Chapter 91

After the chaos ended, the atmosphere in the camp also became quite strange. Many people were suspicious, thinking that there was a traitor in the camp, always staring at others with their eyes open, trying to find out who the criminal was.

Some people thought it was the members of the Hooborg reconnaissance team who did it, because now the militia and guilds in the city were organizing a large-scale force to enter the mountains. Only by hindering the progress of King Niedamir's troops could they possibly obtain the giant dragon's treasure.

Some people thought it was the mage Dorregaray who did it, because this guy was a lunatic and spent the whole day yesterday in the camp promoting the theory of the balance of all things, wanting to stop everyone from hunting that green dragon.

And yesterday the fire burned so fast, and the culprit hadn't been found. Ordinary people didn't have this skill at all. Maybe mages could handle all this.

Of course, some people thought it was the dwarf team, the reavers brothers, or Yennefer who did it. These people were strong, as long as they wore out the main force, without the obstruction of King Niedamir, these people didn't need much supplies and could go directly up the mountain to hunt dragons.

However, in the camp, the most angry one because of the fire last night was not those ordinary people, but the young King Niedamir.

In the gorgeous king's tent, the young king sat on a gorgeous chair, looking at Gyllenstiern kneeling on the ground with an angry face. The terrifying expression made the cold sweat on the fat steward's forehead drip onto the ground continuously.

"Bastard, because of your dereliction of duty, our operation this time has been completely ruined."

"Now there is no food, no horses, how do you want my soldiers to transport equipment and go up the mountain to participate in the dragon-slaying operation."

Gyllenstiern wiped the sweat from his forehead, looked at the monarch's expression, and asked tentatively: "Your Majesty, why don't we seize the time to send people to Hooborg to buy supplies, how about that?"

"Going back and forth, it probably only takes a day or two."

Niedamir obviously wasn't satisfied with this answer and roared angrily: "That is a free city-state, not my territory. I cannot order them. The guilds and militia teams in the city are also eyeing the giant dragon's treasure. Do you think these guys will sell horses to us?"

"And if we drag it for a few more days, maybe that dragon has already flown away."

Gyllenstiern swallowed his saliva and suggested again:

"Then why don't we abandon the extra things, travel light, and let the soldiers walk up the mountain, solving this matter at the fastest speed, how about that, Your Majesty?"

Niedamir kicked the fat steward upon hearing this and roared:

"Do you want me to walk up the mountain like a farmer?"

"Without those supplies, if we encounter any accidents on the mountain and are trapped in the deep mountains, as long as it takes five days, no, as long as it takes four days, your king will be abandoned by the hungry soldiers, and those nobles under my command will find another puppet to replace me."

"Retreat, withdraw our people."

"I said long ago, no matter what, the throne of Mallyr is mine, there is no need to run to the deep mountains and old forests to hunt this damn dragon."

"I have three hundred cavalry and fifteen hundred infantry in Kaedwen, enough to fight their force of less than a thousand. They will eventually recognize my legitimacy. As long as I fight a bloody path, they will recognize me."

"As for their princess, that fat cow, I won't grow old with her. As long as I borrow her belly to give birth to my child, I can get rid of her, using the old method passed down in the palace. We have said enough, Gyllenstiern, execute my order."

"Before entering the Great Kestrel Mountains, let our people withdraw. I shouldn't have listened to your suggestion to participate in this damn dragon-slaying."

"But Your Majesty, the people of Mallyr believe in that prophecy, …………"

The fat steward Gyllenstiern wanted to say something else, but was ruthlessly interrupted by the young king.

"Shut up, I don't need that prophecy, nor do I need the support of the people. As long as I defeat their army, the throne is mine."

"Execute my order, withdraw now, quickly, otherwise I will let the soldiers whip you hard."

………………

Although the young king's wisdom was not outstanding, his executive ability was not weak.

With his retreat order issued, the originally mighty dragon-slaying team turned and left more than half.

Only eight people from the Hooborg reconnaissance team led by the shoemaker Cozojed, the reavers trio, the dwarf Yarpen and his bearded subordinates, Knight Eck of Denesle, Geralt, Yennefer, and Dandelion, a total of only twenty-something people remained.

