Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 33 The Sweet Taste of Victory (Bonus Chapter as a Thank You to Readers)
It must be said that Skar was indeed an excellent warrior. Facing the stubbornly resisting goblin leader, he used a block, shield bash, and trip to send the opponent to meet Kramvor in a smooth combo.

Clearing out the remaining enemies was no different from cleaning up the battlefield. In reality, there's no such thing as how much damage a single strike does or how much health an enemy has. For the goblins lying on the ground fast asleep, one strike is all it takes to send them to follow their leader.

Having eliminated the enemy melee fighters, the Flame Fist soldiers, burning with rage, had no intention of letting the ambush perpetrators go. After a relentless pursuit, all but a few who managed to escape were killed.

During this time, Zhang Yuan, who had just finished casting his spell, also touched a few heads. Unfortunately, his teammates, consumed by rage, had forgotten about the concept of leaving heads, and no one dared to remind them.

Afterwards, a count revealed that a total of 68 goblins, including their leader, had died at Flame Fist's hands, while Zhang Yuan himself only managed to collect 3 heads.

Looking at the 65 points of energy that had vanished without a trace, the person was speechless with a heavy heart.

At this moment, Ska walked over, grabbed his hand, and raised it high. Everyone, including Zhang Yuan himself, looked at their captain in bewilderment.

"My brothers, my comrades who have shared life and death, today we have been subjected to a despicable and shameful sneak attack," Ska shouted in front of everyone.

"These filthy, ugly goblins tried to break our confidence and will with despicable tactics and vicious arrows, but they did not and could not succeed! Because we are the sword of flamingfist!"

Ska's speech was met with enthusiastic applause and cheers, except for one person who kept muttering, "My arm is sore, can you put me down before you continue?"

Ska ignored the guy. "But these beasts' sneak attack has also caused us a lot of trouble. Our brothers have bled to death, and we are in a passive position."

His tone gradually rose: "But we thwarted their shameful scheme! As these goblins arrogantly charged toward us, our companion, the mage Chanem, utterly destroyed these villains with his magic. Let us cheer for him!"

As he spoke, Ska grabbed Zhang Yuan's arm and lifted it even higher.

Zhang Yuan, who was already extremely embarrassed, now felt an overwhelming sense of shame. His mind was a complete blank, and he couldn't remember anything. Then, in a daze, he was lifted up by the crowd and thrown into the sky.

After being tossed up and down several times, and then put down, he felt dizzy and almost lost his balance when he landed.

Lawrence even came over and asked enviously, "How was it? Pretty cool, huh, our mage hero?"

"Screw you," Zhang Yuan rolled his eyes and ignored the guy, turning to walk towards his summoned creature.

Little Stone, who also participated in the battle, swung his fist, which was as big as a real casserole dish, and smashed the head of a goblin, collecting some energy for someone and filling his own mana bar.

However, someone with ulterior motives stopped Little Stone from using his skill and instead preserved it.

The road to the next town is still long, Zhang Yuan thought to himself, and casually scattered his chess pieces.

Passing through the gradually thinning woods south of Belgost and following the coastal road, a completely different landscape unfolds before you.

This is an extremely harsh place, not because of its harsh climate or barren soil, but because of its terrible terrain.

Steep hills and cliffs jut out like broken swords into the earth, the undulating terrain creating a dense network of precipices and valleys, turning what was once a straight and wide road into a winding, meandering path. This terrain naturally made it a haven for ambushes, a paradise for bandits, and a graveyard for caravans.

Even the experienced Flame Fist soldiers were at a loss when faced with this situation. The small squad, which was already small, had lost three members and five were incapacitated after the battle two days ago. Even after being treated by a priest, two of them were still recovering from their injuries.

If they are not careful and avoid all possible mistakes and oversights, it will be very difficult for the remaining 29 fighters to get through this dangerous place and reach Nashka.

Feeling guilty for their previous negligence, the scouts and wanderers risked their lives this time, patrolling the front and sides of the column, not letting any suspicious detail slip by.

To put it dramatically, even a large pile of dog poop would prompt a scout to lift it up and see if a goblin was hiding underneath.

This thorough approach paid off. As they passed through a narrow pass, scouts ahead reported enemy activity even before they entered.

Both of them returned with arrow wounds, and one of them held a special arrow in his hand, with flames flickering on the arrowhead—it was a magic arrow.

"Kobolds are lying in ambush on the high cliffs on both sides of the road ahead, including an elite kobold assault team. If we hadn't acted stealthily and retreated in time, we would probably be finished."

Zhang Yuan had also heard of kobolds. Their faces resembled small lizards, and he had heard that they were descended from dragons. They were named kobolds because of the barking they made when they spoke.

The combat strength of the kobolds is almost on par with that of the goblins, fat monsters, and mad apes; it's really hard to say which one is worse.

However, they are also somewhat cunning, often hiding in the shadows or on high ground to launch sneak attacks rather than recklessly charging straight up.

What the Flame Fist team members cared about even more was the kobold commando team mentioned by the scouts. When some qualified kobolds awakened their bloodline, only a small number could become the legendary kobold dragon vein warlocks, transforming into noble mages, and from then on, they would reach the pinnacle of kobold life.

Most awakened kobolds, however, can only gain some spell-like abilities, such as the most common one: fire enchantment.

While kobolds who master this ability may not become absolute leaders like dragon vein sorcerers, they often manage to become captains. Therefore, adventurers are often pleasantly surprised to find that when they are having a great time defeating ordinary kobolds, a kobold captain suddenly appears with his assault team, unleashing a barrage of fire arrows, and then the kobolds' barks become the last sound they hear.

Although the soldiers of the Flame Fist are all dressed in chainmail or leather ring armor, the power of the Flame Arrow cannot be described as a +1 or +2 damage in the game.

Fire-enchanted weapons are a nuisance for any physical class without resistance gear. The burns and ignition from the fire will cause wounds that are not fatal to deteriorate rapidly. Of course, if you are a drow elf or a mountain king with high magic resistance, that's a different story.

Captain Ska was also pondering a strategy. Charging directly uphill through the kobolds' arrows was definitely an unwise idea, but what about taking a detour?

Putting aside the possibility of alerting more and more terrifying monsters, and the time it would take to leave this perilous area by abandoning the main road and taking the back paths, the kobolds have already occupied the high ground. From this vantage point, even if they take a detour, they could still be hit by the enemy's long-range firepower.

Running away was out of the question; the only option was to fight. But how could he limit the opponent's ranged attacks? This problem stumped Ska.

Suddenly, he remembered the last battle and that pitiful goblin stormtrooper squad, and slammed his fist in his palm. "Thoray, go and call that kid Chanem over here."

(End of this chapter)