Chapter 24
Chapter 24
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Genius Divine Archer Who Became a One-Man Legion
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Never get close to him.”
Lian spoke firmly to his squad members as he set up a small ambush formation.
Kyle furrowed his brow at Lian’s words.
“Squad leader, we’re throwing three steel nets at him. Why worry? Normal guys couldn’t even move their bodies.”
“Three steel nets… that’s over fifty kilos of weight.”
And those were for large monsters, no less.
But Lian shook his head at his squad members’ words.
“No, you don’t understand the power of an Aura User.”
Those steel nets?
An Aura User who was serious about it could slice through them in a second.
No, a Master-level Aura User would dismantle them completely before they even touched his body.
Lian recalled the meeting he’d had with his squad members while watching Garell trapped in the steel net.
Just as Lian had said, even though the steel net had enveloped Garell, not a single squad member approached him.
They merely drew their short javelins.
“Throw!”
“Die, you bastard!”
“Kill this one and we’re done!”
The squad members, surrounding him from three directions, hurled their javelins at Garell simultaneously.
Though they were short spears less than a meter long, their compressed power made them stronger than ordinary spears.
The moment the squad members’ javelins struck Garell’s body.
Clang-!
“You bastards!”
The axe in his hand flashed, slicing the sturdy steel net like rope.
Thud!
But two out of the ten javelins wounded him.
Even then, he’d twisted to dodge, so none had embedded properly.
At that moment,
Screeech!
Lian’s arrow, seizing the opening, pierced Garell’s left calf.
“Urk!”
Garell’s face twisted in pain as his gaze locked onto Lian.
He rose as if to charge right then, but Lian and the six squad members fled without looking back.
A disaster stood before them.
They knew full well they could vanish without a trace the moment they clashed.
‘This is enough.’
He’d already kept the man out of the battle for quite a while. Plus, an arrow in one leg and fresh wounds.
Of course, it wouldn’t fully suppress Garell’s combat prowess, but it wasn’t an exaggeration to say they’d tied his feet here.
“The enemy commander is here!”
Then Lian shouted at the top of his lungs.
As his cry echoed and spread, Garell’s eyes flickered.
By now, kingdom soldiers and others had turned their attention to Garell.
‘…Damn.’
Only then did he realize.
He’d penetrated too deep into enemy territory.
Of course, those around were only Eagle Company members, but the sight of over fifty soldiers and knights was enough to instill a sense of crisis.
“You… what’s your name?”
“Lian.”
“I’ll remember it.”
With that, Garell turned and ran.
The other soldiers gaped at Garell’s sudden retreat.
“H-He’s running!”
“Catch him!”
No one had imagined a barbarian chieftain fleeing before the enemy.
Platoon leaders and soldiers chased desperately, but
‘No one can catch a guy running for his life.’
Regrettably, no one in Eagle Company could match him head-on.
At Phelon Gorge, three knights had somehow held their own, but only because he’d engaged.
Trying to block a charging beast like that was a one-way ticket to the afterlife.
“A shame, isn’t it? Killing that guy would skyrocket our status.”
“Trying to rise in status could send you straight to the heavens vertically. Always distinguish what you can do from what you can’t.”
“…Understood.”
Kyle replied with a regretful expression. But the war wasn’t over yet.
“They’ll pull back now. Their ambush failed, and they took more losses than us.”
“So we’ve held them off for now, right?”
Isaac, who had approached Lian, asked.
Lian nodded.
“For now.”
But they wouldn’t give up.
No, more accurately, they couldn’t afford to.
“Let’s prepare for the next battle. That one will really be do-or-die.”
There were two reasons they’d won so easily.
First, Lian’s plan had worked perfectly.
They’d crossed the Isis River and set up a quick ambush, hiding the main force away from the castle to lower enemy guard.
Because of that, second.
In hindsight, the barbarians had grown overconfident, thinking they could take Saleron easily.
They’d let their guard down.
These two factors aligned perfectly, allowing their great victory.
‘Our balance of power is still against us.’
Still, they’d felled an enormous number of barbarians in this battle.
They’d killed many warriors in a short time, but numerically, they were still at a disadvantage.
“Our side has quite a few wounded too.”
Night would fall soon.
Some might feel it was a peaceful night,
‘But for others, it could be the fiercest.’
He hoped it wouldn’t be them.
Lian turned, recalling memories from his past life.
* * *
“Hahaha! Incredible! Truly incredible!”
“You flatter me.”
After the great victory, Baron Biovan immediately summoned Raymond and praised him.
But Raymond shook his head.
“No, sir. There’s a soldier who contributed greatly to this operation’s success.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
Baron Biovan’s eyes sparkled.
He’d suspected from the start that this plan wasn’t Raymond’s idea.
Not that he underestimated him.
Their styles were just too different.
This operation was bold and highly aggressive.
Raymond, by contrast, always favored stability and certainty.
Raymond nodded at Baron Biovan’s reaction.
“Yes. Squad Leader Lian under my command. Without him, executing the plan successfully would have been difficult.”
Raymond acknowledged Lian’s merits.
Indeed, without him, such results would have been hard.
Baron Biovan chuckled and clapped Raymond’s shoulder.
