Wasteland: I Awakened A Plant System-Chapter 44: Elite Kabold

The Kobolds barked madly, their voices cracking into shrill, panicked howls.

In Vikram’s vision, blurred shapes were running everywhere in chaotic circles. Some slammed into stone walls. Some tripped over fallen bodies. Some clawed at the ground as if trying to dig themselves out of the darkness itself.

Vikram stood at the tunnel entrance like a silent executioner.

Both hands moved with mechanical precision.

Load. Aim. Release. Load again.

His breathing was steady. His eyes were sharp.

He had entered a perfect combat rhythm.

Another arrow flew.

Kobold’s body jerked violently before collapsing face-first onto the stone.

Headshot. Another arrow. Another fall.

Every single shot he released found flesh.

His accuracy had become almost frightening.

"AWOOOOOOOO!"

The Kobolds’ cries were no longer the roars of warriors. They were the desperate screams of frightened beasts.

Under the suffocating darkness and relentless sniping, something horrifying began to unfold.

Just as Vikram drew his bowstring again, two fleeing Kobolds collided violently.

The one that stumbled suddenly began barking like a lunatic. Its pupils dilated. Its jaws opened wide.

Then it lunged forward and bit into its companion’s neck, tearing savagely as blood sprayed across the floor.

Vikram froze for half a heartbeat.

"...What?"

His eyes widened slightly.

This was not an isolated case.

Across the cavern, more Kobolds that bumped into one another began clawing, biting, and ripping like rabid animals.

Some rolled on the ground, locked in brutal struggles. Some attacked shadows. Some gnawed at corpses.

The entire chamber had turned into a pit of madness.

A realization flashed through Vikram’s mind.

Darkness...

For Kobolds, darkness was not merely discomfort. It was absolute terror.

A primal fear engraved into their blood.

When that fear accumulated beyond a limit, their fragile reasoning simply shattered. They no longer distinguished friend from foe. Everything that moved became an enemy.

It was like drowning victims clutching at anything within reach — even dragging down the very hands trying to save them.

Understanding this, Vikram did not hesitate.

His arrows continued to fly.

One more Kobold fell. Then another.

Soon, six... seven more bodies lay scattered across the cavern floor.

But gradually, the easy targets disappeared.

The surviving Kobolds had either fled deeper into the shadows or hidden behind uneven rock formations.

Vikram lowered his bow slightly and scanned the battlefield.

He had personally taken down around fourteen Kobolds.

Yet at least fifteen or sixteen were still alive somewhere in the darkness.

He couldn’t immediately confirm whether the Kobold Priest had been among the fallen.

Just as he was about to reposition, a sudden surge of heat flickered behind him.

Vikram turned his head.

The Fire Mage Sprout stood rooted like a blazing totem.

Crimson light pulsed violently within its vine-woven core. The surrounding air shimmered with distortion.

The long-prepared spell had finally reached completion.

For a brief instant...

Everything became eerily silent.

Then the Fire Mage Sprout raised its burning arm and hurled the condensed mass of flame into the center of the cavern.

A blazing sphere streaked through the darkness.

And—

BOOM!

A thunderous blast rang through the cavern as the Ember Meteor smashed into the ground.

For an instant, the entire underground chamber was swallowed by blinding crimson light. It erupted like the birth of a miniature sun.

A violent tidal wave of flame and shock swept outward, devouring everything in its path.

The ground itself seemed to ignite, molten tongues of fire crawling like living serpents across stone and flesh alike.

Kobolds were caught mid-movement.

Their ritual formation... Their scattered survivors... Even the dark corners where some had tried to hide—

All were torn apart by the descending inferno.

Within seconds, the cavern transformed into a blazing hell.

The flames clung to the Kobolds’ bodies like a malignant curse, impossible to shake off. They howled in agony as the fire spread rapidly across fur, skin, and muscle.

A second later, a frantic surge of Kobolds came rushing around the tunnel bend. Driven by panic, they charged blindly through the firestorm — only to be engulfed the moment they entered the burning zone.

The tunnel filled with the nauseating stench of scorched fur and roasted flesh.

One by one, the Kobolds became living torches.

Their silhouettes twisted violently in the flames before collapsing to the ground.

The power of the Ember Meteor was terrifying.

A blaze of such intensity did not allow prolonged struggle. Within five seconds, even the strongest Kobold’s resistance began to fail.

Within seven or eight seconds... Life simply faded.

Vikram stood at the edge of the inferno, his expression tense and silent.

He could feel the searing heat brushing against his face. The sound of shrieks gradually weakened... then disappeared.

In Bollywood movies, characters on fire often ran and fought for dramatic effect.

Reality was far more brutal.

This fierce battle ended almost instantly by fire.

Another few seconds passed.

Bodies, charred black and twisted beyond recognition, began to pile up across the cavern floor.

Some of the burning Kobolds had tried to flee deeper into the tunnels, igniting others in the process. Their dying cries echoed faintly from the darkness beyond.

Gradually... the chaos subsided.

Only the crackling of residual flames remained.

Vikram exhaled slowly, the tightness in his chest easing little by little.

Still, he did not relax his guard.

He waited.

Ten seconds... Twenty... Forty...

The roaring fire finally began to weaken, shrinking into scattered patches of smoldering embers.

Only then did Vikram step forward.

His boots crunched lightly against scorched stone and brittle remains as he advanced toward the center of the battlefield.

The sight was grim.

