North Wind Eagle Guard (IV)

North Wind Eagle Guard (IV)

Alger dove sharply, taking advantage of the Red Dragon's huge, clumsy body. He prepared to sweep past its flank, launch an attack, and circle around to its blind spot.

"True Strike."

Purple magical light flickered in Keosius's slit pupils. He saw straight through Alger's flight path, and his powerful claws struck along its trajectory.

"Iger!"

Alger clamped his legs tight and yanked hard on the giant eagle's reins, forcibly wrenching its body to the right. In the midst of a high-speed dive, he completed a sudden turn and barely evaded the blow.

"Whoosh—"

The sound of air being torn apart came from behind him.

Alger guided the giant eagle away, his brows tightly furrowed and his heart pounding.

He looked into the distance. The dozen or so Eagle Guards fortunate enough to survive had yet to leave his sight, while wyverns roared as they pursued them from behind.

"At the very least, I have to hold out until they get away."

Alger murmured to himself.

He had just flown straight past death's door.

The monster before him was extraordinarily agile, hardly like a genuine Red Dragon at all. It also seemed able to see through the direction of his attacks, making ordinary feints and harassment tactics difficult to use effectively.

Keosius, meanwhile, had become interested in this highly maneuverable giant eagle rider.

"As annoying as a fly."

"But it's a pretty good troop type."

He watched the giant eagle rapidly circle through the air and exhaled a breath of sulfur-scented heat.

Alger continued circling, trying to find an opening in the Red Dragon's defenses. At last, he discovered its blind spot.

"Right there!"

He dove down again without yielding.

With a silver sword in both hands, Alger used the force of the dive to slash with all his strength at the Red Dragon's body.

"Clang—"

Not only did he fail to injure the Red Dragon, the impact even numbed both his arms.

The struck scale had turned into lustrous gold. That blow had been like striking a piece of metal.

"Storm Echo Body!"

Keosius let out a low cry as lightning suddenly burst from his claws and swiftly spread across his body.

Alger immediately withdrew his sword and pulled away, but the current had already traveled through the silver sword into his body, and through the giant eagle as well.

A sharp eagle cry rang out.

The giant eagle's feathers bristled and stood on end. Fine arcs of electricity even crackled all over its body, bringing it piercing pain followed by numbness and weakness throughout its body.

"It's clearly a Red Dragon. How is this possible?"

As a Fighter, Alger had a strong physique. Though it hurt, the fleeting current was not enough to seriously injure him.

With immense difficulty, he controlled the giant eagle and kept it from losing balance and falling. But every flap of its Wings was accompanied by the crackle of electricity, so he could only minimize its movements and glide slowly through the air.

"It's a spellcaster!"

This Red Dragon was a spellcaster! And this lightning was definitely not an innate Red Dragon spell—it had learned it! Alger inwardly cursed his luck. Facing a dragon Mage or Dragon Sorcerer was simply the worst possible situation.

He turned around, only to see the Red Dragon bare its fangs in a grin, its golden pupils gleaming with a terrifying light.

Alarm bells rang in his mind. He instinctively wanted to close his eyes, but he could not evade the spell's speed in the end.

"Phantom Force!"

A heavy iron chain, heated red-hot by flames, coiled around Alger's body.

He wanted to believe it was an illusion, but the intense burning pain across his body could not be faked. Without special training, it was difficult to resist such suggestion.

And the more firmly the target believed in the illusion created by Phantom Force, the more real and logical the illusion became.

Now, in Alger's eyes, his body was covered in charred burn marks, while raging flames even blazed from the chain.

Dragged by the chain, he and the giant eagle fell together.

"No! No!"

"This is fake!"

"I haven't taken my revenge yet. How can I..."

"...end here!"

Alger roared, his throat hoarse.

Enduring the pain that felt as though it would burn him to ashes, he squeezed his eyes shut. Relying solely on his sense of the airflow, he guided the giant eagle to spread its Wings and glide. By sheer force of will, he actually succeeded in saving against the spell.

When he opened his eyes again, there was nothing before him.

