I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 446: Metallic Dragon?

The route was far more complicated than Gauss had imagined.It took Gauss a full three days to get through the Green Dragon Queen's monster legion deployment zone.

Moreover, the reason he managed to pass in three days was that the Green Dragon seemed to have given orders to press forward further, causing a large number of monsters to start advancing in mass formation toward their targets.

In the forest, a goblin stood up from the bushes, slowly watching the last group of monsters leave along the beast trail.

"We should be safe for now,"

Gauss's body was now covered in grime, looking exactly like a solitary beast that had been living away from its kind. But all of this was deliberately maintained.

And the results proved his efforts were worthwhile.

Over the past few days, although he had encountered a few unexpected incidents, he had gotten through them without any real danger.

The other monsters simply couldn't tell that this goblin—who looked so goblin-ish that he couldn't be anything else—was actually a human in disguise.

Of course, that also depended on the power level of the creatures involved. If Gauss had been right under the nose of an epic-level creature like the Green Dragon Queen, he probably wouldn't have been able to fool her so easily.

The disguise spell was, after all, a fifth-circle spell. Though it was effective, it couldn't bridge so many levels of difference to deceive such a powerful target.

Fortunately, everything went relatively smoothly.

He had safely passed the most dangerous part.

His mind relaxed a little.

These past few days, he had been constantly paying attention to everything happening around him without any sleep. Apart from the winding journey forward, the rest of his time was spent huddled in some hidden tree hollow or cave, waiting quietly for nearby monsters to leave, and then continuing onward.

Honestly, this kind of stealth was far more exhausting than most battles. It wasn't just physical fatigue; the mental pressure was immense.

Because Gauss knew very well that once he was exposed, his situation would be extremely dangerous.

"This is really tough... Those professional scouts,"

He couldn't help but admire them inwardly. What he had gone through over the past few days was just a normal routine for them.

He felt that, from now on, he would have a lot more respect for intelligence operatives.

After the Green Dragon Army departed, the forest suddenly fell silent.

It was so quiet it was almost eerie. Even the roars of wild beasts could barely be heard, as if the entire area was still stunned by the overwhelming military might that had suppressed everything.

Gauss took out the map given to him by the Adventurers Guild.

It recorded the exact location of the juvenile dragon lair.

Comparing the surrounding landmarks with the corresponding information on the map, Gauss roughly confirmed his current position. Then his gaze turned toward a certain direction in the forest.

That was where the dragon lair was.

Unless something unexpected changed.

Another two days passed in the blink of an eye.

Gauss had already traveled deep into the Emerald Forest, reaching a place that most adventurers might never set foot on in their entire lives.

There were no traces of human activity around. Perhaps hundreds or thousands of years ago, this land had once belonged to humans, but time had erased all evidence.

The presence of mana grew denser.

And the natural mana here seemed different from the mana in the territory of the Kingdom of Carlos. It carried a faint, wild, and restless energy.

Even though Gauss didn't use any high-level magic—only testing with a few cantrips in a small area—

He could still tell that his spells seemed to have a slight tendency toward losing control here. Fortunately, that tendency wasn't too strong. It only caused a very minor interference when he cast spells, and with a little effort, he could suppress it.

Besides the risk of losing control, the wild natural mana also had a positive effect: it seemed to increase the power of his spells from time to time.

Still, despite that, Gauss didn't like the mana here at all.

It gave him an uncomfortable feeling all over, as if he didn't belong in this place.

Gauss lay on the slope, looking toward the distant valley.

That valley was where the dragon lair—his target—was located.

He had arrived nearby a day ago. After a quick reconnaissance of the surrounding area, he settled down on this high ground, where he could keep a clear view of the valley.

The reason he hadn't taken further action was that he was waiting for a message from the Adventurers Guild.

He had a simple long-range communication device. Its function was extremely basic: when the other party confirmed they were sending a message, this end would light up.

The timing of the operation, as agreed with the Guild, would be determined by the signal from this simple device.

Although he already had a "Silent Birdcage" that could seal off the environment, the Guild, out of safety concerns, still wanted him to wait until the Green Dragon Queen had officially engaged the mysterious stronghold they had sent before he began his operation.

That way, even if something unexpected happened, he would have more room to react.

Gauss agreed completely.

Enemies like the Green Dragon Queen were far too intimidating, making it hard to feel at ease.

He couldn't imagine what he would do if the Green Dragon Queen showed up.

Even if he used every trick he had, running away would probably be pointless since she was faster than him. And if he chose to fight to the death, could he even cross the several kilometers of her domain to reach her?

When the gap in strength is too big, no amount of tricks is enough.

Just as he was wondering when he could start the operation, the transparent pendant in his palm suddenly flickered with light.

