Infinite Realm

"Grawl!"

Like a lion pouncing on its prey, the Kobold King darted towards Sato and brought down its claws on him. Even without its right arm, the Kobold King still gave off a ferocious aura that made one not underestimate it.

*Clang*

Sato intercepted the strike with his [Astral Blade] and swung the cursed sword right back at the creature at the same time. He had targeted its right side, which also happened to be its current weakness.

"Hehe."

[Wild Burst]

The Kobold King pushed forward with its left claw, forcing Sato back.

"Roar!"

[Kobold Supreme Roar]

With its death pretty much inevitable, the Kobold King had decided to go all out against the trio, using every single skill in its arsenal without care.

The roar came as a surprise to Sato and the same went for the skill. [Kobold Supreme Roar] was a de-buff skill that affected both draconic and non-draconic creatures simply because of the difference in Life order. While this difference wasn't enough to exactly influence Sato's combat ability, since when he got promoted after reaching level 10 his [Chosen Ones] bloodline improved, it was still enough to affect him.

Due to Sato not anticipating the attack, he was temporarily stunned for a second. But just that slight delay in reacting was enough for the Kobold King's next move to get him.

[Bone Slash]

Just like how Sato occasionally channelled a few of his skills through his body, the Kobold King had performed a similar action. There was no limitation to [Bone Slash] being used only on a weapon so the Kobold King was easily able to replicate it into a claw attack.

Knowing that he couldn't dodge it nor block it in time, Sato went for a different approach.

-102 (376/1700 Sato's HP)

"Hmph." Sato grunted as he received the attack straight to his chest but at the same time, he retaliated with his sword.

- 64 (1401/10000 Kobold King's HP)

Compared to attacking with, [Astral Blade] had a much weaker overall attack power as well as lacking the penetrative effects of [Drakken].

"Heh."

The Kobold King sneered at Sato as if it didn't feel the pain. It then raised its claws for another attack but Sato hurriedly retreated. Xue Yan and Seiichi had also made their move.

"Hmph." The Kobold King harrumphed as it stomped a foot down on the ground.

[Mudfall]

Earthen spike grew out from the ground at an absurd rate as they sprung forward and shielded the Kobold King from the incoming projectiles. Due to the effects of the [Enraged] mode, the skills of the Kobold King had seen a slight increase in prowess, making them more powerful than usual. In a radius of 7 metres, rather than 5, a small rock forest had formed. Rock spikes between 1-2 metres in height had covered a majority of the area. 

As Sato had barely made some distance between himself and the Kobold King, he was still within the range of the attack. A rock spike darted out from the ground and aimed at him. Because he was caught by surprise, Sato could barely react to the attack. Luckily, the spikes spread out in a gradual process and not simultaneously. 

Starting from the area within a metre of the Kobold King ten further out, the rock spikes grew out rapidly.

*Clang*

Sato pulled his right hand over to his front, blocking the rock spike that came after him. Due to the immense force that the rock possessed, Sato was sent up into the air, flying backward almost like a speeding bullet.

The attacks from Seiichi and Xue Yan were blocked by the Kobold King's AOE skill and it glanced at the duo with a mocking grin from behind its shelter.

"Sato, we can't hold them back anymore." Fudo's voice sounded from the team chat.

It was a 4 against 100 battle that was going on on the other side. Though the quartet was individually much stronger than the Kobolds and they also had seamless coordination, the numbers weren't on their side. It wasn't like the 4 of them had an unlimited number of skills and each skill still had to undergo a cool-down after each use. No matter how one looked at it, they should have been dead long ago. It was only thanks to the fact that Sato had spent quite a majority of his wealth on supplies and consumables. Having an authority similar to that of a noble, he was able to get his hands on a lot of hidden items that weren't easily accessible to players.

Using them, Fudo and the other 3 were able to hold out against the 100-man army for only 30 minutes. But that was all. They had run out of items and couldn't hold out much longer. Even Katsuo was currently surrounded by a mob of kobolds and would end up butchered up soon enough.

*Thud*

Sato landed on the ground and managed to find his footing just in time to avoid a disgraceful fall.

'We need to wrap this up quickly.'

"Even if I die," The Kobold King said.

"you're won't end up any better. Hahahahahaha." Like a deranged psychopath, the Kobold King began laughing out madly.

Sato, Xue Yan, and Seiichi couldn't understand the meaning of its words but they raised their guards and their senses were focused on the Kobold King to the point that even any slight movement of its finger would be noticed by them.

Unlike the trio, the Kobold King had already sensed Var and his men who were hidden. It had even gone one step further to spot the incoming team lead by Silver Wolf.

Based on the fact that Var remained hidden even as it was approaching its death, the Kobold King realised that the two groups weren't working with each other. In other words, they were most likely competitors; opponents battling for a prize. And this very prize happened to be its head.

Incensed, the Kobold King had decided to go all out as it knew that surviving was almost impossible. Ignoring Var's group, the team lead by Silver Wolf was made up of more than 20 players. Even at its top form, they would be able to give it some trouble much less now it was half a foot into the underworld. Hence, the Kobold King decided that it would force Sato and his teammates to use all they had and tire them out. The purpose of this was to give Silver Wolf and his group more time to make it here and also weaken the strength of Sato's group. The Kobold King knew that even though Silver Wolf's team was made up of a lot of players, Sato was stronger than them and with Xue Yan by his side, they could take on those guys. But if the duo were exhausted, things would be a lot easier for Silver Wolf and his teammates.

There was also a third reason for going all out. The Kobold King could potentially produce an escape path. It guessed that there was a chance Silver Wolf and his team would want to be the ones to finish it off. Though it didn't know why, this was just an instinctive guess. If that was then the case, there was a chance for it to escape in the chaos that would soon ensue. Apart from Sato, no one was capable of holding it back so all it had to do was wait for him to be occupied fighting the others. It could then retreat to a safer spot.

'Oh? Just in time.' The Kobold King thought.

"Haha. You planned this well." The Kobold King laughed out loud.

"You even held back my minions and brought me to this secluded area. An impressive plan. But this plan of yours would be the detriment to your lives. Here shall be your resting place. Your grave!"

Sato, Seiichi, and Xue Yan didn't understand what the Kobold King meant but it didn't stop them from feeling a little bit trepid and anxious. This was especially so for Xue Yan who felt that it would be too disastrous to lose after coming this far.

"Ignore his words and just be on alert. We've come this far and we can't lose just because of a few sentences." Sato yelled to restore order.

"Fudo, try your best over there and just hold out for a minute. If you can't just retreat."

Sato originally planned for them to depart from there as the raid was almost over, but the words of the Kobold King put him on alert. Who knows whether if it will call for its minions at the last moment.

"Not sure we can but we will try." Fudo responded.

Unknown to Sato though, his worries were unnecessary. The developers of Infinite Realm, Dreamland Studios, had done a lot of research and development into the characters and elements in IR including the Kobold King. The Kobold King was a prideful creature and following that syntax, it would refuse to call for aid even if its life was in danger. It would rather die standing strong than live under the protection of its people. Hence, Sato's presumption was wrong. No matter what, the Kobold King wouldn't call for backup. Sadly though, Sato didn't know this.

"Haha." The kobold King suddenly laughed.

"It's too late!"