65. Rage, Rage Against The Dying Of The Light.
With his hands raised in the air, he spoke with pain and sorrow in his voice, as he recited one of his favorite poems from Earth.
"Do not go gentle into that dark night,
Old age should burn and rave close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words forked no lightning they,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave bye, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in the green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
As he finished the poem, he closed his eyes and pointed his hand towards the castle, casting Meteor Swarm.
After witnessing Archer's defeat of the soldiers, the people from the caravan began to calm down.
All of a sudden, a brilliant light caught the attention of everyone present, and they gazed upwards to witness a flaming meteor falling from the sky and heading straight for the distant castle.
The meteor appeared as a blazing ball of violet, trailing sparks and smoke in its wake.
It drew nearer, Najee, Sarwana, and the rest of the caravan could feel the intense heat radiating from it, causing the air to warp and shimmer.
With a thunderous boom, the meteor collided with the castle, unleashing shockwaves that reverberated throughout the surrounding region, knocking the onlookers to their backsides in shock.
The castle walls crumbled and fell, and flames burst forth from the rubble, casting an eerie violet hue across the landscape.
Despite the destruction, everyone was entranced by the stunning scene before them.
The violet flames swirled and flickered, creating a hypnotic dance of light and shadow.
Archer, disregarding the people around him, flew towards the castle ruins, hoping to find some coins.
Approaching the mountain, he couldn't help but notice the massive crater that had been carved into its side.
Coming to a halt just above it, he activated his advanced technology and began scanning the area, searching for any clues as to what could have caused such a dramatic impact.
The crater loomed before him, a stark reminder of the power and unpredictability of the natural world.
After searching for a while, Archer received dozens of pings emanating from the mountain.
He flew towards them but couldn't see anything, so he started to look around.
Archer quickly located the entrance to the escape passage that led deeper into the mountain.
Quickly making his way into the tunnel, he chased after the fleeing men, flapping his wings to pick up speed as the tunnel was big enough to fly in.
Suddenly, he noticed two men standing still.
One held a massive shield, and the other, a mage, held up a staff and cast a few fireballs at him.
Archer stopped flying and landed on the floor, skidding to a halt.
He raised his wings and defended himself against the spells.
Just then, he heard a whistling sound and something metallic pinged off his wing, causing an explosion.
Although his wings managed to take most of the damage, Archer's skin still got singed by the explosion.
He flapped his wings, sending the flames flying toward the two men, but a priestess stepped forward and cast a shield, blocking the flames from hitting them.
As everything settled down, the group of three stared at Archer, and he stared back at them.
Suddenly, the knight with the shield shouted out in pain.
"Why did you destroy the castle? There were innocent people here!"
Archer glared at the man with fiery anger blazing in his eyes.
"How dare you talk of innocent people!"
With a sudden burst of energy, his Dragon Aura surged forth, causing the three to quickly back off in fear as he let out a powerful shout.
"After what they did to the Dragon-kin, there was no one innocent in this castle! The whole Kaiga Kingdom will burn for what they did!"
His Aura shook the tunnel, sending the three flying backward.
As they grappled with one another, their struggle intensified until they both crashed to the ground.
Struggling to regain their footing, they scrambled to get back up, each determined to gain the upper hand in their fierce battle.
The sound of their bodies hitting the floor echoed through the room, a testament to the intensity of their struggle.
The priestess got back to her feet first and quickly tried to justify the reason the Kingdom butchered the Dragon-kin tribes.
"They were raiders. What did you expect to happen when they got caught?"
But Archer was beyond reason.
"You are trying to justify what I just witnessed, the horrible deaths of children and old people!"
He had enough and snapped.
Archer's anger exploded, and with a fierce roar, he unleashed his dragon breath, sending a searing blast of fire toward the three Kaigans.
They tried to dodge, but the flames engulfed the mage, burning him to ashes.
The other two witnessed the attack and panicked, turning on their heels to run, but both were hit with the dangerous violet flames.