He brought it closer to his eyes to make sure it wasn't just sunlight reflecting off its surface.

Then his heartbeat started to speed up.

The pendant lighting up meant his commission could officially begin.

He put the pendant away and looked toward the valley.

Although the valley seemed quiet, he was certain that dragons lived inside.

He had seen the silhouette of a restless juvenile dragon soaring through the sky. Though the creature was far away and only circled the valley a few times before landing back inside, Gauss—who was very familiar with dragons' shapes—was sure he hadn't mistaken it.

That was the figure of a dragon. And based on its color, it was likely a strong juvenile Blue Dragon.

Besides the dragon, there were also many gnoll tribes living on the outskirts of the valley. They seemed to be the dragon servants left behind by the Green Dragon Queen.

Earlier today, Gauss had seen gnolls transporting large wild beast carcasses into the valley, probably as food for the dragon cubs.

Gauss took out the "Silent Birdcage" and held it in his hand.

He didn't have much time for this operation.

Once the Silent Birdcage was fully activated, it would only last for ten short minutes.

Everything he did had to be finished within that ten-minute window.

After ten minutes, the seal would lift, and the news of his attack on the dragon lair would spread rapidly.

Even if the Green Dragon Queen couldn't return in time, or simply didn't intend to, there would definitely be other Transcendent monsters rushing to check on the situation.

During his journey through the Emerald Forest, Gauss had already detected several hidden, dangerous presences. Each of those targets gave him a faint sense of danger.

Though he didn't know why, the Green Dragon Queen clearly hadn't committed all her forces. She had kept some in reserve.

This discovery was why Gauss had been so cautious afterward.

Fortunately, near the dragon lair, he didn't detect any similar dangerous presences.

Of course, it was possible that the creature's stealth methods exceeded his Perception. But there was another possibility.

That was, the area around the dragon lair couldn't accommodate too many creatures stronger than dragons, much like how one mountain can't hold two tigers.

This wasn't just a baseless guess. After Hephaestus gained intelligence, Gauss had actually discussed this with him. The bloodline of a dragon naturally makes them reject powerful alien beings lurking nearby. Over time, even their own growth could be affected.

However, there was no such restriction with other dragons of the same kind. That was also the reason many young dragons who lost their parents were willing to sign "contracts" with adult dragons.

So Gauss's situation was the same. His presence didn't suppress Hephaestus.

He took a deep breath.

Then he started walking downhill. Before long, he arrived near the valley.

He didn't venture any deeper inside.

According to the Adventurers Guild's speculation, because the dragon lair was relatively large, it would be hard to cover the entire area with a full-time magical formation. However, there would definitely be localized reconnaissance formations set up inside.

If he barged in recklessly, the risk of exposure would be high.

So...

Gauss dispelled the disguise spell, transforming from a grimy goblin back into a human.

Then, his left hand gently touched the silver ring shaped like entwined branches on the middle finger of his right hand.

He channeled mana into it, activating the Silent Birdcage.

"Buzz!"

A strange force silently spread out from his position.

It was like a small drop of water falling onto a lake's surface. Seemingly insignificant, but in an extremely short time, it rippled outward in circles.

Wherever the ripples reached, the world seemed unchanged to the naked eye. The leaves still swayed gently in the wind, and the distant gnoll tribe remained noisy.

But everything was different.

An invisible membrane instantly enveloped a hemispherical area.

Gauss, the dragon lair, and all the gnoll tribes outside the lair were covered within it.

The inside and outside of the membrane were split into two worlds.

Creatures outside the membrane would look toward the area affected by the Silent Birdcage and see a completely ordinary valley. But that was just the image the Birdcage wanted the world to see.

Inside the Birdcage, no sound, means, or mana could penetrate this transparent membrane. If any creature tried to approach its boundary, its mind would be influenced by an invisible force, making it walk in circles.

As a golden-quality wondrous item, the Silent Birdcage's effect was even stronger than most items of the same rank. Of course, its flaw was obvious: it had a short duration, lasting only ten minutes.

And in a sense, it was a one-time-use item. Once used, its energy would be depleted, and it could no longer function until it was sent back for recharging.

Compared to golden-quality items that could work stably for a long time, its stronger effect was only natural.

After confirming that the Silent Birdcage had taken effect, Gauss no longer hid.

For the duration of the Birdcage, the creatures here would be like fish trapped in a jar.

Ten minutes!

He kept this time firmly in mind.

And the moment the Silent Birdcage was activated, the ever-idle Eden began acting as a timer, silently counting down for him.

1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds...

Though he didn't know exactly how long it would take to kill the dragons, or if he would need all ten minutes, Gauss still approached the task with a sense of urgency—treating every second as precious.

