Knight Lords: Infinite Simulation and the Path of Light

Chapter 162 Chaos
Kakugang Castle

The kobold Ram's massive nose seemed to suck up all the air around him, and the aura of death hung overhead. The noise from outside the wall—the booming of explosions and screams—had blended together into one.

The dog-headed human head, terrified, dared not lift its head even once. Despite the flying pebbles constantly hitting it, Ram remained curled up in the corner, motionless.

The roar of the cloud giant echoed through the sky, sending the wildly swirling snowflakes flying backward. Upon hearing the cloud giant's roar again, the kobold Ram seemed to recall a scene etched deep in his mind. He screamed and scrambled away from the corner.

Immediately following was a whooshing sound as Ram, halfway up the mountain, turned her head and looked up at the sky, only to see dozens of huge rocks, each more than ten meters in diameter, flying toward the sky above her head.

A few seconds later, a dull thud rang out. Sitting on the ground, Ram stared blankly at the distant building reduced to rubble, and couldn't help but let out a long howl.
"Why? Why are they attacking us?!"

The same wails echoed continuously throughout the kobold capital, but no one could answer their questions; all that awaited them was the silent and bloody slaughter by countless orc troops.

More than ten kilometers from Kakulong Castle
"Lord Gakudebala, I would like to know why His Majesty Atocalo agreed to the extermination of the kobolds, and what exactly happened on your trip to the ancestral lands with Elder Mordor."

The half-dragon prince, Jagudbala, stared at the Horned City ahead, where thick smoke was rising continuously, his thoughts drifting back to more than twenty days ago.

"Elder, Elder, you're awake? Are you alright?"

Mordor looked ashen-faced, as if he had just survived a fierce battle. Although Jagudebala, as a top-tier powerhouse, had not yet reached the legendary level, his superior half-dragon bloodline talent still gave him strength that was no less than that of a legend.

The heightened senses from his dragon bloodline allowed Jagudbala to clearly perceive that Elder Mordor's body was completely empty, devoid of any power whatsoever, as if any child could easily kill the old minotaur before him.

But this feeling of weakness only lasted for a brief moment. The next instant, a surge of power burst forth from the old minotaur's body, accompanied by a faint wisp of black smoke.

Just as the half-dragon prince was about to investigate further, the strange feeling disappeared, as if it had been an illusion.

"Ah~ thank you for your hard work, I'm fine, little Jagudebala, you did a great job."

"Alright, tell the representatives of all the tribes to pack their things immediately. We're heading back now; I have something very important to announce."

After the group rushed back to the Empire, Elder Mordor convened another meeting. This time, however, all five emperors were present, and no one knew what happened during the meeting.

However, within a few days, orders were issued one after another, and the half-dragon prince Gakudebala was ordered to lead the Gonzalez Legion to wipe out the kobold capital.

This order was something that Gakudebala found very difficult to understand. After all, the kobolds, as a subordinate tribe of the half-dragons, provided great convenience to the half-dragons' daily lives, even in terms of blood ties.

Some kobolds will exhibit dragonification after their bloodline awakens. Although this is a very low percentage, it shows that kobolds are closely related to half-dragons in terms of bloodline.

Moreover, the kobolds, a hardworking and prolific race, are excellent servants and soldiers for the half-dragons, who have a lower fertility rate.

However, when faced with Gakudebala's question, Emperor Atocaro, the half-dragon, did not offer much explanation, only saying that when the time was right, he would naturally understand.

“Continue the attack and carry out the order. His Majesty Atocalo must have his reasons for issuing such an order.”

Seeing that Gakudebala had no intention of explaining, the half-dragon commander who was waiting on the side stopped asking questions, spread his dragon-like wings, and flew towards the siege force in front.

Kakugoro Castle's defenses were even better than he had expected, especially the walls, which were exceptionally sturdy. Despite enduring three rounds of stone-throwing attacks from cloud giants, leaving the entire wall riddled with craters, it still stood firm and unyielding.

