Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage-Chapter 176: Nightmare Eagle

CH176 Nightmare Eagle

***

A week later...

Alex, Fen, and Udara pressed on, through the eastern stretch of Dankrot Forest’s western corridor, their path hugging the borderline leading deeper into the inner rim.

It had been a full week since the Wendigo encounter.

Alex continued to follow the faint golden traces visible only through his Spirit Sight. Yet, after days of pursuit, the destination still eluded them, leaving Alex to wonder just where the golden energy was trying to lead him this time.

The only upside was that the path aligned closely with his original route, requiring little to no deviation. It felt like he was hitting two birds with one stone.

The journey hadn’t exactly been smooth sailing. Several times, they wandered into predator hunting zones.

A common theme among these predators was their expert camouflage and their uncanny ability to slip away if the hunt failed.

Ambush and retreat—these were the rules the forest’s top-tier predators lived by and mastered.

These two traits seemed to be the minimum requirement for any creature hoping to earn the title of apex predator in this unforgiving terrain.

One other notable detail—there’d been no signs of active goblin territories all week.

To describe Wendigoes as vindictive would be a gross understatement.

The trio had discovered three goblin settlements during their trek—all of them ravaged.

Alex found plenty of evidence that pointed to the Wendigoes as the culprits. And the scenes they left behind... were something else.

Each time, the goblins—Hobgoblins included—had been rounded up, tortured in unspeakable ways, and left to die slowly from their injuries. The carnage was deliberate, methodical.

Not a hunt, but a brutal torturous massacre.

Alex didn’t feel a shred of pity.

If anything, his Furor blood whispered a dark suggestion—to find a goblin nest before the Wendigoes did, and show them what real suffering looked like.

’Make them wish for death... and deny it to them.’ The voice murmured.

Thankfully, Calm Madness, coupled with the stabilising influence of the Auramir side of his fused bloodline, kept those urges buried.

Instead, Alex turned his focus to the settlements themselves.

With Udara’s help, he examined each site and came to a key conclusion: all three were far smaller than the Hidden Meadow village.

That made sense.

The Hidden Meadow was just that—hidden. Sheltered from apex predators that would otherwise suppress goblin population growth.

Of course, that also meant the goblins who did survive long enough to evolve into Hobgoblins in the open like this were likely stronger. But since the Wendigoes had already butchered them, that wasn’t going to be a problem.

The state of the destroyed villages gave Alex a little peace of mind.

It showed that the Hidden Meadow was an outlier. Its scale and strength weren’t the norm, but the result of a lucky, strategic location.

Scout reports from the other three groups trailing behind confirmed it—the same pattern repeated across their sectors.

Alex briefly considered ordering a faster advance, hoping to eliminate the goblins before the Wendigoes got to them.

But he ultimately shelved the idea.

As much as he wanted his unit to land the killing blow, risking his people wasn’t worth it. Pride didn’t matter. In the end, whether it was the platoon or the Wendigoes who wiped out the goblins, the result was the same.

Still, he didn’t tell his men to stand down either.

The platoon advanced as planned—steadily combing through their assigned zones.

Alex, Fen, and Udara moved with grave caution.

They were in dangerously hostile territory, and none of them dared lower their guard—not even for a second.

Many times, they’d nearly been ambushed by Dankrot’s predators. They had long grown used to the constant threat and had developed a sixth sense for imminent danger.

In fact, by now, they felt uneasy when nothing ambushed them.

And it had been well over an hour since their last encounter.

The trio hadn’t been certain before, but now they were.

They had entered the hunting grounds of one of the forest’s apex predators.

Unfortunately, they didn’t yet know which one.

Everywhere they moved, they saw the local wildlife scrambling for cover—not in fear of them, but of whatever was stalking them.

"Master, the trees..." Udara nudged Alex’s attention upward.

Alex glanced toward the canopy—mid to high tiers.

Even the creatures that dwelled in the upper trees were ducking for cover.

That alone told him enough.

Based on everything he’d experienced so far in the Dankrot Forest, only a powerful jumper, a skilled climber, or—

’A bird.’

Alex’s eyes narrowed as he scanned the upper canopy.

Spirit Sight flared.

A faint, flickering mana signature—partially cloaked—was hidden near the top of a towering tree.

When he followed the trace to its source, what he found was...

"A Nightmare Eagle," he muttered grimly.

-

[Nightmare Eagle]

[Standing at 1.5 metres tall, with a wingspan of 4 metres, this massive bird of prey boasts jet-black and ashen-grey feathers that shimmer with a spectral glow. Its eyes glow with a dull crimson light in the dark, capable of striking terror into the hearts of weaker creatures who meet its gaze. Each of its 20cm-long mana-infused, dagger-like talons can shred through even hardened knight-class armour. Its grip strength is second only to one among all known eagle species.

