Chapter 47
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: The Divine Bow's Fury
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Despite his poor physical condition, his competitive spirit burned as fiercely as ever.
Gerard's mad thirst for victory showed no regard for the opponent.
"Sorry, what can I do? I'm not interested in a punk like you."
This time, it wasn't just empty words.
Julr's enthusiasm evaporated in an instant, and she waved her hand dismissively, as if annoyed.
Whirr.
The wind gathered into a sharp throwing star.
Wind Cutter
3rd Circle magic wielding physical force with the power of wind
Though she had focused on chimeras, Julr was unmistakably a grand mage.
She didn't even need to chant for a mere 3rd Circle spell.
"You think that'll work?!"
Gerard glared at the rapidly approaching shuriken and hoisted his shield with all his might.
Claaang.
The wind shuriken clashed against the shield, ringing out a piercing metallic screech.
"Urk!"
The impact exceeded his expectations, sending Gerard groaning as he was shoved straight back.
Scraaape.
Just looking at the two deep parallel gouges left on the floor showed how staunchly he'd held his ground.
But that was as far as it went.
The wind shuriken sliced halfway through Gerard's shield—and that wasn't enough; it tore into his forearm as well.
The muscles of his forearm were shredded miserably, exposing bone.
It was the moment when the overwhelming gap in skill proved impossible to overcome with sheer guts alone.
A grand mage indeed!
Yet Gerard grinned ferociously, pouring strength into his eyes.
"Auntie, I thought you had some real moves, but that's it? It just tickles."
Gerard didn't even think to staunch the wound as he trudged forward, taking up his position again.
Of course, he wasn't blindly acting tough out of ignorance.
"I'll hold out as long as I can. Run."
Without moving his lips, Gerard ventriloquized a secret message to Arize.
"Oh? You think there's somewhere to run to?"
The reply came not from Arize, but from Julr.
This was Julr's domain.
No matter how quietly he whispered, it couldn't escape her senses.
"Explosion!"
Explosion
Powerful 4th Circle magic triggering a massive blast in arbitrary space
A death sentence for Gerard, who had already lost his shield.
'Damn it. I'll tank this spell with my body!'
Gerard didn't close his eyes.
Instead, he glared even harder, thrusting his body forward.
But Arize was faster.
"Gerard, dodge!"
Arize, greatsword raised, shoved Gerard aside and took the spell in his place.
Booom.
A colossal explosion erupted simultaneously, greedily swallowing the mercenary band.
Whoooosh.
The aftermath was devastating.
Gerard, already gravely wounded, had completely lost consciousness and collapsed.
Arize's condition was far from good either.
Even drawing on all her mana for defense hadn't been enough.
The blast had broken her ribs and twisted both arms. Shattered bones tore through muscle, jutting out as she vomited blood.
Cloryang's entire body was charred black, and she gasped in agony.
These were no light injuries.
But compared to the others, she looked the most intact.
"Gerard! Arize..."
It was a hellish scene.
Cloryang pitifully murmured her comrades' names as she painfully crawled toward them.
"O Almighty Bella, I beseech you. For your child..."
Even in this moment of despair, Cloryang squeezed out every ounce of strength to chant a divine prayer.
Despite her own dire state, she extended the hand of life toward Gerard and Arize first.
At that, Julr—who had worn a loathsome sneer all along—contorted her face viciously.
"How dare you! Do you know where you are?!"
As holy power began to gather bit by bit, Julr spasmed and raised both arms.
"You filthy worm! I'll crush you myself!"
Immense mana oozed from the greatly enraged Julr's hands.
But at that instant!
Bang!
A roar exploded from the rock pile where Ruyan was buried, accompanied by a violent blast.
Shattered stone dust scattered everywhere, and swirling dirt clouds obscured vision.
"Hoo!"
From beyond the vortex, Ruyan exhaled deeply as he unsteadily rose to his feet.
It was a completely different appearance.
His neat hair was a tangled mess, and a faint trickle of dried blood marred his mouth.
His clothes were torn in places, and his chest was outright ripped open—little more than rags now.
"What a sight."
Ruyan glanced down at his bedraggled state and shook his head.
"A little... just a little..."
Ruyan dusted off his shoulders, muttering to himself.
When he raised his head, an immense energy erupted from his eyes.
"I'm pissed."
Rumble.
Green energy surged from Ruyan's entire body, blazing fiercely.
Azure inner energy and golden mana intertwined, forming massive wings on his back.
This was the Divine Bow's true form!
"W-What?!"
Startled by the overwhelming presence, Julr forgot to cast her spell and stumbled back.
"It won't take long. Stay put."
Ruyan glanced at Julr and tossed out the words before turning toward the shadow.
"I've incurred a debt unintentionally."
Creak.
Ruyan spread his hand, then carefully folded his fingers one by one, properly gripping the bow.
What calamity would unfold from those fingertips? Just watching made one's shoulders instinctively hunch in dread.
Unable to bear the unease any longer, Julr bellowed.
"What are you doing?! Cut off its limbs! Just don't kill it!"
At Julr's command, the shadow rippled once more.
Fwhoosh.
No visible leg movement, yet the shadow was already charging at Ruyan.
Tremendous speed indeed!
But Ruyan's hand was even faster.
Swoosh.
An arrow slipped smoothly from the quiver, following his hand.
