"Leader Harper, those humans up ahead are our targets. Why can't we just catch up to them and finish them off sooner?"

A large group of kobolds trudged along in the snow.

Compared to the worn-out troop of fourteen men in front, who had been traveling for a long distance, this group of eighteen kobolds was still doing fairly well.

"We were ordered to monitor them and find out what they are up to, not to kill them!"

"I'm warning you once more, Kulun. Never ever question your leader's orders again! Remember, I have the right to hand you over to the Council!"

At Harper's words, Kulun flinched and feigned obedience.

Within the kobold community, the distinction between social classes was very clear.

Kobold warriors were manual laborers, the lowest in the hierarchy. They were expected to be blindly obedient. Rude and defiant acts like obtrusion and aggression were strictly forbidden.

For the kobolds, who were slightly able-minded but nowhere near the levels of human intelligence, chains of command such as these were very effective.

Under the leadership of kobold mages, the small squads of kobolds were sent out to complete missions assigned to them.

Kobold mages were undoubtedly divided into different classes too, so every time they were sent out to battle, a squad's task delegation would be left to the leader and assistant leader.

Leaders held full authority over their squad members, but the execution of any punishments was left to the Council.

"Human flesh doesn't taste good, but their blood's surprisingly delectable. Just wait till we capture their females. We'll get them to breed daily so we can suck their blood dry!"

Baring his teeth, the words that came out of the kobold beside Harper would have had all the humans trembling in fear.

On the other hand, all the kobolds were nodding their heads in agreement—no one spoke up about how cruel it sounded.

The cold did not affect their bloodlust.

Similarly, the strong wind did not erase the remnants of the messy footprints in the snow.

Following Harper's commands, the kobolds split themselves into two groups, creating a larger pocket that surrounded everyone that arrived before them.

…

"That's odd, why is Kento Maeda so relaxed? It's almost like he's out for a casual stroll?"

Guided by the footprints on familiar ground, Su Mo easily avoided the holes and obstacles in the snow.

With the help of his binoculars, Su Mo was able to constantly adjust his position even though he was far behind Kento Maeda and the big man.

As for Oreo...

Su Mo looked down and burst out in laughter.

There was a layer of snow "armor" formed on top of Oreo's black and white fur, and it looked as if she had transformed into her best buddy from the Sled Three Silly—the Samoyed.

Were it not for Oreo's dapper-looking face, it would be hard for even Su Mo, in such weather, to be 20 to 30 meters away and still see where Oreo was going.

Seeing how Kento Maeda was just on a leisurely stroll and seemed to be waiting for something, Su Mo lazily loitered behind at a distance.

It was about three and a half kilometers between the Deep-sea Shelter and Underground Shelter.

Su Mo followed the two of them and walked for an hour before finally entering one-kilometer radius of the shelter.

When Kento Maeda and the big man sat down, Su Mo followed suit.

The heavy snow and lack of sunlight gave Su Mo the absolute home ground advantage.

Su Mo focused mentally, and when he saw the abundance of food in his storage space, not only was he not in a hurry, he even took the time to observe the size of the footprints on the ground.

The kobolds' footprints were very obvious on the snowy ground. Su Mo tried to roughly estimate their measurements, with each one coming up to about the size of his palm.

The human footprints looked a lot larger in comparison; even the smallest one was more or less a size 40.

"It's a pity. Given the combat ability of the human body, if one could just safely get into close combat range, then these kobolds wouldn't even stand a chance."

"Setting the kobold mages aside, an adult human could easily take on one or two of these kobold warriors!"

Kobolds had scrawny lower limbs and small feet. These characteristics made them biologically inferior to humans when it came to physical ability.

The grip of the human foot, the strong thigh muscles, the explosive calf muscles, and the strength and flexibility that come from our joints and bones... 

If the two species were to get into a no-weapon fistfight, the kobold warriors would have been easily knocked out.

As for upper body strength, it goes without saying that, since the largest a kobold could grow to was only about 50kg, no one with a smidgen of courage in them would ever find themselves cowering in fear.

"Alas, there are still people scrambling to betray humankind and becoming lackeys for trash creatures like these. What are they even after…?"

Shaking his head ruefully, Su Mo's eyes were filled with emotion.

There would never be a lack of the astonishing species called the 'pioneers', regardless of time or age, current times included.

Marshall, the supervisors, and even the kobolds were still oblivious to Kento Maeda's plans, as they played the role of obedient laborers.

Oreo watchfully laid down beside Su Mo after she was done with her surveillance rounds.

