Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Genius Divine Archer Who Became a One-Man Legion
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Pap-! Papapap!
Watching the chaotically flying arrows, Altomus furrowed his brow.
The guy's shooting speed was beyond imagination.
What was most irritating was the arrows curving in flight, making their trajectories nearly impossible to track.
Puk!
Altomus swatted away a sharply curving arrow with his sword, then immediately drew up his sword aura.
“Hup-!”
He swung his sword upward from below like he was scooping something up, then slammed it down, striking the ground.
Kwarung!
The earth shook violently, and dozens of fist-sized rocks shot toward Rian from the ground.
It was an attack that gave no room to dodge, precisely because Rian was so quick.
Puaak!
The rocks flew at him like sand being squeezed and scattered.
At that instant, Rian activated his ring's power, maximizing his vision.
Swooooosh-!
It was as if the world slowed down, and the incoming rocks came into sharp focus.
With that, Rian swiftly moved his body, dodging the rocks.
Pht! Pababat! Tadak!
It was acrobatic movement worthy of a circus act.
Altomus was dumbfounded, bordering on incredulous, at the sight of Rian evading dozens of rocks.
Drip.
But even with enhanced vision letting him see the rocks, his body couldn't keep up.
He dodged the dangerous ones, but avoiding every single pebble was impossible.
Crunch!
Bruises formed all over his body, and sharp stones sliced his skin, drawing blood.
Yet Rian gritted his teeth against the pain, raised his bow, and nocked an arrow aimed at Altomus.
Sheeeek!
Ting-!
The arrow bounced harmlessly off the flat of Altomus's sword.
Altomus's gaze locked onto Rian.
A body that could collapse at any moment. Yet even so, the guy's arrows flew sharply, targeting his life.
Truly impressive.
An enemy, but one who genuinely inspired awe.
Altomus spoke to Rian.
“I never imagined the kingdom had a warrior like you.”
“…….”
“If there had been someone like you before, we might have been wiped out already.”
His black eyes gleamed with an unnatural intensity, but Altomus spoke to Rian calmly.
He continued.
“You have a bright future ahead. The kingdom could place high hopes on you. But…….”
Altomus raised his sword.
“That’s exactly why you must die today.”
“…….”
Rian wanted to respond to Altomus's words.
But he didn’t even have the strength left to reply.
Blood flowed from the scrapes inflicted by the rock attack, and at some point, even breathing had become difficult as the wounds on his torso worsened.
He forced down the blood surging up his throat. The metallic smell of the continuously flowing blood made his head spin even more.
Stagger.
A gust of wind made Rian's body sway slightly, and Altomus aimed his sword at him.
By now, a dark red energy enveloped his entire sword, radiating a ferocious aura.
He already knew Rian had reached his limit.
Just holding out against him this long was remarkable.
“This is truly the end.”
He would wrap things up here quickly and head to Bieltna. Then turn that place into a sea of fire, leaving not a single survivor.
Dizzy.
At the same time, Rian felt as if his vision was going dark.
Staggering, he slowly backed toward the cliff edge.
The intensifying wind made his body sway greatly, and the updraft from below felt like it was pulling him over the edge.
Rian bit his lip hard and glared at Altomus.
At this distance, the guy could close the gap in the blink of an eye.
‘Just…… once.’
He instinctively knew he could use mana only one more time.
Any more, and exhaustion would prevent him from casting it.
‘If only I had a potion.’
Potions were dozens of times more expensive than their weight in gold, but what was the point of earning all that money if he didn’t use it?
If he survived, he’d carry spares from now on.
Even as he resolved this, Rian's focus remained entirely on Altomus. And then, thump!
The moment the guy kicked off the ground and charged,
Tak!
Rian swiftly drew an arrow and nocked it.
It was a fluid, natural motion like flowing water, but there was no time to aim properly.
Sheeek-!
The released arrow flew toward Altomus's face.
Puk!
But Altomus swung his sword, shattering the arrow.
This was the guy's final attack.
“It’s over now……!”
In that brief moment as he deflected the arrow, when his vision was obscured, the guy vanished.
He assumed he’d retreated to create distance again.
With the cliff right behind, it had to be left or right. But the guy was nowhere to be seen.
“……?”
For an instant, Altomus felt the hairs on his body stand on end.
He remembered the attack that had gotten him before.
“Above-!”
Altomus looked up and swung his sword.
Whoosh-!
Nothing there.
A momentary bewilderment hit him. Then where the hell had he gone?
Grab!
Before the thought finished, Rian suddenly seized Altomus's right leg and lifted it.
He had dropped low and burrowed underneath.
“You mad bastard, what good do you think that’ll do!”
Unlike last time, he wasn’t even holding a weapon.
If he’d swung at his groin instead, his odds might’ve improved by 0.1%.
But Rian couldn’t hear Altomus's thoughts.
Rian was aiming for one thing only.
Grit!
Holding Altomus's right leg, Rian clenched his molars.
