Unas did not know how to make a warhorse track an enemy by scent, but Darian was no ignorant noble young master. He had trained as a knight since childhood, so he could not possibly be ignorant of it too.
The warhorse beneath him was clad from head to hoof in silver armor. It looked magnificent, standing half a head taller than Black Wind.
The two circled the woodland several times, following the scent of sulfur. The Dreadguard was most likely hiding somewhere in the area. With a body that massive and a wingspan of more than three meters, it must have used some kind of trick to conceal itself.
Unas raised Verigan's Fist and fired two blasts of Judgment, one to his left and one to his right, hoping to get lucky. The two pillars of light passed through the trees, taking only a few low-hanging leaves with them. Darian followed his example and tried flinging a few spells around them, but they too were a waste of effort.
"Could it have gotten away already?" Unas was starting to think about retreating. Being so deep in enemy territory with only the two of them made him feel unsafe. "Should we head back first? Gordon and Whitemane are both injured and need looking after."
"Those little injuries won't be a problem. Sister Sally is a high-ranking Priest," Darian said, unwilling to give up. "I shot that demon. There's no way it could have escaped so quickly!"
No sooner had he spoken than a faint green shadow suddenly appeared thirty meters ahead. It flashed past and vanished behind a dense thicket.
"Found it!" Darian shouted and spurred his horse forward. He covered the thirty meters in an instant, but before he could ride around the thicket, a tremendous blast erupted beneath him, almost shattering his eardrums. Dust billowed as his warhorse seemed to fly into the air, and Darian felt weightless for an instant.
Unas, following behind, saw everything clearly. It must have been a magical trap like a land mine. It went off beneath the warhorse's belly, blasting both Darian and his mount a short distance into the air.
Horse and rider separated in midair. Darian rolled as he landed and got to his feet, apparently unhurt, but his warhorse was not so lucky. It had taken almost all the damage from the explosion.
"Starsteed!" Darian let out a cry of anguish and raced toward his beloved horse. Starsteed had crashed heavily to the ground and was now convulsing, blood streaming from his mouth and nostrils. The magnificent warhorse was about to die.
Just then, the green shadow emerged from the dust again. It lunged behind Darian and seized his neck in its left claw. The dark red crystal sword in its right claw, covered in magical runes, slipped easily through a gap in Darian's armor and stabbed viciously into his lower back.
Darian's body arched sharply backward. His mouth opened wide toward the sky, but all that came out was a gurgling sound.
The demon's attack had come so suddenly that Unas was stunned by the sight for an instant. Then he let out a battle cry, raised his warhammer, and charged at the Dreadguard at full speed.
In an instant, the enemy was right in front of him! He raised Verigan's Fist high, ready to smash the demon's ugly head in the next moment!
The Dreadguard suddenly turned its head, and two beams of purple light shot from its eyes. Unas was caught off guard and instinctively looked into its demonic eyes. The purple rays instantly connected their gazes.
Unas felt his arm suddenly go limp, and his blow, which should have hit, veered aside. The Dreadguard grabbed Darian and quickly backed away several steps. A sudden urge to turn and flee arose in Unas's mind, and he frantically hauled on the reins. Black Wind nearly reared up before coming to an abrupt halt.
This is ridiculous!
Running away was not what he wanted at all. It had to be the result of a spell. Just as his Turn Evil could frighten Ghouls into fleeing, this purple light was trying to frighten him away.
The purple rays still connected their eyes. Unas tried to close his, but no matter what he did, he could not. He tried to charge forward again, but his body seemed frozen, unable to take a single step.
The Dreadguard let out a low growl. Was it mocking him?
Darian was still struggling. The crystal sword buried in his abdomen remained firmly gripped in the Dreadguard's right claw. It lifted Darian into the air, opened its great mouth full of sharp teeth, and bit viciously into his neck, drinking his blood to replenish itself. Dreadlords fed on the blood and souls of living beings to begin with.
Unas stared in fury, but there was nothing he could do. It was not that he had completely lost control of his body. If he turned and fled now, he could move at once, but as long as he had the slightest thought of opposing the Dreadguard, his body would not obey him. He tried to activate Invincible, but could not do it at all, as though he himself were resisting his own command.
Can I only watch as this demon drinks Darian dry?
At that moment of despair, a sharp twang came from the woods to the left. A streak of white light flashed past Unas's eyes, grazed the Dreadguard's head, and sank into a large tree beside it with a thunk. Only its quivering black fletching remained visible against the trunk.
A chill spread through Unas's body. It was an arrow wrapped in white frost.
The Dreadguard gave a muffled roar, and the purple rays from its eyes vanished instantly. Unas regained his freedom of movement at the same time. He narrowed his eyes, fixed them on the demon's neck, and charged again without hesitation.
The Dreadguard seemed dazed by the arrow. It stood motionless and let Darian's body slip from its claw. Darian, however, was still conscious. With the last of his strength, he drew the backup weapon at his waist and thrust it backhand into the Dreadguard's chest.
That blow brought the demon, which had seemed to turn into a statue, back to life. With a pop, smoke burst outward and the Dreadguard's towering form vanished. In its place were two bats the size of washbasins. Flapping desperately, they fled at speed in opposite directions, one forward and the other backward.
Another bowstring twanged, and the bat fleeing forward fell. The one fleeing backward was flying directly over Unas's head. Unas took 0.1 seconds to spend his saved skill point and learn a Paladin's most important control skill—Hammer of Justice (throws a warhammer, stunning the target for 6 seconds).
A short hammer made of golden light appeared in his hand. Unas aimed at the bat in the air and hurled it with all his strength. The spinning golden hammer struck its target dead on, golden light scattering in all directions. The Dreadguard was knocked back into its original form in midair. Unable to flap its wings while stunned, the demon fell straight down.
With a tremendous crash, the Dreadguard's heavy body landed in front of Unas. Its end had finally come. Darian had stabbed it in the chest, one of its bat copies had been shot dead, and now it had fallen from a great height. Of course, the arrow that grazed his head had done him the most damage. Although it had left only a small cut on the back of his neck, almost all the frost on the arrow had entered his body through the wound, making him feel as though even his internal organs were frozen.
The demon was at death's door, and Unas had no pity for it. Striking while it was down, he jumped off his horse and swung his great hammer, smashing its head to pieces. Golden motes rose and entered his body. A glance at his panel showed that this mini-boss, together with the Scourge dogs he had killed while charging out earlier, had brought his experience to 29%.
After making sure it was dead, Unas hurried over and pried the crystal sword from its claw. This had to be Firekiss, Gordon's family heirloom. It truly was an exquisite work of art. Though it had stabbed into Darian's body, it bore not a trace of blood.
The blade was fashioned entirely from a dark red crystal, its surface covered in fine magical runes. The hilt was carved from a black metal in the shape of a great dragon, whose outspread wings formed the guard. The whole sword felt warm to the touch, and its affinity with fire elements had to be extraordinary.
Unas put the sword into his backpack, then turned and ran toward Darian. Perhaps he could still be saved. Unas also needed to properly thank their savior, whose arrow they had heard but who remained unseen.