These people, either for wealth, or for reputation, or for faith, or for their own unspeakable secrets, all had no intention of choosing to withdraw from the operation. And without the drag of the main force, their speed increased a lot. In less than half a day, they walked most of the mountain road and came to a simple stone bridge on the upper reaches of the Bra River.

Looking at this broken, crumbling stone bridge, the reavers trio walking at the forefront of the team were a bit hesitant.

The boss Boholt looked back at the dwarf Yarpen and said hesitantly: "Hey! Dwarf friend, this bridge doesn't look very sturdy?"

"Can it bear the weight of horses and people?"

Yarpen didn't answer his words, but looked at Cozojed in the reconnaissance team. This forty-something shoemaker had lived in this area for the longest time and should be the one who knew the situation in the mountains best.

Cozojed thought for a while and said: "This is a stone bridge built by trolls in the mountains. They wanted to rely on this bridge to collect tolls, but too few people came and went here in the deep mountains, so the trolls left."

"This bridge should also have a history of decades, but the quality of things built by trolls should be okay."

Seeing that everyone showed a hesitant expression, Cozojed added: "Of course, you can also choose not to take this road and go around from another road on the mountainside, which will probably increase the journey by two days."

However, after saying this, he and the young men of the reconnaissance team beside him didn't take the initiative to step forward to test whether the stone bridge was safe. After all, no one wanted to use their own life to test whether the stone bridge could pass.

However, among this group of people, there was also an Eck Knight whose faith was more important than life. I don't know if he heard the discussion of the crowd clearly, but this tall knight wearing heavy plate armor, whose mount was also armored, didn't think about it, and shouted: "The gods will surely protect me, justice will surely defeat evil."

Then he rode his warhorse, stepped with heavy steps, and rushed across the stone bridge at a very fast speed.

This set of equipment was indeed not light, and the horse hooves directly made the stone bridge clatter, and many gravels were shaken out from the gaps in the stone bridge, then fell down the cliff tens of meters deep, constantly hitting, and finally rolled into the Bra River water flowing below.

And after passing through the stone bridge, Knight Eck didn't stop either. He rode his beloved horse at a steady speed and slowly moved towards the target dragon's nest.

This knight had long wanted to stop acting with others. In his heart, none of the people present were kind people worthy of respect, not greedy robbers, or evil sorceresses or mutant witchers.

Just taking advantage of this obstacle, he broke away from them and challenged the justice in his heart.

The reavers trio were terrified, but seeing that Knight Eck, who was wearing heavy armor, could pass safely, their hearts also relaxed.

However, what they didn't know was that this bridge was tampered with by Wayne yesterday, and many places supporting the bridge deck had been destroyed, making it impossible for others to pass.

This was both to prevent Niedamir from being unwilling to withdraw his troops and insisting on going up the mountain to slay the dragon, making him retreat in the face of difficulties, and also to separate other people who wanted to reach the top of the mountain.

It's just that I didn't expect that Knight Eck, I don't know if he was lucky or really received the blessing of the gods, actually relied on the high-speed charge to luckily rush over.

Unfortunately, after he rushed across the stone bridge, accompanied by "creak, creak," the sound of many stones breaking, this stone bridge built by trolls decades ago collapsed into many huge stone blocks, falling along the cliff into the river below.

And this scene was also seen by Wayne and Borch, who were hiding near the top of the mountain.

Wayne turned to look at Borch and said with a smile: "It's your turn to appear, my friend. This Knight Eck is an honest person who advocates knightly honor and values faith."

"Although he is a lunatic, he can be called a good person."

"He is the first object of your duel, and he will definitely not refuse to duel with you fairly."

"However, if possible, please spare his life. After all, in this world, good people are becoming fewer and fewer."

Borch laughed and nodded, saying: "You handled it very well, my friend. Now these people who still want to slay the dragon can be considered to deserve it."

"I have also heard a little bit about this Knight Eck's reputation."

"Perhaps to you various races in the North, he is a good person, but to those demi-human races, or other creatures with ugly appearances."

"Knight Eck is like a ruthless killer. In his eyes, only a few races are allowed to survive, and the remaining ones don't even have the right to live."

(End of chapter)