Wizard: This witcher is neglecting his duties.

Chapter 95 The Power of the Golden Dragon

"Damn it, we finally made it. Those damn sorceresses and damn mages actually tried to abandon us and eat all by themselves."

After crossing the makeshift wooden bridge made of tree trunks, the three raider brothers were all sweating profusely and cursing loudly.

More than an hour ago, after the stone bridge built by the trolls was destroyed by the Knight of Ek, the sorceress used magic to open a short-range portal and, taking advantage of their inattention, instantly brought Geralt and Dandelion to the other side of the bridge.

A few minutes later, the mage Dorigare also used a short-range levitation spell to sneak across to the other side, leaving only the Alpin dwarf squad, the three raider brothers, and the Holopol reconnaissance team, among other ordinary people, on this side of the broken bridge, watching them leave with great anxiety and helplessness.

Fortunately, the dwarves' axes could be used as logging axes, and the raider brothers always carried ropes for binding. With the help of the strong young men in the scout team, they spent several hours successfully using the felled trees to build a temporary wooden bridge and cross the broken bridge.

To race against time, everyone gave it their all, sweating profusely and exhausted like dogs.

Arpin wiped the sweat from his beard, cursing Yennefer's ruthlessness in his heart; there had been an agreement between the sorceress and the dwarf.

Their original agreement was to use the news of the Dragon's Nest treasure to sell the gems that the wealthy dwarven merchants had hoarded as part of the Dragon's Nest treasure, and to leverage this gimmick to make more profits through the dwarven trade network that spanned the entire north.

Unexpectedly, when the time came, the sorceress abandoned them, which infuriated Alpin.

Kozoyed and his reconnaissance team were the last to cross the makeshift wooden bridge. The shoemaker, in his forties, braced himself on his knees, took a few deep breaths, then pulled out a tattered rag from his waist, wiped the sweat from his brow, and said worriedly:

"We need to hurry. It took us three hours to build the wooden bridge. Those two despicable sorcerers might have already killed the green dragon and escaped with the dragon's treasure."

"That's our money, we can't let them get away."

Having lived a life of poverty for decades as a shoemaker, Kozoed finally seized an opportunity that could change his fate, and he would never give up the legendary dragon treasure.

Upon hearing this, Yarpin and the raider brothers glanced at the shoemaker with disdain, thinking to themselves, "What do you mean by 'our money'? How much we give you will depend on our mood."

However, after resting for a few minutes, the group continued their journey, climbing over the long hillside. When they saw the place where Ike and the Golden Dragon had fought, they were all stunned by the scene before them.

Because it was different from all the situations they had anticipated.

A terrifying behemoth, over ten meters tall and covered in shimmering golden scales, sat leisurely on the flat ground, idly idly stroking the flowers and plants, seemingly waiting for something.

Its aura, a blend of elegance and ferocity reminiscent of a feline, and its dazzling, magnificent appearance, make it clear at a glance that this is a powerful and legendary creature.

The more observant raiders also noticed that the sorcerer Dorrigare, along with Geralt and Dandelion—or more precisely, the witcher and the poet classmate—were using a makeshift stretcher made of branches and cloth to carry an injured person away from the flat ground.

Meanwhile, the magician Doregare was using some paper and pen he had somehow acquired to seemingly draw a picture of the beautiful, terrifying beast.

The three raider brothers initially felt a sense of defeat, believing that their plan to get rich might have failed.

However, they soon realized that what appeared before them was a golden dragon, a legendary golden dragon, one of a kind in the world.

If we could kill this golden dragon, even just by peeling off its glittering golden skin and its head that combines beauty and ferocity, there would surely be ambitious nobles or wealthy merchants willing to pay a high price for them.

He glanced back at the dwarf Yarpan and the shoemaker Kozoed, noticing that their eyes were also darting around, wondering if they were thinking the same thing as him.

Just as the group, harboring ulterior motives, were planning to use their old dragon-hunting skills on this golden dragon...

A sound like a bronze horn resounded in their hearts.

