: The Legendary Dragon Zobayan

Qiao Ye and Kobe did not ride horses, but hiked deep into the dark pine forest behind Riverwood.

Beneath our feet lies pine needles and frozen soil accumulated over the years.

"The nest is usually not too far from the hunting grounds, but it is not so close that it is easy to be discovered."

Kobe was wearing a helmet, which made his voice sound somewhat muffled.

They followed the trails left by the ghouls of the previous night and searched deeper into the woods.

But searching is not an easy task.

They searched from dawn till noon, but still found no clear entrance to the nest.

In the afternoon, the weather suddenly changed, and leaden-gray clouds pressed down low.

Soon, dense snowflakes began to fall, mixed with ice pellets, hitting Kobe's helmet with a tinkling sound.

Visibility was decreasing rapidly, making it impractical to continue the blind search.

Kobe then suggested, "Let's find somewhere to hide."

Hearing this, Qiao Ye breathed a sigh of relief and immediately agreed.

In fact, he was already exhausted after searching for so long.

The work of a witcher is harder than he imagined.

"there."

Kobe pointed to a cliff face not far away, "There's a hollow there, we can take shelter there."

It was a small natural rock hollow, barely big enough for two people.

After taking refuge in the rock face, Kobe skillfully gathered some dry branches and pine resin, and lit a small campfire.

The orange flames flickered, casting the two figures' swaying shadows onto the uneven rock face.

Qiao Ye sat down by the fire, took off the two swords from his back and placed them beside him.

Kobe also took off his helmet and placed it aside.

He stretched out his hand and heated it over the fire.

The face that had been taut finally showed a hint of fatigue in the flickering firelight.

The two fell silent, with only the sounds of wind and snow and the crackling of firewood remaining.

"Newbie."

Kobe suddenly spoke up, "Why do you want to become a witcher?"

"Me?"

Of course, Qiao Ye couldn't say that he had a dream just to avoid taking the college entrance exam.

"I want revenge."

He lowered his head and fabricated a story: "There was a demon that killed my mother and four younger siblings. My only surviving sister was also transformed into a demon by it."

Upon hearing this story, Kobe's expression suddenly turned serious.

He turned his head and gave Qiao Ye a deep look.

Kobe clearly believed it.

Or rather, he was willing to believe that only a young man burdened with such a deep-seated hatred would embark on the perilous path of demon hunting.

His only relative turned into a demon, but Qiao Ye became a demon hunter without hesitation.

Presumably, you were already prepared for this!

but--

Wasn't Kobe himself the same?

"You also have someone important to you, who has turned into a demon?"

"also?"

Qiao Ye didn't understand why Kobe said that.

Kobe's face showed a look of reminiscence as he began to recount the past.

It turns out that Kobe didn't debut as a witch hunter all along.

He had a close friend named Zobayan.

The two adventured side by side, slaying many legendary demons.

Kobe thought he and Zobayan would be witch hunter partners for life.

However, reality often falls short of expectations.

Kobe's unparalleled talent not only put pressure on Zobayan but also sowed the seeds of jealousy in his heart.

This directly led to the tragedy that followed.

"Zobayan lost himself in jealousy to the point of pursuing forbidden power."

Kobe said in a low voice, "He touched upon an ancient ritual, transformed himself into a dragon, and..."

At this point, Kobe took off his jersey.

On his chest was a huge, ugly laceration, with fine dragon scales growing around its edges, and it seemed to be spreading outwards.

You're a dragon too?!

Qiao Ye's expression hardened.

"Zobayan wanted to turn me into a dragon too, but fortunately, he hasn't succeeded yet."

Kobe remembered Zobayan's last words to him—

"Mamba Knight, become a dragon too! Join me in experiencing the power to control the skies!"

Kobe shook his head, banishing the memory from his mind, and put his jersey back on.

He will never become a dragon, never!

Even in death, he wanted to die on earth as a human being!

"But I have to admit, this force has still influenced me."

Kobe's expression suddenly turned somber. "After that, whenever I hunted demons, I felt an uncontrollable nausea."

"It's like there's a voice in the shadows constantly telling me that I'm no longer human, and that hunting demons is about killing my own kind."

He lowered his head.

"I've never felt happy hunting demons."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Ye's expression also turned serious.

"But you still persist in hunting demons."

"Because I am a Witcher!"

With flames raging before his eyes, Kobe suddenly clenched his fist.

"If I don't hunt demons, who will protect those innocent civilians? I will hunt demons forever! Until the end of my life!"

"Not only that, I will also utterly defeat the evil dragon Zobayan; it is my responsibility!"

In times of crisis, only responsibility matters!

I would even slay a dragon for it!

Qiao Ye genuinely felt Kobe's awareness.

At that moment, a system notification suddenly appeared before his eyes—

[You have listened to the teachings of the legendary Witcher Master, the "Mamba Knight," and your understanding of the Witcher profession has deepened.]

Qiao Ye was stunned. This works too?

But he's not a Witcher yet, just an apprentice.

What's the use of deepening understanding?

The system did not provide further explanation for his question.

The snowstorm finally began to subside as evening approached.

Kobe stood up, put his helmet back on, and his calm yet firm voice came from beneath the visor:

"It's time to go."

Although the wind and snow have subsided, visibility in the forest has not improved much.

Kobe stopped paying attention to the old marks on the ground. He tilted his head back slightly, his visor turning in different directions, as if trying to catch something invisible in the wind.

"Over here."

He chose a direction, his tone resolute.

They walked through the woods and entered an area with jagged rocks.

The faint smell of decay in the air gradually became clearer.

The surroundings were unusually quiet. Kobe raised his hand to signal to stop.

"We're very close, be careful."

Just then!

"roar--!!!"

A violent roar came from the rocks!

The pile of rocks in front suddenly exploded!

Debris flew everywhere as a massive shadow lunged out, its target the two of them!

Ghoul leader!

It was several times larger than an ordinary ghoul, and its fierce and ruthless appearance was nothing like that of a carrion-eating monster.

The leader chose to take the initiative!

Faced with this sudden attack, Kobe did not dodge at all.

There was no fear in his eyes; instead, he charged towards the shadowy figure!

The two sides are about to collide.

At that very moment, Kobe suddenly slid to the side by a hair's breadth, dodging the ghoul leader's fiercest attack with ghostly grace.

Immediately afterwards, his right elbow, like a cannonball, struck the monster's back from below!

"Bang!"

A muffled thud, like a heavy hammer striking rotten wood.

The ghoul leader's charge was abruptly halted, and he let out a roar that was a mixture of pain and rage.

But it reacted extremely quickly, sweeping its front paws across and grabbing at Kobe's ribs with a gust of blood.

at the same time!

Behind Qiao Ye, the ground suddenly began to move.

A dark shadow of the same size burst from the ground and attacked Qiao Ye.

There are two ghoul leaders!

This was completely unexpected.

Qiao Ye reacted quickly, lunging forward.

But faced with the ghoul leader's desperate, all-or-nothing struggle, they were ultimately too slow.

A bloody storm is brewing behind us.

Is the dream about to end?

Qiao Ye thought to himself.

At this critical moment, Kobe made a move.

Faced with the leader's claws sweeping across him, he made a move that could only be described as insane.

Kobe leaped backward, his arms outstretched like a fully drawn bow while he was in mid-air.

What he held up in his hand was the knight's helmet that had been removed in an instant!

The next moment, Kobe unleashed his core strength, displaying absolute confidence and control—

A fadeaway jump shot!

The helmet slipped from his hand, tracing an unusually rapid arc.

"Bang!!!"

It hit the second ghoul leader right in the face!