Chapter 354: The Dragon Has Come

Ron had always been reluctant to use Martial Suggestion, a gift from Elden. But in the last two months, he had finally made a breakthrough in Arcane Magic and could now fully master the ability, rather than just tearing a scroll to use it.

Today was its debut.

A faint pain throbbed in his left arm, but it was quickly suppressed by the potion taking effect. For a Caster, Martial Suggestion had quite a few side effects, but Ron could counteract them all with his Alchemy Potions!

BURP— Ron smashed the last empty bottle. His footwork was like a butterfly flitting through flowers as he nimbly dodged the Priests’ fatal attacks. His counterattacks, in contrast, were swift and brutal. When the Dwarf swung his flail, Ron caught the end of it and yanked the Dwarf’s body—heavier than any human or Elf—right toward him. He smashed a fist into the Dwarf’s red nose, and two streams of crimson immediately poured from his nostrils.

"You’re next!"

As Aron charged him on his warhorse, Ron nimbly dodged the deadly Holy Slash. He tore open a Mist Step Scroll, and the Mage instantly teleported to Sera’s side, wrenching the Grip of the Vast Wave from her hands. The enormous blade swept upward with the force of a tidal wave, clashing violently with Aron, who had leaped from his horse, his Longsword held high and shining brighter than the sun.

Even the Grip of the Vast Wave struggled to withstand the full power of Aron’s Holy Slash, letting out a piercing shriek of protest. The sound lasted only a moment before being cut short. A curtain of light and dust enveloped the area as a tremendous roar pierced everyone’s eardrums.

"Ron!"

"Old Lei!"

Both sides forgot everything else. The Big-bearded Dwarf wiped a handful of blood from his face and beard then lunged forward. The others swarmed in at the same time, all scrambling to reach their respective leaders.

In the center of the clearing, the final blow had left a crater large enough to hold three grown men. Aron stood inside it, the tip of his sword angled down, just a centimeter or two from Ron’s heart. Ron, looking somewhat disheveled and now unarmed, was separated from the Grip of the Vast Wave, which lay several meters away.

But everyone who saw this understood one thing: Raymond Aron was not the victor. For right where the tip of Aron’s sword aimed, an arrowhead—slightly longer than one used for a shortbow—had blocked the would-be fatal blow.

"That’s the one—" the Half-Elf bit her lip, her eyes filled with conflict.

"You would die first." Aron’s free right hand trembled. If he hadn’t switched to his left hand to hold the sword at the last moment, his weapon likely would have flown from his grasp. Then, he would have inevitably ended up like Pergrande and the Dwarf, taking one of Ron’s punches to the face.

’So dangerous... When was the last time I had a fight this hard? It must have been a year ago... That time I fought the Balrog Flame Demon...’

"Did you really think I wouldn’t build a backdoor into my own custom-made arrowheads?" Ron grinned, his eyes clear once more, though the blue-green glow had not faded. "Want to make a bet?"

"Besides, both sides have Resurrection Magic. You’re not scared, are you?"

"S-since we all have Resurrection Magic, why must it come to that?" Priest Pergrande quickly interjected, trying to smooth things over. The Priest’s jaw had been shattered by Ron just moments ago. Although a Healing Spell had helped her recover, her blood-covered face was still a terrifying sight.

The woman who had just been egging on another "spar" was now the one putting an arm around Victoria’s shoulder. "Miss Victoria is clearly not the issue, correct? We’ve already conducted a thorough investigation! So what could be wrong with those who accompany her? There’s no need for things to escalate to this point, is there?"

"Priest Pergrande, are you covering for them?" the Dwarf said with a grim face. "This Vampire is standing right in front of us in plain sight! How can they possibly be innocent!"

"Then come and try to make us ’face justice’!" Silvia sneered.

"Don’t, Silvia," Victoria managed a smile that looked worse than a grimace. "Priest, we truly meant no harm to any of you. We never expected things to get this far. If we had, why would we have asked them to hide?"

"Maybe you were planning a sneak attack!" the Dwarf retorted, refusing to back down. If Judge Aron weren’t currently at the epicenter of a potential explosion, he would have chosen to fight these Evil Creatures to the bitter end.

"If I really wanted to launch a sneak attack, I wouldn’t have needed those two," Ron rolled his eyes. "Judge Aron, hold your sword steady. You don’t want to commit suicide by letting it slip, do you?"

"Klade!"

Earth-shattering war drums boomed from all sides of the trading post. The four Priests stared in shock at the surrounding wilderness. From the swamps and the dense forests, goblin heads popped up like mushrooms after a spring rain. They held fine weapons, comparable to those of the City Guard. But even more shocking was the three-meter-tall behemoth of a war machine that now shed its magical disguise. The siege-grade heavy crossbow mounted on it swiveled with a great GROAN, its sights turning toward them.

On this true machine of war, a fully armored earth goblin sat motionless, a gleaming halberd resting across his lap. He awaited only Ron’s next command to lead the goblins in an attack, ready to drown the four spent soldiers in a tide of war.

At full strength, the four of them would have made short work of these goblins. But now, could they truly escape before their dwindling Mana and stamina ran out completely?

"This is..." Although his main focus was still on Ron, even a glance from the corner of his eye was enough for Aron to understand the situation they were in. "You planned to ambush us?!"

"N-no," Aron quickly dismissed his initial intuition, looking at Ron with a conflicted expression. "If you really wanted to ambush us, there would have been no need to put yourself in this position..."

"We were just worried that you would be prejudiced against the inhabitants of our territory, or even draw your swords on them," Victoria sighed. "Ron’s judgment was correct. You did exactly that."

"We had no hostility towards you, at least not at the beginning," Ron snorted lightly. "But your repeated provocations forced us to show our hand, one card at a time."

"Lord, surely you don’t think this will make us submit!" The Dwarf was just as stunned as his companions, but stubbornness was a quintessential Dwarven trait. His experience in the Religious Order and the army meant he wasn’t one to easily change his views. "Even if you have no ill intent, you are still a dangerous organization!"

"We must report what we’ve seen and heard here to the Archbishop!"

"Really?" Ron gently pushed aside the tip of Judge Aron’s sword with the shaft of the arrow, dodged his outstretched hand, and stood up on his own. "If that’s the case, then I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I can’t let you leave."

Ron tossed aside the depleted Mind Gem from his other hand, having used its final charge during his clash with Aron. He then produced the first Lightning Gemstone he had ever acquired. Under the wary eyes of the four Priests, a Lightning Bolt shot straight up into the sky.

"I’ll show one more card," Ron said, standing his ground, allowing the blade in his opponent’s hand to begin to rise again. "But remember this: I always keep at least one card face down. So you’d best not overreact."

A Dragon Roar from the sky shattered all of Aron’s assumptions. The sight of black wings, followed by a torrent of Strong Acid breath raining down nearby, extinguished the last shred of hope in their hearts.

The dragon had come.