Ashen Dragon

Another easy victory.

Facing enemies stunned in battle, Alger never missed a chance, but he felt no joy in killing them. Even the giant eagle beneath him let out a low, mournful cry.

Alger looked down at the spot where Nelly had fallen and said calmly,

"Eagle, I told you, we're just after our own masters. The old Alger died long ago."

"Nelly... she should have understood that."
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Without a moment's mourning for his fallen friend, who he had just killed with his own hands, Alger rode his giant eagle back into the battlefield.

"Eagle, continue fighting."

But the skirmish was nearly over. The novice wyvern knights couldn't withstand the seasoned Eagle Guards, presenting a one-sided battle.

"Watch me roast them!"

"Triple kill!"

"Going crazy, killing spree."

"Don't steal my kills, I'm maxing out my contribution today!"

The wyverns, completely disregarding the Eagle Guards' encirclement, unleashed a torrent of fire, turning numerous guards into charred husks that plummeted to the ground.

Forget tactics, maneuvering, probing – these players ignored everything. If an Eagle Guard dared to retaliate, they'd charge in and torch them until they couldn't fight back.

Tactics?

Just talking big. In a real fight, who remembers any of that? It all becomes chaotic brawling.

What?

You dare to harass from behind?

The players would even ignore the enemies in front of them, turning around despite the risk of being attacked from both sides, just to bite that sneaky bastard to death.

More terrifyingly, their natural scales made arrows from behind feel like mere tickles.

This rough, wild style left the Eagle Guards completely disoriented.

What kind of fighting is this?

They didn't teach this in tactical training!

With Nelly fallen, the Northwind Eagle Guards were leaderless, and they couldn't handle the players' unstoppable, unpredictable fighting style.

Quickly, the battle turned into a one-sided chase.

"Keep chasing! Keep chasing!"

"Where are you running?"

"Scoundrels, halt!"

Mantou, riding his wyvern "Noodle," led the charge. Clenching his five-meter lance tightly, his expression was extremely excited.

The lance was already stained with blood, thirsty for the next enemy's life.

Seeing the Eagle Guards flying farther away, desperate for contributions, Mantou activated his skill.

[Dragon's Roar Charge!]

"Roar—"

The half-dragon knight and his wyvern roared in unison.

Their resonant roar was so intimidating it made the nearby giant eagles tremble in instinctive fear, their speed dropping, wings wobbling, unable to maintain normal flight.

"Haha, prepare to die!"

"Five hundred contributions, here I come!"

Mantou laughed maniacally, diving down on his wyvern.

Just as his lance was about to pierce the enemy's back and drink of fresh blood—

"Whoosh!"

An arrow whizzed past Mantou's side, hitting the Eagle Guard's head, the force pushing the arrowhead through his forehead.

The Eagle Guard fell from his giant eagle.

Mantou didn't get the expected contributions, his smug smile slowly fading.

He fumed, shouting angrily into the sky,

"Xin Dog, why'd you steal my kill! My five hundred contributions—"

From above, Singo's lazy voice answered, "I'm an archer, aren't I? If I don't land finishing blows, what's the point? I had him targeted long ago. Blame your lance for not being as quick as my arrow."

"Damn it..."

"If you're bad, practice more. You've only killed a few, I've got six thousand contributions already."

"Then stop stealing my kills! I already stunned him with Dragon's Roar."

"You stunned him so I could finish him, right?"

"To hell with you..."

The battle had completely devolved into a massacre.

Alger no longer paid attention to the chaotic fight. He had been with these players long enough to know how utterly insane they could be over "faction contributions." He believed they wouldn't let a single enemy escape.

He was more concerned about the whereabouts of the allied forces.

"These guys are so loud, they'll be exposed easily..."

"Eagle, let's scout ahead ourselves."

Alger instructed his giant eagle. After years of cooperation, they were almost telepathic, needing only a gesture to understand each other's intentions.

While the players chased after contributions, Alger quietly left on his giant eagle.

"Finally found it."

He crossed mountain ranges and eventually spotted his target in the distance. It was too obvious, not requiring much observation.

—It was an enormous army, tens of thousands marching across the wilderness like a mottled torrent. Many wore iron armor, holding spears. Horses neighed, infantry and cavalry interspersed, spear tips gleaming under the sun. Numerous heavy carts, covered with thick cloth, carried unknown contents.

Several flags waved in the center of the army, the foremost being a grey eagle banner—the Rackman family's "Northwind Eagle" standard. Behind it followed banners of "Northern Lion" Boske and "Double-Headed Eagle" Notte. There were various other banners, representing different noble lords.

Besides soldiers, there was a large number of laborers, carrying loads and driving carts, transporting supplies. Serfs, often still struggling with hunger themselves, were emaciated and bent under the heavy grain bags.

Many giant eagles circled in the sky, vigilance evident.

Their military uniforms were easy to distinguish: Rackman's were typically dark grey, Boske's leaned toward deep blue, and Notte's favored earthy yellow.

In this torrent of people, grey dominated.

Even the combined population of the twelve kingdoms in the Northern United Kingdom couldn't add up to a million. Even Rackman's capital, Northwind Castle, was just a city of over thirty thousand.

This time, the Rackman family had sent nearly twenty thousand troops, exhausting their resources to destroy the Ashen Nest.

Gazing at the formidable army, Alger murmured,

"The allied forces of the Northern Three Kingdoms..."

"They've come, as expected."

"Anzeta, it has been decades since we've seen a war of this scale..."

"I must report back to the master immediately."

Alger commanded his giant eagle to speedily traverse mountains, quickly heading towards Dragon Valley.