Like water, like wind—its natural flow settled onto the string.
Strength poured into the fingers nocking the arrow, and the bow screamed under the strain.
Creak.
The bow bent beyond ninety degrees, nearly folding. Then, as the tightly drawn bow finally stretched—
A single beam of light bloomed.
A green ray too fast to track with the eye tore through space, leaving no afterimage.
The god's silent punishment, without even sound.
Silent Arrow
Soundless divine retribution
The beam flew straight, sucked into the shadow.
Claaaaang.
A savage metallic screech threatened to deafen.
Screeech.
But the noise didn't end there.
At the source of the relentless ear-piercing sound, something astonishing unfolded.
Grrrind.
The shadow ground against the arrowhead, scattering repeatedly yet resisting to the end.
Finally, a massive hole gaped in the shadow's arm—and the arrow, spent, dropped limply.
Silent Arrow had been blocked!
A secret technique even the Moyong Family head couldn't stop in the Central Plains had been sealed.
The shadow, arm torn open, paused briefly but soon regained its form.
How had a human created such a monster? The shadow was on another level from the other chimeras.
"What a freakish thing."
Ruyan furrowed his brow slightly and raised his bow again.
"Fire Arrow."
Fire Arrow
Infernal flame arrow that once incinerated Mason Village's walls
Golden mana swirled into a massive pillar of fire.
Roar.
At the end of the pillar—sturdier than a spear—the flames of hell blazed viciously.
The flame arrow that had burned Mason Village's walls five years ago!
Ruyan's new secret technique revealed itself once more.
Creak.
As the massive flame arrow nocked, the sacred wood gleamed faintly, bending even further.
And he loosed it.
Fwoosh.
The trailing flames resembled a dragon taking flight.
The ferocious fire dragon scorched even the wind, obliterating everything in its path.
This time, did the shadow sense the crisis?
It didn't meet it head-on, swiftly dodging aside.
Slither.
The shadow nearly dispersed, reforming 5 meters away.
A ghostly evasion impossible for any human.
The fire dragon grazed empty space futilely, its momentum for naught.
But was that truly the end?
This was the Divine Bow's arrow. It never missed its mark.
The fire dragon that had swept past empty air suddenly whipped around, engulfing the shadow in one gulp.
Booom.
Scorching heat spread as a majestic explosion bloomed.
A fierce aftershock followed, raking and shaking the entire lab.
Whooosh.
Struck defenseless by the flame arrow, the shadow writhed violently, as if in convulsions.
A perfect strike.
Yet Ruyan kept his bow raised, glaring even more sharply at the shadow.
'Hah! It endured even this.'
Even as the aftershock blurred his vision, Ruyan confirmed it clearly.
The thing hadn't died.
Engulfed in flames, the shadow was forcibly regenerating, hanging on.
Did it not even feel pain? It simply flailed its arms, shaking off the fire.
"Graaah!"
For the first time, the shadow opened its maw and roared.
Its burned body rapidly healed, black smoke reforming its frame.
Fwoosh.
Reborn, perhaps.
Its hazy form sharpened, white eyes brimming with murderous intent.
"A pity you were born impure."
Ruyan muttered bitterly, extending his left hand toward the void.
A monster that shouldn't exist.
Especially one blindly obeying an evildoer—it had to be dealt with.
'I'll end it here.'
Decision made, there was no reason to hold back.
"Lightning Arrow!"
Lightning Arrow
Essence of thunderbolts, ten roaring thunder dragons descending
True power filled Ruyan's voice. Following it, vast mana ignited like wildfire.
Rumble.
Golden mana surged from all directions, shaking the lab violently.
Crackle.
The mana filling heaven and earth coalesced into massive beams of light.
Thunder Dragon Descent!
Each one spewing monstrous heat—the essence of lightning numbered ten in total.
Ruyan seized one roaring thunder dragon from the air and nocked it.
Twang.
The first thunder dragon burst forth wildly. The bow bent again, spitting fire.
Twang.
In an instant, ten arrows flew in succession, scattering to encircle the shadow.
The thunder dragons imbued in the arrows threatened to melt the shadow just by existing.
Screech.
The arrows, scattering in all directions, suddenly veered sharply.
Aiming their blazing tips at the shadow, they converged once more.
The moment of judgment.
Only then did Ruyan lower his bow. Instead, he clenched his empty hand fiercely.
"Explode."
The ten thunder dragons encircling and flying around the shadow plunged down in unison.
Swoooosh.
The lightning arrows accelerated, outpacing even sound.
Ten Lightning Arrows.
All transformed into Silent Arrows, shredding space.
Kaboom! Kaboom! Kaboom!
In a mere instant, a colossal bombardment struck.
The Divine Bow's arrows allowed no time to counter, no space to react.
The myriad bolts converging on one point were heavenly punishment itself.
Crackle. Zap.
The savage lightning dispersed into the air, then regrouped and detonated.
Booooom.
The Divine Bow's martial arts fully unleashed—the supreme technique!
A supreme void that made even the Tang Family's Myriad Heavenly Flower Shower look shabby.
Divine Archery Ultimate Technique.
Tempest Arrow Storm.
The arrow rain pouring like a gale leaves nothing on the earth.
The legend of the Central Plains, the Divine Bow's ultimate art, was reborn as heavenly retribution on the Sobles Continent.
Infused with the power of magic.