kobold clan might be slaughtered entirely.
With this realization, the flames of the burning golden candle in his hand suddenly bloomed.
The blazing flames attached to his scale armor, making his hunched small figure suddenly imposing.
Under the gaze of his tribe, he, carrying all their hopes, slowly floated into the air.
Go on, chieftain!
Defeat that beast!
Eyes filled with hope fell upon him.
Sitting on the dragon’s back, Gauss was directing Hephaestus to fly toward the densest group of kobolds when he suddenly noticed a floating figure in the distance.
Under his Golden Dragon Eyes’ gaze, it emitted a rather decent magic power fluctuation.
Yet... it was just a decent level.
Not bothering too much about the other party’s thinking, he continued using the [Controller] talent along with the telepathic Hephaestus to slaughter the kobolds below.
Even if some kobolds rolled down the slope, lucky enough to dodge the sweeping dragon flame, they would be locked onto by Gauss and killed by a Magic Missile.
Finding that Gauss on the dragon’s back glanced at him before quickly returning to massacring the miner kobolds, a hint of anger flickered in the depths of the kobold chieftain’s eyes; he felt the disdain from the other side.
Ruling nearly three thousand kobolds, basically becoming a local tyrant, he was used to lording over everything; suddenly facing contempt, the burning anger in his chest quickly overwhelmed his caution concerning the enemy’s strength.
"You will pay for this!"
He looked down at the golden candle he held.
This wasn’t an ordinary candle.
But rather a special magic item.
This item allowed him to release powerful flames at a lower cost.
Unfortunately, each use resulted in considerable wear.
So most of the time, he used similar imitations for show.
He’s only brought out this lethal force in a few battles, each time without exception ending in his victory.
Those enemies worthy of the candle might have had formidable strength, but they all perished due to their arrogance, perhaps seeing his frail and timid old kobold appearance, failing to give their full effort right away, until he revealed strength far exceeding his appearance, realizing his might, but it was already too late.
Plus, this was his home turf.
Under his command, the kobolds around him quickly scattered.
"Heh heh heh!"
As if envisioning the scene of Gauss’s tragic death in his mind, he chuckled lightly in his heart.
Gauss in the sky knew nothing about this.
Of course, to him now, a commander-level kobold’s priority was not above that of the numerous miner kobolds below.