Chapter 33: Northern Wind’s Eagle Guard (Part Four)
Alger dove rapidly, pnning to leverage the red dragon’s massive, unwieldy size to bypass its side and strike from a blind spot at the rear.
"Strike first, gain the upper hand."
Cassius’s slit-pupil eyes glowed with violet are light, instantly dising Alger’s flight path. His powerful cws followed the trajectory and struck.
"Igor!"
Alger squeezed his legs tightly around his giant eagle, jerking the reins to sharply veer right, exeg a course ge mid-dive to barely evade the swipe.
"Whoosh—"
The sound of the air being sliced came from behind.
Alger guided his eagle to the side, brow furrowed, heart pounding in his chest.
Looking back, he could still see the few surviving Eagle Guards, just within sight, pursued by r wyverns.
"At the very least, I have to hold out until they escape pletely."
Alger muttered to himself.
It felt as if he’d taken a p arouh’s doorstep.
The creature before him was unily agile—nothing like an ordinary red dragon. It could even sense his attack vectors, making typical feints and harassment tactieffective.
Cassius, meanwhile, was intrigued by this agile eagle knight.
"Annoying, like a fly."
"But they’d make for quite a formidable unit."
He watched the eagle flying in tight circles, releasing a breath of sulfur-sted heat.
Alger tinued his circur maneuver, searg for an opening in the dragon’s defenses until he identified a blind spot.
"There it is!"
Once again, he dove headlong, unwavering.
Gripping his silver sword, Alger sshed toward the dragon’s body with all the momentum of his dive.
"g—"
Not only did he fail to ihe dragon, but the impact left his arms numb.
The struck scale gleamed with a metallic golden sheen, as if he’d struck solid metal.
" Body of Storm's Resonance!"
Cassius let out a slight hiss, and a surge of lightning flickered across his cws, quickly spreading across his body.
Alger immediately retracted his sword, but the electricity traveled down the silver bde, shog both him and his eagle.
A sharp screech echoed as the eagle’s feathers fred, standing upright, arcs of electricity surrounding its body. Pain shot through it, leaving it paralyzed and weak.
"A red drago… how could it…?"
Although Alger’s physique was resilient, the surge of electricity still brought intense pain, though it wasn’t enough to incapacitate him pletely.
He barely mao trol his eagle, maintaining bao prevent a crash. However, each wiriggered crag sparks, f him to glide at a low speed with minimal movement.
"A spellcaster!"
This red dragon ellcaster!
And this lightning wasn’t i learned magic!
Alger cursed inwardly; fag a dragon mage on sorcerer was the worst possible sario.
He looked back to see the red dragon grinning, teeth exposed, its golden eyes gleaming ominously.
His instincts screamed danger, aried to close his eyes, but it was too te.
"Spectral Bind!"
A heavy, searing-hot iron coiled around Alger.
He wao believe it was an illusiohe scorg pain was undeniably real, nearly impossible to resist without dedicated training.
The more the target believed in the illusion, the more vivid and ving it became.
Now, in Alger’s vision, his body bore charred, blistered wounds from the fiery s.
Both he and his eagle spiraled downwards, dragged by the ’s weight.
"No! No!"
"This isn’t real!"
"I haven’t avenged my family yet… I ’t…"
"Die here!"
Alger let out a hoarse, defiant shout.
Summoning his willpower, he forced himself to shut his eyes, relying on his sense of airflow to guide the eagle into a gliding maneuver, overing the spell’s grip by sheer determination.
When he opened his eyes again, everything had vahe s, the fmes, the wounds.
Even Cassius, high above, seemed momentarily impressed.
"Impressive—evading a fully effective spell. Truly the Northern Wind’s Captain."
This remarkable feat jogged Cassius’s memory of the eagle knight’s reputation.
Alger Yeoman, the infamous Gatekeeper boss in his past life, known as the “Eagle’s Cw” and “The Razor of La,” Captain of the Northern Wind’s Eagle Guard.
He had led tless hunts against tieflings under Duke Brad, gaining notoriety as a merciless executioner, destio bee a death knight iure.
Alger had lost his parents as a child and, under Brad’s manipution, grew up believing they were sacrificed by tieflings to devils, being the La family’s most loyal warrior and instigating the horrific “Tiefling Camp Massacre.”
But when Alger approached the truth behind his parents’ deaths, his once-revered Duke transformed him into a mindless death knight, leaving him to eternally wahe Duke’s grounds atop a skeletal eagle.
With this knowledge, Cassius resolved to spare Alger.
Not out of mercy, but as a strategic py for his pns to seize Northwind Fortress. To Cassius, goblins and kobolds were expendable; losing a few was insequential.
Yet, someone like Alger, a devoted member of the Duke’s guard and ae eagle knight, could yield immense value in his scheme.
The red dragon swooped down, reag the slowly gliding eagle knight from behind.
Before Alger could react, Cassius cast twin spells simultaneously, targeting both knight and mount.
"Sleep Spell!"
A fsh of magical light enveloped them, and the exhausted knight and his eagle succumbed to a deep slumber, drifting down until Cassius’s powerful cws caught them mid-air.
Ordinarily, Alger’s strength would have made him immuo sleep spells, but after the grueling battle, he was drained and uo resist.
"So, you resisted an illusion…"
"But you resist physical trol?"
With a dismissive smirk, Cassius tossed them to the ground.
[Due to your strength and the enemy’s “sleep” status, you gain access to the followiails.]
【Northern Wind Eagle Guard Captain】
Name: Alger Yeoman
Type: Medium Humanoid (Human), Lawful ral
AC: 18 (Mastercrafted Pte Armor)
Speed: Flying 90 ft, Walking 30 ft
Strength – 17
Dexterity – 16
stitution – 14
Intelligence – 11
Wisdom – 13
Charisma – 12
Css Level: Fighter (Eagle Knight) Level 8
Mount: Aa Subspecies Giant Eagle (Level 4)
Martial ons: Longsword, Shortswreatsword, Longbow, Heavy Crossbow, Lance
Simple ons: Dagger, Shortbow, Light Crossbow
Proficies: Riding +14, Military Strategy +9, Hunting +7, Athletics +6, Perception +4, Leadership +4, Survival +4, Iigation +2, Trag +4, Stealth +4
Passive Perception: 14
Languages: on
As: Group Attack, ander’s Strike, Diving Attack, Aerial Brake, Quick Turn, Ssh, Pierce, Rapid Strike, Sed Wind
Feats: Alertness, Follow Through, Great on Master, Heavy Armor Use, Riding Expert, Flight Mastery
bat Equipment: Eagle’s Cry Silver Sword, La Standard Pte Armor, Eagle Guard Cloak
Challeing: 9 (5,000 XP)
"Quite the impressive stats."
Cassius clicked his tongue in admiration.
In principle, death knights are traditionally transformed padins—but for this setup, let’s not worry about that too much.
