Snarling, Draxar flooded his mana into his racial skill [Rapid Regeneration], feeling his wounds knit back together. Sharp as the goblins' weapons were, the diminutive creatures lacked the strength to make the blows truly count. His people didn't share their weakness, but they lacked numbers.

Around the frozen battlefield, he could see his brethren savagely ripping into the goblins' organized lines. Hundreds, thousands of goblin corpses dotted the fields while comparatively few kobolds had fallen. But each of his people dead was a tragedy. Another of the kin whose eggs would never hatch, whose flames were snuffed out too soon. Still, they sold their lives dearly for the sake of the tribe.

The line moved again while Draxar healed, leaving him behind, but not for long. His will, sharpened by his time in the Forest Core and his encounter with Her, harnessed his aura, sheathing his claws in silver blades as he charged back into battle.

Dropping to all fours, Draxar charged into the goblins' lines, leaping over the line of shields in front to fall amongst their lightly armored spears. Driven by the incessant command deep in his mind, Draxar pushed himself to his limits, accepting wounds as he closed and laid waste to the formation around him.

Goblins screamed as his aura coated claws ripped through flesh and bone in a frenzy of blows. He would not retreat. He would not run. Not again. Not in defiance of Her command. He would fight and grow stronger, prove himself worthy of Her mercy, or he would die.

Pushing through the lines of goblins, Draxar slaughtered their warriors, carving a bloody path to the horde's leader. Around him he could feel his kinsmen pressing for the center where their chief dueled the Horde Leader, the clash of two Inferno titans shaking the air. Draxar knew the fight would be over before he reached them, but he still fought on like all kobolds did, diving deeper into the horde in search of stronger enemies. Dozens of Kindling and Sparkss fell to his claws, but there was little glory to be found in such weak prey. Instead he found a fight he could truly boast about: a goblin deep into the Embers, nearing the exalted domain of Flame.

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Roaring, Draxar tore through the ranks of goblin warriors until he closed with the armored goblin, a giant amongst its kind and near enough a match for Draxar's strength! Steel clashed with aura coated claw and scale as they tested their might against each other, trading blow after blow. The goblin was skilled, fighting much like the accursed humans did using its superior range and weaponry to stab holes into Draxar's bulk, even using a skill that mimicked his aura claws to widen the wounds into gaping holes, but Draxar was relentless.

What did he have to fear from wounds when his own regeneration, tempered by his time in the Core and months of hunting the denizens of the deep woods, was enough to seal the wounds shut and stitch tendons and sinew back together?

The goblin thrust at Draxar's shoulder, aiming to blow his arm off at the joint. Something even his regeneration couldn't fix. Draxar accepted the blow, the pain of losing an arm at the shoulder nearly consuming him, but it wasn't enough to drown out Her command.

"Unworthy. A cowardly hunter preying upon those weaker than yourself and thinking yourself powerful. My kitten shall surpass you. Grow stronger that my kitten may sharpen her claws against yours, or stay as you are and remain a coward, never knowing true strength. I shall come for you in one cycle's time."

Her command drove away the pain, ringing in his ears as he closed the distance with the Ember. His aura coated claws stabbed into the goblin's stomach from below, punching through chain and plate as he lifted his foe into the air. Opening his jaws wide with a roar of victory, Draxar pulled the struggling goblin in close, his jaws snapping shut over the goblin's head.

Mana and new strength coursed through his limbs as he grabbed his severed arm and shoved it back against his shoulder, his regeneration reattaching it well enough for battle. A loud boom and triumphant roar shook the air as his chieftain slew the enemy leader. All around the battlefield goblins turned and fled, shrieking as his brethren cut the cowards down.

As he regained feeling in his reattached arm, Draxar claimed the slain goblin Ember's sword as his own. Raising the claimed weapon over his head, the kobold let out a vicious roar as his aura coated the weapon before he rushed back into battle against the fleeing horde.

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