Archer stood there and watched as the ashes floated away.
He quickly took off and chased after the remaining survivors.
Zooming through the tunnels, he quickly caught up to the fleeing group, which consisted of over 30 men running further ahead.
With an evil smile, he flexed his claws and dropped to his feet, looking up at them.
Suddenly, Archer started Thunder-Stepping until he appeared in the center of the group, emitting an ominous cackle.
"Mwa-ha-ha-ha!" he laughed, his eyes glinting with malice.
Casting Cosmic Enhancement on himself, he felt his body become even stronger.
He started slashing, catching the soldiers off guard.
One by one, the soldiers dropped like flies under Archer's never-ending attacks.
Feeling a blade swinging towards him, he Thunder Stepped again and appeared behind the man.
Using his slender tail, he pierced the man's chest and threw the now-dead body at the approaching men.
Utilizing Thunder Step to evade incoming attacks, he deftly maneuvered around his enemies, firing precise Plasma Shots into their chests.
With each shot, he gained ground and pushed back against their assault, determined to emerge victorious from the fray.
His quick reflexes and deadly accuracy made him a formidable opponent, and his enemies soon found themselves struggling to keep up with his lightning-fast movements.
His tail attacked as if it had a mind of its own, piercing unsuspecting soldiers who came too close to Archer.
Archer was effortlessly killing the Kaigian soldiers until a massive yellow blast flew toward him.
He quickly cast a Cosmic Shield to block the attack, but it pushed him back despite holding up.
Looking toward the direction of the attack, Archer saw a tall, bearded, black man dressed in expensive light armor.
As the man let go of the lifeless body of a mage, his gaze shifted toward Archer, who was hiding in the shadows with a mix of curiosity and recognition.
"So, you're the infamous boy who destroyed Eastwatch castle and now Sunspear," he said.
Archer nodded, keeping a watchful eye on the man.
The man sighed and made his way over to a rock that jutted out of the wall and sat down.
"You see, I tried to stop what was happening to the Dragon-kin. After all, my wife is one," he explained.
Archer's eyes widened in surprise at the man's revelation.
"Where is she?" he asked.
The man's expression turned wistful as he looked off into the distance before replying to Archer's question.
"I sent her and the children to the Aquarian Kingdom capital before the King ordered the extermination of the Dragon-kin."
Archer walked closer to the man, he asked.
"What's your name?"
The black-skinned man tried to look at Archer to see what the boy looked like but couldn't see him while he stood there.
"I'm Mohamet Kaba. I was the 3rd general of the Kaiga Kingdom."
He took a step closer to the man, Archer raised an eyebrow inquisitively.
The man's eyes widened in amazement as he took in the boy's white Draconic features for the first time, whispering to himself in disbelief.
"Ah, so she was telling the truth," he muttered, his voice filled with wonder.
Archer tilted his head, curious as to what the man was referring to.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked.
Mohamet had never seen white horns before, and he had seen many horns of Dragon-kin people, but they stood out in stark contrast to his wife's red-colored horns.
He coughed to clear his throat before informing the boy.
"She told me about the legends of the White Dragon King," the man said.
His voice filled with awe.
"He was said to be friendly to all races, and he didn't discriminate even though the church provoked him non-stop."
Archer nodded, a sense of pride swelling within him.
Ever since he arrived on Thrylos, he had always known that he was different.
So when someone finally acknowledged his Draconic features, he welcomed the rare experience.
Mohamet stared at the strange boy, sensing that he would go places in the future.
At that moment, he decided on a new path forward in his life.
He stood up and walked towards Archer, the young boy saw the big man quickly approaching him. In a split second, he Thunder Stepped backward.
Getting away from him, he readied himself to cast a spell if the big man tried anything.
The sudden movement caused Mohamet to burst out laughing, holding his stomach.
His armor jiggled, making a metal-hitting-metal sound.
Archer stared at him, waiting for an explanation as to why he had suddenly started walking towards him like that.