*Screeech—*
The giant eagles let out piercing shrieks, falling into formation and diving straight after the chimera.
Yet just as they were about to overtake the monster from behind, a crimson figure emerged from the cave.
Fleeing blindly, the chimera caught sight of that figure and felt as though it had received an imperial pardon. Using the scant few words of Draconic it knew, it cried at the top of its lungs, "Master, save me!"
Cassius gazed at the row of giant eagles trailing the chimera, his eyes filled with perplexity.
Seeing the riders astride the raptors—clad in heavy plate armor and bearing eagle crests—his confusion only deepened.
*The Eagle Guard?*
He had only been underground for a few days.
How had the Eagle Guard managed to strike right at his home base?
Could Langpu have let that "grand blueprint" go to his head and marched troops to attack Northwind Keep?
Still, seeing the flock of giant eagles swooping down in force, Cassius had no time to ponder the details. He had no choice but to fight.
"Flying in such a tight formation..."
"Are you waiting for me to turn you into barbecue?"
Having gone without slaughter for a long while, Cassius could not help but lick his lips, venting a blast of sulfurous, scalding breath.
The feral ferocity buried deep within his red dragon bloodline stirred to life.
Alger had been leading from high above, brandishing his blade to direct the Eagle Guard's charge.
Yet the instant he spotted that crimson silhouette in the distance, his face changed completely. For the first time, a trace of panic and tension crept into his voice.
"A dragon!"
"It's a red dragon!"
Alger shouted with desperate urgency.
A dragon—no matter what kind of true dragon it was—stood as the absolute last opponent he ever wished to encounter in battle.
Scales harder than full plate armor, inexhaustible wide-area breath weapons, an endless repertoire of spell-like abilities—any of these made them an absolute nightmare for giant eagle knights.
"Scatter! Scatter!"
Yet not everyone possessed his sharp senses and consummate riding skills, capable of perceiving mortal danger and halting a full-speed dive in an instant.
The Eagle Guards had already plunged toward the cavern mouth in a clustered charge.
It was already too late.
Cassius merely parted his jaws slightly. The fundamental vessels unique to dragonkind channeled fiery energy from throughout his body into his lungs. The searing elemental fire accumulated within his chest and throat, causing his breast to glow faintly like molten lava—the unmistakable prelude to a red dragon's breath weapon.
"Fire Breath!"
In a flash, an overwhelmingly torrential blast of searing flame erupted from the red dragon's maw. The raging tongues of fire mercilessly engulfed every Eagle Guard charging in the vanguard, turning the entire cavern entrance into a living hell.
The flames swept over everything. The lead riders never stood a chance at putting up any resistance; crimson fire was the last thing reflected in their pupils before they were instantly reduced to ashes.
Yet compared to many of their comrades, they were relatively fortunate—at least their deaths had been swift and clean.
Behind them, more than ten Eagle Guards were swallowed by roaring flames, transforming into tumbling balls of fire.
"Ahhh!"
"I'm on fire!"
"It burns!"
"Help! Help me!"
All they could do was wail, shriek, and thrash, ultimately either burned alive in midair or plummeting from their mounts to shatter on the rocks below. None could escape the lethal grasp of this red dragon that resembled the Grim Reaper himself.
Unhurried and poised, the red dragon slowly flapped his wings and rose into the air, looking down upon the scorching Eagle Guards.
The chimera cowered submissively behind the red dragon, tucking its necks in as it watched the slaughter unfold. It let out cries of vindication, any remaining thought of rebellion against the red dragon thoroughly extinguished.
The scene before its eyes made it understand down to its bones that such power was far beyond anything it could ever challenge.
Midair, the wyverns raised their heads together and screeched, celebrating the return of the master of this nest.
The ogres brandished their clubs and hammers, letting out roaring cheers. Goblins hoisted their short spears, ecstatic with excitement.
The kobolds dropped to their knees as if beholding a deity, bearing witness to their master's supreme might.
In merely an instant, the tide had completely turned.
Seeing dozens of comrades who had fought alongside him perish in a heartbeat, Alger's eyes reddened slightly. Even so, he spurred his giant eagle to flap its wings and climb, raising his greatsword high.
Wind rushed through the pierced filigree of the blade, producing a shrill screech like an eagle's cry.
He barked out an order: "Retreat! All units, retreat!"
"Scatter and retreat!"
Having witnessed the horrific inferno just moments ago, the remaining twenty-odd Eagle Guards knew full well they were no match for the foe before them. Without hesitation, they wheeled their mounts and fled in every direction, each flying along a different vector.
Training an Eagle Guard required immense resources; thus, they had been drilled from youth to preserve their surviving numbers at all costs.
Suspended high in the sky, Cassius slowly beat his wings.
He watched the scattering Eagle Guards, a faint, barely perceptible sneer curling across his snout.
"You barged all the way into my lair—and now you think you can just fly away?"
"Aren't you underestimating dragons a bit too much?"
Without rushing, the red dragon ascended to the highest vantage point. His fundamental vessels once again pumped fire elements into his lungs, gathering high-temperature energy deep within his throat—only this time, the energy was not as concentrated into a single cone as before.
Even as he retreated, Alger did not forget to look back. Tilting his head up toward the red dragon hovering high above, his expression changed drastically once more.
"Dragon breath!"
"Another breath weapon! Evade!"
He warned them at the top of his lungs.
Cassius merely cracked his jaws, and blazing light poured forth.
"Target Breath!"
What the red dragon unleashed this time was not a wide-area cone of flame, but several tight, rapid fireballs.
Each fireball precisely targeted the trajectory of a fleeing Eagle Guard, hurtling toward its mark laden with scorching power.
*Bang!*
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
A series of explosive fiery impacts resounded, and several struck knights plunged downward trailing plumes of smoke and flame.
Alger, who had also been targeted, executed several breathtaking aerial rolls followed by a sharp dive, barely managing to dodge the fiery bombardment.
"What in the world is..."
How could that be a dragon's breath? It was practically the pinpoint fireball magic of an archmage.
Watching his comrades fall from the sky one after another, Alger took a deep breath and spoke with resolute finality:
"You retreat first!"
"I'll draw the dragon's attention."
Alger stroked the giant eagle's singed feathers once more, whispering softly, "Igor, this might be our final charge."
Understanding his words, the giant eagle let out a low, mournful cry.
They were not merely knight and mount, but brothers-in-arms who had spent every day together and grown up side by side.
"It's just a pity that I haven't repaid His Grace the Duke's kindness, nor finished slaughtering all those... damned devils."
Alger muttered to himself.
Years of combat training had long since ingrained every nuance of flight and every wind current into his instincts, making him feel as one with his mount.
With practiced mastery, he guided the giant eagle into a steep climb, rising until they were higher even than the red dragon, until in the eyes of onlookers below they had dwindled into a faint black speck.
From the apex of his ascent, Alger dove straight down.
—He charged directly toward that mighty red dragon everyone else fled from, like Don Quixote in the old tales charging windmills.
*Screeech—*
A majestic eagle's cry split the sky.
Cassius raised his head slightly, noticing the Eagle Guard plunging toward him at breakneck speed. His golden pupils dilated ever so slightly.
"Now that's interesting."
"A high-level fighter, no less?"
Chapter 32