novelraw Chapter 144: Garoth: I Became the Boss?
Chapter 144: Garoth: I Became the Boss?
Garoth finished his neck-rolling training and shook his body, causing the sand grains embedded between his scales to cascade down.
He slowly walked to the riverbank and lowered his head to drink deeply from the river.
After drinking his fill, he didn't leave but instead gazed at the water's surface.
The undulating river reflected his rugged dragon head in distorted waves, yet his pitch-black eyes remained as calm and collected as ever - not resembling a bloodthirsty monster, but rather a battle-hardened warrior with unshakable willpower.
Lifting his head, Garoth turned to observe his subordinates at work.
The Estonian Great River was wide with rapid currents, teeming with dangerous aquatic beasts and magical creatures. Crossing directly would be perilous, so he had the lizardfolk and kobolds constructing rafts.
The lizardfolk selected suitable tree trunks, felling and transporting them to the riverbank.
The kobolds used sharp knives to strip bark, weaving the fibers into ropes.
They employed mortise-and-tenon joints, coated with waterproof river mud resin, further reinforced by sorcerers' spells. The resulting rafts appeared crude but were exceptionally sturdy for river crossings.
Given proper time, materials, and blueprints,the lizardfolk and kobolds could build complex ferries - they were recognized masters of wilderness construction.
Once reaching the borderlands where concealment became unnecessary, Garoth planned to have them build a proper fortress-like Dragon Nest, rather than living in dark caves like wild beasts.
This would be a massive project.
Especially for a creature of draconic size, constructing suitable dwellings required tremendous time, materials, and labor.
Yet a proper habitat wasn't just for comfort -
it pleased Garoth's temperament, and good mood aided his calm, rational thinking, making it far from useless.
Garoth looked up at the sky.
The Kora Giant Eagles and iron dragon Sorog circled on patrol, with hidden sentries stationed throughout the territory.
Only exceptionally stealthy intruders could approach undetected, and given the monster horde's size, no one would recklessly come near under normal circumstances.
Moreover, Garoth was currently at peak condition.
The bloody sunset light seeped between his scales,
revealing that all previous injuries had completely healed. His expended Explosive Scales had regrown, layering over his body like heavy armor. His spinal spikes had grown harder, continuing to evolve toward some unknown ultimate form.
"We're far from the Thousand Serpent Traces now."
"Beyond this river lies the border between wilderness and tundra."
The red iron dragon coiled on the ground, feigning sleep as dusk painted the riverbank crimson.
The Dragon Hunting Team moved silently through the monster horde, stealthily approaching the red dragon.
The curse mage murmured obscure incantations as faint purple magical energy enveloped them like mist.
They drifted like ghosts between light and shadow - invisible, intangible, leaving no scent, sound, or body heat.
——Shadowmeld.
This spell temporarily shifted them into the Shadowfell, a dark plane adjacent to the Material Plane. By traversing through this dimension, they could achieve long-distance jumps, invisibility, even teleportation within the material world.
The Dragon Hunting Team had specialized dragon-slaying protocols centered around the Duel Array Disk.
First approach via Shadowmeld, then drag the target into the duel space where numerical and spatial advantages would ensure victory, before teleporting away to avoid monster retaliation.
They'd only slain one adult dragon before,
but had plentiful experience hunting younger wyrms - juveniles, young adults, and fledglings.
Though aware of three young drakes wreaking havoc at the mining outpost, the hunters remained confident in their expertise.
Against armies they might falter,
but against dragons, they were professionals.
Passing through dull-witted ogres and alert gnolls... the hunters traversed the Shadowfell, gradually nearing their target with remarkably good fortune - no shadow creatures attacked, nor did anything force them out prematurely.
Only the perceptive faerie dragon Vira sensed something amiss.
As a Dimensional Dragon (though not a Shadow Dragon), she instinctively detected the dimensional intrusion.
