God Agent: All Hail The Great Kobold

Later that night, the entire village gathered in the village square. Dozens of torches had been planted into the ground around the open space, their flames flickering gently in the night wind and illuminating the faces of the assembled kobolds.

The newly completed buildings surrounding the square were mostly dark, with only a few windows glowing from inside, while the enormous statue of Tud’or stood behind the podium like a silent guardian watching over the gathering.

O’nil stood atop the wooden platform positioned directly before the statue, while Tong’a sat on a chair beside the platform alongside Lan’ka and Lady Zira.

The old kobolds had deliberately remained seated, leaving O’nil to handle the meeting while the rest of the clan waited to hear what decisions would be made.

At one corner of the square, Ka’z stood with his arms wrapped around his chest, surrounded by Ru’k, Za’r, Kora, Tu’ka, Kurg and the fifteen goblin artisans.

The atmosphere was tense enough that even ordinary movements seemed unusually loud. Kobolds whispered among themselves, occasionally glancing toward the goblins before looking away.

Tu’ka stood with his arms folded, his expression already irritated by the entire gathering. Ka’z noticed it but said nothing. He knew Tu’ka well enough to recognize that his friend was already preparing himself for an argument.

O’nil eventually cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention toward the podium. He waited until the murmuring had diminished before beginning in a calm voice.

"I called this meeting for two reasons. The first is to pick the next Chieftain of our Vaal’kor clan. While many of you may argue this meeting is long overdue, I must make it clear that the construction of the village was the reason for the delay. The reason for this meeting is none other than to end the unnecessary violence and decide what to do with our prisoners. We are one family, and we shouldn’t fight over things that can be discussed. If we let things like this break us from within, how can we survive against external attacks?"

The mention of the prisoners immediately caused several people to glance toward the fifteen goblins, while others shifted uncomfortably. Tu’ka’s body tensed beside Ka’z, and his expression hardened. Ka’z noticed it from the corner of his eye and quietly reached down to hold his hand.

Tu’ka glanced at their locked hands but Ka’z didn’t look at him.

His expression remained calm as he continued staring toward the podium, silently telling Tu’ka to remain where he was. Tu’ka stared at their hands for a moment before looking back toward O’nil. He clearly wanted to speak, but after a brief hesitation, he relaxed his shoulders and remained silent.

O’nil allowed the clan members to murmur amongst themselves for a while before raising his hand again. Once the crowd quieted down, he continued.

"For the role of Chieftain, I believe we must stick to tradition and, as usual, pick the oldest magic beast amongst our fold to guide us in these perilous times."

Several elders nodded in agreement.

"The natural decision would be to make Kong’gong our new Chieftain, but he has specifically stated he has no interest in Clan politics and is satisfied with his post. So by default... that position falls to Lan’ka."

The crowd erupted.

Applause spread across the square as kobolds cheered and called Lan’ka’s name. Several elders smiled with satisfaction while some of the younger kobolds looked relieved that the decision had been made according to tradition. Lan’ka himself slowly stood from his chair and raised one hand with a smile, acknowledging the crowd without saying anything.

But not everyone was pleased.

Dozens of warriors scattered throughout the crowd wore cold expressions. Most of them were directly under Ka’z and Tu’ka’s command. They knew exactly how much he had contributed to Vaal’kor’s survival and development. To them, the idea of simply handing leadership of the village to someone else because of tradition felt difficult to accept.

Tu’ka’s grip tightened around Ka’z’s hand. His body shifted slightly as though he intended to step forward but Ka’z squeezed his hand.

Tu’ka glanced at him and Ka’z slowly shook his head.

Tu’ka understood immediately.

Ka’z knew exactly what his friend was thinking. Tu’ka believed Ka’z was the obvious choice. He had built the village, led the expedition against Ashmork, gathered the artisans, created the settlement’s infrastructure and inspired the people to leave the cave. If leadership were determined purely by contribution, there would be little argument over who deserved it.

But Ka’z didn’t want a succession conflict.

Lan’ka had been their teacher and warrior leader for most of their lives. He had protected the colony long before Ka’z appeared, and despite his defeat during the Ashmork war, Ka’z had no intention of humiliating him or turning his own people against him. The village was barely established. Starting a political struggle now would only weaken them from within.

O’nil waited until the cheering finally died down before turning toward the second matter.

"On the case of the goblin artisans, as a family I believe we should all make a decision on what to do with them together. Only through general participation can everyone be satisfied with the outcome," O’nil said.

The moment he finished speaking, the atmosphere exploded.

"Kill them!"

"Send them away!"

"Get rid of them!"

"They shouldn’t be here!"

The crowd began shouting over one another, and the fifteen goblins instinctively moved closer together. Tor’s expression became grim as he looked around the square, while the older artisans lowered their heads. They had expected hostility after the morning’s incident, but hearing hundreds of voices calling for their deaths still caused fear to creep across their faces.

O’nil immediately raised both hands, trying to calm the crowd. "Everyone, calm down. We can discuss this properly..."

