Algiers plunged downwards, intending to use the Red Dragon's large and clumsy body to his advantage, planning to attack by sweeping past its side and then circling to its blind spot behind it.
"Seize the Initiative."
Ke Xiu Si's vertical pupils shimmered with purple arcane light, directly seeing through Algiers's flight path, and his strong, powerful claws swiped along its trajectory.
"Igor!"
Algiers clamped his legs tightly, pulling the giant eagle's reins, forcing its body to veer to the right. He completed a change of direction during a high-speed dive, finally managing to narrowly dodge the swipe.
"Swish!"
The sound of air being torn echoed from behind him.
Algiers steered the giant eagle to the side, his brows furrowed, and his heart pounded.
He looked up into the distance; the dozen or so Eagle Guards who had miraculously survived had not yet escaped his field of vision, and behind them, Wyverns roared in pursuit.
"At least, I have to hold out until they are completely gone."
Algiers murmured to himself.
He felt like he had just flown a circle at the gates of Death.
The monster in front of him was extraordinarily agile, not at all like a genuine Red Dragon, and it seemed capable of discerning the direction of his attacks, making ordinary feinting and harassing tactics difficult to employ effectively.
Ke Xiu Si, too, had developed an interest in this highly mobile giant eagle rider.
"Annoying like a fly."
"But it's a good type of soldier."
He watched the rapidly circling giant eagle, exhaling a puff of sulfurous hot air.
Algiers continued to circle, attempting to find a weakness in the Red Dragon's body, and finally discovered its blind spot.
"This is it!"
He once again plunged downwards relentlessly.
Algiers wielded his eagle cry silver sword with both hands, using the momentum of the dive to strike the Red Dragon's body with full force.
"Clang!"
Not only did he fail to harm the Red Dragon, but his arms were instead numbed by the impact.
The scale that was struck turned a lustrous golden, and the blow felt like hitting a piece of metal.
"Storm Echo Body!"
Ke Xiu Si let out a low growl, and lightning suddenly erupted from his claws, rapidly covering his entire body.
Algiers immediately drew his sword and dodged, but the current had already traveled along the eagle cry silver sword to his body, and also through the giant eagle's body.
A sharp eagle cry rang out.
The giant eagle's feathers bristled and stood on end, its entire body even surrounded by fine arcs of electricity, which caused it intense pain, followed by full-body numbness and weakness.
"It's clearly a Red Dragon, how could it be..."
As a warrior, Algiers had a strong physique. Although in pain, he was not severely injured by the fleeting electric current.
He barely managed to control the giant eagle, preventing it from losing balance and falling, but every time the giant eagle flapped its wings, there was a crackling sound of electricity from its body. Therefore, he could only try his best to minimize movement, gliding at a low speed in mid-air.
"It's a spellcaster!"
This Red Dragon is a spellcaster!
And this lightning is definitely not a natural spell for a Red Dragon, but something learned!
Algiers secretly thought, "This is bad." Being an enemy of a Dragon Mage or a Dragon Warlock was simply the worst possible thing.
He turned his head and saw the Red Dragon baring its fangs, its golden pupils shimmering with a shocking light.
Alarm bells rang in his heart, and he instinctively wanted to close his eyes, but ultimately, he could not escape the speed of the spell.
"Phantom Power!"
A heavy, searing hot iron chain wrapped around Algiers.
He wanted to believe it was an illusion, but the intense burning pain on his body was undeniable, and it was difficult to resist such a suggestion without special training.
The more the target of the spell believed in the illusion created by Phantom Power, the more real and logical the illusion became.
Now, in Algiers's eyes, his body was covered in charred burn marks, and flames even quenched from the chains.
He and the giant eagle fell together, dragged down by the chains.
"No! No!"
"This is fake!"
"I haven't had my revenge yet, how can I end here..."
"It's over!"
Algiers roared, his throat hoarse.
He endured the pain that felt like it would incinerate him, tightly closed his eyes, and relying only on his perception of air currents, he controlled the giant eagle to spread its wings and glide, actually managing to resist the spell through sheer stubborn will.
When he opened his eyes again, there was nothing in front of him.
The chains, the flames, the scars, all vanished.
Even Ke Xiu Si, high in the sky, was slightly surprised.
"Well, he can still bypass a spell even after it takes effect. He truly is a Northwind Fortress captain."
Witnessing such a brilliant performance, Ke Xiu Si finally recalled the origin of this giant eagle rider.
The famous gate-keeping boss from his previous life, known as the "Eagle's Claw" and "Lakman's Sharp Sword," the North Wind Eagle Guard Commander – Arjay.Yoman.
He had repeatedly led the Eagle Guards in the encirclement and slaughter of Tieflings, was a notorious executioner under Duke Brad, and was also the future Death Knight.
Algiers lost his parents at a young age, and under Duke Brad's deliberate guidance, he firmly believed that Tieflings had sacrificed his parents to devils. Thus, he was indoctrinated as a Lakeman Family loyalist, swearing lifelong allegiance, and participated in the horrific "Tiefling Camp Massacre."
But when Algiers finally approached the truth of his parents' death, Duke Brad, whom he had once trusted implicitly and for whom he was willing to sacrifice his life, transformed him into an unconscious Death Knight, making him ride a bone eagle, eternally lingering outside the Duke's mansion.
Thinking of this, Ke Xiu Si decided to spare his life.
It wasn't out of so-called pity, but merely to pave the way for his own plan to seize Northwind Fortress. After all, those Goblins and Kobolds were nothing more than cheap consumables in his mind; a few deaths were not worth mentioning.
And such a close guard, who had grown up in Northwind Fortress since childhood and followed the Duke for many years, also a giant eagle rider with extremely high training costs, his value was self-evident. Ke Xiu Si could definitely extract a lot of benefits from him.
The Red Dragon swept across the sky, rushing behind the slowly gliding giant eagle rider.
Before he could react, Ke Xiu Si cast twin spells, simultaneously targeting two objectives.
"Sleep!"
A flash of arcane light, and the helpless knight, along with his giant eagle, fell into a deep sleep, plummeting from the sky, then forcibly lifted by the Red Dragon's strong claws.
Originally, given Algiers's strength, Sleep would not have affected him, but after the exhaustion of battle, he was already near the end of his rope, and thus had no means to resist.
"You can bypass illusions, but..."
"Can you still bypass hard crowd control?"
Ke Xiu Si casually tossed him to the ground, unable to help but say.
【Based on your own strength and the enemy's 'Sleeping' status, you can observe the following information】
North Wind Eagle Guard Lieutenant
Name: Arjay.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: Warrior (Giant Eagle Knight) Level 8
Mount: Anzetta Subspecies Giant Eagle (Level 4)
Martial Weapons: Longsword, Shortsword, Greatsword, Longbow, Heavy Crossbow, Spear
Simple Weapons: Dagger, Shortbow, 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: general language
Actions: Multiattack, Commander's Strike, Dive Attack, Aerial Stop, Rapid Turn, Slashing Attack, Piercing Attack, Action as the Tide, Second Wind
Feats: Alert, Cleave, Great Weapon Master, Heavy Armor Proficiency, Mounted Combatant, Flight Master
Combat Equipment: eagle cry silver sword, Northwind Fortress Standard Plate Armor, Eagle Guard Cloak
Challenge Rating: 9 (5,000xp)
"What a luxurious panel."
Ke Xiu Si exclaimed in wonder.
In principle, Death Knights are transformed Paladins, but let's not dwell on the details (escape).