God Agent: All Hail The Great Kobold

Disturbed glances spread throughout the crowd, but nobody made a sound. The village square, which had been filled with arguments and shouting only moments earlier, had become unnaturally quiet.

Hundreds of eyes remained fixed on Ka’z, yet nobody seemed willing to challenge him after hearing the cold certainty behind his threat. Even the warriors who had cheered for Tu’ka earlier were now watching carefully, waiting to see what Ka’z would do next.

The fifteen goblin artisans were perhaps the most shocked of all.

Tor stared at Ka’z’s back with his mouth slightly open, his injured hand pressed against his chest. The other artisans exchanged uncertain glances, their eyes wet and their faces trembling slightly. They had expected hatred from the kobolds. They hadn’t expected was for Ka’z to stand in front of an entire village and threaten to personally kill anyone who tried to harm them.

Ka’z didn’t seem concerned about anyone’s reaction. He casually turned his attention toward O’nil and looked directly into the old Cheiftains eyes. There was no anger in his expression anymore. Somehow, that calmness made his words even heavier.

"My initial plan was to teach all kobolds the knowledge I acquired from the Red Scripture, but now I have changed my mind. The older generation of Vaal’kor is a cancer and has no place in the future I envision for this village. So I’ll keep this knowledge to myself and share it only with a select few from the younger generation, worthy of my time... I never needed many people to achieve my goal then, I don’t need it now."

Buzz!

A powerful gasp escaped from the crowd.

The kobolds stared at Ka’z as though he had suddenly announced that he intended to abandon the village entirely. The Red Scripture was the single greatest collection of knowledge Vaal’kor had ever possessed, and everyone had assumed Ka’z would eventually teach it to the entire clan.

The Academy had been built specifically for that purpose. Hearing that he was now considering withholding that knowledge from the majority of them struck far deeper than his earlier threat.

Ka’z didn’t wait for anyone to respond.

He stepped down from the podium, and Tu’ka immediately followed him. The moment they reached the ground, Ka’z walked toward the fifteen artisans, who instinctively straightened when they realized he was approaching them.

"Let’s go."

The goblins nodded and immediately followed Ka’z and Tu’ka.

Kurg, Ru’k and Za’r wore ugly frowns as they glanced back toward the crowd, clearly unhappy with what had happened. None of them wanted to abandon the village like this, but they trusted Ka’z enough to follow him. They quickly joined the others, leaving the podium and the stunned elders behind.

The crowd instinctively created a path and nobody tried to stop them.

Ka’z walked through the center of the village square without looking back. Tu’ka followed closely behind him, while the fifteen goblins kept their heads lowered as they passed through the silent crowd. Kurg, Ru’k and Za’r brought up the rear, their expressions still troubled.

When the group finally disappeared from the square, the crowd remained where it was.

Nobody spoke.

The torches continued burning around the square while the wind moved gently through the buildings, but the atmosphere had changed completely. What had begun as a meeting to choose a Chieftain and decide the fate of fifteen prisoners had ended with the younger generation openly challenging the authority of the elders and Ka’z withdrawing the knowledge he had intended to give everyone.

For the first time in the history of Vaal’kor, the younger generation of magic beasts had openly turned against the older generation.

Meanwhile, in Ka’z’s home, the atmosphere was considerably quieter.

Ka’z sat on his haystack bed with a cup of wine in his hand, his face noticeably reddened from the alcohol. Kurg, Ru’k and Za’r sat on the floor nearby, their backs against the wall and their expressions still filled with irritation.

Tu’ka sat on the wooden chair beside the study desk, where the Red Scripture had been carefully placed. Everyone had a cup of wine in their hands, while an entire barrel sat in the corner of the room, providing an easy source of refills whenever someone emptied their cup.

Despite the alcohol, nobody seemed particularly relaxed.

The only pleasant thing about the room was the cool breeze entering through the large window. It moved through the spacious chamber and carried away some of the heat left behind by the evening gathering.

"I can’t believe they ignored your contributions. They didn’t make you the Chieftain. And even worse, they tried to make a decision on the artisans you brought. The audacity!" Za’r was fuming, her face red from both anger and wine.

Tu’ka took another drink before lowering his cup. His expression remained stern. "I have never considered hurting them until tonight, and it really pisses me off that they pushed me this far."

Ru’k glared at Ka’z from across the room. "You shouldn’t have let it slide. You should have demanded to be Chieftain. With our support, you would have taken that position for yourself!"

"I know, right? We are the main fighting force of the entire village. If we decide to make you the Chieftain, who is going to stop us?" Kurg added, his voice carrying the confidence of someone who knew exactly how much influence the warriors now possessed.

Ka’z chuckled at their words and calmly raised one hand, signaling for them to stop. "Guys, relax. I really don’t want to be Chieftain. If you ask me, I would rather put Ru’k there. Who else is better at organizing people than him?"

Buzz!

Everyone froze.

Ru’k stared at Ka’z for several seconds before pointing at himself. "Really?" he muttered, genuine surprise visible in his eyes.