"Despicable dragon hunters, standing before you is the golden dragon Velentrethanmes, the husband of the green dragon you have harmed."

"I'm here to give you two choices."

"The first option is to tuck my tail between my legs and run away from here forever. I won't chase after those fleeing rats."

"The second option is to have a fair duel with me. I will allow you to form groups of five, and I will not use magic. It will be a battle between men."

"Of course, if neither of you chooses, then I will no longer care about honor or chivalry, and will use magic to kill you."

The people on the hillside were planning how to slay the dragon, but they were startled by the sound that was transmitted directly to their brains from hundreds of meters away.

Amidst shock and fear, they also realized that the golden dragon they were facing was a super monster with intelligence and the ability to use magic, far superior to the green dragon they had previously imagined.

Logically, when faced with such an unexpected situation, a cautious hunter would choose to retreat temporarily rather than risk an attack.

But both the Klinfeld raiders and the Kozoed scouts were blinded by greed, still plotting how to kill this priceless dragon.

Only the long-lived and knowledgeable dwarf Yarpan knew how powerful the legendary dragons who could use magic were, far beyond what a few of them could handle.

However, he did not warn the raiders and shoemakers, after all, legends are just legends, and it would be a good choice if someone could try it out.

A few minutes later, after what they discussed, the dwarf Yarpan and his several bearded dwarf henchmen remained on the hilltop and did not come down.

Meanwhile, the three marauder brothers and Kozoed's reconnaissance team, totaling more than a dozen men, had already taken up arms, dispersed into formation, and were encircling Borchi in the open area.

Some of them carried axes, short swords, or spears, while others carried warhammers and bows and arrows. However, the three raider brothers at the head of the group had three powerful dwarven crossbows, weapons originally unique to Arpin's dwarven squads.

Jinlong Borchi saw all of this. Looking at the dozen or so humans charging towards him, he let out a long sigh that seemed to be a mixture of sigh, anger, and lamentation at their stupidity.

"You are courting death. My magic will crush you."

When it was more than 100 meters away from both sides, it flapped its wings and took off, flying dozens of meters into the air.

A chant, seemingly a murmur, slowly rose from the dragon's language.

Chaotic magic began to condense between heaven and earth. The three raider brothers and the old shoemaker, who were charging forward, felt the air around them become heavy, as if countless hands were pulling them and dragging them into the mud.

Just as they sensed something was wrong and were filled with regret, Borch's magic was officially completed.

Amidst a deafening roar, as if the earth itself were being violently pulled apart by an invisible giant, the ground began to tremble and twist. A thin crack began to extend, and within seconds, a massive fissure was torn open.

It swallowed most of the charging dragon hunters into the crevice.

Meanwhile, Borch in the air did not stop attacking. He skillfully dodged the dwarven crossbow bolts fired at him by the raiders, and began to dive at high speed as his body approached the ground. After getting close to the few survivors, he immediately opened his blood-red maw, which was already smoking.

In an instant, a torrent of orange-yellow dragon flames erupted from the golden dragon's mouth, carrying extremely intense heat, engulfing all the people on the ground.

Skin, hair, clothing, even the flowers and grass on the ground—everything began to burn.

A mournful wail echoed across the entire plain, and in just a dozen seconds, all the humans engulfed in flames were reduced to charred remains.

The battle ended too quickly; the golden dragon's magical power was simply too immense.

Outside the open space, Geralt looked solemn, Dandelion stared in disbelief, while Dorrigare held a paintbrush, his face beaming with excitement as he tried to capture it all in his painting.

In the direction of the Green Dragon's lair, Wayne rode on the back of the Green Dragon Milgatabrek, the two of them soaring high in the sky, watching everything from afar with rather complicated feelings.

These people are truly courting death, daring to provoke a dragon mage who can fly in the sky. Don't they realize that with their short legs that run around on the ground, how could they possibly defeat a dragon flying in the sky?

However, Wayne's attention was soon drawn to something else. In the forest not far from the clearing, more than a hundred adventurers and militiamen from Holoppel were driving ancient chariots slowly toward the direction of the golden dragon.

(End of this chapter)