I haven't chimed in at all. So I'm going to now. This is entirely my opinion and I don't expect nor need anyone to agree with me.
I love playing antagonists. I've played an antagonist to the Surface and now I play one to the UD. Prominent antagonists and protagonists create impactful stories of conflict if done well. But part of playing on this server is the knowledge and acceptance that there are other players that impact this world and have their own stories they want to tell.
Two things are entirely disrespected imo on this server: the seriousness of (impending) death and fear.
So let's talk about OP's initial concern. You are a badass scary Kobold with a reputation you've worked for gods know how long. Maybe several RL years. You run into a level 15 and they go: "YOU DON'T SCARE ME! LEAVE ME ALONE!" and they walk off. Or maybe they don't say anything at all and simply don't want to acknowledge you.
First of all, there's nothing more demoralizing for someone who has spent hours and hours of their time building a reputation to be a villain or a hero to have someone just turn around and walk away from you, likely uttering some snarky comment in the process. This is also someone who's incapable of RPing fear appropriately or the impending potential death that may come.
Secondly, you are now acting as if you're not playing in a persistent RPG game. You play on this server, you know there's PVP. You know that there's other players who might come and ruin your day. Maybe not because they're going specifically after you, but maybe you just found yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time. By logging in you agree to play with other players in a multiplayer online game world. And although you all have an obligation to make sure that everyone has fun and collaborates and no one feels particularly uncomfortable with a scenario, you on the other side must also acknowledge it is entirely possible you might be robbed on the Trader's Route, someone tries to enslave you or do something else bad to your character.
Be brave, take the loss and rather than seeing it as a "I don't want to deal with this", see it as a "Hey, this could create story development." That's what we're all here for. Losing isn't bad, losing creates character development. Embrace it.