Thankfully, it turned out that golem arms were pretty easy to reattach. I was seriously worried for a bit that she was irreparably harmed. I had heard that certain priests could reattach limbs. There might even be a day at some point where I can do something like that. However, I didn’t want to see Terra walking around with one arm for the foreseeable future.

With her arm reattached, I redoubled my efforts to help the girls in combat. Fortunately, the long-distance group was able to keep the dragon distracted enough that our shenanigans didn’t cause things to fall apart. To be fair, the bandits weren’t exactly orderly either. Three had already been knocked out or perished. Another two had run away in the middle of battle. These were supposedly their elites too.

We were down to fifteen people, with roughly ten focused on the dragon and the remaining five focused on the paladin. Carmine was definitely the weakest link between the pair, and she had collapsed to one knee, finally being overwhelmed by the Bandit King and her forces.

Rooooaaarrrr…. The dragon seemed to sense that its master was in distress, as it tried to make a run straight for her.

“Hold it!” Salicia called out.

“Celeste!” She summoned her strongest attack.

A whirlwind of air blades struck the dragon, and at the same time, Lydia slashed at its legs with several recurring quick attacks. The dragon stumbled and collapsed to the ground.

“Terra! Finish this!” I said excitedly.

With the dragon on the ground, it was Terra’s time to shine. She started summoning earth to trap and restrain the dragon. A stalagmite rose up and pierced the dragon while a stalactite came down from the ceiling and pinned the dragon. With its restraints completed, sealed off and it’s master-servant bond breaking, we could finally defeat the dragon.

“Celeste, you’re doing it! Everyone! It’s down! Finish it off!”

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Just as the girls surged forward, I realized that the long-distance support we had been receiving had suddenly stopped. I spun to see the Bandits fleeing towards the cave entrance. Salicia had an unconscious Carmine in her arms. Presumably, the master/slave relationship between the two was severed now, which was why the dragon was starting to thrash wildly in its restraints.

“We can defeat it!” I said.

Salicia shrugged. “I already said, I don’t care about the dragon!”

“It’s a clockwork dragon! It ought to have something valuable! Besides, if it escapes, it’ll cause you just as much trouble as the countryside.”

“Whoever said I planned to let it escape?” She chuckled.

She had a ring on her hand which suddenly glowed. Several barrels appeared, and the Bandits immediately grabbed them, putting them around the entrance.

“So… that’s how it is…” I sighed.

The look in her eyes was clear. She was planning on making this grave for more than just the dragon.

“What can I say… you may also be a problem if you escape.”

“Miki… do it.”

Miki raised her hand and cast a spell. Suddenly, all the bandits around Salicia collapsed to the ground. Miki’s capacity to damage the dragon was minimal. Her task was actually to attach sleeping spells to as many bandits as she could. If they betrayed us, she’d trigger it and then they’d all collapse to the ground, instantly swapping the chances. It was actually a very impressive feat, and one only a 9-tailed fox spiritualist might be able to pull off.

I shrugged. “You’re outnumbered.”

I gestured for the girls to come to me, even though they were still trying to keep the dragon contained. In a few moments, he’d break out again. Our only real choice was to ignite the gunpowder and collapse the cave. Except… we’d be on the outside when that happened. Given that the Bandit King decided to betray us, it was the best that could be managed now.

However, I barely managed a few steps when the look in her eyes made me wary. A small smile formed on the Bandit King’s eyes as she continued to back her way out of the cave, holding her sister at her side.

“Oh… you’re clever… I give you that. You just made one small miscalculation.”

“What is that?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

A fireball formed in her hand. “I don’t care about my people.”

She threw the fireball right at one of the jugs. A man only a few feet away was currently sleeping, and the attack would assuredly mark his death.

“Wait, no!” I let out a cry.

It was too late. The entire cave erupted. The heat and dust blew me back. Thoughts of using Return or escaping immediately escaped my mind as the cave started to collapse on top of me.