Chapter 8
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Ultimate Weapon Bow
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"The numbers?"
Gellpin asked one of his men while inspecting his weapon, and the subordinate hesitated before replying.
"We... we only know there are quite a few of them. The forest is too dark to get an exact count..."
"Three hundred twelve. Looks like they deliberately sent some of their best."
"No way..."
Johann glanced out the window and spoke indifferently. Bix glared at him with even greater hostility than before, and Johann just chuckled.
"What? Afraid I called them in?"
Even Gellpin eyed Johann with faint suspicion, refusing to drop his guard.
"Looks like today wasn't our day after all. Be careful on your way back..."
It was a reasonable suspicion. If Johann were in their shoes, he'd suspect himself too.
'I had a feeling... and it turns out I was right. Of course, not everyone's as loyal to the organization as Bix.'
Crack!
"What the—?!"
Suddenly, Johann slammed his hand down toward the floor, startling the three men into readying themselves against him.
When Johann pulled his hand from the floor, he held a bow and a full quiver of arrows—an astonishing sight. He'd anticipated this and prepared them in advance.
Johann gripped the bow in his left hand and slung the quiver over his side, then addressed Bix.
"You said you wanted an apology from me. Don't waste your energy. Just sit tight here quietly. It'll be over soon."
"W-Wait a—!"
Whoosh.
Bix didn't even finish before Johann vanished from the spot.
"Enemy movement?"
"None, sir. They probably haven't noticed us yet."
"Don't let your guard down. These aren't ordinary bandits. In a place like this, they're more dangerous than a ranger unit. Sharpen your senses and be ready for an ambush from any—"
Spit. Thud...
Knight Beril halted mid-sentence, eyes widening as he warned his soldiers.
A blue flash streaked by, and one of the soldiers shadowing him silently toppled forward.
Beril ducked behind a nearby tree and scanned the fallen soldier's surroundings.
Crackle, zap!
He spotted faint electric currents discharging around the arrow deeply embedded in the ground.
'No reports of archers nearby. Where the hell is it coming from...?'
Then—
Spit.
Another blue flash, and a soldier dropped dead.
This time, with all his senses heightened, Beril pinpointed the arrow's origin.
But that only horrified him more.
'From that cabin? Impossible! It's over three hundred meters away. How...?!'
Kingdom bows maxed out at around 120 meters, with an effective lethal range of 80 at best.
A precise 300-meter shot in a dark forest—and not even with the wind?
'And it's a headwind, no less.'
Yet the arrows kept coming mercilessly, steadily thinning their ranks.
"Take cover behind trees or rocks! When moving, stay low and crawl forward!"
Speed didn't matter anymore. They'd been ambushed and were now the hunted.
"What are you waiting for? Can't you see I'm out of arrows?"
"Y-Yes, sir!"
Johann shouted down from the roof, where he'd been gleefully firing away.
One Resistance fighter reflexively replied and hurriedly tossed up a full quiver.
Johann reloaded and nocked another arrow.
Scanning the forest, he spotted a soldier hiding behind a tree—not with his eyes, but by sensing the bioelectricity flowing through the man's body.
Far clearer than naked-eye sight in broad daylight, like he could reach out and touch him.
Twang. Crackle!
The taut bowstring snapped back, launching the arrow in a straight line amid blue sparks.
"Gahk!"
A death rattle echoed from afar, sending chills through the Resistance fighters.
'Damn it, even hiding behind a tree doesn't help! What kind of monster...?!'
Arrows pierced trees and soldiers alike, rocks and hiders together. Cover meant nothing.
A grimacing Beril squeezed his eyes shut and bellowed at his men.
"Full charge! Close in and take them down!"
Crawling slowly was suicide if hiding was pointless. Reckless, yes—but barring retreat, the most practical order.
"Raaagh!!"
"Charge! Charge!!"
The soldiers roared into a desperate assault. Arrows still claimed lives, but they pressed on.
'Only one arrow at a time! A few more sacrifices to close the distance, and our numbers will win it!'
Was it their furious cries?
The Resistance fighters swallowed hard, steeling for battle. Johann had already culled over twenty without a scratch—that alone was a huge boon.
But they didn't know. This was just the beginning...
"Keep it up. Makes my job easier."
Johann smiled and nocked an arrow. Then something incredible happened.
