I Became My Elf King Character In A Game-Like World
Chapter 104: Pray For The Last Time

Chapter 104: Pray For The Last Time

What the Temple had done was like slapping him across the face.

He was an elf, born with a natural dislike for the undead. But to fight the Temple, he was willing to use these two dark servants.

"Sooner or later," Renjiro said, his voice like ice, "I will tear down the Temple, root and stem! I’ll destroy every single Altar of Light and wipe the followers of the God of Light from this continent!"

Elaria looked at him, worried.

She could feel the raw anger and killing intent radiating from him.

Renjiro gave a slight shake of his head, silently telling her not to worry.

The sun was starting to dip towards the west.

Up on the treeless mountains, the bare rocks still reflected the light, making it almost as bright as midday. Down in the forests, shadows would already be growing long.

Finally, the elven army reached their destination.

Elaria held a smooth stone – Lyanna’s Philosopher’s Stone – which showed a magical map of the mountains, pinpointing the gold mine.

She pointed towards a large mountain ahead.

"Your Majesty, the gold mine is on that mountain!"

Renjiro looked up.

The mine itself was underground, hidden from view. But he could clearly see buildings scattered on the peak, and many small figures moving around quickly.

"Just as expected," Renjiro muttered. "A Kobold tribe."

"There are so many of them!" Elaria gasped.

"Looks like four or five thousand Kobolds!" she estimated. "It’s strange, though. These mountains are barren, there’s no food here. Why would they set up camp in such a dead place?"

Renjiro explained, "The harvest season is starting in the human lands. These Kobolds are probably gathering here to raid the towns in the Empire for food."

Elaria nodded. That made sense.

Unlike humans, races like Orcs and Kobolds often lived in areas not good for farming, and they lacked the skills anyway.

Their way of life was simple: herd animals if they could, hunt, and raid the richer human lands for supplies.

Alright, so the three big human empires on the continent were pretty strong, yeah? But mostly, they just liked to stick to their own turf and not mess with each other.

Things were kinda shaky with the orcs, though. Nobody wanted a full-on war with them unless they were backed into a corner.

Besides, the orcs were mostly just gutsy enough to raid towns near the border or swipe land from some nobles. They wouldn’t dare march deep into the empires’ heartlands and cause real chaos.

So, the Empire? They pretty much just played defense.

The most they’d do was send out some knights to chase the orcs off whenever they showed up trying to snatch food supplies.

That was the deal between the orcs and the human empires.

Aside from those little border clashes, you could almost say things were peaceful between the two races.

But then... the sudden appearance of a massive elven army totally freaked out the kobold tribe living up on the mountain peak.

You couldn’t blame them. There were just so many elves.

Seriously, one look and it seemed like the entire mountainside was crawling with elves riding huge black panthers. And their camp? It stretched out forever below. No way you could pretend not to see that.

"Yip! Yap! Woooof..."

A sudden wave of panicked barking echoed from the mountaintop.

A whole pack of kobolds was scrambling around in total chaos.

These guys looked weird. Dog heads on bodies that looked kinda human, covered in scruffy, dark grey fur.

They looked a bit like werewolves, actually. Sometimes hard to tell the difference at first glance.

But in a fight? Kobolds were way weaker than the werewolves you found among the orcs.

Everyone in the human lands knew the scary stories about orc wolf riders – those terrifying teams of werewolves and giant wolves, fast as the wind and deadly killers. But nobody ever heard of any legendary "kobold cavalry."

Still, the kobolds reacted fast.

Soon, a big crowd of them gathered on the peak, waving around crude weapons like wooden clubs and stone knives.

Most of the kobolds in this tribe looked like tough adults; you didn’t see many old folks or little pups. It definitely didn’t seem like their permanent home.

Obvious, really.

They’d come up this mountain for the same reason they always did: wait for the humans down below to harvest their crops in the fall, sneak down to "borrow" some grub, and then hightail it back to the orc plains.

"Is that... is that a human army down there?"

"No! Look! Pointy ears! They’re elves!"

"Elves? Like, the super old race from the legends? What are they doing here? And why are there so many?!"

"Hope they’re just passing through..."

"Yip— Elder! What do we do?!"

