"You're very cunning." Iris giggled, her eyes curving into crescents.
"No." Anser corrected her with a serious expression. "This is tactics. It has nothing to do with virtue."
"Alright." Seeing that he was serious, Iris did not dwell on it and suggested, "Shall we set up an ambush?"
"It would be meaningless." Anser shook his head slightly. "There are so many of us. If we enter the forest, we'll have to carry lamps, and we'll be discovered easily. We'll just watch from the side. They won't give up."
"You're that certain?" Iris gathered her hair together so it would not brush against Anser's face.
"Human nature is greedy. The people of Amn paid such a high cost—how could they possibly give up so easily?" Anser judged others by himself. Even he could not let it go, so how could the people of Amn?
Whatever had brought down the black dragon must be extraordinary; it could not possibly be wasted for nothing.
"Then I'll have the soldiers wait on standby at the edge of the forest and wait for the right moment. But if the people of Amn win easily, we might not get a chance." Iris sighed softly.
"How many people did you bring this time?"
"The knight order plus more than a hundred and fifty guards—roughly a little over two hundred people."
"That should be about enough. We have to try."
If he simply gave up like this, Anser probably would not be able to sleep for several days.
Since they were mortal enemies anyway, if he could not seize the dragon, then he would kill people. Today, it was impossible for him to return empty-handed.
Several birds circled above the forest, and some of the bolder ones quietly approached the flying carpet.
Anser raised his hand and shot one down with Ray of Frost. A combat notification appeared, and a trace of mockery curled at the corner of his mouth.
"Amn's familiar?" Iris did not seem surprised. This was one of the common reconnaissance methods used by armies.
"Yes."
Anser immediately notified Finn and had the Grey Eagle hunt down the birds. No flying creature was allowed to approach this airspace.
Of course, doing this could not prevent the people of Amn from finding the black dragon, but at least it could interfere with their information channels.
Half an hour later, the guards and the knight order gradually assembled at the edge of the forest.
The Union's guard unit was commanded by Quentin, and the forces he brought could be considered elites. After all, everyone lived along the edge of the forest and was very familiar with the Wood of Sharp Teeth.
However, when they heard that this time they would be facing the army of Amn and a black dragon, the atmosphere suddenly grew tense.
Anser and Iris hovered above the treetops, quietly observing the movements of the Amnian army.
After arriving at the southern edge of the forest, the Amnian army rushed straight into the woods without hesitation. The lights wound through the darkness, their target pointing directly toward the black dragon deep in the northern jungle.
After confirming that the enemy would not launch a surprise attack on Durlag's Tower, Iris gave the order. The knight order dismounted and formed up, entering the forest together with the guards.
From high above, the two forces—one from the south and one from the east—looked like two glowing serpents advancing through the jungle. Their paths crossed, and the point of convergence was the black dragon.
Dawn lit the horizon with a pale, fish-belly white, improving visibility and making the forest much easier to traverse.
At this moment, the black dragon finally stopped moving. It sprawled in the mud, vomiting violently without end, writhing back and forth in agony. Trees snapped and toppled in large swaths, and its roars sent countless animals fleeing in all directions.
Anser sighed inwardly. Black dragons from Abeir held an exalted status, lording it over everything; it probably had never imagined that the moment it set foot in Faerûn, it would suffer such a calamity.
There was no doubt that dragons were extraordinarily powerful magical creatures. Compared with them, humans were like ants—yet humans always treated dragons as prey.
For the sake of slaying dragons, they surged forward one after another, unafraid of death.
Dragons were greedy—were humans any different?
After thrashing for quite some time, the black dragon finally settled down. It lay on the ground, completely motionless.
Anser had Iris pull back. He himself quietly descended, his mind locked onto the black dragon.
[Young Black Dragon, Huge Dragon, Challenge Rating 12]
'Not an adult yet, but close.'
A young dragon would leave its parents and truly possess its own lair and hoard—exactly the time when it was the most greedy.
Unfortunately, they did not understand Faerûn's survival logic. It had come here so rashly to seek revenge, only to be outplayed by humans instead.
Seeing how bedraggled it looked, Anser thought for a moment, then took out a healing potion and hurled it hard at the black dragon.
The healing potion struck the dragon's back and shattered with a sharp crack. The liquid ran along its scales, giving off a faint magical shimmer.