Burned Kobold corpses lay everywhere — some curled into rigid shapes, some reduced almost entirely to ash. The air was thick with smoke and the lingering metallic tang of blood.

Vikram’s sharp gaze swept across every corner of the chamber.

He searched carefully.

One body after another.

But after several moments, a faint crease formed between his brows.

He did not see the Kobold Priest’s corpse.

The ritual leader... The scaled Kobold with the feathered headdress...

Was nowhere to be found.

The charred Kobold corpses were nearly indistinguishable from one another — blackened, twisted shapes that still emitted the nauseating stench of burnt flesh.

Yet the Kobold Priest should have been different.

Its green scales... Its reptilian skin... Even after being incinerated, there should have been some unmistakable trace.

But there was nothing.

Vikram searched the battlefield once more, his eyes sweeping across the smoldering cavern floor.

Still nothing.

A cold realization slowly crept into his mind.

It escaped...

His nerves tightened instantly.

The fight was not over.

Without wasting even a second sorting through the spoils, Vikram raised his hand in a sharp signal.

His Sprout Team immediately fell into formation around him — Guardian Sprout in front, Warrior Sprout slightly to the flank, Healer Sprout and Fire Mage Sprout following close behind.

They advanced rapidly toward the next tunnel.

The passage twisted once... then opened into another cavern.

This chamber was roughly the same size as the previous one, though the air here felt heavier — tense, like the stillness before a storm.

Vikram’s pupils contracted.

Inside the cave stood four elite Kobolds.

Two Iron-Armored Kobold Warriors. Two Kobold Crossbowmen are already raising their weapons in alert.

But they were not the most terrifying presence.

At the center of the cavern stood an unusually tall Kobold.

Nearly 1.6 meters in height — enormous by Kobold standards.

Its body was wrapped in thick iron armor of far higher quality than anything Vikram had seen before.

Heavy plates overlapped across its chest, shoulders, and thighs, giving it a monstrous, fortress-like silhouette.

In its massive hands, it gripped a metal warhammer the size of a small anvil.

Every slight movement of the weapon produced a dull metallic hum.

Judging by sheer bulk alone, the creature likely weighed as much as two Kobolds combined.

And just behind this armored giant...

Bent over, breathing heavily...

Was the green-scaled Kobold Priest.

Alive.

Vikram’s gaze froze for a split second.

Then his expression darkened.

A silent curse formed in his mind.

Fuck...

It’s a double boss.

When Vikram clearly saw the strength and composition of the Kobolds inside the cavern, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

This was no ordinary enemy group.

This was a nest of elite Kobolds.

And worse... It was a god-damn dual-boss setup.

From his gaming experience back on Earth, Vikram understood exactly how troublesome such battles could become.

In most dual-boss fights, the two leaders would complement one another — one covering weaknesses, the other amplifying pressure. Once they began coordinating, the difficulty of the fight would multiply drastically.

The moment his eyes locked onto the Heavy-Armored Warhammer Kobold and the Dragon-Scale Kobold Priest, a heavy weight settled in his chest.

One was a pure martial powerhouse — raw strength, heavy armor, crushing force.

The other... a mysterious caster whose abilities he had yet to witness.

Either one alone would already be dangerous.

Together, they were a nightmare.

And they were not alone.

Two Armored Kobold Warriors stood nearby, tense and ready. Two Kobold Scouts, wooden crossbows already half-raised, watched the shadows with sharp vigilance.

Six elites in total.

Vikram’s mind began calculating rapidly.

First priority — the Scouts. Then weaken the armored warriors. After that... deal with the bosses.

But before he could refine the plan further— The Kobold Priest suddenly straightened.

Its reptilian eyes, cold and narrow like a serpent’s, snapped directly toward Vikram’s hiding place.

It let out a shrill, piercing howl.

In the next instant, every elite Kobold turned their gaze toward him.

Exposed.

Vikram immediately abandoned stealth.

"Get ready!" he barked.

Yet the order was almost unnecessary.

His Sprout Team had already entered combat formation.

Guardian Sprout shifted forward, shield raised.

Warrior Sprout lowered its vine blade, body coiled like a spring.

Healer Sprout began emitting faint green motes of vitality.

And behind them all, the Fire Mage Sprout gathered blazing crimson energy within its core.

The Heavy-Armored Warhammer Kobold roared thunderously.

The elite pack surged forward.

But before they could even close half the distance—

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Fire Mage Sprout unleashed a rapid volley of Fire Bullets.

Flaming streaks tore through the dim cavern like meteors.

Almost simultaneously, it opened its vine-formed jaws and released a sweeping Inferno Breath.

A roaring wall of fire erupted across the ramp between the two sides.

The charging Kobolds slammed into the blazing barrier and were forced to halt, snarling in fury as flames licked at their fur and armor.

Seizing the narrow window, Vikram raised his bow.

He inhaled once.

Released.

Pfft!

The arrow vanished into the firelit darkness.

A heartbeat later—

"AWOOOO!"

A Kobold’s agonized howl echoed through the cavern.

Vikram’s eyes lit up.

"Nice..."

His confidence surged. Every one I kill counts.

He nocked another arrow and fired again.

But this time the shot failed to land decisively.

The elite Kobolds had already adjusted.

They no longer charged recklessly. Instead, they spread out behind the flaming barrier, barking and circling like seasoned hunters waiting for an opening.

Vikram exhaled slowly.

The opportunity for easy kills had passed.

But while his opening was gone...

The Fire Mage Sprout had only just begun.