Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Genius Divine Archer Who Became a One-Man Legion
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Before long, the distance between them and the enemies began to close bit by bit.
Jerok's eyes flashed at the sight.
"Heh heh heh heh, pretty fast, but you can't escape us."
"Grab them!"
"I'll rip their heads off! Heh heh heh!"
The barbarian warriors shouted in the kingdom's tongue, their eyes wild with madness as they chased the rush unit.
Meanwhile, Gerard, who had broken off from the unit and lain in ambush in the underbrush, furrowed his brow.
"What the fuck are those bastards saying?"
"Quiet."
"......Yes, sir."
At Lian's single word, Gerard held his breath and watched them.
The path ahead was straight as an arrow right now, so it felt like they were being caught up to.
But even this was a situation Brandt had deliberately created by adjusting the unit's speed to give them some leeway.
'The unit will soon scatter along the prepared paths and vanish completely.'
And the moment they scattered, the enemies would have no choice but to split up as well.
That would be the start of the hunt.
Lian glanced at Jedron and Semut on either side of him.
The two men simply nodded silently in response to Lian's gaze.
They understood what he meant without him needing to say it.
Gerard blinked as he watched the three of them.
It was as if they shared something he lacked.
And sure enough, as the rush unit split into five directions and vanished, the barbarians began to panic.
"SHGAKZK-!"
"WHCDK! WHCDK!"
"DLwHR-! DURLFH RKSEK!"
The ones yelling in their incomprehensible tongue soon divided their forces into three groups to pursue the rush unit.
There were simply too few of them to chase all five scattered groups.
'About fifty in that one group......'
Still a lot, but halving their numbers was already half the victory.
Lian looked at Gerard and said,
"Attack only when I give the signal. Don't act on your own."
"Understood."
With the potential variable fully contained, Lian nodded and said,
"Let's go."
Flash!
Lian pursued the group of barbarian warriors who had taken the leftmost path.
Part of the reason was that their leader was there, but more importantly,
'This path is the roughest.'
In other words, it was the best for leveraging mobility. Lian slid down the steep downhill on the left path like it was nothing, then braced his foot against a tree to halt his momentum.
Creak.
At the same time, he nocked an arrow.
The branches ahead obscured his view a bit, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.
As Lian drew his bowstring, Gerard leaned against a tree and lowered his stance.
He had to show something solid here.
"Ngh......!"
Gerard drew his bowstring and aimed at the backs of the moving barbarians.
But with branches sticking out everywhere, it wasn't an easy shot.
And then,
Screeech! Thunk-!
The arrow left Lian's hand and flew straight, piercing the nape of a barbarian warrior.
The man crumpled lifelessly mid-stride, and Gerard bit his lip hard.
'Me too......!'
Screeech!
The instant Gerard's arrow struck a barbarian warrior's leg,
"Aaagh!"
With a scream, the enemies halted and began scanning their surroundings.
"WJRDLEK!"
"WJR AOQHR-! WHTLA! WHTLA!"
"SHAEMF CKWDK!"
The barbarian warriors frantically searched around and went on high alert. But they had no intention of stopping.
Screeeeech! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
Three arrows in rapid succession embedded in barbarian warriors' heads. At that moment, the enemies turned toward the direction the arrows had come from.
"Run!"
Gerard, who had been drawing his bow, wore a baffled expression at Lian's shout.
Lian had fired three arrows in the blink of an eye and was already bolting upright.
"Sh-shit!"
Gerard hastily fired his arrow in panic, but it was blocked by a thick branch.
He hurriedly followed after Lian.
"WNRDU! WNRDU!"
"Kraaaah!"
"Hah...... hah......!"
Fleeing from the pursuing barbarians, Gerard panted heavily.
It was weird.
These mountain paths were routine in training. So why was he this winded after such a short run?
Then Jedron sidled up beside him.
"Breathe slower. They won't catch us anyway."
"Hah...... hah...... What?"
Lian, who had been running ahead, suddenly spun around and nocked his bow again.
Three arrows on his string gleamed as they shot toward the barbarians.
Thunk! Tang! Tang-!
This time, the arrows missed.
