Chapter 4

Mikhail was kinda happy at the power the leader of the army had shown, but that last attack destroyed 2 out of the five tanks, thanks to them being delayed by the terrain, as it rivaled a fucking nuke!

But it wasn't all that bad as the 3 tanks now had 3 stripes each meaning that their attack speed and power more than doubled although the vehicles were nearly destroyed while trying to escape.

So he had the tanks return to base all while making sure nobody was following them, as for the initiates he had sent to scout the deep layers of the cave they had found some little ugly green monsters, and no, it wasn't goblins, it was something similar to kobolds, the lizard version.

Mikhail had half the mind to butcher them, but one thing he truly enjoyed was when he used the monsters strongest gene to further strengthen his troops as brutes grow stronger the more positive genes they received.

There was one time in his dream that he had implemented an orc's vitality gene and a troll's regeneration gene into a batch of brutes which led them to be a force to be reckoned with, sadly such information was destroyed when dragons decided to join in leading him to a fiery end.

There was only one strange thing about his current initiates.

It was as if his favorite add-ons for initiates were already applied to the seven that he had now, especially the one that acted as his bodyguard she had four snake-like eyes, it was something he liked thanks to the cursed gaze it could bring upon his enemies.

It wasn't petrification, or sudden death, it was the ability to steal the life force of those dumb enough to challenge her which gradually weakened the target the only problem was she needed to be standing still and the target of her gaze needs to be within 50 meters, as since there aren't any healers in the original game unless it was the modded version or If one captured the support buildings.

This was his solution with the limited supplies at the time, making this particular initiate a valuable asset when things were grim, there was only one time that Mikhail had ever gotten a victory without any losses and that was due to him going behind the scenes and nearly dying more than once as he seized control over all the leaders via mind control since they were stupid enough to gather together within one room.

One thing that he also learned for every control tower that was built he could control three more people through a method that can be considered devious, so imagine if he had 100 of those towers created upon gaining control of a victim he would send them to the tower's range then letting it relieve him of the burden, the same can be done with masterminds, and yes, he can't control leaders or powerful figures at first but by using a certain device called a psychic dominator this would amplify his abilities to incredible levels!

When more psychic towers are erected the easier it becomes to control powerhouses~

That was something he learned the hard way before being marked as a heretic by the local religion with a very disturbing ending.

Never allow yourself to be captured by a fanatic who can heal you and keep you alive for 30 years worth of torture it can cause anyone to become 'slightly' insane.

Something that he doesn't wish to happen ever again.

But back to the Kobolds, they lived like cavemen as simple rags were worn for clothes and dried sticks acted as their weapons, they surrendered easily to his Initiates after more than a dozen of them were ignited into flames.

These monsters seemed simple-minded, but upon reaching Mikhail's range of his mental abilities, he knew better than to ignore them, their true gear was left behind at their camp, they wanted to seem weak, they wanted to seem feeble.

So that if their captor was kind-hearted, they could use the said person to be their shade against the endless dangers of this world.

If their captor was ruthless...

Their treasures will be found by their kin later in the future even if this tenth of the tribe was eradicated.

They reproduce fast making them akin to goblins with one major difference, the kobolds prefer to breed with their own race and like regular food similar to what humans eat, seeing that their captor seems to be humans, maybe they can get that privilege for such meals again.

Sadly for them, Mikhail was not a kind-hearted man towards potential threats, as he read their minds and thoughts quickly finding out their plans, and pointing out their leader despite the language barrier, but being a psychic also has some good benefits towards anything related to the mind, thus their simple language was quickly absorbed and learned by Mikhail on the spot!

Before speaking to them in their language in amusement with his eyes focused on the leader.

"For such seemingly feeble creatures, you kobolds think you are cunning, eh?"

One of the braver ones stepped forward while the rest were still surprised by his sudden words as the kobold inquired in a challenging tone.

"Human, where you learn language!?"

It was straightforward but sadly for the brave one, his initiates did not take kindly to his tone as the temperature started to rise as their hands were pointed towards the kobold that was starting to regret stepping forward as its face twisted with fear not for its life but for the others.

Mikhail was enjoying this with a sickening smile, every second as their emotions of fear and terror swarmed his mind, yet he needs them for his plans before the sound of heavy machinery had arrived his tanks acted as another deterrent against any foolish plans of trying to fight back as the cannons were now aimed at the kobolds.

He raised his hand signaling his troops to stop, bringing more fear to linger within their minds as the kobolds were baffled as to why those elephants obeyed the man as his next action brought them to despair.

Mikhail decided to put on a show with the Brave kobold whose name is hard to pronounce as the main character~

He made a stride towards kobold that now lost his bravado before tapping its forehead, the kobold stiffened up then convulsed erratically before he kneeled down to Mikhail!

His sudden action made the group take a step back before he made a ruthless order in their language to hear.

"rip your throat out!"

It was a slow command that brought their eyes to focus on him!

Upon hearing this order, they looked at him like he was a madman, who in the right mind wo-

The kobold's eager reply, with a burst of crazed laughter, caused their minds to reel even more!

"GWAHAHAHA! FOR YURI!"

The kneeling Kobold moved his arms to his sides as his claws elongated before grabbing his throat with both hands then pulled it apart!

Blood spurted out as his kin could only watch his actions in horror, chunks of flesh and cracked claws littered the ground around the obedient kobold as his body quickly lost its strength from the fatal attack to himself.

He kept ripping at it even after his body fell to the ground, even after his strength left him his arms were trying to accomplish this task all with a smile full of deranged reverence!

Even after the kobold's eyes blurred from blood loss and death was nearing, he held a look of fulfillment for completing the order even if it meant his death!

That alone made their scales crawl!

Unable to resist, unable to beg, just to die like a fanatic despite not being one, just how scary would that be if it was used against your loved ones?

Right now, the very cause of their village warrior's death was smiling at them blocking off any way of retreat!

They were also surrounded by these women that could use flames, and those elephants not too far from them certainly prevented them from trying their luck... well, most of them.

There were three kobolds that made a run for it but the leader had her sights on Mikhail as he plugged his ears with his fingers with an annoyed look before saying.

"Fire."

A nonchalant word that brought forth a thunderclap as it resounded through the cave causing nearly all of the kobolds to go deaf before a loud splat sound followed!

They all turned to see the source of the noise revealing that the Runners were in pieces before they turned their eyes to the 'elephants' as one of their snouts was smoking!

Giving them a moment to process what just happened, Mikhail's terribly playful voice reached their ears as he looked at the mess with a shrug.

"Surrender to me, or your endings...hehe... will be even worst than theirs~"

Almost immediately they surrendered, not knowing what lied ahead if they stayed under his control.

Mikhail, on the other hand, was wondering in a playful mood.

"i wonder how long these toys will last~?"