The man named Arn Vati was now quietly suspended in the air, looking at him from a distance.
The golden dragon's vertical pupils, like molten gold, narrowed almost to a thin line at this moment.
Indeed! His previous perception was not an illusion! This man concealed unimaginable power.
He was just hiding it too well, suppressing his aura better than he himself could. But why did he choose to reveal it now?
He flapped his wings, changed direction, and quickly approached Karl, hovering about twenty meters away from him.
The air currents brought by his wingbeats struck the hem of Karl's clothes, but his suspended figure was as immovable as a stone.
A brief, suffocating silence fell between them. After a while, the golden dragon spoke first.
His voice was deep, with the hoarse resonance typical of dragons, clearly reaching Karl's ears and echoing faintly in the valley below: "You... are not a sorcerer, nor an ordinary mortal..."
"I have seen sorcerers who control the power of djinns and possess incredible abilities, but you are different from them."
His massive head tilted slightly, as if sensing the energy fluctuations within Karl's body.
He glanced down and saw that someone could fly, and the crowd again erupted in exclamations and confusion.
Then, raising his head again, his voice easily drowned out all the noise: "You are the only one among all the people here... who can make me feel uneasy and threatened."
His tone was puzzled and questioning: "As a powerful individual, you must have your own principles and honor..."
"Why help these... people blinded by greed, behaving like locusts?"
Karl looked relaxed, moving his neck and wrists.
But there was no contempt in his blue eyes, only seriousness and attention towards a powerful opponent.
He met the golden dragon's gaze and calmly replied: "Help? I never said I was helping them."
"I need a strong enough opponent to test something and to enjoy a fierce battle."
He raised his hand and pointed at the majestic golden dragon, his fighting spirit rising: "And you, I think... have that qualification."
The loud conversation between Karl and the golden dragon rolled through the valley like thunder, clearly reaching the ears of everyone below.
Hearing Karl's almost "arrogant" declaration of challenge, the two Zerrikanian girls reacted particularly strongly.
One of the girls, Tia, curled her lip and said indignantly to her sister beside her: "Via, this man is truly arrogant!"
"So what if he can fly? Lord Villentretenmerth can fly too!"
"Look at his body and size, which isn't thick at all, and his adult size. I'm afraid the lord could knock him away with a single tail!"
Via immediately nodded in agreement, her face full of unconditional admiration for the golden dragon: "Yes, Tia, I completely agree with you! He has no idea what kind of life he is challenging!"
Then, the two of them actually raised their Zerrikanian scimitars and waved them at the golden dragon in the air.
They shouted in clear but inappropriate voices: "Beat him! Villentretenmerth! Let this arrogant man see the majesty of dragons!"
This sudden, "mutinous" cheer left the originally frightened or greedy crowd around them stunned.
"These two stupid bitches! Whose side are they on?!"
"Didn't they come with that Borch guy? Where's Borch? Have his women gone mad?"
"Damn! Did they come to hunt dragons or to cheer for them?!"
For a while, Tia and Via were bombarded with unbearable insults and questions like sewage.
Some cursed their parents, while others directly called them brainless fools bewitched by the dragon.
However, Tia and Via ignored all of this as if the enraged crowd around them were buzzing flies.
Their eyes were fixed on the golden dragon in the air, and they continued to joyfully cheer for their "Villentretenmerth," completely ignoring the curses behind them.
Geralt frowned, looking at the unusual behavior of the two Zerrikanian girls, and then looked up at Karl, who was facing the golden dragon in the air.
"They are the guards and companions of Borch, and Borch suddenly disappears... Villentretenmerth?" A vague suspicion gradually became clear in his mind.
"The name... Borch? Could it be..." An astonishing possibility came to his mind, making him take a deep breath.
In the air, the golden dragon naturally heard the cheers of Tia and Via below.
His golden vertical pupils lowered, and a flicker of warmth and helplessness passed through his eyes: Tia, those two little ones...
He refocused his attention on Karl—a dragon who was naturally powerful and warlike.
Among the dragon lineage, there are plenty of more violent and bloodthirsty beings.
As a golden dragon, he too is imbued with elements of warlike nature and the propagation of strength in his blood.
It's just that over his long life and experience, he gradually learned to restrain himself.
He couldn't remember how long it had been since he had met an opponent who could make him serious.
Indeed, whether in Zerrikania or elsewhere, there were always people or other beings challenging him.
But the result was always the same: the other party was defeated with absolute power.
Over time, he grew weary and tired of these intense, childish "challenges."
Until this man, who called himself "Arn Vati," appeared.
The aura emanating from the other party was very different from Chaos magic, an unease that could trigger his instinctive vigilance.
A long-suppressed desire to fight was faintly beginning to return.
The muscles on the golden dragon's face were slightly taut, reflecting a hint of human-like intention and desire to fight.
But this look appeared only for an instant before being forcibly suppressed by him.
He turned his head to look at the deep cave behind him, where an existence he had to protect was.
He slowly shook his massive head at Karl, his deep voice apologetic and firm: "I'm sorry, but I refuse. At least not today."
If he were alone with Karl on the spot, he would have accepted this long-awaited match without hesitation, but he was not alone.
The people below, surrounded like hyenas, their eyes gleaming with greed and fear, constantly reminded him.
Once he was injured in a fight with Karl, even if only slightly, the "wolf pack" below would immediately take the opportunity to swarm.
Then, separating him from everything he protects, he cannot take that risk.
When Karl heard Borch's words, which were both touched and rejected, he immediately understood what he was most worried about.