Chapter 476: Comparing People

Gavinrad was a capable guard.

Most of the time, he was a fellow who knew his place. He had seen his share of nobles' amorous affairs, and indeed had partaken in them himself. But after the fall of Stormwind, he had shifted his focus to combat and warfare.

When the dragon, in its dying throes, had attempted to plow the earth, Gavinrad had been thrown off balance by the immense force, although unharmed. The problem was that he'd been tossed into a shallow bog, and encased in heavy armor, he'd run into trouble. Unable to rush over, he could only shout out in anxious desperation.

Who could have guessed that Duke would, in such a situation, entertain even a fleeting romantic thought with his rumored niece-in-law?

This oaf's words completely disrupted the atmosphere between Duke and Vereesa, but that wasn't enough. He followed with, "Boss, are you dead or not? If you're not dead, give a grunt."

"Grunt!"

Duke didn't just grunt; he conjured the Common word 'grunt' with arcane magic, leaving Gavinrad dumbstruck.

Ronin was fine, too. When he activated his Ice Barrier, he had the bad luck of being struck by the dragon and hurled into a swamp, landing headfirst in the mud. The swamp was shallow, so there was no danger of drowning, but it was quite embarrassing. His face and red hair were caked in mud. To put it nicely, he'd had a mud wrestling match; to put it bluntly, he looked as though he'd crawled out of a dung pit...

Among the five, only Mariann was unscathed. Her Blink spell had carried her dozens of yards, allowing her to make the finishing blow on the dragon, beheading it with a forty-meter-long super arcane energy sword.

All was quiet now.

"Um... Duke, could you get up? You're quite heavy," Vereesa said, unable to look directly at Duke, as he lay atop her.

"Oh, sorry," Duke said, his face uncharacteristically red. The position was indeed unseemly. For a moment, he'd almost thought Vereesa was his own Aurelia, and he'd been tempted to lean down and show some affection.

Fortunately, the Vereesa sisters had distinctly different hair colors, particularly Vereesa's bright silver.

Close call! Duke thought, secretly relieved. He then stood up, gallantly offering his hand to help Vereesa to her feet.

Elsewhere, Gavinrad had just pulled the unfortunate Ronin from the swamp. Seeing Duke's graceful assist, he grumbled, "Hey, why is it that when I pull you up, we're covered in foul-smelling mud, but when they do it, it's snowflakes?"

Indeed, the contrast was stark.

Mariann was annoyed. Why was Duke the hero again? More importantly, why was there a hint of intimacy between Duke and her theoretical aunt? That's what truly irked her.

Mariann stamped her foot: "Hey! Let's discuss this later. We need to move now. More dragons will be here in 10 minutes."

Duke glanced at the darkening sky and opened his mouth: "It's going to rain. We won't get far in 10 minutes. Moving now would be foolhardy. We'll stay here."

"Stay here?" Mariann's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Of course, we'll take some precautions," Duke replied.

All eyes turned to him, disbelief evident on their faces.

What could they do in 10 minutes?

Duke, with a confident smile, said, "When it comes to strength, I'm no match for you, but in terms of certain arcane tricks, you're no match for me."

With a snap of his fingers, the scenery around them shifted.