"Dimension Door!"

He teleported to appear at the entrance of the valley.

The moment he appeared, the gnolls near the entrance spotted him.

But before the stunned creatures could react, the light of Dimension Door flared again, and his form flickered and vanished.

Only leaving the bewildered gnolls behind, who, after a few seconds, started lighting wolf smoke in a panic to alert their nearby tribesmen.

But by then, it was undoubtedly too late.

Neither the wolf smoke nor any magical item messages could get through.

After a few more teleports, Gauss crossed the valley's barrier and entered the relatively flat inner ground.

Just as the Adventurers Guild had predicted, the valley did have detection formations set up inside.

When Gauss descended into the air above the valley, several massive figures had already taken flight.

Figures of various colors.

One black, one blue, two green.

The largest of them all was the Blue Dragon Gauss had seen from afar before.

Its size was even two sizes larger than Hephaestus.

Hephaestus's wingspan was now close to twenty meters. But this Blue Dragon, by Gauss's rough estimate, likely had a wingspan of about twenty-five meters.

Compared to the Green Dragon Queen, who had a ninety-meter wingspan a century ago according to the intelligence, these were all just babies.

But a Red Dragon with a twenty-meter wingspan and a Blue Dragon with a twenty-five-meter wingspan were clearly not on the same level.

Normally, a Red Dragon of the same age would be much larger than the other four chromatic dragons.

And though Blue Dragons weren't weak physically, they still had the advantage of their magical talents, meaning their physical strength was far inferior to a Red Dragon's.

This showed that the largest Blue Dragon in the lair was not to be underestimated.

Maybe this was another reason why there were no Transcendent monsters nearby.

Though this group of chromatic dragons wasn't fully grown, anyone who thought any random weakling could quickly kill them was gravely mistaken.

A level 10 Blue Dragon might actually be comparable to a level 12 monster?

Gauss could only make this judgment for now.

He had never actually fought a Blue Dragon.

The other juvenile dragons nearby, though weaker than the leading Blue Dragon, were still far above ordinary monsters.

Looks like he had to get serious.

A stern look flashed deep in Gauss's eyes.

"Roar!"

"Human!"

"How dare you invade this king's territory!"

The Blue Dragon soared into the air, spreading its wings and roaring angrily.

A powerful aura burst out arrogantly.

Faced with the mysterious human who suddenly appeared in the dragon lair, the Blue Dragon didn't seem too panicked. Instead, it looked excited, as if it had found a new toy.

But the Blue Dragon didn't really expect any interaction with Gauss, because it was still communicating in Draconic.

Normal humans couldn't understand it, let alone engage in further conversation.

But Gauss happened to be a little special.

"Are you four the only dragons here?"

Gauss uttered a similar deep, guttural tone in Draconic.

The sound reached the ears of the four chromatic dragons, instantly changing their expressions.

Even the most arrogant Blue Dragon was greatly alarmed.

"You! Are you a Silver Dragon? Or a Gold Dragon?!"

Obviously, because Gauss's Draconic was so authentic, they immediately misjudged him as another type of dragon.

Unlike chromatic dragons, both Silver Dragons and Gold Dragons were skilled in transformation magic. They would even voluntarily take on human form and live among the mortal kingdoms for decades or centuries.

Sometimes, they would even join adventurer parties as adventurers themselves, experiencing the life of a short-lived species.

In most cases, they wouldn't interfere in major events. They simply roamed the mortal world for fun until they got bored and left quietly.

Although metallic dragons, being good-aligned dragons, sometimes helped humans, getting involved in war was a different matter. At least in the last war between humans and monsters, the metallic dragon race didn't take sides.

So now, the chromatic dragons, mistaking Gauss for an adult metallic dragon, were panicking.

Metallic dragons were fewer in number than chromatic dragons, but their individual strength was greater. And metallic dragons that liked to transform into humans and have fun were usually adults or close to adulthood.

This was clearly an enemy that could crush them.

"What do you think?"

Gauss didn't give a direct answer. Since he could put extra psychological pressure on them, why not?

The next moment, he summoned the Red Dragon Hephaestus, who had been waiting impatiently inside the Living Bag.

Seeing Gauss release a Red Dragon subordinate, the other dragons were confused about why a Red Dragon would hang out with a metallic dragon. But this only further confirmed their assumption that Gauss was a dragon.

After all, proud Red Dragons wouldn't submit to humans.

And deep down, several of them had already guessed why this metallic dragon had come.

"Stranger dragon, we are under the protection of the Green Dragon Queen Aetherass. If you harm us, she won't let you go,"

They could only wave the flag of the Green Dragon Queen, hoping to intimidate this adult metallic dragon who hadn't yet stated his intentions.