Before he could finish, a shadow suddenly appeared on the podium. Tu’ka stood behind of O’nil.

Buzz!

The entire crowd went silent. O’nil slowly turned around, and his eyes widened.

In all the years he had known Tu’ka, the young kobold had never directed genuine hostility toward him. Tu’ka had always been cold, distant and difficult to approach, but there had always been a line he wouldn’t cross with the elders.

That line had apparently disappeared.

Lan’ka immediately stood from his chair, his expression becoming serious. Lady Zira also tried to rise, but her large pregnancy belly made the movement difficult, forcing her to remain partially seated as she watched the confrontation with concern.

"Tu’ka, what are you doing?" O’nil asked calmly.

Tu’ka stared at him with blazing purple eyes. "I want to address the crowd. Will you stand aside?"

His voice lacked any warmth despite the politeness of his words. O’nil studied him for a moment before slowly stepping aside.

Tu’ka approached the edge of the podium, looking down at the entire clan. The crowd remained completely silent. Many kobolds who had been shouting only moments earlier now avoided his gaze, remembering what had happened to Logi that morning.

"I will start with calling out the hypocrisy of this entire charade..." Tu’ka began, his voice carrying clearly through the square. "Everything we see right here was dreamt and built by one man even when every other person called him crazy."

Tu’ka pointed toward Ka’z and every head turned. Ka’z remained at the corner of the square, his arms still folded across his chest. His expression remained unreadable.

"THE ONLY PERSON THAT QUALIFIED TO RULE THIS VILLAGE IS THE MAN WHO BUILT IT AND THAT MAN IS NONE OTHER THAN KA’Z!"

The warriors immediately erupted into cheers.

Tu’ka turned toward O’nil before shifting his attention toward Lan’ka, Tong’a and Lady Zira.

"Fuck tradition," Tu’ka hissed.

The words struck the elders like a slap.

Several kobolds visibly sucked in their breath, while others stared at Tu’ka as though they had never heard anyone speak to the elders that way before.

Tu’ka didn’t give them time to recover.

"Secondly, these prisoners were brought in by Ka’z for a reason and that reason has led us to where we are now, and he has a reason for keeping them alive up till now, and you want to disregard that and let the village decide on what is done to them?"

Tu’ka turned toward O’nil again, his eyes narrowing.

"You want to give the same brainless mob who have never built anything of value the same value as the man who built everything?"

A cold chuckle escaped Tu’ka as he turned toward the crowd.

"That will not happen, not while I draw breath!"

"TU’KA!" Lan’ka shouted, his voice booming across the square.

But the response from the warriors was even louder. A tremendous cheer erupted from the military ranks, and this time it wasn’t limited to the warriors directly under Ka’z or Tu’ka. Almost every warrior in the village was supporting him.

The reaction wasn’t entirely surprising.

Ever since the war against the Ashmork Clan, Lan’ka had gradually taken a step back from military affairs. His defeat against Ru’dor had damaged his standing among the warriors, and although he remained respected as one of their elders, Tu’ka had effectively taken control of Vaal’kor’s military organization.

Despite personally commanding only ten warriors, Tu’ka coordinated the larger force, assigned duties, organized patrols and decided where their warriors were needed.

"Tu’ka, you can’t speak to your elders that way..." Lady Zira said, her voice firm despite the concern in her eyes.

Tu’ka looked toward her.

"Then maybe my elders should have consulted the major stakeholders of the Vaal’kor village before making such an important decision," Tu’ka said coldly.

"Tu’ka..." O’nil and Tong’a called out together.

Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!

Loud clapping suddenly echoed through the square and everyone turned.

Ka’z had unfolded his arms. His crimson eyes burned beneath the torchlight as he stepped forward, his expression carrying a calmness that somehow felt more threatening than Tu’ka’s anger. The crowd gradually fell silent as Ka’z approached the podium. He walked around it without sparing O’nil even a glance before climbing onto the platform.

Ka’z gently patted his shoulder and Tu’ka stepped backward without protest, making room for Ka’z to stand at the front.

Ka’z turned toward the people below.

"Personally, I don’t care who leads this village. My plan has always been to teach the people of Vaal’kor everything I learned from the Red Scripture in the academy I built for everyone, but now I don’t think I can go on with that plan."

The calmness in his voice unsettled the crowd more than shouting would have. Several kobolds exchanged uneasy glances.

Ka’z continued, his crimson eyes sweeping across the faces before him. "I dreamt of this village alone... I led a small team of ten against a village of three hundred goblins to gather the resources, knowledge and artisans needed to build this village. And I oversaw every step of the building of this damn village, and now the people who contributed the least to all of this believe they have the right to have a say in the affairs of the village."

A cold chuckle escaped Ka’z. His crimson eyes seemed to burn brighter beneath the torchlight.

He slowly raised one finger.

"I will make one thing clear to you all right now. These artisans are mine, and only I can decide what happens to them. Whoever raises attempts to harm them, I will personally murder them. Young, old, man or woman... There will be no exceptions!"