This was completely unexpected. Although only one Gonzalcos half-dragon armored unit participated in this extermination war, and the rest of the troops were considered to be second-tier or above in the Orc Empire, the situation was far from the one-sided one that had been imagined.

Kakugoro Castle Inner City

"Damn it, why would the half-dragon royal family attack us at this time? Haven't we been humble enough before?"

The kobold chieftain, seated in the main seat, appeared utterly bewildered by the impending catastrophe. His crocodile-like head twisted and contorted in a grotesque grimace, his crimson eyes gleaming with a bloodthirsty light.

The kobolds standing below were now trembling with fear, after all, their king had just killed five or six of his servants in a fit of rage.

"Speak up!!!! If you don't speak, what use are you to me?"

Hearing this roar, the dog-headed men below became even more terrified, wishing they could dig a hole on the spot and hide their trembling bodies.

A moment later, an old dog-headed man who looked very old walked in from outside the palace gate.

"Gru, stay rational. Getting angry now is useless. Those greedy half-dragons have already reached our doorstep. What we need to do now is figure out how to defend against a wave of attacks, or all that awaits us is destruction."

Upon seeing the old man enter, King Gru, who was in a rage, gradually calmed down. As a kobold elder who had assisted him for many years, Paparusi was one of the few wise men among the kobolds. It was precisely because of Paparusi's constant advice that the kobold tribe was able to continue to thrive under the near-exploitation of the half-dragons.

“Elder Paparusi, what should we do now? These insatiable half-dragons are just like real dragons, capricious and incredibly greedy. We kobolds have already been so humble, yet they still brought their troops to attack us.”

Faced with Gru's anxious question, the old and frail kobold elder did not rush to answer his question, but instead walked heavily to a chair and sat down.

“Gru~~The point of the matter is not how cunning we kobolds are towards the half-dragons, but what the half-dragons think of and define us kobolds.”

When asked by Elder Paparusi, Gru blurted out the answer.

"Perspectives and definitions? Don't those arrogant guys, who are just as proud as dragons, always treat our kobold tribe as a group of servants that can be used at will? We are supposed to help the noble half-dragons maintain the daily operations of their territory, serve them like servants, and finally, when war comes, act as a suicide squad and rush to the front."

“You’re absolutely right, Gru. That’s exactly what we’ve been doing all these years. And then what?”

"and then?"

Faced with Elder Papalusi's question again, Gru, somewhat confused, looked puzzled, his ferocious fangs appearing rather comical in the face of his expression. "Yes, what you said is all correct. And then, what are we kobolds like now?"

“What are we like now? We are still faithfully carrying out these things. So many years have passed, and countless of our kobold subjects have died, as many as the sands on the banks of the Jinjin River.”

Seeing that Gru still didn't understand, Papalushi shook his head helplessly and then explained:

"Although, as you said, more of us kobolds have died over the years than the sand on the Golden River beach, what does that mean? Over thousands of years, not many kobolds have died that year, but what's different from before is that some things have changed the five royal families, or the half-dragons', perception of us."

As he spoke, Paparusi stretched out his right leg, its scales already peeled off and mottled, and stepped on the palace floor tiles.

"Our presence here has changed how those big shots perceive us."

Gru watched the kobold elder's actions, pondered for a moment, and asked in a low voice:

"You mean Kakugang Castle?"

Gru was no fool to have developed the kobold tribe to its current size; he was merely distracted by the sudden attack from the half-dragons.

"Yes, Gru, that is, Horned City. Although the establishment of this kobold capital city once demonstrated the strength of us kobolds, and could even be considered a great rise, it was not good news to be happy about in the eyes of the half-dragons."

In their eyes, we will become unknown. According to the traditional understanding of thousands of years, kobolds are subordinates of half-dragons or, to put it more directly, slaves. But this perception changed more than a decade ago.

