I'm still injured a little from the minor burns from cauterizing Zaka's wounds, and also likely from the steam on bst that temporarily deafened me. Plus I'm missing some mana still from when I activated the steam on, and from making the mortar ale while treating Zaka. I'm definitely not in perfect dition, but I'm also not particurly injured. I'm heading into this battle with the io kill this eagle, but failing that, I hope that in its iate, I at least run away.
As I get closer to the eagle, the sounds it is making are getting so loud that I barely focus. I'm not losing any HP to the volume, but I'm starting to hear ringing in my ears when the eagle isn't screeg. Not long after having this issue, I arrive at the location of the eagle.
The moon is bright within the sky giving me a det view of the whole se. The eagle is lying on the ground surrounded by broken branches be and small. The nearby trees clearly took quite a hit as the eagle fell through them. The eagle itself has multiple injuries across its body. Its breast, whially appears to be white with small bck triangles appears stained a blood red. The source of the blood is clearly multiple rge holes peppered across its chest. One of the eagle's wings appears retively fine, while its other wing is bent unnaturally, and is missing mahers.
I'm still a good twenty yards away from the eagle, but even from here, I see just he it is. The trees here staween sixty and one hundred feet tall, and the eagle on the ground is about teall. If it was standing up, I'd bet that it would easily stand at thirty feet from head to toe. As I try to sneak closer, the eagle tilts its head towards me, and after a few seds, it forcibly stands up, revealing that the talon that held Zaka is badly damaged. Despite the injury, it forces itself up to face me.
I stay stationary, unsure as to what the eagle might do. I get into a low position, ready to move at a moments notibsp; With a single beat of its uninjured wing, the eagle sends a massive bst of air in my dire. I notice a sed too te that this isn't a normal wihough. The trees between the eagle and I groan and debris flies both into and past me as I'm suddenly thrown backwards. I drop my spear as I tumble on the ground a few times.
I check my hp and see I'm at 2044. No matter how many times I see new magic, I'm always caught off guard. One of these days, it very well might get me killed, in fact, I imagine if that eagle had both wings w I very well might have died just now. I get bay feet, thankful for my scaly babsp; Only my front side has cerations from all the branches and twigs that flew past me.
That wind bst is going to be a big issue for me. In order to deal with the eagle, I o get close to it, a closer to the ground. There is no ear wounds are going to be enough, so I'll have to use my improved earth spike. I think what I'll o do is get in close enough to spike the eagle's good talon, so it falls to the ground, and I finish it off. I'll only get one shot at spiking the talon, since I'll need a sed use of earth spike to attempt to kill the eagle.
The first issue is getting to within te of the eagle. It stands at almost three times that height, which meaing in close is going to be very difficult, however, I do have one advantage. We're in a forest, and there are trees all around. If the eagle had both wings funing, it probably could uproot the trees with a wind bst, but si 't, I think I'll o literally hug the trees as I approach, and attempt to hold out through wind bsts until I dash in to smash the eagle's good talon.
With a battle p out, I begin dashing towards the eagle. It sees me dashing towards it, and brings its wing up to perform another bst. I dive towards the rgest nearby tree, and hold on behind it as a massive bst of air pressure and debris flies past me and I hear the tree groan. Just as soon as the wind bst passes by, I begin dashing towards the eagle again. It lets out a deafening screech, making my ears ring. If I hadn't been temporarily deafened earlier, this might have distracted me enough for it to send me flying with another wind bst, but thankfully, I focus up enough to hold on to aree as the massive eagle's wis for a sed time i few seds.
I've closed about half the gap between the eagle and myself now. I tinue my dash towards it, and it sends another wind bst at me. Only one or two more of those bsts and I'll be within range now. I weave betweerees towards the giant eagle, its imposing figure taking up more and more of my field of view. I'm almost there now.
I dive behind a tree as another wind bst flies my way. As I've gotten closer, the air pressure is getting even stronger from those bsts. The eagle screeches again just after the wind bst. I go to start running again, but as I do, I'm caught off guard. The eagle had been a good twenty five feet or so away when I dove behind the tree, but as I came back out from behind it, the eagle had closed the gap siderably, and was leaning forward to strike me with its beak as I came out from behind the tree.
My legs strain as I reverse my dire and dive back behind the tree. Where I was a moment ago, the eagle's beak snaps shut, and within a blink of my eyes, it has retracted from where my body was. If I had reacted faster, I might have been able to earth spike its head at that moment, but I had expected it to stay still with one of its legs already damaged.
Before I could run out from the tree again, the eagle bsts the area with wind again. I'm w if it has me trapped, rather thaher way around right now. I'm certain if I dive out to run again, it'll attempt to bite me with its massive beak. I peak around the er, and as I do, its head es down again, and this time, I'm forced to dive back around the tree and into the open. I scramble to my feet, and move behind a ree nearby.
If this keeps up, I'm a goner. I get a fsh of inspiration though. If this eagle has predatory instincts like animals from earth, then I might be able to pump fake it. If I fsh my tail out from one side of the tree before sprinting around the other side, I might be able to dash towards the eagle in the brief moments between the wing bsts and pecks. The issue with that is I 't test it. I have to it. If I test it ohe eagle might cat, and it'll predict that I do it again.
Another bst of wind flies past the tree. It's now or never. I fsh my tail out one side of the tree, and a half sed ter begin dashing around the other side, and towards the eagle. I see fusion in the eagle's eyes as it's body is already moving towards where my tail was, but instead, I'm now more than five feet away from there. The eagle attempts to adjust for my ge in position as I tio dash towards it. Luckily for me, it attempts to move its injured wing as part of this maneuver, and instead of properly adjusting, it lets out a deafening screech, aracts its head backwards.
I finally get within te of the good talon, and cast improved earth spike. Three rge spikes of stone e out of the ground at different angles, and pierce the eagle's good talon. It attempts to move the talon back due to the sudden pain, only for the earth spikes to tear through its flesh, and the eagle stumbles and falls onto its babsp; While on its back, it screeches again, and sends a wind bst harmlessly upwards. A few seds ter, leaves and twigs rain down in the area.
The eagle is clearly struggling to move properly now as I begin to run around it, attempting to get to its head. It tio dangerously fil on the ground, so I move outward to keep myself safe from any sudden ued movements. It's a good thing I did too, because moments ter, the eagle rolls onto its broken wing. It lets out another deafening screech, and throws out a wind bst away from me, sending its entire body rolling towards me. This thing really won't give up.
Thankfully, I was far enough away now that I could get behind a tree as the eagle's body broke a nearby tree a even more debris flying. Now however, the eagle's head is within range. It opens its mouth to let out another deafening screech, but never makes this final sound.
Three earth spikes pierce through it's skull and neck, and instantly, its body goes limp. It's beak is left ajar, and it's eyes remain focused on the spot where I am standing.
I let out a sigh of relief, and slump down behind the tree to catch my breath. The whole battle only took a few mi most, but it felt like hours passed. The eagle is dead. I'm exhausted.
I get up from behind the tree after a few minutes, and double check that the eagle is dead. After I'm sure, I go up to it and pluck a few massive wihers from its dirtied, but intact wing. Each feather is taller than I am. I'd love to sit and ihe eagle more thhly, but I think Zaka is more important right now, and it's night time anyway, so I begirip back to the cave.