“But your role in accepting and executing it was crucial. I’m curious about this man. Let’s meet him after the war.”
“Yes, sir.”
As Raymond replied, Baron Biovan continued.
“Anyway, Eagle Company delivered a massive victory. They say we killed nearly four hundred barbarians in this first clash. Including wounded, that’s nearly half their force crippled.”
“But we have a fair number of wounded too. How about we defend from the castle tomorrow, treat them, and rest?”
Raymond judged the situation coolly.
Though they’d won big with the first operation, the barbarians’ strength was nothing to scoff at.
Especially their overwhelming combat power in a head-on clash—they’d experienced it this time too.
Even with ambush and surprise, over two hundred kingdom soldiers were wounded.
Naturally, they needed to focus on recovery now.
“No, we won’t.”
But Baron Biovan shook his head.
Raymond looked at him in surprise.
“What do you mean, sir? We won’t…?”
“At dawn tomorrow! We’ll take all forces and attack the retreating barbarians.”
“…!”
Raymond’s eyes widened.
What nonsense was this?
But Baron Biovan explained to him.
“They’ve already lost four hundred, and over a thousand including wounded. More than half their force is hit.”
“But even so, their numbers match ours. And the wounded aren’t completely out of the fight, are they?”
Leaving the castle to fight was reckless.
He couldn’t say it aloud, but one-on-one, the barbarian warriors outclassed kingdom soldiers.
The Artian Kingdom’s army was strong thanks to superior tactics.
A flat-out open-field brawl was pure madness.
At Raymond’s words, Baron Biovan turned to gaze outside the tent.
Then he said,
“Company Commander Raymond, do you know the kingdom’s current situation?”
“What do you mean, sir?”
“Why do you think the original 3rd Battalion for Saleron was pulled, and our 2nd came instead? And why Eagle Company alone was sent here on special orders? You truly don’t know?”
“Well…”
Raymond trailed off.
He knew well they were pawns in the kingdom’s political games.
But he couldn’t speak carelessly on uncertain matters.
As Raymond fell silent, Biovan continued.
“As you know, the princes’ power struggle is fierce. Anything could happen anytime.”
“Hmm…”
“In that context, pulling us here means 3rd Prince went out on a limb.”
Baron Biovan sighed deeply.
“I didn’t plan for this either. But your success has set the stage to end this battle quickly.”
Baron Biovan pointed to the map.
“I intend to wrap this up fast and return to Kaleron.”
Kaleron was the city where the 3rd Prince was building his base.
Not far from the capital, it could be a double-edged sword.
Biovan said to Raymond,
“The capital is already under 2nd Prince Byron’s control. With military command and the council twisted, who knows what he’ll do.”
Baron Biovan saw this as a golden opportunity.
No one expected them to end the Saleron battle this swiftly.
“If we finish tomorrow, we can thwart 2nd Prince’s plans. We’d be an unpredictable variable.”
“…”
Raymond’s expression grew complicated at Baron Biovan’s words.
He knew soldiers’ fates turned unhappy whenever politics intervened.
Unease sprouted in his heart.
Yet he couldn’t defy Baron Biovan.
“…I’ll follow your orders.”
“Thank you. Eagle Company will lead tomorrow’s attack. They’ll claim the greatest merits from Saleron’s victory.”
At Baron Biovan’s words, Raymond could only wear a complicated expression.
* * *
Tyler urgently relayed the command to all platoon members.
Lian couldn’t hide his shock upon hearing it.
“We’re going out to the plains to hit the barbarians?”
“At dawn tomorrow, prepare and strike the retreating barbarians before they recover. They aim to end the war fast.”
“H-Ha, but that’s insane! Nothing’s scarier than a wounded beast. We hold the advantage in supplies and terrain. Hold the castle, and they’ll tire and collapse on their own.”
Lian said to Tyler.
The other squad leaders said nothing but looked at Tyler in agreement.
Tyler’s expression was complicated at their gazes.
He knew Lian was right, but he understood the underlying reasons somewhat.
“…Sigh, but the order’s given. There must be cause to rush the battle.”
“…”
They couldn’t refuse top-down orders.
As the squad leaders’ faces darkened, Tyler continued.
“The company commander seems troubled by this too. But… if we win tomorrow, Eagle Company gets the lion’s share of merits.”
“…Yes, we’ll prepare.”
“We’ll follow orders.”
No turning back.
The squad leaders replied one by one.
Lian pondered as he returned to his squad.
‘Fighting out there is suicide. No telling our casualties…’
But what choice did they have?
Just do what they could now.
Lian immediately called Kyle.
He’d planned to check after the barbarian fight,
‘But with this, no choice. For tomorrow’s battle… I need it.’
Giaf’s bracelet.
Get Giaf’s bracelet and return before dawn.
Lian bit his lip and looked at the approaching Kyle.
“Squad leader, what’s up so suddenly?”
“I need your help.”
“…Me? With what?”
Kyle tilted his head.
Among squad members—no, all of Eagle Company—Kyle was one of the strongest physically.
Lian said to Kyle,
“I need to get into somewhere, but it’s locked now.”
“So?”
“Break the door for me.”
“…Pardon?”