[You throw a healing potion at the black dragon Visagazur. Visagazur is splashed by the healing potion and regains 8 Hit Point. Current Hit Point: 81/175]
'Badly hurt, but not so bad that it shouldn't be able to fly. Maybe the toxin inflicts conditions like exhaustion, paralysis, or poisoning.' Anser guessed.
At this moment, the black dragon opened its eyes and stared straight at Anser, its gaze difficult to read.
Anser's heart jolted. He beat his wings and rose, then paused when he saw the black dragon make no other move.
He rummaged through his belongings. Only one superior healing potion remained—loot he had taken from that slave-ship captain, and he had never been willing to use it.
After several seconds of deliberation, he decisively dropped lower, flicked the superior healing potion down, and then climbed back up into the sky.
The black dragon's long tail swayed, catching the potion deftly and bringing it to its mouth.
[Visagazur is splashed by the superior healing potion and regains 16 Hit Point. Current Hit Point: 97/175]
'Kill them hard!'
Anser knew the people of Amn had come prepared. If they were allowed to take it easily, his chances would be slim.
Two healing potions might add a bit of uncertainty, but any more than that would not do—he was also afraid the black dragon would get back up and run.
Iris flew over, her expression strange. "Is this tactics too?"
"Of course. The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Anser said matter-of-factly.
Balancing alliances was a proper strategy—absolutely nothing to do with being underhanded.
The sky gradually brightened.
Quentin led the team to halt two kilometers east of the black dragon, hiding behind the trees and advancing no further.
The people of Amn had clearly discovered them. Their route suddenly turned eastward, blocking the way in front of them and completely surrounding the black dragon, forming a circular attack ring.
Quentin was shrewd and experienced. He did not entangle himself with the opposing side and instead voluntarily withdrew several hundred meters, maintaining a neither-too-close-nor-too-far distance.
Above them, Anser and Iris hovered separately in the air, looking down at the scene below.
Commander Moore raised his head and looked up at the sky. His gaze passed through the gaps in the treetops and fell on Anser and Iris, his brows tightly furrowed.
"Moore, Durlag is being too arrogant—just staring at us like that. Should we drive them away first?" A lightly armored warrior carrying a row of javelins on his back ran over, his tone sharp.
The commander narrowed his eyes until his triangular eyes were reduced to a thin slit. "The drug's effect will last at most six hours. We must take down the black dragon as soon as possible. Ignore them—they won't dare to come up."
Then he patted the warrior on the shoulder and forced a faint smile onto his face. "Derrick, this time we'll have to rely on your squad. If we take down the black dragon, you'll get the first merit. I'll report it truthfully!"
"Haha, you don't need to tell me that." Derrick laughed boldly, revealing a pair of stark white canine teeth.
He left Moore behind, drew his greatsword, and slashed forward. "All units, listen up—tighten the encirclement. Musket unit, prepare—"
Moore's expression darkened, but he raised no objection and immediately had his subordinates relay the orders.
The forest muffled sound, and the encirclement ring was large. Shouting alone would definitely not work.
Soon, the soldiers began to probe forward cautiously. Through the gaps between the trees, the black dragon's body gradually came into the view of the front-line soldiers.
Its ferocious face, like the skull of some evil fiend, and its grotesque scales frightened many people until their legs trembled. They could barely hold their weapons steady, and their steps grew increasingly hesitant.
The officers neither scolded nor urged them on, because even their own hearts were pounding like drums, difficult to control.
It was not that the soldiers lacked mental fortitude. This was the black dragon's frightful presence, an extraordinary magical force that acted directly upon the soul.
When the distance closed to one hundred meters, the toppled and broken trees and the pitted ground made the path even harder to traverse, but the view also became much clearer.
The enormous black dragon lay prone on the ground. Its torso alone was nearly ten meters long, and the length of its tail was even more exaggerated. Its vomit was everywhere around it, foul and nauseating.
After only a few breaths, the soldiers felt dizzy and nauseated, hastily covering their mouths and noses with their clothes.
Derrick leaped over a broken log and pulled out a javelin. His body leaned far back, the muscles of his neck—thick as a man's thigh—bulging. His entire body resembled a fully drawn longbow.
Whoosh—
The javelin shot out like lightning, flashing through the air before vanishing in an instant. With a thud, it pierced into the black dragon's neck, the entire spearhead sinking in. Dark blood flowed continuously down along the shaft.
The black dragon did not move at all, as if it were dead.
In the air, Anser's gaze tightened slightly, uncertain.
'Pretending, right?'
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