"Of course. Think about it. A Chieftain is someone who can connect with the people. Have you ever seen me connect with the people?"

The others exchanged glances.

At first, they looked confused, but the longer they thought about it, the more the answer became obvious. Ka’z had never been particularly good at handling crowds, organizing workers or maintaining relationships with ordinary members of the colony. He was respected, feared and admired, but those things were not the same as being able to govern hundreds of people.

Ru’k was different.

During the construction of the village, he had spent countless hours organizing workers, resolving arguments, assigning tasks and making sure everyone understood what needed to be done. Without him, the construction process would have been far more chaotic and would likely have taken considerably longer than six months.

He might have been the physically weakest member of their group, but his usefulness had never been in question.

"True..." Kurg slowly nodded in agreement.

"Actually... If we were picking by skills, then yeah, it should be Ru’k," Za’r admitted.

"I have no problem with that," Tu’ka shrugged before chugging down the contents of his cup.

Ru’k stared at them.

His eyes gradually became watery as he looked from one friend to another. He had spent so much time thinking of himself as the weakest and least important member of their group that hearing them openly acknowledge his abilities struck him harder than he expected.

Ka’z noticed the expression immediately.

"If you cry, I’m telling all the girls!" Ka’z threatened.

Everyone exploded into loud laughter.

Ru’k quickly wiped his eyes while laughing himself, his embarrassment mixing with genuine happiness. The tension that had followed them from the village square finally began to loosen, if only slightly.

After the laughter faded, Tu’ka leaned back in his chair and looked toward Ka’z. "So what about you?" he asked, drawing everyone’s attention. "What do you want for yourself?"

Everyone turned toward Ka’z.

Ka’z stared at his cup for a moment before gulping down everything inside it in one motion. He lowered the empty cup and released a long sigh, his eyes becoming more thoughtful.

"I’ll start with my plans for everyone before I come down to myself," Ka’z said.

The others adjusted their sitting positions, giving him their full attention.

"When I was building this village, I always planned to have Tu’ka as our chief warrior. There is no one who can do a better job at it than him."

Everyone nodded.

Tu’ka had already proven himself capable of organizing their military forces, and his ruthlessness made him particularly suited to dealing with threats that required decisive action.

"Kurg was meant to succeed Kong’gong as the guardian of the village. He is the person we run to if all other lines of defense fail."

Kurg smiled sheepishly, clearly pleased by the responsibility Ka’z had envisioned for him.

"Ru’k was supposed to be Chieftain and Za’r Chief Priestess. Everyone loves her."

Za’r and Ru’k smiled at the thought.

Ka’z rubbed his chin thoughtfully before his expression became more uncertain.

"As for me... I’m not sure how I’m supposed to explain this, but I see myself more like an executioner."

"Executioner?" nearly everyone except Tu’ka blurted out.

Ka’z nodded firmly.

"I actually just want to keep to myself and train until I’m really needed for important tasks, like climbing up the hill to take down the guardian beasts and claim it for ourselves. Or going out to deal with human invaders too strong for anyone else... You get what I mean. Administrative work won’t give me enough time to train and reach my full potential with the gifts the Greater Kobold has bestowed on me."

The group slowly nodded.

Ka’z wasn’t interested in sitting behind a desk and spending his days settling disputes, organizing harvests or listening to villagers complain about their neighbors. His greatest strength was his potential for combat and magic, and the threats facing Vaal’kor would eventually require someone capable of dealing with enemies that ordinary warriors couldn’t handle.

If Ka’z truly intended to reach the heights necessary to protect their future kingdom, spending most of his life managing administrative affairs would only consume the time he needed for cultivation and training.

"So what’s the plan now?" Ru’k asked. "I’m sure you don’t plan to keep these goblins in your home forever. Why don’t you just let them go since it’s not safe here?"

Ka’z shook his head and stared down at his empty cup.

"If we let them go, they can just rebuild the Ashmork village for their people... But I have no plans of killing them either. All of this would have been much easier if these fools could understand that I plan to build a civilization where all beasts can live together..."

"Does it matter if they understand your intentions?" Tu’ka suddenly asked.

Everyone looked toward him.

Tu’ka leaned forward slightly, his elbows resting on his knees.

"Even I didn’t understand your plans before, and you went ahead and just did it... So just do the same again. Do what you want and everyone will learn to live with it over time. It’s already established they know nothing, so why bother about what they think?"

Ka’z stared at him.

For several seconds, his expression remained blank. Then his eyes suddenly widened. The answer had been sitting right in front of him the entire time.

He had spent so much effort trying to convince people that his vision for Vaal’kor was possible that he had forgotten something fundamental. He had never needed their permission to build the village. He hadn’t needed everyone to believe in him before attacking Ashmork. He hadn’t needed the elders to approve his decisions when he first began changing their way of life.

He had simply done it.

Ka’z abruptly stood from the bed, his eyes glowing with realization.

"There is a reason why you are my best friend," he admitted with a huge smile.

Tu’ka smiled back and nodded as though the statement had been obvious from the beginning.

"Type shit."