One hit the ground in front of the barbarians, and the other two were blocked by their shields.
But that was enough.
The madly charging foes faltered as they raised their shields.
"Hurry!"
At Lian's shout, Jedron hooked an arm under Gerard's and started running with him.
Gerard was practically dragged as they climbed the mountain path together.
The moment they slipped deep into the underbrush and hid,
"Regulate your breathing. Loud breaths will give us away."
"Y-yes! Hoo...... hoo...... hoo......!"
Gerard quickly steadied his ragged breaths and calmed his heaving chest.
As his breathing evened out, Lian looked at him and said,
"Don't let the atmosphere get to you. It'll tire you out several times worse than usual."
"Hoo...... hoo......"
"This is real combat. Feel anything different?"
"......Yes, I was reckless."
"Stay tense, but don't let the vibe overwhelm you. We won't die—we'll get out fine."
Lian patted Gerard's shoulder and peered through the underbrush at the barbarians.
The enemies were moving cautiously, on guard.
"Hoo......"
Lian exhaled softly to calm his pounding heart.
The barbarians couldn't move rashly either, but
'Neither can we.'
They weren't far apart.
Moving now would alert them immediately.
But that was fine.
He was used to this kind of fight by now—it was second nature.
In terms of raw combat power, Jedron and Semut were a bit weaker than the other squad leaders.
Still, each had their strengths.
Lian glanced at Semut.
"We need to draw their eyes away."
"I'll do it."
"If it gets dangerous, bolt down the downhill. They struggle with steep slopes."
"Yes, sir."
Semut was the second-fastest in the Arrowhead Unit after Brandt.
Plus, he was quick to read situations, making him ideal for handling potential variables like this.
"Go!"
Tadak!
At Lian's word, Semut bolted left.
Rustling sounds erupted as branches shook violently in the direction he fled.
"WJRL-! WJRHT!"
"WHCDKFK-!"
Heads weren't just for show, though—not all of them moved. Only about a dozen at the front dashed after him.
That was enough.
Creak!
Lian shot Gerard a look and drew his bowstring.
Gerard, now fully composed, steadily aimed at the barbarians.
"We're killing every last one of those bastards."
Gerard swallowed hard and nodded at Lian's words.
* * *
The moment the five scattered rush units regrouped, Brandt began checking the roster.
"What about the pursuers?"
"All shaken off."
"Heh heh heh, we totally toyed with them, huh?"
Polk, who was with Brandt, grinned mischievously.
But Florang, standing nearby, said gravely,
"The vice captain's missing. Jedron and Semut too."
"And that archer kid?"
"Oh, Gerard too."
Florang hurriedly added Gerard at Brandt's comment.
Brandt glanced down at the underbrush below.
After scattering into five groups, they had regrouped at the entrance to Bielt's pass.
No matter how crazed the pursuers were, a small force couldn't possibly follow them this far.
Which meant the vice captain was likely locked in fierce combat with the enemy deeper in there right now.
"......Damn it."
An uneasy, impatient feeling gnawed at him.
He wanted to take a small team and go fetch the vice captain himself, but he couldn't.
Lian had ordered them to wait here no matter what.
'The plan was too improvised.'
Maybe he should've stopped Lian back then?
The original plan was just to draw their attention and run.
They'd hastily added a new one when the enemies unexpectedly followed.
"Brandt."
"......?"
Brandt turned at Florang's call.
She knew exactly how he felt.
They all did.
Florang shook her head.
"Don't worry. He'll come back safe."
To some, it was just a year.
But in that short time, what Lian had shown was beyond words.
Some in the unit called him a little monster.
A boy not yet of age outmaneuvering veteran commanders with decades in the army—sometimes with utterly outrageous moves.
And during the grueling training he put them through, Lian worked harder than anyone.
"The vice captain getting taken down?...... Honestly, I can't even picture it."
"I agree."
Polk nodded at Florang's words. Brandt smirked and said,
"Same here."
"So let's wait easy. Bet that's what he'll say the second he gets back?"
"We're heading back."
"Kuh hah hah hah hah!"
Brandt's curt reply mimicked Lian so well that Polk burst into laughter.
