Chapter 257: Chapter 253: The Dragon Slaying Begins
The dragon-slaying battle unfolded as planned.
A squad of White Bear Knights donned their Steam Knight armor, polished the knight’s insignia on their armor, and prepared for battle with an unwavering spirit.
However, despite being the main force for this dragon-slaying mission, they did not charge directly to fight the dragon.
After all, although the Steam Knights were powerful, there was no need to recklessly engage in direct confrontation with a dragon.
The White Bear Knights were merely the ambushers stationed in predetermined positions, while the accompanying guards arranged traps and bait around them, waiting for the dragon to appear so they could lure it into the traps and ambush.
The entire plan was not complicated, as more complex plans are prone to errors, keeping it simple has its advantages.
Moreover, in the eyes of Samantha, who was responsible for directing and executing the entire plan, killing the dragon was akin to hunting— apart from the prey being slightly larger, there was no difference.
As long as the plan is set, hunters and traps are prepared, it should be natural to capture the prey.
Perfikot watched all this with interest and did not interfere with Samantha’s command.
Though not adept at military command, Perfikot could see Samantha’s strategic prowess, after all, despite the Brandlis Clan being military nobility, Perfikot didn’t actively study their heritage, but she had dabbled enough to not be an outsider.
Because of this, Perfikot knew that even if she took command, she wouldn’t perform better, so she let Samantha exert her skills freely.
She was currently in a bunker-like shelter, which she had temporarily transformed using alchemy, reinforced with wooden and stone materials all around, and surrounded by moist soil. Only a small opening was made at the front for observation.
This bunker was suggested by Samantha; it’s said that besides its claws, the most dangerous aspect of a dragon is its fiery breath, so Samantha advised Perfikot to have a bunker that could defend against dragon fire, ensuring her safety.
Samantha herself was in the forefront commanding, while other Imperial Guard Knights and some guard soldiers protected Perfikot, preventing her from being caught up in the dragon-slaying battle.
For Samantha, ensuring her duty of protecting Perfikot was more important than the glory of killing a dragon.
If faced with the choice between killing the dragon and ensuring Perfikot’s safety, she would unhesitatingly choose the latter.
Slaying the dragon might bring her honor, but protecting Perfikot was her responsibility; tarnishing her responsibility for glory would still be a disgrace.
Because for a knight, the foremost duty is to uphold their responsibilities, and only after fulfilling them should they pursue glory.
In fact, Samantha had objections to Perfikot letting her lead the dragon-slaying operation; she wished Perfikot would delegate this responsibility to someone else so she could focus solely on protecting Perfikot.
But among the knights Perfikot brought, Samantha was both the strongest and held the highest position, so it was natural for her to take over command.
Thus, even reluctantly, Samantha could only personally lead this dragon-slaying operation.
However, concerned for Perfikot’s safety, Samantha deliberately chose a battlefield with the bunker where Perfikot was as its flank.
This way, with a little guidance, any unexpected incidents during the fight would hardly affect the bunker where Perfikot stayed.
Once all preparations were completed, Samantha received the signal from the guard soldiers in charge of observation — the dragon was out hunting for food.
Upon noticing, Samantha quickly signaled all the Steam Knights to hide themselves, readying for the battle.
Meanwhile, the guard soldiers also hid in the dug shelters.
Though not the main force, they had the important task of interfering with and obstructing the dragon if necessary, preventing it from escaping or going berserk.
Needless to say, they were not engaged in a simple task.
Amidst everyone’s anxious and excited anticipation, the dragon flew onto the cliff.
It was only then that everyone could observe the terrifying beast up close and clearly see its appearance.
Although telescopes had been used before, such observation was obviously not intuitive, nor could one truly feel the giant creature’s size and the oppressive presence it brought.
This was a beast approximately twenty meters long, covered in rotting carcasses from head to tail, looking like a mass of walking decay, exuding a nauseous odor.
But upon closer inspection, it becomes apparent that the rotting corpses were merely impaled on the spikes covering the beast, and beneath the rot lay a pale white body.
This beast had slender yet robust limbs, and while wings were attached to its back, they resembled more like withered claws draped in decaying meat.
The wretched figure indeed scared quite a few, to say nothing of the auxiliary guard soldiers who were clearly terrified, and more so, overcome by the stench.
The beast exuded a rich odor of decay, enveloped in a visible thick miasma, making it impossible for ordinary soldiers to approach and engage in melee combat with it.
Fortunately, according to Samantha’s plan, they didn’t need to engage in close combat with such a beast, their role was to provide support, with combat matters handled by the Steam Knights.
The guard soldiers quickly regained mobility under their superiors’ quiet scolding, with makeshift gear like fishing nets and sickle hooks ready, just waiting for the beast to consume the bait.
The bait was a skinned reindeer, left for about a day, prepared specially for the dragon because previous observations showed that although this dragon hunted, it didn’t consume the prey immediately, instead bringing it close to its lair, letting it decay under the influence of the miasma before enjoying it, and it didn’t mind scavenging other animals’ leftover corpses either.
This fact was confirmed during earlier observations when Samantha had specially prepared half a rotting corpse, and the dragon consumed it without hesitation.
Evidently, it was a creature with scavenging habits.
Soon, the dragon discovered the corpse on the ground, slowly approached, sniffed it, and then extended a claw to hold the carcass, lowering its head to tear into it.
With the prey hooked, Samantha’s eyes narrowed, and she then signaled to launch the attack.