Ashen Dragon

"Boom!"

"Boom! Boom!"

Several massive rocks fell continuously, crashing to the ground with a thunderous noise.

Cassius dodged and weaved in the air with unimaginable speed; anyone witnessing it would hardly believe this was a Red Dragon, known for its brute strength and sluggishness.

"Crack!"

The sound of breaking suddenly echoed atop the rock.

As Cassius flew at high speed, he looked up and saw that the rocks at the top of the exit were collapsing.

The Red Dragon's expression turned grave, his wings and limbs tightly folding against his body.

"Swoosh—"

His body shot downward like an arrow losing its string.

At the very last moment before the rocks collapsed, Cassius dashed out of the cave, his tail barely brushing past the falling stones.

"Boom—"

The next sound was a thunderous crash, followed by billowing dust.

Silence ensued.

The tomb was completely buried under the rocks, beyond the reach of any intruder. Although the process wreaked havoc on the tomb itself, in a way, it fulfilled the Storm Giant elder's long-forgotten desire.

"Rest in peace."

Cassius murmured softly, looking once more at the entrance covered in debris.

He patted the ancient inscriptions on the stone pillar at the entrance and turned away.

The Red Dragon spread his claws, with the eerie blue Eye of the Storm King still lying in them.

"The power of this thing is immense. I can't just swallow it directly; I need to find a container."

The recent terrifying storm still lingered in his heart.

....

Stormy Ridge, Ashen Nest.

On the walls of Rock Fortress, there were numerous corpses of goblins and kobolds, and even a few ogres, all felled by arrows from the sky.

In the sky, there were not just wyverns roaring and screeching, but also over forty giant eagles.

These giant eagles had bright plumage and wore scaled armor on vital parts, with wingspans over six meters long.

Upon closer inspection, each giant eagle bore a knight clad in thick plate armor, with only their eyes visible.

Their chests displayed emblems of eagles and swords.

These were the Eagle Guards of the Rackman Family!

The Rackman Family earned the title of "Northwind Eagle" because their ancestor, Telgai Rackman, had stolen giant eagle eggs from the top of the Storm Cliffs and raised numerous giant eagles in their territory, training them to be elite Giant Eagle Knights as a personal guard.

These Giant Eagle Knights could fend off invasions from monsters like Frost Giants and wyverns and could be formidable weapons in wars between lords.

The knights called "Eagle Guards" had a history spanning hundreds of years.

The battle in the sky continued.

Over forty Eagle Guards, wielding bows and arrows or spears, rode their giant eagles, continuously circling the eight wyverns.

They connected head to tail, forming a massive encirclement.

The Eagle Guards were well-versed in combating wyverns, knowing not to confront these massive beasts head-on, aware of their large size and limited agility in the air, while exploiting their own mobility.

Hence, they adopted the "circle formation."

The Eagle Guards covered each other's tails, confusing the wyverns.

Any wyvern that lunged at them would face a barrage of arrows, and if it missed, it would be struck by spears from behind.

The goblin troops on the ground could do nothing against these fast-moving aerial targets but shoot feeble arrows.

But these arrows, slowed by air resistance, merely bounced off the Eagle Guards' plate armor like tickles.

Ogres roared and growled, haphazardly throwing massive stones into the sky.

One ogre aimed purely by instinct and hurled a stone.

"Bang!"

The stone drew a beautiful arc in the sky, astonishingly hitting an unlucky Eagle Guard and knocking him down.

"Oh, oh, oh! It hit!"

"Well done, Bighead!"

"Bring down those little flies, those tin cans!"

The ogres cheered excitedly, swarming over and tearing the giant eagle and the knight to pieces.

From the top of the wall, Ramp wasn't to be outdone, waving his giant club skyward.

"Fireball Technique!"

A scorching fireball shot toward the giant eagles in the sky.

But under the superb control of the knight, the giant eagle dodged in a circle, the fireball grazing its chest, leaving only a trail of scorched marks.

Although it missed, the fireball had a strong deterrent effect, and the Eagle Guards immediately became alert.

"It's a spellcaster!"

"Don't get close to that section of the wall! Damn, how can there be an Ogre Mage?"

"Watch out, there's a spellcaster!"

Ramp's face darkened; the giant eagle knights were too agile, often flying out of reach before his fireball technique even completed.

Even hitting one or two with rocks was just a matter of luck.

Ramp adjusted the small glasses on his face and muttered, "The goblins are useless, these brainless wyverns aren't dependable either, it's all up to that beast, or... wait for the master to return to handle it."

"No, it's just a few dozen humans."

"The master would be disappointed in me."

With that thought, the Ogre Mage roared in Draconic at the cave in the rock wall, "Chimera, if you don't act now, are you waiting for the master to come back and tear you apart?"n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Roar—"

A furious roar echoed from the cave.

A massive monster with the heads of a goat, a lion, and a dragon burst forth from the dark cave, beating its dragon-like wings, taking to the air.

"It's a Chimera!"

An Eagle Guard exclaimed in the air.

"Scatter the formation!"

A calm voice came from the sky.

The voice belonged to Alger Yorman, the Guard Commander of these Eagle Guards and a seasoned warrior.

Behind the heavy regulation plate armor were a pair of extremely calm eyes.

Unlike others, his weapon was not a lance or a bow, but a heavy great sword engraved with an open-winged eagle motif.

The Chimera flew to the highest point, beating its wings.

"Roar—"

It let out a long roar.

Then it dived, spewing scorching Flame Breath from its mouths.

The Eagle Guards broke their formation, scattering to avoid the flames.

But faced with the high-speed dive of the Chimera, three Eagle Guards couldn't evade in time and were engulfed in flames, burning fiercely in the air before plummeting to the ground in agony.

Seeing his comrades fall, Alger shouted decisively:

"Leave the Chimera to me! You continue to surround those wyverns!"

He leaned slightly, gently stroking the feathers of his giant eagle, whispering, "Eagle, it's time to go!"

The bond between the giant eagle and its rider was such that words were unnecessary; they understood each other perfectly.

"Screech—"

A piercing eagle cry echoed through the sky.