At the last moment, he was pulled into the jointly supported spell shield.
As for Nemidar's personal guards outside the shield? Yennefer was too late to do anything about them.
And the dragon hunters who were still insulting Geralt and the others, trying to break through their defense,
only realized something was wrong when the suffocating pressure of the wind was almost upon them.
When they looked up and saw the massive golden shadow blocking out the sun,
all the greed, anger, and reproach suddenly ended, turning into boundless fear and despair.
They could only widen their eyes in horror, watching the majestic figure, surrounded by a blazing shockwave from its friction with the air, falling rapidly, its back turned to them, knocked from the sky by an irresistible force.
BOOM!! The wind roared and howled.
A sound of impact, much louder than any before, as if the earth were collapsing, suddenly exploded.
The massive body of the golden dragon, like a true meteor, crashed into the most densely populated area.
The dwarves and mercenaries at the center of the impact didn't even have time to cry out.
Under this indescribable force, they were instantly crushed into a pulp of flesh, blood, bones, and metal fragments.
Blood sprayed from fountains, the earth crumbled like fragile cookies, and a huge pit over ten meters in diameter was dented downward.
Countless clumps and ordinary-sized stones were lifted by the shockwave and scattered in all directions.
The dragon hunters on the outskirts, though not directly hit, were struck by the terrifying shockwave that washed over them like a physical tsunami.
They seemed to be hit by an invisible hammer; their chests were violently impacted, blood sprayed from their mouths, and they cried out as they were violently thrown outward.
The sound of bones breaking was like popping beans, and they fell to the ground, their fate unknown.
For Yennefer and Dorregaray, maintaining the joint spell shield, the moment of impact felt like a mountain hitting them.
The shield's light flickered violently, emitting a chilling crack, as if it would shatter in the next second.
Both turned pale with fear and almost frantically poured the remaining magical power into their bodies without reservation, desperately holding up this barrier.
However, just as they thought the shield was about to collapse,
the terrifying force hitting the shield seemed... to be buffered by something intangible?
They distinctly felt that the outer layer of the shield was striking a harder, invisible "wall," causing violent agitation and shifting.
After this layer of intangible matter was weakened, the remaining impact actually acted on their spell shields.
It was this crucial buffer that allowed their shields to survive.
Although they were covered in cracks and some were crumbling, they were not completely broken—it was Karl.
He was a few seconds slower than Borch's falling figure before following him down through the air.
Earlier, he had struck Borch with all his might, and the combined force had accelerated the opponent's descent to a terrifying level.
Combined with the magical effect on Borch's body, which made him light, he fell so fast that even Karl couldn't catch up for a while.
But during the descent, his super senses immediately locked onto the critical situation on the ground.
In particular, he saw the shield held up by Yennefer and the others, which happened to be on the edge of Borch's landing zone.
Without hesitation, his mind moved, and his invisible bio-field instantly spread out.
An additional layer of invisible but strong protection was added to the outer layer of Yennefer's spell shield.
Given Yennefer and the others' position, even with a joint shield, they would surely have been severely impacted by the shockwave caused by Borch's fall.
Smoke, dust, and a bloody mist mixed together in the valley, while wails, cries, and the sound of rolling boulders intertwined, creating a scene resembling purgatory.
This single fall had caused the massive dragon hunting team to suffer heavy losses and completely lose their threat.
In the air, Karl hovered, watching the tragic scene below.
Then his eyes looked towards the center of the crater, where something was slowly trying to lift its head.
In the deep pit, the smoke and dust had not yet fully settled, and Borch let out a low, suppressed roar.
His voice was no longer as majestic and loud as before, but carried the hoarseness and pain of exhaustion.
He struggled to support his massive body with his two front claws; his golden scales were covered in dirt and his own blood.
He lowered his head and looked at his chest, where most of the originally beautiful, strong scales had been shattered.
The wound beneath was bloody and raw, with internal organs faintly visible—the result of the severe damage from the impact.
He tried to turn his body over, but this simple action caused him to cough violently, and more blood gushed from the corners of his mouth.
He turned his head, spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, and looked up at Karl, who was slowly landing on the edge of the pit.
In those golden vertical pupils, there was neither anger nor reluctance.
Only a kind of weariness after a fierce battle and a recognition of a strong opponent remained.
He barely twitched the muscles of his cheek, opening a monster that looked quite strange on a dragon's face.
But it was clearly a kind expression, like a smile, and he quietly spoke with a sigh: "...You win."
Karl landed on the ground and stood firm, his image at this moment as relaxed as before.
The clothes on his upper body had already been completely torn to shreds by the collisions and energy blasts.
His chest below was very strong and had smooth muscle lines, like marble carving.
There were even red marks on his skin from rubbing against the dragon's scales.
The trousers on his lower body had also completely disappeared from mid-thigh down, leaving only a few broken strips of cloth at the waist.
His calves were completely bare, and the shoes on his feet were also torn with several large holes, looking a bit awkward.
Hearing the golden dragon's words of admitting defeat, Karl slowly shook his head, his breathing remained steady, and his eyes shone brightly and sincerely.
He looked directly at Borch and calmly admitted: "No. You are also very strong. The name of the golden dragon is worthy of its reputation."
He raised a finger and pointed to the red marks on his body, which were disappearing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Only faint white marks remained on his chest, which had previously been torn by the dragon's claws.
"And I, like you, am also injured. It's just... my body recovers a little faster."
He was telling the truth; in the previous extreme, almost one-sided fierce assault,