After work, start to speedrun the other world-Chapter 50 - 30: Poisoning Is Not Shameful_2

Xi Mu didn’t look back but hastened his departure, unsure whether the game-optimized dragon would realize it had been poisoned.

So, he had to run while he still had time.

"Roar, roar, roar!" The dragon’s pained roars grew increasingly intense before gradually weakening, while Xi Mu had already hidden beneath a nearby hillside.

He silently waited for a moment.

"Seems poisoning still works." Peeking out, Xi Mu observed for a bit then stealthily moved closer to the dragon again.

After watching the dragon patiently for several minutes, he stealthily approached it, hiding behind cover to check the dragon’s condition after each small advance.

Then he followed the valley’s slope and sneaked down.

Adopting the same strategy, he opened his bag, took out a bottle of poison, summoned several magic wolves to carry the bottle close to the dragon, and watched as the wolves bit the bottle open.

He immediately dismissed the summoning and turned to flee.

Different bottles of poison, all with different effects, not only could suppress the dragon’s senses but also weaken its physique.

As for poisoning the dragon to death... that was a joke. It’s not that dragons couldn’t be poisoned to death, but the poison capable of killing a dragon was very expensive, and he simply couldn’t afford it early in the game.

And even if he could afford it, he wouldn’t waste so much money buying it, being a player with a soul for action and a preference for technique.

Of course, he’d rather kill the boss himself for the thrill of it, employing sneaky tactics to kill the God of Omniscience without anyone knowing. Such gameplay existed, but it wasn’t to the liking of a player like him who thrived on action.

If he wasn’t going to indulge in a killing spree, then why play ’Mysterious Gate’ at all.

Soon after leaving.

"Roar, roar, roar!" came the dragon’s bellowing roar as violent blasts of wind rustled the leaves, the dragon that had been lying on the ground now lifting its head.

Its vertical pupils emitted a formidable pressure as it surveyed the mountains and forests, trying to spot anything amiss.

However, the intense weakness and pain in its body made it lie back down—perhaps the current malaise was just the effect of a curse.

"The dragon’s health bar and resistance are really high," Xi Mu commented while stepping out from behind a tree, glancing in the dragon’s direction.

The toxin that could kill a giant only made the dragon feel uncomfortable, even in its weakened state.

If it were a healthy dragon, with its absurd resistance, that bit of toxin would hardly make it uncomfortable.

It was a true monster in terms of attributes; only those like the Witch with such unique mechanics could disregard the dragon, flick a finger, and slay it instantly.

Of course, once he reached the late game and obtained the power of the King of Ash, the dragon would be nothing to him, and he could kill at will.

But for now, he could only stealthily weaken the dragon with poison.

...

...

Upon returning to the rendezvous.

"Lord Ahtal, are you all right?" Letixia asked, relieved to see Ahtal pushing through the branches and emerging unscathed.

She quickly ran over to Xi Mu to check on him.

"If you feel uncomfortable, you can have one of the mercenaries’ medics treat you, please don’t push yourself."

"It’s okay, I’m fine," Xi Mu shook his head slightly and smiled at Letixia, "Let’s go meet those mercenaries."

"So, are we going to siege the dragon now?" Yaziraqi approached and asked, only to see the silver-armored knight shake his head.

"No... Next, we still need to continue poisoning it to keep weakening its resistance," Xi Mu explained, "Right now we’re just going to assess the mercenaries’ capabilities."

"Unexpectedly cautious," Yasiraqi raised an eyebrow, seemingly joking, "I heard that in the duel arena, you charge into battle without a second word."

"The opponent is not a dragon," Xi Mu shrugged, heading towards the mercenaries’ camp. If it weren’t for an attribute gap that was overwhelmingly oppressive, he might have tried to finesse killing the dragon, but now he couldn’t even break through its defenses.

...

...

As night fell,

at the mercenary camp,

Letixia and Jed were still discussing tactical plans with the leaders of the mercenary groups, also getting to know the different teams’ personnel and weapon situations.

Meanwhile, Xi Mu went to meet another person.

In the camp tent,

"Are you the human favored by the Witch?" an elderly lady with gray-white hair, leaning on a walking stick, asked as she shakily approached Xi Mu.

Her voice sounded like the friction of wood pieces.

"You look good, but you... you’re not the pretty boy chosen by the Witch, right?"

Xi Mu said nothing.

The old woman watched the silent knight before her, her mood subtly shifting as she observed Xi Mu more closely.

He was handsome... but the Witch wasn’t one to judge by appearances.

"The main objective this time is to subjugate the cursed dragon," Xi Mu said, seemingly embarrassed as he coughed and subtly changed the topic.

"What you need to do is to intensify the dragon’s curse."

Old woman: "..."

Now she wasn’t very interested in cursing the dragon, but rather if this human truly had the Witch’s favor, this was what she was most concerned about.

Seeing that the old woman remained silent as if she had misunderstood something, Xi Mu raised his hand and tapped his silver armor on his chest, saying:

"I have runes personally drawn by the Witch herself on me; there’s absolutely no possibility of falsehood in this."

He smiled.

"So, you don’t need to worry about my identity."

"It’s not about identity," replied the old woman, waving her withered hand and gazing at the handsome knight with her hollow eyes. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Why did you gain the Witch’s favor?"

"Perhaps because... um... I have strong potential?" Xi Mu hesitated before saying this uncertainly to the old woman.

The atmosphere fell silent.

"Yes, your potential is indeed good," the old woman nodded gently, losing her urge to further inquire why Xi Mu had been favored by the Witch.

Otherwise, she felt she might not be able to maintain her composure.

"Perhaps," Xi Mu glanced away, seeming to feel insecure, and seeing this made the old woman’s mood even worse.

She tugged at the corner of her mouth, moving the conversation along.

"What is the Witch like now?"

"She is well," Xi Mu described the appearance and demeanor of the Witch of Death, eliciting a smile from the old woman as if she were reminiscing about the past.

Centuries, such a lengthy span of time had blurred her memory of the Witch of Death’s image.

But it became vivid again as soon as Xi Mu mentioned her.

"I will help you curse the dragon," the old woman, shaken from her reminiscence, leaned on her walking stick and turned around, speaking to Xi Mu with her back to him.

"But since you wish to become a dragon-slaying hero, I won’t finish cursing the dragon to death," she said, and then she shakily left the tent, not turning to speak to that pretty boy.

No... the Witch, she couldn’t be that shallow; perhaps it was the pretty boy who was mistaken.

In fact, the Witch only saw him as a pawn.

...

...

The next day.

Early morning.

The lurking mercenaries, positioned in various locations, began their assault at the given command, led by a group of mages chanting spells.

Then, meteors mixed with flames fell from the sky, directly striking the weakened dragon, followed by a barrage of specialized magic arrows like a deluge.

The ambushing warriors also acted at that moment, not engaging in direct combat but instead throwing bottles of deadly toxin around the canyon.

The gorge was enveloped in dense poison mist.

"ROAR!!!" The dragon’s furious roar spread the shockwave that blew away the smoke as it lay on the ground, struggling with its feeble body to spread it’s wings in an attempt to take flight.

However, layers of magic circles appeared in the sky, blocking its way, while the mercenaries also threw toxin bottles at this moment.

The thick poison gas once again engulfed the canyon.

"Start chopping!" Xi Mu, wearing a gas mask, removed the Hunting King’s Greatsword from his back, the black flames wrapping around the blade sending chills with their ominous aura of death.

He leapt into the canyon and struck at the dragon’s wing, where the blade seared the Dragon Scale, leaving a trail of burning black flames.

"Embrace the blessings of the Goddess of Death!"