The guy's muscular leg was as thick as Rian's torso.
“Uwaaaaaah-!”
Rian squeezed out every last ounce of strength and shoved him toward the cliff.
Altomus let out a low chuckle and grabbed Rian's shoulder.
“Kekeke, what do you think you’re gonna do like th…… Huh?”
He thought holding the guy would neutralize him.
But Altomus trailed off as he saw Rian preparing to leap off the cliff with him.
‘Wha, what……?’
What the hell was this?
“You trying to die together?!”
Altomus bellowed. The guy’s eyes looking back at him were calmer and colder than ever.
His tightly shut lips moved cautiously.
“Sorry, but you’re dying alone.”
“Wha, what?!”
As Altomus panicked, Rian pulled the last arrow from his quiver.
“Die.”
Puk!
“Gaaaaah-!”
The instant the arrow pierced Altomus's left eye, he screamed in agony and plummeted off the cliff with Rian.
And at that moment,
Puk!
Rian stomped hard on the falling Altomus's body and mustered his final bit of mental strength.
‘Rikal’s Bracelet……!’
Pht-!
Rian’s figure vanished in an instant, teleporting to the top of the cliff.
But he didn’t fully climb back up.
“Uwaaaah!”
Rian cried out and reached out.
Clack!
His hand barely caught the cliff’s edge.
With that, Rian summoned the last dregs of his strength and clawed his way up onto the cliff.
“Keuk…… Keuuk……!”
Finally atop the cliff, Rian collapsed flat on the ground with a faint groan.
He truly didn’t have the strength to twitch a finger.
No, more than that, the injuries from the battle were too severe.
‘Still…….’
To think he’d defeated a master-level user.
Truthfully, the end had been almost pure gamble.
If his mental strength had been depleted enough to prevent mana use, he’d have died right there.
Cough!
Rian’s body convulsed violently, and a gush of dark blood poured from his mouth.
His body, pushed to the absolute limit, could no longer hold on.
His mind grew hazy, and his vision began to blur.
He lacked even the strength to move a finger, and breathing was becoming harder.
‘Am I dying like this……?’
Was this the end?
He’d worked harder than anyone with this new life.
His eyes grew heavy, drowsiness overtaking him.
The same sensation of death he’d felt before.
Unable to keep his eyes open any longer, Rian let go of everything.
Or tried to.
At that exact moment,
“Riaaaan-!”
“Rian!”
A familiar voice pierced his eardrums, snapping his mind awake.
But though he forced his drooping eyes open, he still couldn’t move.
“Rian! Rian!”
Derek the squad leader appeared first, followed by Raymond and Brian.
Seeing Rian’s condition, Derek furrowed his brow.
Rian’s state was far too dire.
His face was deathly pale like white paper, and his body was covered in gashes and bruises without a single intact spot.
“Rian, you okay?”
“Mm…… Still hanging on? Feels like I’ll die soon, though. Cough!”
Rian’s body convulsed again, more blood gushing from his mouth.
Seeing Rian on the verge of death, Raymond pulled a small vial from his bosom.
Derek looked at him in surprise.
“Company commander, that’s……?”
“The last potion left.”
Only a little remained, but it should get him past the crisis.
Raymond carefully supported Rian’s neck and slowly poured the potion into his mouth.
Drip.
Gulp…… Gulp…….
Each time the potion went down his throat, it felt like his body was tearing apart.
But soon, warmth spread through him, and the pain began to fade bit by bit.
“Rian, any better now?”
“……Ah.”
Rian let out a small breath.
His body, which hadn’t been able to move a fingertip moments ago, felt somewhat recovered.
He could breathe now, and the stabbing pain was gone.
“Euk……!”
Rian slowly raised his upper body.
It wasn’t full recovery, but he could move on his own.
At that, Raymond said to Rian,
“Where’s the guy?”
“Down there…….”
Rian pointed to the cliff.
Raymond stared at Rian in astonishment at the dizzyingly sheer drop.
‘Just what is this guy…….’
Words failed him.
By his estimate, the foe was at least an advanced Aura user, bordering on master-level……
“As expected…… As expected of Rian, incredible!”
Derek gave Rian a thumbs-up, then walked toward the cliff Rian had indicated.
Even a glance showed it was a cliff so high the bottom was invisible.
“Whew~ That’s insane?”
The fierce wind made even peering over the edge terrifying.
“Falling from this height…… Even a master’s grandpa would just die, master or not?”
Derek chuckled. But then,
“……What’s that?”
Something black slowly emerging from below.
Derek strained his eyes and leaned down slightly. Then, slash.
A black shadow leaped up, and a red line diagonally slashed across Derek’s body.
“Huh……?”
Derek staggered, looking at his body.
“D-Derek!”
“Squad Leader Derekiiiim!”
Raymond and Rian shouted loudly.
Derek glanced at his blood-soaked body and collapsed limply to the ground.
Thud.
And standing before the fallen Derek.
It was Altomus.