When you decided to build a city for the kobolds on this land, your declaration was met with more ridicule than praise. However, when Kagura Castle was finally completed, you received not applause and praise, but observation, scrutiny, and deep-seated apprehension, especially from the half-dragons.

Upon hearing the kobold elder's words, Gru's face showed a hint of regret. When he was planning to build Horned Cage, he had received relevant advice, but at that time he was at the height of his confidence and felt that he could lead the kobolds onto the right path.

Paparusi did not stop speaking because of Gru's regretful expression, but continued to speak on his own:

"With the establishment of Horned Citadel, the half-dragons realized that they might know too little about us, and that their exploitation and enslavement of us might be too simplistic. Of course, apart from these things, we did not experience any trials, setbacks, bloodshed, or death during the city's construction."

In the eyes of the half-dragons, this was almost tantamount to a resounding slap in the face in front of all the orc tribes. It was practically telling the other half-dragon vassal tribes that the half-dragon royal family above them was nothing special, and if such thoughts became widespread, it would inevitably affect the rule of the half-dragon royal family.

And as I said before, which orc capital city wasn't built through bloodshed and death? The werewolf clan's Moongazing City—how many werewolves died, how many menacing and hostile tribes were driven back? We, on the other hand, have had it too easy, too peaceful. We haven't even faced much harassment during the city's construction.”

As Paparusi spoke, Gru became increasingly silent. Clearly, the Kobold King understood that his self-proclaimed title and his attempt to help his people raise their heads and build a city had, at this moment, become a noose around the neck of his people.

But so what? Are kobolds destined to be the lowest race in the orc empire for their entire lives, destined to be enslaved from birth?

In this case……

Gru's scarlet eyes radiated an aura of desperate resolve.

"Elder Paparusi, since that's the case, then let's all just die and use that."

Since they are so unhappy about the rise of us kobolds, let them know the price we kobolds have paid for this situation.

Upon hearing Gru's words, Papalusi's pupils contracted sharply, as if he had remembered something terrifying.

She wanted to offer some advice to Gru, but then she thought of the current situation in Kagura Castle and sighed deeply.

“Since you’ve thought it through, then go ahead and buy the tribe some more time. I’m taking the Fire Seeds with me; we kobolds cannot perish here.”

Three kilometers outside Kakugoro Castle
Gakudebala had also arrived at the forefront of the battle line. At this time, the outer city of Horned Cage had been reduced to ruins by the constant stone-throwing attacks of the Cloud Giants.

The lizardmen, clad in simple half-armor, flicked their long, forked tongues, waiting for their half-dragon leader to give the order to storm into the city and drag out the dog-headed people hiding in the corners.

The long sword was plunged into the kobold's third rib on the right side. This way, one could watch the kobold slowly calm down from its violent struggle to its eventual tranquility, a truly delightful experience.

Just as the half-dragon leader was about to give the order, a series of deep heartbeats came from the center of Horned Cage.

As the heartbeats became clearer, the besieging orc troops seemed to be under mass control, remaining motionless in place.

"This is?"

After a two-second moment of stunned silence, Gakudebala quickly reacted, spread its wings and flew directly into the sky, then opened its mouth wide and roared down.

The sound waves visibly spread outwards from the center of Gakudebala.

However, Gakudebala's war roar had no effect; instead, the sound of his heartbeat grew clearer and clearer.

The next moment, more than a dozen enormous tentacles burst forth from the center of Horned Cage City, waving wildly at the sky.

Just as Gakudebala was wondering what to do, a spatial fluctuation came from behind him.

"Ah, Elder Mordor, you were right after all. I never expected there to be something so interesting right under my nose."

Cough cough cough~
"Your Majesty Attocarlo, it's not surprising, not surprising at all. If it weren't for the guidance I received, I, the High Priest, would have found nothing amiss even after dozens more divinations."

(End of this chapter)