[Strength varies depending on age and hunting environment. However, if there’s even a suspicion that the Eagle has reached Elite rank, anyone below Veteran rank should flee or hide immediately!]

-

Alex’s eyes locked onto the Nightmare Eagle—one of the true apex predators of the Dankrot, even in its inner and core regions.

It was one of the rare avian beasts known to reach the Legendary Rank purely through longevity—without needing atavism.

Spirit Sight instinctively broke down the creature’s energy signature.

This world’s version of a Harpy Eagle—only larger, more intelligent, and far more dangerous.

Even in its current stage, it could lift an average unarmoured human and fly a short distance.

At Elite rank and above?

Even fully armoured heavy knights became fair game.

’Size: 1.5 metres. Energy signature: Peak Intermediate Rank.’

Alex exhaled with visible relief.

The creature hadn’t yet undergone the species’ explosive growth spurt—characteristic of Nightmare Eagles nearing the Elite threshold.

More importantly, it hadn’t developed the devastating racial trait that earned the Nightmare Eagle its dreadful name.

"Master...?" Udara gave him an askance look.

"Do whatever you can to take it down in one engagement," Alex ordered, his voice tight with urgency. "I’ll take point."

"Understood."

Woof!

Fen shot forward, aiming a crushing strike at the tree where the Nightmare Eagle perched.

[Fire Bolt]!

Alex unleashed a bolt of fire at the creature.

"Caw!!"

The Nightmare Eagle screeched and launched off the branch, its feathers releasing a dark shimmer before it vanished mid-air.

[Dream Dive]!

The creature initiated its signature dive—phasing into shadow as it descended.

This was no ordinary aerial assault. [Dream Dive] allowed the Nightmare Eagle to bypass projectile defences and even slip through magical barriers for a brief moment.

Its sharp gaze locked onto Alex—the source of the firebolt.

Halfway through its dive, it extended dagger-like talons toward the seemingly frail mage whose weak barriers wouldn’t protect him in time.

[Shadow Dash]!

But Alex wasn’t alone.

A shadow burst from the earth.

Udara flashed into existence mid-air, propelled by a burst of Internal Energy beneath her feet. She twisted in the air and delivered a spinning kick directly to the Eagle’s wing joint, forcing it back into physical space.

[Shroud Cloud]!

The moment her strike connected, the impact point on the Eagle’s feathers exploded into a cloud of dark smoke. Multiple illusionary copies of the Eagle emerged from the cloud, attempting to obscure the real one’s escape.

Still, the original Eagle maintained its dive. It tore past Udara’s interference—still gunning for Alex.

Its claws extended, its intent to kill unmistakable.

Yet, just as it was about to strike—Alex, who had seemed frozen in fear—grinned.

Human-like confusion flickered in the Nightmare Eagle’s eyes.

Too late.

[Radiant Sun]!

A radiant burst of golden Solar Mana exploded from Alex’s body, flooding the space with high-intensity light.

The Nightmare Eagle screeched mid-air, its dive interrupted as it tumbled. Its darkness-infused feathers could not shield it from a Solar spell like the one Alex intentionally chose.

The sudden light overwhelmed its senses, burning at its wings and blinding it completely.

Alex was about to cast a binding spell to capture the avian beast, but someone moved before him.

[Frost Breath]!

Fen seized the moment, unleashing a frigid breath onto the Eagle’s injured wing joint, freezing it solid. The frost penetrated deep, locking the joint in place and disabling the Eagle’s defensive ability—[Shrouding Mist].

Before the creature could recover, Udara arrived again—this time bringing down both her short swords in a devastating cross-slash.

Crack!

The frozen joint shattered—one of its wings snapped clean off.

"Nooo!!" Alex wailed. "Why did you cut off its wing? You were only supposed to break it!"

"You didn’t—" Udara started to protest, but it was too late.

[Ice Lance]!

Fen, full of enthusiasm, followed through without hesitation.

A thick lance of ice—cast using the improved version of Alex’s original spell—pierced through the Eagle’s lower jaw, bypassing its dense feather armour.

Thud!

The great beast fell.

Its body crashed into the dirt—lifeless.

Alex stood still.

A moment passed.

Then he staggered forward, fell to his knees beside the corpse, and gathered it into his arms.

"No... no... no..."

His voice broke.

He clutched the creature tightly.

"My Senu!!!"

***