Brandt murmured softly, gazing down at the underbrush.
"Don't keep us worrying—hurry back, Vice Captain."
* * *
Thunk-!
A dull thud echoed as a barbarian warrior's body toppled backward.
The arrowhead had pierced clean through his skull and out the back.
Absurd destructive power.
In other words, they were close enough for that kind of power.
"L-Lian, sir!"
"Scared?"
Gerard, fleeing, called out to Lian with a tearful face as the enemies closed in.
He could practically feel an axe embedding in his skull.
But in that moment, the ones truly terrified were the barbarians chasing Lian.
Over half their number was already dead.
Even after the ones who chased the decoy returned, they numbered less than twenty.
'If we go back like this......'
Jerok, one of the few survivors, felt chills rack his body.
The mission was simple: block the canyon mouth. Yet in chasing the enemy on his own whim, over thirty warriors had died.
Returning like this, who knew what Altomers would do.
No—maybe he'd end up like Berolto, who failed a previous battle and lost his head.
"We have to catch them! No matter what!"
Before the shout finished,
Thunk!
"Gurk......!"
A dull sound, and an arrow lodged in the neck of the warrior beside Jerok.
The man staggered and fell, and Jerok's face went pale.
'M-Monster......!'
A forest monster.
Fighting that thing amid all these obstacles was impossible.
"Retreat! Run!"
Jerok bellowed and turned to flee.
The dense branches were no obstacle at all to that monster.
'To a place with lots of wind!'
Conveniently, heading down the path led to a narrow pass with headwinds.
The swirling gusts there would prevent him from shooting arrows.
"GNXHL-! EHAKDCU-!"
At someone's shout, the remaining barbarians fled.
Gerard yelled in shock,
"V-Vice Captain! They're running! We're alive! Alive!"
Despite Gerard's cry, Lian watched the rapidly retreating barbarians.
Seeing them withdraw all at once, that shout must have been the retreat signal.
Lian was certain.
'That's the leader.'
He furrowed his brow.
It was the direction the man was heading.
"Vice Captain, that way's got way too much wind."
Even the flapping branches told him that much.
Strong gusts blew from the direction they fled, like some weird air current.
But Lian slowly raised his bow.
"......Vice Captain?"
Gerard called out, puzzled.
With that much wind, arrows would veer off—aiming was pointless.
"Sip......"
Lian inhaled deeply, held his breath, and drew on his mana.
'Ring first.'
He channeled mana into Rikal's ring.
Whoosh-!
His senses sharpened instantly.
The wind on his skin felt clearer, the fleeing enemies' forms and sounds sharper.
Lian focused his enhanced senses on his vision.
Suddenly, the barbarian leader's nape came into crystal clarity.
"Hooo......"
But that wasn't all.
His sharpened senses revealed just how fiercely the wind blew where they fled.
Shooting now would send the arrow tumbling off course.
So Lian infused mana into his gloves.
It consumed a lot of mental energy, but......
'Can't do it without them.'
Lian activated Rikal's gloves without hesitation.
A new world unfolded before him.
'Ugh......!'
Countless lines filled his view.
He knew they represented the wind's flow.
Lian watched the ever-shifting wind paths, waiting for an opening.
Jerok glanced back while fleeing.
"Heh heh, idiot. With this wind, what're you gonna do with that bow?"
You're a forest monster, fine. But even your grandpa couldn't hit in this gale.
He sneered at Lian aiming his bow and turned away.
And the moment winds clashed and ricocheted in the air,
'Opening!'
Snap-!
Lian's eyes flashed as he released the string.
Fwoooooosh-!
The arrow tore through the gale like a drill, flying toward the fleeing barbarian leader.
It was like the arrow itself was slicing the wind. Gerard's eyes widened in awe.
Swoooooosh!
The arrow pierced the leader's head—Thunk!
A dull sound, and the body pitched forward.
"Th-that...... Vice Captain!"
Gerard pointed at the barbarian leader in disbelief, then rushed to support the staggering Lian.
Lian waved him off as if fine and exhaled deeply.
"We're heading back."
It was a scene of pure astonishment.
Gerard's gaze on Lian brimmed with overwhelming respect.