"W-What the hell is that?!"
"The arrows..."
Crackle, crackle!
A dozen arrows in the quiver sparked blue, then floated silently into the air, hovering around Johann.
"No way... How...?"
"Arrows floating like fish...?"
The hovering arrows froze in perfect formation as he drew the bowstring, tips swiveling toward his target like trained soldiers.
Crackle, zap!
Sporadic electricity arced between the nocked arrow and the floaters—like a chain linking them.
And so—
Twang.
—when Johann released, the chained arrows vanished, streaking across the distance at terrifying speed.
Screams erupted simultaneously from the forest...
"What are you idiots doing?! Hurry up and bring more arrows!"
"R-Right!"
"Arrows! More arrows!"
The awestruck fighters scrambled, but Johann waved them off lazily.
"No need."
He raised his right hand lightly. Blue electricity crackled from his palm.
Then—
Whoooosh! Whoooosh!
"Gah!"
"Incoming arrows! Watch out!"
A barrage hurtled from the enemy lines with ferocious momentum. The fighters raised shields in panic, bracing for impact.
But nothing hit them.
Puzzled, they lowered shields and looked. Jaws dropped.
"Holy..."
"Am I dreaming?"
"This can't be real. No way."
The incoming arrows orbited Johann slowly—not a single miss. Fifty in all.
"He... collected the ones he just fired? How?!"
"Don't ask me. Just be glad we're not facing that monster ourselves."
Creak...
Johann drew the string taut again, thirty arrowheads aimed at the forest.
Twang.
Blue flashes erupted, unleashing another volley.
Whoooosh!
The nightmare repeated...
After several cycles, the forest fell silent—no more screams.
"Th-They're all wiped out. Every arrow pierced heads or hearts..."
Gulp...
Gellpin couldn't believe it. Especially seeing skilled knights like Beril among the corpses.
'Beril...'
Beril had been his successor as Knight Captain, a man of exceptional skill.
Power-hungry and greedy, they clashed often—but his prowess was undeniable.
'Even Beril, who could give me a real fight at full strength, couldn't dodge? An Aura User, equalized with common soldiers...'
Gellpin's gaze shifted to Johann.
"No need for spy defenses now. Anything to say to me?"
"Sorry for suspecting you. Things were so urgent, I didn't have time to—"
Gellpin bowed apologetically, but Johann waved it off and pointed at Bix.
"Not you. Him. The saboteurs are gone, so finish what you started. Right?"
Johann grinned slyly. Bix gulped hard and puffed up his chest.
"O-Of course! Honor the deal! Just... don't harm the other members. Please."
Bix drew his sword and stepped forward, leaving final words for Henderson.
"Henderson, if I die, get the treasure I hid under my bed—or burn it. Before Arua finds it."
"That? Arua took it ages ago. Hasn't she told you? She's been fuming over it."
"......"
Hearing his lover had already claimed his secret stash, Bix accepted his fate cleanly.
"Come at me anytime."
"Raaagh!!"
That night, Bix's screams echoed without end, or so they say.
"Careful with that!"
"Scratch one gem, and I'll carve stripes into that bastard's face."
A caravan crept cautiously into a cave.
The entrance hid cleverly between gorges, hard to spot without getting close.
'From the peaks above, it's wide open for surveillance, and the rugged terrain makes it a natural fortress.'
"Nice stronghold. Solid defenses too. Must've been tough setting up."
"My comrades did the heavy lifting."
Gellpin deflected Johann's genuine praise to his team.
Thus, Johann arrived at the Resistance hideout with Gellpin's group, hauling Philip's caravan loot.
The cave's depths ventilated surprisingly well—no dampness—and torches lit the way adequately.
"This is the residential area."
The vast cavern Gellpin indicated bustled with people in huts or dugouts.
"These are families of Resistance members or refugees fleeing Viscount Domos's tyranny."
"Life here's rough, but they look surprisingly upbeat."
More starved and ill than healthy, yet their faces seemed lighter than those outside.
"At least here, they've got basic freedom."
Freedom...
A value the old wastrel Johann couldn't have grasped. Now, it was etched in his bones.
No wonder these struggling folks smiled.
People eyed the masked stranger with Gellpin curiously or warily—no fear.
A testament to their trust in him.
Johann passed through the quarters and entered Gellpin's office, meeting the waiting executives.