The chains, the flames, the wounds—all of them had vanished.

Even Keosius in the sky looked slightly surprised.

"Well, damn. The spell had already taken effect, and he still saved against it. He really is a North Wind Fortress captain."

Having witnessed such an outstanding performance, Keosius finally recalled this giant eagle rider's origins.

In his previous life, he had been a famous gatekeeper boss: Alger Yoman, the captain of the North Wind Eagle Guard, known as the "Eagle's Claw" and "Rakman's Sharp Sword."

He had led the Eagle Guards in the encirclement and slaughter of Tieflings many times. He was Duke Brad's infamous butcher and would one day become a Death Knight.

Alger had lost his parents as a child. Under Duke Brad's deliberate guidance, he firmly believed that Tieflings had sacrificed his parents to devils. Thus, he had been deceived into becoming a loyal deathsworn of the Rackman Dynasty, swearing lifelong loyalty and participating in the horrific Tiefling Camp Massacre.

But when Alger finally came close to learning the truth behind his parents' deaths, Duke Brad—the man he had trusted without reservation and been willing to die for—turned him into a mindless Death Knight. He was made to ride a Bone Eagle and wander eternally outside the Duke's Mansion.

Thinking of this, Keosius decided to spare his life.

It was not out of any so-called mercy, but merely to lay the groundwork for his plan to seize North Wind Fortress. After all, in his eyes, those Goblins and Kobolds were nothing more than cheap expendables. The death of a few was not worth mentioning.

And a personal guard who had grown up in North Wind Fortress, followed the duke for many years, and was such a costly giant eagle rider to train was obviously extremely valuable. Keosius could definitely squeeze plenty of benefits out of him.

The Red Dragon swept through the sky and rushed behind the giant eagle rider, who was gliding slowly.

Before Alger could react, Keosius cast a twinned spell, pointing at two targets at once.

"Sleep Spell!"

A flash of magical light passed over them. The helpless rider and his giant eagle both fell into deep sleep, plunging from the sky before being forcibly caught in the Red Dragon's powerful claws.

Under normal circumstances, Alger's strength would have rendered the Sleep Spell ineffective against him. But after the battle's exertion, he was already at the end of his rope and had no way to resist.

"You can save against an illusion if you want..."

"But can you save against hard crowd control?"

Keosius casually tossed him onto the ground and could not help saying.

[Based on your own strength and the enemy's "Sleep" state, you can observe the following information]

North Wind Eagle Guard Captain

Name: Alger Yoman
Category: Medium Humanoid (Human), Lawful Neutral
AC: 18 (Fine Plate Armor)
Speed: Flight 90 ft., Ground Movement 30 ft.

Strength—17
Dexterity—16
Constitution—14
Intelligence—11
Wisdom—13
Charisma—12
Class Level: Fighter (Giant Eagle Rider) Level 8

Mount: Anzeta Subspecies Giant Eagle (Level 4)
Military Weapon: Longsword, Shortsword, Greatsword, Longbow, Heavy Crossbow, Lance
Simple Weapon: Dagger, Short Bow, Light Crossbow
Skill Proficiencies: Riding +14, Military +9, Hunting +7, Athletics +6, Perception +4, Leadership +4, Survival +4, Investigation +2, Tracking +4, Stealth +4
Senses: Passive Perception 14
Languages: Common Tongue

Actions: Multiattack, Commander's Ambush, Dive Attack, Air Emergency Stop, Rapid Turning, Slash Attack, Pierce Attack, Tide-Like Movements, Stamina Recovery

Feats: Alert, Momentum Cleave, Great Weapon Master, Heavy Armor Master, Riding Expert, Flying Master

Combat Equipment: Eagle's Cry Silver Sword, North Wind Fortress Standard Plate Armor, Eagle Guard Cloak
Challenge Rating: 9 (5,000 xp)

"What a luxurious stat panel."

Keosius clicked his tongue in amazement.

In principle, Death Knights were supposed to be transformed Paladins, but this was only for reference, so let's not dwell on it too much. (runs away)