Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Genius Divine Archer Who Became a One-Man Legion
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Lian gathered all the archer squad members.
They had been in the middle of training, so they were drenched in sweat.
“Everyone’s here, Squad Leader.”
Gab approached Lian and spoke.
Over the past two months, the archer squad had undergone quite a few changes.
Though they had learned archery through self-study in real combat, with Lian’s guidance on the fundamentals, their skills had definitely improved.
Lately, they had been practicing rapid fire, but there were natural differences in talent among the squad members.
Lian looked at the archer squad members.
“You’ve all been working hard with your training.”
“No, sir!”
“So today, I’m going to try something a little different. What we’ve been doing so far is all about building proficiency, after all.”
“Different training?”
The youngest, Philson, tilted his head and asked. Lian gave a small smile in response.
The way their eyes sparkled at the mention of new training felt refreshingly novel.
Lian spoke.
“Something you all must learn to survive: close-quarters combat.”
“……Pardon?”
“Close-quarters combat?”
“What do you mean by close-quarters combat……?”
His words left them all looking a bit flustered.
It couldn’t be helped.
For archers who used bows, close-quarters combat was an utterly foreign concept.
‘Most of the guys back then were the same.’
The Artian Kingdom had units with special forces.
In his previous life, the unit Lian had been in was something like an archer special forces team.
It was an archery support unit made up of the kingdom’s top archers, unmatched in bow skills.
But even there, the idea of close-quarters combat had been quite negatively viewed.
Lian himself included.
The master who had taught Lian archery had strongly emphasized close-quarters combat back then.
He’d said it was essential for an archer to survive.
‘……Brings back old memories.’
As proof, in Lian’s final battle, he had been the only survivor.
Of course, he’d died in the end, but his exceptional close-quarters skills had allowed him to escape.
If even skilled archers like that had struggled, how much more for these guys?
Lian wiped the bitter smile from his face and spoke to the squad members in front of him.
“Do you think the wars you’ll fight from now on will always be safe battles with everything secured?”
“That’s……”
“……”
“And if the enemy closes in, are you just going to panic, swing your bow around, and die?”
No one answered Lian’s question.
It was a scenario they had never even considered. So Lian spoke firmly.
“Absolutely not. Crises always come in an instant.”
Just like in his previous life.
“That’s why you need to know how to fight even when the distance has completely closed. Just because the gap narrows doesn’t mean you have to die because ‘I’m an archer.’”
“Then…… should we learn another weapon?”
“We all know basic spearwork to some extent. But if so, we’d have to carry spears all the time, and I wonder if that wouldn’t get in the way when shooting arrows.”
In response to Lian’s words, they shared their own thoughts. This was exactly why training with Lian was so effective.
They didn’t blindly obey just because they were subordinates; they could voice their ideas freely.
After hearing them out, Lian shook his head.
“Carrying spears or longswords would be tough for us. It restricts movement and they’re heavy. At best, a dagger might be feasible……”
Then Lian flashed a grin.
“With that in mind, I’ve called in an assistant instructor for today’s training.”
“An assistant instructor?”
“Who is it?”
“Isaac!”
At Lian’s shout, Isaac, who had been hiding his presence, slowly stepped forward.
Standing before them, Isaac smiled.
“I’m the ‘assistant instructor’ helping with today’s training.”
“……Pardon?”
With those words, the soldiers’ faces began to turn pale.
* * *
Whoosh-!
The lightly swung sword sliced through the air.
Even though it was training, he had no intention of going easy.
Isaac, sword in hand, was always serious.
Unlike his smiling demeanor moments ago, his immersed, battle-ready state made the archer squad members gulp.
“Isaac uses just one sword. It’ll be tough, of course, but approach it thinking real combat could be even more dangerous.”
““……Yes, sir!””
“First up, Gab!”
“Yes, sir!”
At Lian’s call, Gab stepped forward with a loud response.
He gripped his bow tightly, his tension plain on his face.
Lian pointed at the ground with an arrow.
“Stay here, and start when I give the signal.”
“Yes, sir.”
Isaac nodded.
The distance between Gab and Isaac was about 6-7 meters.
If Isaac charged seriously, he could close it in a second.
Gab shifted his center of gravity back, ready to create distance at any moment.
And in that moment of tense silence enveloping the two,
“Start!”
Flash-!
Thud-!
Isaac closed in as Gab pulled away; both moved at once.
“Hup-!”
Isaac’s speed was overwhelmingly superior.
Gab leaped back like a spring and drew an arrow, but
“Too slow.”
Before the string could even be drawn, Isaac had fully entered his striking range.
Whoosh-!
Isaac swung at Gab’s arm.
‘……Hmm?’
Lian’s lips curled slightly at the sight.
He’d thought Isaac would end it in one go from the start, but it seemed he was giving them a chance.
Gab barely dodged back and immediately swung his bow at Isaac.
It looked like he planned to hook the string around Isaac’s neck, trip him, and finish with an arrow.
But before the bow could reach Isaac’s neck,
Crack!
Isaac’s wooden sword struck Gab’s bow, cracking it badly.
It was obvious the bow would snap in two the moment the string was pulled.
With his bow unusable, Gab’s eyes widened in shock.
But as he thrust a desperate punch, whoosh.
