God Agent: All Hail The Great Kobold

The boar finally came to a halt at the livestock pen they had initially ridden out from, its heavy breathing filling the enclosure as Ka’z gently pulled on the reins. He let out a long, tired sigh and loosened his grip before looking over his shoulder.

The sight waiting behind him immediately made the small smile on his face disappear.

Tor and the other goblin artisans were rushing toward him alongside Ru’k, Za’r, Kurg, Tu’ka and a large crowd of kobolds, with shock written plainly across their faces.

They had followed him from the streets after witnessing his first successful ride, and judging by the number of people gathered behind them, word had already spread through the village.

Ka’z’s eyes slowly moved across the crowd. His friends were one thing. The goblins were another. He had no problem with either of them coming to see what he had accomplished. But seeing so many of the same kobolds who had spent months resenting the goblins, attacking them and trying to drive them away made something inside him sour.

He didn’t understand the feeling completely. It wasn’t simply anger. It was deeper than that, a growing resentment toward his own people that he had never experienced before.

These were the same people who had watched the village being built with their own eyes and still tried to destroy the very people helping build it. Now they had come running to admire the result. Ka’z couldn’t help feeling disgusted by the hypocrisy.

He shifted his gaze away from the crowd and toward the herdsman standing nearby. The kobold was staring at him as though he had just witnessed something impossible, his eyes moving repeatedly between Ka’z, the saddle and the massive boar.

Ka’z ignored the look and dismounted, carefully lowering himself to the ground before placing a hand against the boar’s thick fur. The animal was breathing heavily after its long ride, its sides rising and falling rapidly beneath his palm.

"Get it water to drink and soak its legs," Ka’z instructed.

The herdsman immediately snapped out of his daze and hurried away to fetch water.

Ka’z continued gently rubbing the boar’s fur while watching its breathing gradually settle. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the Gnolls standing nearby. Layla, Tega and the other two had apparently remained around the livestock pen the entire time. He remembered his earlier warning and immediately understood why. None of them wanted to risk wandering around the village after he had made it clear what would happen if he caught them spying on him again.

Layla, however, seemed to have completely forgotten about the awkward encounter as she stared at the saddle with undisguised excitement.

"This saddle, right? I don’t know how your people came up with this, but it’s truly divine. I never thought I would see a day when someone could ride these beasts effectively," Layla said, her voice filled with genuine amazement.

She looked almost like a child who had just discovered something completely new.

Ka’z turned toward her, and his expression softened. There was something refreshing about seeing someone appreciate his work. Layla wasn’t pretending to be impressed. She genuinely admired what they had accomplished.

"Thank you..." Ka’z replied modestly, lowering his gaze for a moment.

Yet inside, he felt an almost overwhelming urge to shout that this was not Vaal’kor’s creation. It was his. He wanted to tell them that this village would never have existed if he had listened to the people who had repeatedly tried to kill the goblins during its construction. He wanted to remind them that the artisans had been attacked more than a dozen times while they were building the very structures everyone now proudly called home. The saddle they were admiring was another product of the same goblins the villagers had once tried to drive away. But Ka’z swallowed those thoughts. It felt childish to demand recognition when the work itself already spoke for him.

"I wish I could ask you to teach us a thing or two, but that would be too much, especially since we are already asking for help with defending our home," Tega said.

His cheeks flushed red with embarrassment as he lowered his gaze slightly.

Ka’z turned toward him and studied the Gnoll for a moment before answering. "I have decided to join you guys on your journey to the west. I want to witness the threat of the Halflings for myself. But let me be clear, I will be coming alone."

The effect was immediate. Layla’s ears shot upright and her eyes widened. "Really?!" she exclaimed, unable to hide her excitement.

"Thank you! You are all we need for this journey. Truly, thank you!" Tega said, releasing a long sigh of relief. The two female Gnolls behind him also bowed their heads deeply.

"Thank you for reconsidering!" they said with genuine gratitude.

Ka’z gave them a friendly smile. "It’s alright."

His decision was already made. If Kong’gong’s reasoning was correct, then this journey could benefit Vaal’kor in several ways. He would learn about the Halflings, assess their strength, understand the Gnolls better and potentially weaken the northern threat before it could reach the southern region. More importantly, he would not be putting his team, friends or Za’r directly in danger.

The herdsman returned carrying a bucket of water and placed it before the wild boar. The animal immediately lowered its head and began drinking greedily.

Ka’z smiled faintly and continued rubbing its thick fur while it drank. He watched the animal for several seconds before glancing down at the saddle again.

"I think I’ll call you West..." he murmured. The name lingered in his mind for a moment. "West..." Ka’z repeated quietly, his eyes suddenly widening.

