Lord: Starting from a Goblin Nest

”The Ghost Witch’s magic isn’t categorized in any of the books on Enchantment, so I can only confirm its effect using Identification Magic,” Ron said on the way back, fiddling with the Hand Mirror in his hands. ”Still, the Ghost Witch didn’t try to trick us or set any traps, which I find surprising.”

”She probably really does need outside help,” said Aive. ”Honestly, if you ask me, we could just accept her offer. Four Ghost Witches... The very thought of them appearing near our base is enough to make me lose sleep.”

The Half-Elf Warrior wasn’t being charitable out of the goodness of her heart; she simply wanted to eliminate the threat as much as possible.

”But make a deal with her? Forget it,” Sera muttered. ”I’d rather beat her to her knees, force her to tell us where the other Ghost Witches are, and then hunt them down one by one!”

Victoria and Delaford shared Sera’s opinion. Making a deal with a Ghost Witch was far too unpredictable and couldn’t be controlled.

”Or we could just ignore them,” said Silvia. ”Is there really a need to go all that way just to provoke them?”

”Well, I have a suggestion, ahem,” Aiksuuri began, then trailed off. ’Never mind, I’d probably get beaten up...’

”Why would we beat you up? Go on, tell us.” Ron looked at the Black Dragon in confusion, only to be met with an eye roll.

”Who said anything about you! I was talking about my teacher...”

”You were looking for me?” A deep, resonant voice suddenly boomed from behind the Young Dragon.

In a clearing far from the Ghost Witch’s hut, the surrounding trees bowed to the ground as a powerful gust of wind swept through. The earth seemed to dip, and a vast, terrifying shadow instantly fell over the group.

Ron looked up. The enormous creature was covered in golden scales. Soft, whisker-like spines framed its face, giving it the wise visage of a Wise Man. Its horns swept back from its nose and brow, echoing the two frills that adorned its long neck. Its sail-like wings stretched from its shoulders all the way to the tip of its tail. It was this powerful pair of wings that had forced the surrounding trees to bow in submission.

This was a gold dragon—an adult one.

”Greetings, esteemed Lord,” the gold dragon said, giving Ron a slight nod. ”I have come to take my student home. He has been out playing for so long that he has forgotten about his lessons.”

”Uh, have we met before...?”

”Yes, we have met before. It concluded with you banishing me.” Though the gold dragon said this, Ron detected no hint of displeasure in its tone.

”You’ve been to that mine, right? Any clues?”

”It’s not that there were no clues, but frankly, I’m even more confused now,” Ron said, gazing up at the giant gold dragon. ”Does this place have some kind of connection to the Abyss?”

”The Abyss?” The gold dragon was clearly taken aback. ”On that, I can assure you that you’re worrying needlessly. The abyssal energy is merely a facade. Just as that genius from the Hailan Empire saw, it is not the true source of the problem.”

”That complicates things,” Ron said with a frown. ”You weren’t willing to tell me before, but now you’re saying it’s not a big deal. Aren’t you just jerking me around?”

”No, that is absolutely not my intention,” said the gold dragon. ”It’s just that I assumed—well, you know, I didn’t dare get too close.”

”Then, Teacher, if we’re sure it isn’t that dangerous, does that mean you can go now?” Aiksuuri, who had been silent until now, suddenly asked.

”That is correct. However, the Lord has already been to the mine twice. I see no need to go again.”

Ron understood what Aiksuuri was getting at. ”He’s not referring to the mine,” Ron interjected. ”He’s talking about another potential lead—a coven of Ghost Witches who have survived since the era of Green Swamp Town.”

He relayed the Ghost Witch’s proposal to the gold dragon. ”That’s the situation in a nutshell. We want to go take a look, but we’re a bit wary of the Ghost Witches’ power. If you could come with us...”

”Ghost Witches... I know of them.” The gold dragon hesitated for a moment. ”Their superstitions led the Elves to ruin and also brought about their own downfall. I thought they had all been destroyed. I’m surprised to hear only one has died.”

”That is... strange.”

”So,” Ron asked, ”are you going to remain confused, or are you going to come with us and see for yourself what they’ve been through? If there’s any risk of corruption, you can warn us immediately, and we’ll all retreat. We just want to ensure our own safety.”

”That is an attempt worth making,” the gold dragon mused. ”But we should still make preparations to guard against the Ghost Witches’ schemes.”

”She happened to give you five days. Let’s rest and regroup nearby—as for you,”

The gold dragon flicked its tail, sending Aiksuuri and the cart laden with the Green Dragon’s treasure onto its back. ”I have to take you back first.”

”What?! No! I want to go too!” Aiksuuri protested loudly.

”Behave!” the gold dragon cut off the Young Dragon’s protests with an authoritative tone. ”This is a serious matter. It’s far too dangerous for you!”

An adult Giant Dragon, enhanced by its own physical prowess and Magic, can fly incredibly fast. In just half an hour, the gold dragon had returned, transforming on the ground into a young Black Dragon that looked identical to Aiksuuri.

”This way, I won’t be recognized,” the gold dragon explained to Ron. ”This is also why I had to send him back.”

”Next, we need to craft some Magic Items to resist the Ghost Witch’s bewitchment and control. Scrolls, Potions, trinkets—anything will work. The main goal is to prevent that Ghost Witch from turning her act into reality and actually enslaving us.”

The Ghost Witches’ ploys were bizarre and unpredictable, and even the gold dragon dared not underestimate them. To avoid being caught by some simple, unforeseen trick, Ron watched him apply at least ten different kinds of protection to himself over the next few days.

Part of it was Magic, and the other part was even Divine Magic.

”Unlike most of my kind, I am a true follower of the Lord of the North Wind,” the gold dragon explained. ”This is also why I am the one teaching Aiksuuri Druseno.”

”You’re an effective teacher,” Ron said, unsure if he was paying a compliment or just stating a fact. ”I can hardly see any of the typical behavioral traits of a Black Dragon in him.”

”What you call a ’typical Black Dragon’ is merely what your kind has observed of the Dragon Race,” said the gold dragon. ”If you were able to observe a large enough sample, you would likely scoff at the pronouncements of those so-called ’dragon scholars.’”

”All of them?” Ron blinked, recalling a very famous ”scholar” from his past life. ”Are Fitzben’s writings like that as well?”