Isaac’s sword pointed at Gab’s throat.
Frozen mid-punch with the sword at his neck, Gab bit his lip in frustration.
“……I lost.”
“Good work.”
Isaac took a light step back and bowed his head to him.
“Next.”
Lian continued the training without pause.
Isaac wouldn’t tire even from sparring them all in sequence, after all.
And just as he’d done with Gab, Isaac tried to give them one or two chances.
Of course, despite his efforts, half fell to the first strike.
“Whew…… Please go easy on me!”
After eight had fallen, Gerard, next in line, stepped up and shouted loudly.
Isaac stood at the designated spot and nodded lightly.
Unlike the expressionless yet relaxed Isaac, Gerard’s face was etched with grim determination.
His will to show something in this spar burned fiercely.
Lian smirked at Gerard’s demeanor and said,
“Start.”
The moment Lian’s signal ended,
Flash-!
Isaac charged at Gerard just like in the previous matches.
In the prior spars, the archer squad soldiers had all tried to widen the distance and draw arrows quickly.
They’d strived endlessly to buy time for a shot.
But Gerard did the opposite.
Thud!
“……!”
The instant Isaac rushed, Gerard launched himself at Isaac.
Their distance closed in a flash.
Gerard swung his bow at Isaac’s legs.
‘Please……!’
It was a surprise attack.
If he could land a solid hit on the legs, he could then pull back and shoot.
“Close, but no.”
Lian muttered softly at the sight.
The intent wasn’t bad, but that range was where Isaac could unleash his full power.
Gerard had leaped straight into hell.
Thud!
A dull sound rang out, and Gerard’s face twisted.
Isaac had knocked the bow aside, and the impact alone made his wrist throb.
“Raaagh!”
Gerard gripped his bow with both hands and swung wildly at Isaac like a cornered beast.
But from the moment the surprise failed, it was all over.
Thwack-!
“Gahk!”
Isaac’s wooden sword stabbed precisely into Gerard’s solar plexus.
A single thrust bent Gerard’s body into a ‘ㄱ’ shape, staggering him.
His breath caught, his whole body feeling paralyzed.
Isaac delivered the finishing blow.
Thud!
He kicked Gerard in the side, sending him tumbling messily across the ground.
Isaac then turned to the last one standing, Philson, and said,
“Last one.”
“……Yes, sir!”
Philson stepped forward with a resolute expression, gripping his bow.
The youngest in the squad alongside Gerard.
There was a competitive vibe between him and the fiercely ambitious Gerard.
Lian watched Philson with interest.
“Please go easy on me!”
“Start.”
But not even five seconds after “start,” Philson was rolling on the ground too.
“You all did well.”
No unexpected twists had arisen, which was a bit disappointing, but it had been predictable from the start.
Even with just one sword, Isaac was still Isaac.
‘He’s gotten even stronger, if anything.’
Lian gazed steadily at Isaac. The guy, who had been stone-faced moments before, tilted his head and looked back.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.”
Lian replied coolly and turned to the archer squad members.
Their expressions weren’t great.
It couldn’t be helped—none had lasted thirty seconds against Isaac.
Lian said to them,
“First assignment: Reflect on today’s experience and figure out individually how you’ll handle it next time. You can use other weapons if you want. But when you do—or if you counterattack—I’ll ask for your reasoning, so think that through too.”
“When’s next time?”
Gab asked with a determined look.
Lian replied curtly,
“Three days from now.”
Then he promptly left the training ground with Isaac.
What they needed now wasn’t more pressure, but time to think for themselves.
“……Damn it!”
The moment Lian left, Gerard spat out a frustrated curse.
He hadn’t expected to beat the vice squad leader, but he hadn’t thought he’d lose so pathetically.
Then Gab approached him and said,
“You okay?”
“……Watch yourself, Squad Leader.”
Gerard spun around and stormed off the training ground.
The other soldiers frowned at his behavior.
“Isn’t that too rude? Shouldn’t we say something?”
“Yeah. That guy’s cliquishness is getting out of hand.”
“Want us to give him a piece of our mind?”
Rayson and Zeke, who were close to Gab, spoke up. But Gab shook his head.
“He’s just desperate to do well.”
It probably wasn’t anger at Gab becoming squad leader, but at himself for not earning the vice squad leader’s recognition.
“Don’t do anything stupid and keep at it. You’ll become someone I can trust with my back someday, just like you guys.”
“……Yes, sir.”
“Then let’s tackle the vice squad leader’s assignment.”
Even if it seemed tricky.
* * *
Leaving the training ground, Isaac walked with Lian toward the barracks.
A sudden thought struck him, and he asked,
“Vice Squad Leader, mind if I ask something?”
“What, spit it out.”
At Lian’s prompt, Isaac hesitated briefly before stopping and looking at him.
“If it had been you sparring today, what would’ve happened?”
“Huh?”
“Would the vice squad leader have had a way to block it?”
Lian couldn’t help but chuckle at the serious question.
He found Isaac’s competitive spirit toward him endearing and amusing.
Lian shrugged.
“Who knows…… We’ll find out soon enough, won’t we?”
“Pardon?”
A small smile spread across Lian’s lips as he turned away.
Like this……
‘We’re getting stronger, step by step.’
It felt like they were advancing precisely, one foot at a time.