Wizard: This witcher is neglecting his duties.

Chapter 87 Conflict

As a Witcher, aside from the more than ten years he spent training in Kaer Meher, Geralt had been roaming the northern kingdoms for fifty years.

His long years living at the bottom of society allowed him to see many good people of noble character, but he also encountered many more despicable and shameless scoundrels with no moral bottom line.

It's not entirely their fault. After all, in such a chaotic underworld environment, even if you can control yourself from hurting others, you can't control the crimes of others.

To survive, one has to resort to ruthlessness or barbarity to protect oneself. Those who are too kind have long been devoured by others, leaving not even a trace of bones.

He was already used to all kinds of insults, ridicule and provocation. Those scoundrels were like dog shit on the ground. If you really argued with them and stepped on them, you would only get all that filth all over yourself and make yourself uncomfortable.

Therefore, Geralt paid no attention to the taunts from Arpin's dwarf squad and the Klinfeld raiders.

He led his mount, Radish, and Yennefer's black steed to the makeshift stable, where he fed them water and hay.

But as the saying goes, rivals are enemies. Although Geralt ignored them, the dragon-hunting team would not let him go.

The youngest member of the raiders, Kenneth the Ripper, walked up to Geralt, spat on the ground, and said:

"White-haired witcher, you'd better warn your sorceress lover that dragon hunting should be left to professionals, otherwise she'll make a lot of enemies."

Watching the radish devour the fresh fodder, Geralt turned around expressionlessly, his steel sword clutched in his hand. His amber cat-like eyes fixed on Kenneth the Ripper, he said calmly:

"We haven't even set off yet, and you're already dividing up the spoils? Dragons aren't so easy to deal with. One breath of dragonfire can burn you to ashes."

"Of course, you can offend a powerful sorceress and a sword-wielding witcher before you even set off. There are too many fools in this world, and one more won't make a difference."

"My mission this time is simply to protect Lady Yennefer. I have no interest in your underhanded tactics."

"But if you attempt to harm this lady, you'll have to see if your necks can escape the sword in my hand."

If it were just him alone, Geralt certainly wouldn't have warned them so bluntly, nor would he have even participated in this hunter operation.

But this matter concerns his goddess Yennefer, and Geralt will not allow anyone to harm her under any circumstances.

However, as notorious ruthless figures in Redania, the three Klinfeld raider brothers were not the type to back down from trouble. For money, they were willing to do anything, including robbery and theft, which they had done in secret.

As the eldest, Bhote immediately gave his two brothers a wink. The other two understood immediately. The second brother, Nistruca, quietly took out a crossbow from his luggage and loaded it with bolts, while the youngest, Kenneth the Ripper, had already taken out a boning knife and stood behind Geralt.

Geralt frowned, not expecting the three brothers to be so bold as to try to make a move here.

This place is only a few dozen meters away from the king's tent. If one is not careful, he could be mistaken for an assassin trying to kill the king and be surrounded and killed by dozens of fully armed soldiers.

Even when facing the infamous Raiders brothers of Redania, Geralt remained fearless. He pressed the scabbard of his steel sword against the ground, gripped the hilt with his right hand, and slowly drew the sword, revealing the gleaming blade forged from meteorite iron.

As one of the most powerful swordsmen in the North, he had considerable confidence in his swordsmanship.

Geralt narrowed his amber cat-like eyes, staring intently at the three brothers who were trying to attack him.

Although being surrounded would put him at a disadvantage, his sword could take a life if he could find an opening.

Arpin and his dwarf subordinates retreated a few meters away with perfect understanding, adopting an attitude of not taking sides.

The bearded dwarves were quite pleased with this unexpected battle.

Whether it's the witchers or the raiders, and regardless of which one suffers death or injury, it means one less competitor for the dwarves, allowing them to gain more benefits from this dragon-slaying operation.

Just as Geralt's battle with the raiders was about to break out, a loud voice suddenly rang in everyone's ears.

"This is a despicable siege, a gang attack, a sneak attack from behind, and a serious violation of the code of chivalry."

"With the witness of the gods and the code of chivalry, I will not stand idly by if you despicable plunderers want to besiege that damned mutant."

The speaker was dressed in a gleaming silver full plate armor and held a heavy two-handed greatsword. Although his face was not visible through his full-coverage metal helmet, everyone present knew that he was Ike from Denesle, a powerful and idealistic knight, a madman with a fanatical pursuit of justice.

Seeing his interference, the dwarf Yarpan spat on the ground disdainfully, knowing that the battle was over.

If the three Raider brothers could feel they had a 50% chance of winning against the Witcher, then with the addition of a powerful knight as tough as an iron can, the three brothers would only be destined to die.

Sure enough, upon seeing this, Bhote, the leader of the raiders, immediately gave his two brothers a wink, chuckled, and said:

"What are you talking about, Knight Ek? How could we possibly commit such a despicable act of ganging up on the weak? We are all warriors of justice, summoned by the King to slay the evil dragon."

"It's just that the Witcher's tone was too aggressive, and we wanted to try and talk him out of it."

Unfortunately, the stubborn Knight Ek didn't understand the concept of saving face for others, nor did he know the meaning of being tactful. He wasn't buying into the raider's ruse and continued to speak with righteous indignation:

"Stop your despicable lies, you plunderers, you are not worthy to call yourselves righteous."

"It is because the world is full of scoundrels like you who are blinded by greed and full of lies that our world has become so ugly."

"Although I believe that witchers are also evil beings, mutated creatures not allowed by the gods, they at least protect the people and understand the most basic right and wrong."

"But for despicable mercenaries like you, who would betray even your own family for money, loyalty, honor, mercy, and trustworthiness are like toilet paper to you—used and then discarded, leaving them filthy."

"The sight of you disgusts me. Get out of my sight. If it weren't for the king's permission, I would never travel with people like you."

Even the raider brothers, who never cared about saving face, felt extremely angry after being subjected to such an unvarnished and harsh scolding by Knight Ek.

However, they also knew that arguing with Ike, who was so stubborn, was pointless. This guy was like a rock in a cesspool, smelly and hard, and an idiot who didn't need any benefits.

This time, they came here to slay the dragon not for the sake of making money, but for some so-called justice, to prevent the nearby residents from being harmed by the evil dragon. It's simply incomprehensible.

So the three raider brothers cursed Ike under their breath, then picked up their weapons and left the temporary stable, intending to find a place to rest.

The official dragon hunt has not yet begun; it will not officially commence until tomorrow morning, after King Niedamir issues the order.

Meanwhile, the scouts from Holober City had already set off ahead of time. They were guides hired by the king and were responsible for helping the dragon-hunting team find the dragon's lair.

(End of this chapter)