The kobold elder hobbled over, leaning heavily on a worn-looking staff.

He kicked a nearby kobold warrior right off his feet and snarled, "How many times do I have to tell you?! We’re not dogs! We’re kobolds! We got brains, understand?!"

"Y-yip woof..."

The warrior scrambled up. Seeing the elder lift his foot again, he yelped and darted away, whimpering.

The kobold elder stood right at the edge of the peak.

Watching the elven army slowly moving up the slope towards their camp, he felt a cold knot of fear in his gut.

"Yip... Looks like... looks like we gotta talk to these elves," the elder thought, his throat dry.

A kobold beside him muttered quietly, "Uh, Elder... you just yipped."

"You heard wrong," the elder snapped, his face impossible to read.

"No, I heard it! You definitely ’yipped’ a few times just now. Sounded exactly like a dog."

"Get lost!!"

The elder swiped a clawed hand, sending the mouthy kobold tumbling away.

It wasn’t long before the whole mountainside was completely surrounded by elves. Even more were swarming quickly up towards the summit.

Any kobolds still caught on the slopes scrambled desperately for the peak, yelping in pure terror.

The kobold elder clutched his staff, knuckles white. He let out a strange sound – half whimper, half growl to try and find some courage – then, bracing himself, he led a group of his warriors down towards the approaching elves.

He walked up to an impressive-looking elf leader sitting atop a brilliant white unicorn.

Thump.

He dropped to his knees, trembling.

"Zirrik, Elder of the Kobold Tribe, greets the great Elven Lord!"

The Elf King’s presence alone made the kobold elder afraid to look him in the eye.

Zirrik, the elder, had brought his warriors forward, but now he was practically pressing his trembling chin into the dirt, voice shaking, showing just how scared and nervous they all were.

A God! Or someone just as terrifying!

Not only had they run into the legendary High Elves, but they were face-to-face with the noble Elf King himself.

The kobold elder kept his eyes squeezed shut, too terrified to even peek.

He couldn’t figure it out.

Why would the Elf King bring his army here?

Why surround his little tribe?

Looked like the elves were really out for blood.

"My King... these kobolds are just hideous!"

That was Lirael, one of the legion commanders, speaking up.

Renjiro glanced over. Lirael, Elaria, and the other two elf generals were all looking away, clearly disgusted. Even the beautiful Dryads flying nearby were hiding behind the massive Treants.

"Yeah, they’re really ugly!"

Renjiro had to nod. It wasn’t just the scruffy black and grey fur covering their bodies; most of these kobolds weren’t even wearing simple animal hides, let alone armor. Basically, they were naked.

Still, Renjiro could handle it.

Back on Earth, it wasn’t like he saw dogs wearing clothes all the time.

Of course.

Kobolds and dogs weren’t the same thing.

Technically, they were different species, just like werewolves and regular wolves were different. One was a thinking creature walking on two legs, the other was just a four-legged animal.

Renjiro looked down at the kobold elder clutching the staff. "Your name is Zirrik?"

The elder kobold stammered quickly, "Y-yes, Your Majesty! Great Elf King! I am Zirrik, elder of this kobold tribe! You are... noble and grand, shining just like the legends say, like the blazing sun in the sky! It is... it is a great honor for us kobolds to meet you and your people here on this mountain!"

Renjiro’s gaze swept over the elder and the warriors kneeling behind him.

Every single kobold his eyes passed over whimpered, burying their heads low between their rough, black-clawed hands.

"This mountain is my territory," Renjiro stated simply.

The old kobold panicked. "Great Elf King, Your Majesty! Please, just give our humble tribe five minutes! We’ll clear out immediately! We’ll leave the mountain and go right back to the orc plains where we belong!"

Renjiro knew better than to show orcs any mercy.

Especially kobolds. These guys were bullies when they thought they were strong, and cowards when faced with real power.

After all, they hadn’t come up the mountain to enjoy the view. They were waiting for the harvest down in the human towns so they could go raiding.

Even though he wasn’t human anymore, Renjiro knew damn well that if the tables were turned, if the kobolds had the power right now, they wouldn’t be acting humble at all.

Renjiro said calmly, "I’ll give you one minute. Pray to your God."