Chapter 855

The dragons were utterly helpless against the attacks of the Dragon Slayers.

They might possess the title of being the most powerful sentient beings in the human realm, but this grand title meant nothing against the innate trait of the Dragon Slayers.

As of current, the dragons were nothing more than a bunch of powerless prey being hunted down and mercilessly slaughtered by the Dragon Slayers.

“Kieeeek!”

“Krwaaa!”

The dragons could do nothing but flee from the relentless assault, and they were unable to even put up a proper resistance.

Gosran and the Iron Fleet were forced to

run

around without rest.

‘

T-They’re too fast!’

Gosran found herself struggling against the Dragon Slayers.

The Dragon Slayers were covered in Hyper Armor, allowing them to endure the rain of arrows Gosran fired at them while pursuing the dragons.

Ping! Ping! Ping!

Most of the arrows helplessly bounced off their Hyper Armor without dealing any significant damage.

On the other hand, the Iron Fleet faced challenges of their own, too.

Boom! Boom!

The fleet unleashed its cannons at the Dragon Slayers, but they darted around with terrifying speed and avoided the bombardment like slippery eels.

In the end, the only thing Gosran and the Iron Fleet could do was barely protect the dragons from the Dragon Slayers. However, their desperate struggles ended the moment Siegfried joined the fray.

“I’ll handle them!” Siegfried shouted at Gosran before flying straight toward the most powerful Dragon Slayer.

The Dragon Slayer was mercilessly hacking away at the Blue Dragon Lord’s gigantic body with a kitchen knife of all weapons.

“Face the wrath of the gods!”

“

K-Kieeek!”

Siegfried was utterly dumbfounded by the bizarre scene.

‘

What the hell...? How can a dumpling shop owner be this strong...?’

The most powerful Dragon Slayer was an NPC running a dumpling shop near the entrance of the Western Great Rift. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary for the dumpling shop owner until he suddenly transformed into a Dragon Slayer and started manhandling a Dragon Lord of all things.

The sight of an ordinary NPC pushing a Dragon Lord to the brink of death was surreal, to say the least. Yes, the lore of the Dragon Slayers stated that they were ordinary people who would awaken their true powers upon encountering a dragon, but this was truly a bizarre scene for Siegfried.

‘

Let’s test them out,’

Siegfried thought.

He closed the distance with the dumpling shop owner and unleashed Embrace of Despair.

“...!”

The dumpling shop owner–no, Dragon Slayer’s movements visibly slowed.

‘

Oh!’

Siegfried was delighted after confirming that Embrace of Despair could hinder his movement even though he was being protected by Hyper Armor.

“Don’t interfere! All dragons must die! I must kill them, so don’t stop me!” the Dragon Slayer roared furiously at him.

“That sounds like

a you

problem,” Siegfried sneered. Then, he tightly gripped his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp and growled, “Hey, I told you to leave earlier. Didn’t I?”

“T-That’s...”

“Now it’s time to pay the price for your choice.”

With those words, Siegfried launched a fierce assault on the Dragon Slayer.

Not a shred of mercy could be found in his attacks.

Why would he be merciful? Because they were NPCs? Nope. These NPCs were Dragon Slayers, nothing more than scourges of this world. A person ought to know when to butt in and when to mind their own business, right?

The dragons had come here to stop one of the four apocalypses that could potentially destroy the world, not to wreak havoc or raze villages for fun.

However, these NPCs actually wanted to hunt these dragons down?

That was no different from siding with the schemes of the angels to destroy this world.

If Siegfried had failed to stop Romulus because of the interference of these Dragon Slayers, then wouldn't that have led to countless plagues spreading throughout the world?

Without a shred of doubt, the plagues caused by Romulus would have killed millions—no, billions of people in a short period of time.

‘

Oh well, I dealt with the biggest problems, so there’s that. Besides, these Dragon Slayers will lose their powers and die once they kill a dragon,’

Siegfried recalled the lore of the Dragon Slayers.

Of course, there was no guarantee that they would die like what their lore said. After all, there was already a precedence—Phoenix.

Regardless of whether they died or not, that was none of Siegfried’s concern.

‘

Strip their defenses and...’

Siegfried cast Eternal Flame at the Dragon Slayer that was struggling to move within the Embrace of Despair.

Fwaaah!

The Dragons Slayer’s defense plummeted rapidly after being engulfed by the flames.

What happened next?

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Siegfried used Skull Breaker and bashed the head of the Dragon Slayer with his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp three times.

Ding!

The Mark of Death appeared on top of the Dragon Slayer’s head.

‘

Time to die!’

Without hesitation, Siegfried swung his weapon and delivered the fourth and final blow.

BAAAM!

The Mark of Death detonated and shattered the Dragon Slayer’s skull into pieces.

Ding!

A message popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes while the Dragon Slayer’s lifeless body plummeted to the ground.

[Alert: You have obtained Experience Points!]

And it was an enormous amount at that...

‘

W-Whoa! Look at that EXP!’

Siegfried exclaimed inwardly, both surprised and thrilled at the sheer amount of experience points he obtained.

But that was not the end of the

good news.

[Alert: You have defeated a Dragon Slayer!]

[Alert: You have completed the Quest – Dragon’s Bodyguard!]

[Alert: Collect your reward from the dragons!]

Clearing the Dragon’s Bodyguard quest had also earned him the right to claim ten tons of gold from the dragons.

‘A-Am I... allowed to have this kind of luck...?’

he wondered.

First, it was Romulus, and now, the Dragon Slayers. Siegfried could not help but feel that the universe was showering him with luck, so he could not help but grin from ear to ear.

“

Kyuuu!

There are still more left! Move it, owner punk!”

“Yes, sir!”

Following the command of the giant hamster perched on his shoulder, Siegfried zipped through the air in pursuit of another bag of gold–a Dragon Slayer.

***

It took Siegfried less than thirty minutes to kill all of the Dragon Slayers.

Thud!

The last remaining Dragon Slayer crashed to the ground, marking the end of the battle.

[Alert: You have leveled up!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 305!]

The Dragon Slayers gave Siegfried a level as a parting gift before disappearing from this world. Thanks to Siegfried’s incredible efforts, none of the dragons, including the Blue Dragon Lord, lost their lives.

However, just because they were alive did not mean that they emerged unscathed from the battle.

“

Ugh...”

“I almost died back there.”

“I can’t even fly properly...”

The dragons were battered badly. Their wings were torn, scales stripped, horns broken, and there were cuts all over them.

Their majestic forms were no longer majestic. They looked pitiful, which was a stark contrast to their titles as the most powerful race in the world.

“You have been through so much, elders. Please polymorph into your preferred forms so that we may serve you and tend to your wounds,” Siegfried said with utmost respect, volunteering to care for the wounds of the dragons.

Following his suggestion, the dragons polymorphed into their chosen forms, allowing Siegfried to begin administering aid to their wounds.

“Thank you. You saved us.”

“We owe you our lives.”

“We would’ve been a goner if not for you.”

“It’s a relief you made it in time. Thank you so much.”

The dragons expressed their heartfelt gratitude. Of course, they did not do so merely with words. As they had promised, they were ready to reward him.

There had been five Dragon Slayers. The dragons conjured gold from their personal treasures and stacked it before Siegfried.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

One by one, five massive stacks of gold slammed to the ground like boulders. To be precise, five blocks of ten-ton gold magically appeared before their eyes.

“

Caw! Caw!”

Siegfried summoned the Three-Legged Crow to store the mountains of gold in his Inventory.