His long life at the bottom of society allowed him to meet many good people with noble character, but there were even more despicable and shameless people with no moral bottom line.

This is not entirely their fault. After all, in such a chaotic grassroots environment, even if you can control yourself from hurting others, you cannot control the crimes of others.

If you want to survive, you have to use ferocity or brutality to protect yourself. People who are too kind would have been eaten up by others, leaving nothing but bones.

He had long been accustomed to all kinds of insults, ridicule and provocations. Those bad people were like dog shit on the ground. If you really compete with them and step on them, you will only get those filthy things splashed all over your body and make yourself uncomfortable.

So Geralt didn't take the ridicule of Yarpen's dwarf squad and the Klingfeld raiders seriously at all.

He led his mount Carrot and Yennefer's black horse to the temporary stable and gave them water and grass.

But as the saying goes, enemies are often in the same boat. Although Geralt ignored them, the dragon hunting team would not let him go.

The youngest member of the Marauders, Kennett the Ripper, walked up to Geralt, spat on the ground, and said, "White-haired witcher, you'd better warn your sorceress lover that dragon hunting should be left to professionals. Otherwise, she will offend many people."

Watching Radish eating the fresh grass in big mouthfuls, Geralt turned around expressionlessly, holding his steel sword in his hand, looking at Kennett the Ripper with his amber cat eyes, and said lightly: "We haven't even set off yet, and you've already started dividing the spoils? Dragons are not so easy to deal with. A single breath of dragon flame can burn you to nothing but bones."

"Of course, you could have offended a powerful sorceress and a sword-wielding demon hunter before you set off. There are too many fools in this world, and they don't need you."

"My mission this time is just to protect Lady Yennefer. I am not interested in your stabbing in the back."

"But if you attempt to harm this lady, you will see if your neck can escape the sword in my hand."

If he had been alone, Geralt would certainly not have warned them so bluntly, or even participated in such a hunting operation.

But this matter concerns his goddess Yennefer, and no matter what, Geralt will not allow anyone to hurt her.

However, as well-known ruthless men in Redania, the three brothers of the Klingfeld Plunderer were not the kind of people who were afraid of trouble. For the sake of money, they dared to do anything. They also did a lot of jobs like robbery and banditry in secret.

Boholt, the eldest brother, immediately winked at his two brothers, and the other two understood. Nischuka, the second oldest, quietly took out a crossbow from the luggage beside him and loaded it with arrows, while the youngest, Kennett the Ripper, had already taken out a boning knife and stood behind Geralt.

Geralt frowned. He didn't expect that these three brothers were so bold that they wanted to take action here.

This place is only a few dozen meters away from the king's tent. If you are not careful, you might be mistaken for an assassin of the king and be besieged and killed by dozens of fully armed soldiers around.

However, even when facing the three famous plundering brothers in Redania, Geralt was not afraid. He placed the scabbard of the steel sword on the ground, grasped the hilt with his right hand and slowly pulled it out, revealing the cold and shining blade made of meteorite iron.

As one of the most powerful swordsmen in the north, he has great confidence in his swordsmanship.

Geralt narrowed his amber cat eyes and stared at the three brothers who were trying to attack him.

Although being besieged would put him at a disadvantage, as long as he seized a flaw, his sword could take a life.

Yarpan and his dwarf subordinates retreated a few meters away in tacit understanding, showing an attitude of not helping either side.

No matter whether it was the demon hunter or the plunderer, no matter which one of them suffered casualties, it would mean one less competitor for the dwarves, allowing them to gain more benefits in this dragon-slaying operation.

Just as the battle between Geralt and the plunderer was about to break out, a loud voice suddenly reached everyone's ears.

"This was a despicable siege, using the majority to bully the minority and attacking from behind, which seriously violated the code of chivalry."

"Under the witness of the gods and the Knight's Code, if you despicable plunderers want to besiege that damn mutant, I will not stand idly by."

The man who was speaking was wearing a shiny silver full-body armor and holding a heavy two-handed sword. Although his true face could not be seen through the full-coverage metal helmet, everyone present knew that this was Ike from Denesle, a powerful and idealistic knight, a psychopath with a crazy pursuit of justice.

Seeing his intervention, the dwarf Yarpan spat on the ground in disdain, knowing that the battle could not be fought.

If the three plunderer brothers still felt they had a 50% chance of winning against the demon hunter, then if they added a knight as strong as a tin can, the three brothers would just die.

Sure enough, seeing this, Boholt, the leader of the plunderers, immediately winked at his two brothers, laughed, and said, "What are you talking about, Knight Ike? How could we do such a despicable thing as bullying the minority with our numbers? We are all warriors of justice, and we are here to eradicate the evil dragon because we are inspired by the king."

"It's just that the demon hunter's tone was too aggressive, and we just wanted to talk him down."

Unfortunately, the stubborn Knight Ike didn't know what it meant to save face for others, nor did he know what it meant to be tactful. He didn't fall for the plunderer's tricks at all, and still said righteously: "Put away your despicable lies, plunderer, you don't deserve to call yourself righteous."

"It is precisely because the world is full of assholes like you who are obsessed with profit and full of lies that our world has become so ugly."

"Although I think demon hunters are also evil beings and mutant creatures that are not allowed by the gods, they at least protect the people and understand the most basic right and wrong."

"But despicable mercenaries like you will even sell out your loved ones for money. Loyalty, honor, mercy, and trustworthiness are like toilet paper to you. You will discard them after use and let them be filled with filth."

"The sight of you makes me sick. Get out of my sight. If it weren't for the king's permission, I would never travel with people like you."

Even the plunderer brothers, who never cared about their reputation, felt extremely angry after being scolded by Knight Ike without any concealment.

But they also knew that it was pointless to argue with a stubborn guy like Ike. This guy was like a stone in a cesspool, smelly and hard, and an idiot who didn't need any benefits.

This time he came to slay the dragon not for the purpose of getting rich, but just for the so-called bullshit justice, to prevent the nearby residents from being harmed by the evil dragon. It is simply unreasonable.

So, the three plunderer brothers cursed Ike inwardly, then left the temporary stable with their weapons, ready to find a place to rest.

The official dragon hunting operation has not yet begun. We have to wait until tomorrow morning, when King Niedamir gives the order, before we can officially set off.

The reconnaissance team from Holobel City had already set out in advance. They were guides hired by the king, responsible for helping the members of the dragon hunting team find the dragon's lair.

(End of this chapter)