He had completely forgotten about his little dire weasel.

The realization hit him so abruptly that he nearly slapped himself. Ever since returning from the eastern campaign, he had left the little creature at the weasel pen with the others and simply forgotten about it.

The village had consumed almost all of his attention. Between building the settlement, protecting the goblin artisans, reading the Red Scripture, dealing with the political chaos and starting a family with Za’r, the dire weasel had somehow disappeared from his thoughts entirely. Ka’z stared blankly ahead for several seconds before shaking his head.

"Alright... I’ll give you the name North," he decided after thinking about it.

By then, Ru’k, Za’r, Kurg, Tu’ka and the goblins had finally reached the livestock pen. Tu’ka walked straight toward North, studying the animal with a serious expression before running a hand across its fur.

"So cavalry units fight while riding boars... I can see how dangerous they can be," he said dully.

The herdsman returned with two more buckets of water and positioned them near North’s forelegs. He carefully lifted the animal’s feet into the cool water before leaving again to fetch more buckets for its hind legs. North released a series of contented sounds as the cool water soothed its tired legs, and Ka’z watched with a faint smile.

"Yeah. Every member of the cavalry unit picks a Wild boar of their choice, trains and bonds with them. Also, the choice of weapon for cavalry units is spears," Ka’z explained.

Kurg rubbed his chin while examining North. The reasoning immediately made sense to him. A rider needed a weapon capable of reaching an enemy without forcing them to get too close to the ground. A sword could work in certain situations, but a spear would provide greater reach and could take advantage of the momentum generated by a charging mount.

"I can see what you want now..." Kurg mumbled thoughtfully.

The idea was beginning to take shape in his mind. A properly trained cavalry unit could move through the forest much faster than infantry, strike from unexpected directions and retreat before the enemy could respond. If they could successfully train the boars, they could transform the way Vaal’kor fought.

Ru’k, however, was far more interested in the saddle itself. He ran toward North and immediately reached for the stirrup, apparently intending to climb onto the boar. Ka’z noticed what he was doing and grabbed him by the tail before he could mount, dragging him backward.

Ru’k protested as his feet scraped against the ground.

"Wait until more saddles are made. You can get your own. North is mine," Ka’z said firmly.

Ru’k stared at him in disbelief. "You can’t just claim the first one!"

Ka’z tightened his grip on Ru’k’s tail and raised a brow. "I absolutely can."

Ru’k looked toward the others for support, but nobody seemed willing to challenge Ka’z over the matter. Even Tu’ka simply shook his head with an amused expression.

At that moment, Tor and the rest of the goblins arrived, their excitement immediately returning as they gathered around Ka’z and North.

"Brother Ka’z, you were amazing! With that, we can travel to every part of the forest much faster than ever!" Tor said, childish excitement burning in his eyes.

Several of the other goblins nodded enthusiastically, already imagining the possibilities. Ka’z looked at them and began thinking beyond the saddle.

"I will draw the blueprints for wagons and carriages. The first will be used for transporting items, and then the carriages will be used to transport people. While I’m working on that, you guys should create as many saddles as you can," Ka’z instructed.

The goblins stared at him with wide eyes. Wagons and carriages were concepts they had never heard of before, but after witnessing what the saddle could accomplish, they were more than willing to trust whatever strange invention Ka’z wanted them to build next.

"Understood!" they screamed together.

Ka’z then shifted his attention toward Tu’ka, Kurg, Za’r and Ru’k. "I’ll also write up some manuals on army formations, runes and arrays. I’ll leave it to you guys to teach our warriors how to ride, fight with formations and use runes."

Tu’ka nodded firmly, already mentally organizing how the warriors would be trained. Kurg gave a serious nod as well, while Ru’k looked increasingly excited by the number of responsibilities being handed to them. Za’r simply watched Ka’z with a quiet smile, proud that even after everything that had happened, he was still thinking about ways to strengthen the village.

Before Ka’z could say anything else, familiar voices approached from behind.

Mi’ya and the rest of his original team emerged from the crowd, moving toward him with curious expressions.

Mi’ya looked between Ka’z and North before finally asking, "Are you leaving?"

Ka’z’s expression immediately hardened. He looked beyond them and saw the enormous crowd filling the area around the livestock pen. The excitement surrounding the saddle had drawn almost the entire village here, including many of the same kobolds whose presence had already begun irritating him.

Ka’z looked back toward his friends, then toward the goblins and finally toward the crowd. His eyes narrowed as his patience began wearing thin.

"First, get all these people out of here. Then I’ll tell you the details," Ka’z said with a deep frown.