After several of their number were unceremoniously shot down by the players, the Eagle Guards finally closed to an effective range and began returning fire.
Unfortunately, their archery at high flight speeds was pitifully inaccurate. Even when an arrow found its mark, the limp, feeble projectile couldn't even pierce the hardened scales of the wyverns.
The players, on the other hand, grew only fiercer. At close range, each arrow claimed a giant eagle. One player who had specialized in throwing builds even hurled short spears with tremendous force, impaling rider and eagle in a single strike.
"Holy crap, this is awesome!" cheered the player named Dadao.
Boasting an impressive Strength score of 17, he was effectively a powerhouse among players. He had even picked up the Tavern Brawler feat specifically to enjoy the thrill of high-altitude throwing.
After all, giant eagles were covered only in soft feathers suited for flight, devoid of any protective scales.
"Damn it..."
Nellie bit her lower lip, her gaze grim.
She watched as the Eagle Guards plummeted one after another. Before they could mount any meaningful counterattack, they had already lost over ten riders.
Even Nellie herself had just barely evaded an incoming arrow with a perilous roll, feeling the projectile graze past her.
"We can't go on like this."
Making a snap decision, she raised her Eagle Screech Longsword and shouted her command: "North Wind Eagle Guards, hear me! Close in on the enemy and form circular formations!"
Piercing eagle shrieks echoed across the sky.
The North Wind Eagle Guards abandoned their futile mounted archery without hesitation. Closing the distance at all costs, they moved to surround each Redscale Conqueror with small, circular formations of three to four riders, aiming to leverage their superior maneuverability and numbers to pick off these troublesome foes one by one.
This was standard doctrine from the tactical manual of the North Wind Eagle Guard, a textbook response.
Unfortunately, they were up against their former commander.
Alger.
With close-quarters combat imminent, Alger raised his gaze to watch the Eagle Guards swarming in groups of three and four—led by his former subordinate, Nellie.
"Looks like she learned well."
"Nellie..."
He recognized the all-too-familiar tactic at a glance.
Yet during his time alongside the players, Alger hadn't just been teaching them; he had also picked up plenty of novel concepts from them. For instance, the so-called "energy maneuverability" doctrine—converting kinetic energy into potential energy and back again to fluidly adapt to changing air-combat situations and maximize combat effectiveness.
The giant eagles were far smaller than the dragon-blooded giant eagles, granting them superior speed and agility.
A full five Eagle Guards circled Alger, looking for an opening to harass and strike him.
"Igor."
Alger showed not a hint of panic against the encirclement. Steering his giant eagle into an immediate climb, he traded kinetic energy for potential, executing a high-energy immelmann-style loop in the sky that effortlessly slipped through the Eagle Guards' tight net.
Nellie watched the half-dragon knight, her brow furrowed tightly.
"Keep him surrounded! Don't give him an opening to counterattack!" she yelled.
The giant eagles darted, banked, and rolled through the sky.
Nellie had recognized this half-dragon as the enemy's leader, which was why she had brought five Eagle Guards to coordinate against him. Yet they couldn't gain the slightest advantage, completely outmaneuvered and toyed with in the air.
For some reason, she found every move the enemy made strangely familiar.
*Why does he feel like...*
Alger crested at the peak of his climb, his body suspended completely upside down, yet without a heartbeat's hesitation, he drove the giant eagle into a dive.
"Look out!" Nellie screamed.
The dragon-blooded giant eagle carved a graceful arc through the air, plunging with unstoppable momentum and smashing into one of the Eagle Guards from the flank of the encirclement.
It moved so fast that the rider didn't even realize the danger was upon him.
*Slash—*
Harnessing the terrifying velocity of the dive, the roaring greatsword cleanly severed the giant eagle's head. The rider tumbled from its back with a wailing cry.
Alger entered another climb. His ascent seemed sluggish, yet it was merely winding up for his next deadly strike.
"Vile minion of the evil dragon!"
Nellie ground her teeth, wishing nothing more than to hack that monstrous draconic visage to pieces.
Yet she forced herself to remain calm and ordered, "Attack while he climbs! Watch his path for the next dive!"
The Eagle Guards hastily drew their bows, loosing volley after volley of arrows.
Yet as Alger climbed, he rolled, banked, and shifted course with unhurried grace, looking like a dancer gliding through an effortless waltz in the sky. Though it looked fraught with danger, the arrows soaring into the heights always lagged half a step behind him.
"Igor," Alger said softly.
The dragon-blooded giant eagle understood implicitly, plunging once more from the high altitude.
Feathers scattered and blood sprayed as another Eagle Guard's life was cleanly harvested.
Before this half-dragon knight mounted upon a dragon-blooded giant eagle, the Eagle Guards were like playthings, danced entirely at his whims.
Nellie fell silent for a long moment before she spoke slowly:
"All of you, scatter. Let me face him."
"I won't lose again..."
A resolute gleam shone in Nellie's dark brown eyes.
After that unforgettable battle, this rare female Eagle Guard hadn't sunk into despair. Instead, carrying the will of her fallen comrades, she had trained relentlessly—diving again and again, swinging her blade without end, enduring trials far beyond ordinary men—until she finally became the only female commander of the North Wind Eagle Guard in a century.
She would never allow what happened five years ago to repeat itself.
Even if it cost her life!
"Terna..."
She whispered the name of her giant eagle companion, her tone turning fierce.
"This time, I won't—"
"Turn and run in panic!"
Nellie squeezed her legs together, urging her giant eagle to surge forward with a shriek. Raising her silver blade high, she launched a direct head-on charge at that terrifying foe.
"Die, dragon spawn!"
Watching Nellie barrel toward him, Alger murmured to himself, "Are you challenging me to a duel...?"
"Then come."
A serious edge entered Alger's gaze.
Leaning low, he gripped the Everburning Greatsword in his hand and drove his massive dragon-blooded giant eagle into a dive.
A hundred meters separated the two.
Yet when flying head-on, that distance vanished in a heartbeat.
Nellie stared intently at the charging figure, her heart pounding violently, sweat dripping from her sword hand. They were close enough that she could discern every single scale upon his face.
The half-dragon knight swooped down, sweeping his flaming greatsword.
At that exact instant.
Nellie froze slightly.
The movement was far too familiar—from the angle of the dive to the swing of the blade, even the posture of his crouch.
A terrifying possibility flashed through her mind—this evil, half-dragon monster before her was the very commander she had once admired and looked up to.
*That's impossible!*
*No, I'm still in a fight!*
Nellie snapped back to reality, tightening her grip on her silver sword.
Yet that single heartbeat of distraction stripped away her final chance of victory.
*Slash—*
Flames filled her vision, and the razor-sharp greatsword tore mercilessly across her vulnerable throat.
As her head tumbled from the sky, a flicker of bewildered confusion lingered on that beautiful, resolute face.
Chapter 103