novelraw Chapter 38: Ambush, Arrogance
Chapter 38: Ambush, Arrogance
The pale moonlight spilled over the scattered rocks of the Iron Fir Hills.
Samantha was crouching, her tail raised high, fully focused as she used her claws to carve crooked trenches into the ground. She wasn’t drawing an alchemical formation; she was playing with ants.
Watching a group of ants helplessly shuffle along the winding trenches she had carved.
A pleased smile appeared on Samantha’s face.
As a red dragon, she was naturally fond of the feeling of controlling the lives and even fates of other creatures, like a sovereign. Though her strength didn’t yet allow her to exercise such power on larger beings, she could at least have fun with ants.
With one claw swipe, she connected the start and end of the trench.
The poor ants were trapped in a maze-like trench with no exit, crawling helplessly.
Samantha raised her chin, her eyes full of disdain, imitating the deep tone of an adult dragon as she said, “Lowly ants, cry out in supplication to the great Red Dragon Queen. Bow and grovel, and perhaps I shall show mercy and spare your insignificant lives.”
The ants said nothing and continued crawling.
Among them, a clever and strong ant, upon realizing it couldn’t escape forward, started climbing upwards. Unconsciously, it reached Samantha’s claw. The ‘Red Dragon Queen’ let out an amused little sound.
“Legendary leader of the Abyssal Demon Ant tribe, the strongest and wisest among your kind. Do you dare to defy my decree for your fate and challenge me?”
“Good, very good. I admire your courage. As you wish, I grant you—death!”
Smack!
The young red dragon dropped her claw and crushed the Abyssal Demon Ant with one strike.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Samantha only played this make-believe game when no other creatures were around.
Now that Garoth was away and Mobel the Rampage Bear was out hunting, it was her exclusive entertainment time.
After some noisy self-entertainment, Samantha stood up, head held high, still immersed in the feeling of being the ‘Red Dragon Queen’ ruling all. She strode forward with a cold detachment toward the alchemy workshop.
It was a simple shelter made of rock slabs.
Looking closely, inside the workshop, a metal cauldron boiled with black oil emitting eerie purple smoke.
“I got carried away and lost control of the heat. It’s over! Garoth’s going to beat me when he gets back!”
Her raised head immediately lowered. Samantha rushed over to the cauldron, hurriedly using magical energy to draw runes that were cast onto the boiling black oil, gradually calming it down without causing an explosion.
Sparks flew from her nostrils as she breathed a sigh of relief.
She bent down to sniff the bubbling black oil, completely unaware that five dark shadows were silently watching her.
A wanderer hiding behind a rock raised a crossbow.
The crossbow bolt, inscribed with armor-piercing and silence runes, was already loaded. Its tip gleamed with a blue glow in the night, clearly coated with a deadly poison.
Elsewhere.
A blond warrior stepped from the shadow beneath the iron fir trees, approaching the young red dragon. Finally, he slowly drew a massive sword from his back, flat as a door panel. Pressing his palm down with a gentle flick, he made the gesture to begin the hunt.
Silent and swift.
A specially made alchemical crossbow bolt pierced the night, striking precisely into Samantha’s right wing joint. The bolt vibrated slightly, emitting a metallic hum.
The blue glow immediately spread, covering a small area of her wing membrane.
The sudden attack brought intense pain to her dragon wings.
Samantha’s pupils shrank to thin slits from the agony. She wildly lashed her tail, knocking over the alchemical cauldron spewing purple smoke. The boiling black oil splashed onto the ground, releasing a pungent stench.
“Despicable human!”
Seeing the attacker, Samantha roared fiercely.
The blond warrior lunged forward with a single step, leapt high, and all the alchemical runes on his greatsword flared with terrifying power.
A downward slash!
The massive sword swung down. Samantha raised her dragon arm to sweep it away.
Weakening spell!
The necromancer shot a dark beam from his pale fingers that landed on Samantha, instantly draining her strength. She felt fatigued all over, her movements becoming sluggish and feeble.
The blade tore through her dragon scales, cutting flesh.
Swish! Another crossbow bolt flew, embedding itself in Samantha’s side.
The blond warrior spun and slashed again, his blood-stained door-panel sword striking Samantha’s shoulder.
Caught off guard by the sudden ambush of these professionals, Samantha was at a disadvantage. Furious, her chest scales glowed with molten lava-like light, and her mouth shone with a piercing red glow.
She intended to incinerate the bold warrior who dared offend her with her fiery breath.
“Haven!”
The blond warrior sensed danger and shouted.
Silencing spell!
The caster quickly formed the spell. Complex runes flew toward Samantha’s neck, weaving into a ring that turned into a silencing seal, preventing her from exhaling her fiery breath immediately.
The runes on her neck began to crack.
Samantha roared in silent fury and slammed a claw at the blond warrior. Though he blocked it with the sword blade, the force still sent him flying, crashing into an iron fir tree.
Samantha was about to pursue when ghostly flames resembling skulls rapidly approached and struck her.
They were icy cold, not ordinary fire. Her fire resistance only reduced part of the damage, and she inevitably suffered injury.
Elsewhere, a white light radiated from the priest, shining on the blond warrior.
He rose quickly and sprinted toward the young red dragon with great speed.
As Samantha roared, the silencing spell on her neck shattered. But before she could prepare another fiery breath, a sphere was thrown by a wanderer. It exploded with an irritating stench, forcing Samantha to sneeze violently, flames shooting from her nostrils.
Looking up again,
The blond warrior was already close, swinging his door-panel greatsword at her.
Restricted on all sides, Samantha realized she was no match for these humans.
Thanks to Garoth’s teachings, she had become far less arrogant and proud than before. She suppressed the urge to fight to the death, flapped her wings, and shot straight into the sky, intending to escape.
But just a few meters high,
A large net full of hooks was thrown by a wanderer, enveloping her body. The dense iron hooks caught on her scales, making escape difficult.
The blond warrior grabbed the net and yanked it downwards, slowing Samantha’s ascent.
Another spell was completed by the caster.
Anti-air curse! The solidified runes locked onto Samantha’s wings, dispersing the magical energy on them.
A young dragon’s wings, relying solely on their strength without magical energy, could barely support their heavy body. Samantha flapped a few times but was ultimately dragged back down to the ground.
She tore at the net, her face full of rage.
Since she couldn’t escape, she would fight to the death! A red dragon fears no challenge and no death! Samantha roared and tangled with the five attackers. Though at a disadvantage and constantly injured, she did not lose outright.
Meanwhile,
High above in the dense clouds,
Garoth silently observed the battle below.
“These adventurers seem weak. Even Samantha can’t take them down directly.”
“But just as I thought, relying mainly on magical energy for flight is a major weakness, making them easy targets.”
When the fight first began, Garoth had just returned.
Seeing Samantha wasn’t in mortal danger, he didn’t intervene immediately but watched silently for a while, realizing these adventurers were far weaker than he imagined.
Next time he faced adventurers, he might not need to be so cautious.
With his current strength, he should easily handle them.
Adventurers? Pathetic amateurs!
Thinking this, Garoth quickly shook his head.
“Arrogance always quietly breeds. I must remain vigilant.”
“These are probably the lowest-tier adventurers, but they can already handle a normal young dragon like Samantha. It seems they want to capture her alive, so their attacks aren’t too fierce.”
Garoth thought to himself.
Confident that these adventurers posed little threat, he folded his wings. His scythe-like dragon wings sliced through the night as he dove down at lightning speed.