Fluttering her butterfly-like wings, she flew toward the resting red iron dragon,
overcoming fear of his notorious "sleep-killing" tendency.
"Garoth, wake up! Something feels wrong!" Vira shouted urgently after mustering courage to approach.
Garoth opened his eyes.
"What is it?" he asked.
The frantic faerie dragon circled helplessly, struggling to articulate her instinct.
"Just... something's not right!"
Garoth's pupils narrowed as he scanned the surroundings vigilantly, yet everything appeared normal.
Neither red nor iron dragons possessed keen perception - Garoth's hybrid bloodline made him even weaker than average in this regard. Years of faerie dragon scale powder had improved his mental attributes, eliminating this weakness, but not making it a strength.
He trusted Vira's judgment.
Exercising caution, Garoth spread his wings to take flight.
But in that instant, disaster struck.
Eight shadows materialized abruptly from the void.
Reeds from the material world phased eerily through their bodies as if existing in separate dimensions.
Only when the curse mage smashed an inverted-scale-patterned stone slab against ground did their armor and robes solidify with metallic thuds.
Every monster's gaze instantly snapped toward them.
Samantha spread her maw, preparing to incinerate the intruders with fiery breath.
Simultaneously,
the earth beneath Garoth collapsed into a vortex -
not physically, but spatially,
like parchment crumpled by an invisible hand.
Crimson light erupted from the vortex edges like closing jaws,
swallowing the red iron dragon whole before he could react.
From Garoth's perspective, the riverbank froze before fading.
The gnolls' ropes, ogres' boulders, even Samantha's flames blurred like rain-washed paintings.
Only the red slab and human figures grew sharper, dominating his vision.
When his sight cleared,
Garoth stood at the center of a Roman-style colosseum.
Empty stands echoed with phantom battle cries as he inexplicably understood this space's mechanics.
Across from him, eight shadows solidified one by one.
"This space... feels like a game dungeon?"
"Oh, I'm the boss now - they're raiding me."
After surveying the arena, Garoth focused on the eight figures.
Two stood out immediately.
Foremost was their leader, curse mage [Shadowbinder Karios] -
gaunt, wearing deep purple spider-silk robes with floating runes,
his face half-hidden beneath a hood,
wielding a spine-staff crafted from black dragon vertebrae.
Beside him stood the vice-captain, paladin [Steel Oath Leo] -
a towering figure in layered black scale armor reeking of dragon essence,
each plate engraved with draconic profanities.
His emotionless eyes peered through a visored helm,
his three-meter-long dragonslaying greatsword as wide as a door.
More precisely,
he was an Oath of Vengeance paladin.
This sacred vow swears to punish grave offenses -
when evil massacres innocents,
when people abandon divine will,
when thieves' guilds grow too tyrannical,
when terrible dragons plague the land...
these paladins emerge to restore order,
even sacrificing their purity and honor to deliver justice.
They show no mercy to villains and use any means necessary.
Each vengeance oath differs -
Leo's sworn to eradicate all wicked dragons.
This grants him bonus damage against dragons
and comprehensive combat boosts during such battles.
Within the Dragon Hunting Team,
this paladin delivered devastating frontal assaults
while the curse mage controlled the battlefield.
Others specialized in distinct roles:
a shadow assassin mastering lethal strikes and poisons,
a beast hunter expert at exploiting large creatures' weaknesses,
a war priest skilled in team buffs and divine strikes,
an alchemy specialist focused on explosives and potions,
and a bloodrage berserker excelling in regeneration and combat.
With this coordinated team of dragon-slaying specialists,
Garoth sensed unprecedented danger -
more threatening than his battle with the Diamond Stone Giant.
Trapped in this confined space by meticulous preparation,
even without anti-flight measures,
his mobility was severely restricted.
At this geographical disadvantage,
Garoth's mind grew calmer rather than enraged by the ambush.
Precisely when facing adversity,
one must suppress negative emotions
to focus wholly on overcoming the crisis.