Su Mo looked at how adorable Oreo was and, as he raised his hand subconsciously to pet Oreo, an explosion blasted out in the distance.

Boom!

Boom boom!

One after the other, two muted blasts were heard.

It may not have sounded as terrifying as the thirty catties of picric acid explosives he had ignited before, but it was still alarming when heard on the otherwise serene plains.

Even the snowstorm seemed to have paused for a few seconds after the explosions.

From afar, right above the Underground Shelter, billows of thick smoke were swept up by the wind and were dispersing into the distance.

Before Su Mo could respond, he realized that he could hear faintly discernible screams and blasts that seemed to be coming from near the shelter!

Su Mo subconsciously reached out and summoned the game panel and nervously looked at the shelter's property panel.

On the durability column…

The Underground Shelter did not disappoint, as the numbers still remained at a solid…

95%!

"Sh*t, what a scare! I really thought that these people had brought down the Underground Shelter with that explosion!"

The green bar displaying ninety-five percent had never looked so lovely. Su Mo let out the breath that he so nervously held, his entire demeanor relaxing.

'Now, since these people have failed to access the underground shelter, there's only one ending in store for them…'

Through his binoculars, Su Mo saw Kento Maeda and the big man shoot up from where they were seated, and got up as well, patting the snow off his pants, and following behind them at a distance.

…

That huge blast was like a signal flare that had been ignited right above the Underground Shelter.

Groups of people heard it and were quickly on the move. Before Marshall's party could examine if the blast had exposed the shelter's weak point, they made a shocking discovery!

Where there was once a stretch of snowy ground, there were now eight other human beings.

Furthermore, these people were not strangers to Marshall. They were his colleagues—fellow supervisors back at the saltpeter mine.

"D*mn it, Chao Gai, are you looking to die? How dare you conspire against me?"

Gunpowder smoke lingered in the air. Setting off gunpowder was not the same as detonating a stick of dynamite—there were no shockwaves, only flames. No one could take a clear look at the crater.

Marshall thought that he had breached a gap. Chao Gai, too, thought Marshall had breached a gap.

No other words were exchanged. The two parties immediately started attacking each other!

With a steel sword in his hand, Marshall skilfully rolled across the snow, dodging a crossbow attack from the side.

The same roll that protected him brought him instantly closer to the man with the crossbow.

Marshall's eye flashed with malice as he angled his steel sword toward the crossbow wielder and plunged it in without further thought. Sword in, sword out.

A violent spurt of blood followed the trail of the razor-sharp sword. Along with it, the only deterrent weapon—a self-made crossbow—dropped to the ground.

On the other hand, Chao Gai's party meant business too.

Before Marshall could assess the situation, his party of five, other than Big Head who was still fighting for his life, the other four had been cleaved beyond recognition as they laid twitching on the ground.

Suffocating gunpowder smoke continued to fill the air. Gunpowder that had not finished burning reignited, releasing even more smoke that completely covered the entire area.

Smoke continued to emit from the crater formed by the blast. At a glance, it really looked like the explosion had created a gaping hole in the shelter.

"Hang on, Big Head. I'm coming for you!"

Marshall let out a shriek, his words brimmed with brotherly loyalty, but the motions of his hands told another story.

Marshall continued to shout as he scooped up the fallen crossbow and ran toward the distance without turning back.

No thoughts whatsoever were given to his "brother" who was surrounded by attackers.

"Curse you, Marsha—"

Big Head smoldered with anger.

Before he could finish his sentence, a fireball shot out from an unseen direction and collided with the gleefully escaping Marshall. With a whoosh, half of his body was gone.

Those who caught a whiff of the acrid combination of blood and burnt flesh nearly threw up in disgust.

Chao Gai's actively hacking party of seven surveyed the surroundings warily.

Eight kobold mages materialized within their line of sight as ten kobold warriors marched forward valiantly.

The kobold mages waved their staffs around, expressions of loathing and disdain evident in their eyes, while the kobold warriors gloated scornfully.

Even with Big Head, who was barely alive in the middle of the party of seven, it would be eighteen against eight. and the difference in numbers was enough to make the kobolds go wild.

As the encirclement grew tighter, the seven men at the center felt an immense amount of pressure over their heads.

The seven men kept retreating until they found themselves huddled together, backs against each other, to their dismay. There was no way out!

"What do we do, Brother Chao? Do we fight? Do we f*ck these b*stards?"

It was now or never.

The seven of them were not fools. They knew that the kobolds were after "Su Mo's treasures" in the crater too.

They had to fight. Only one side would survive!