Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Genius Divine Archer Who Became a One-Man Legion
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“Huu....”
The man removed his mask and let out a small breath, then stripped off the black clothes he was wearing.
Rip-!
To be precise, he just tore them off.
Beneath the plain black garments, a fairly neat uniform caught the eye.
The man adjusted the sword at his waist slightly, then turned his gaze toward the spot where he had fought Lian.
“Interesting.”
That final strike.
Honestly, he hadn’t anticipated it at all. The information he’d received didn’t match up at all.
‘There’s no way Sela misreported it....’
Given her personality, inaccurate reports were impossible. That left only one possibility.
“What kind of change happened in that short time?”
If that was true, it held significant meaning in its own right.
The discrepancy between the reported details and the state of the guy he’d just experienced firsthand was enormous.
Could someone truly possess the potential to grow this much in such a brief period?
Even tracing back through the continent’s history, there probably wouldn’t be many.
Just as a subtle smile crept onto the man’s lips,
“Did you get a good look?”
Someone approached him and asked.
Golden hair neatly styled.
A white uniform embroidered with red and gold thread bearing the kingdom’s crest.
And a dozen or so people following behind the mounted man.
Upon seeing him, the man who had worn the mask bowed respectfully.
“You’ve arrived.”
“What did you think of him?”
“I wouldn’t call him usable yet... but he seems worth expecting something from.”
“Is that so?”
The blond man looked a bit surprised.
He hadn’t expected such a generous assessment from him.
He’d assumed it would be the usual: ‘He’s nothing to worry about.’
The blond man’s gaze soon shifted somewhere.
To the hand of the man who had worn the mask.
“You bleed like the rest of us, it seems?”
“......Ah.”
At the blond man’s words, the man finally noticed the small cut on his hand.
It was just a light scrape. But setting that aside, the mere fact that he’d sustained any injury at all was remarkable in its own way.
The blond man chuckled at the man’s slightly flustered expression.
Then he looked ahead and said,
“We’ll reach Kurtein soon, right?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
A middle-aged man from behind drew closer and replied.
Your Highness.
A title bestowed upon only three people in the current Artian Kingdom.
And only one had golden hair.
Third Prince Ethan Artian.
He nodded at his attendant’s words.
“Still, this is nice. Being able to go out like this.”
“But... you must always be cautious.”
“That’s why I sent my favorite carriage and people along a different route. Besides... with Sir Gilbert here, what is there to worry about?”
Ethan smiled warmly as he looked at the man ahead.
Gilbert.
Count Gilbert Regalpone.
One of the kingdom’s strongest knights and a young prodigy whose skill was unprecedented in the kingdom’s history.
Rumors swirled that he had already reached the Master realm, but one thing was certain.
Fewer than five people in the kingdom could match him.
Gilbert replied to him.
“You flatter me. The enemy possesses even greater strength. You must always remain vigilant.”
“Well then, let’s hurry on. Once we reach Kurtein, there shouldn’t be any special dangers.”
Swoosh.
Ethan looked at Gilbert and said,
“I’m curious about that young man Sela mentioned... and the one who dared leave a mark on the hand of Sir Gilbert, whom we might call the kingdom’s strongest knight. It’s quite intriguing.”
Gilbert gave a small smile at his words.
“I’m curious too. Whether he’ll recognize me when we meet again.”
“Haha! That sounds fun. What do you say, Sir Gilbert? Shall we make a wager?”
“Then, if you’ll forgive my impertinence, may I decide first?”
“Hm, it might put me at a disadvantage, but I’ll yield the first move. Choose.”
“In that case, I...”
At Ethan’s words, Gilbert spoke without hesitation. Ethan simply grinned at his answer and began heading toward Kurtein.
* * *
When he dragged his weary body back to the carriage, the coachman was waiting anxiously for Lian.
“L-Lian!”
“Ah...... you’re still here.”
“Are you alright? You’re not badly hurt, are you?”
Lian gave him a warm smile at his concern.
He didn’t have many wounds, but his body felt as heavy as a thousand pounds from the extreme focus of the fight.
But Lian didn’t show it and said to the coachman,
“Thank you for waiting.”
“What do you mean? I know you had to run off far because of me.”
Lian felt an inexplicable gratitude at his words.
He could have fled, yet he had risked his life to wait.
Lian looked at the carriage and said,
“Can we leave right now?”
“Fortunately, the carriage is fine. We can depart immediately.”
“Then let’s go quickly. I want to get back soon.”
“Of course. I’ll see you through to the end with my best effort.”
At the coachman’s words, Lian climbed into the carriage and slumped against the wall, his head lolling.
Even so, one hand tightly gripped the spear now transformed into a staff.
In preparation for any follow-up battle.
Clatter-clatter-clatter- clatter-clatter-clatter-.
The carriage raced along the mountain path.
Though the speed was higher, the coachman’s focus, considerate of the exhausted Lian, was evident.
“......Huu.”
The good news was that no further enemy attacks came after that.
Upon entering Kurtein, Lian handed the coachman a gold coin.
“You must have been shocked. Take a few days off before heading back. Thank you so much.”
“I enjoyed serving you. Please take care of yourself.”
The coachman smiled kindly, and Lian smiled back as they parted.
Lian then headed straight to his private lodging in Kurtein.
He wanted to go directly to the unit, but his condition was a mess.
His clothes were torn in places, and shards of rock had left minor scratches on his face.
He stopped by the lodging, changed into clean clothes, and lightly treated his wounds.
“This should be... fine.”
Lian glanced in the mirror, brushed the dust off his shoulder, and returned to the unit, heading straight to Raymond’s office.
Knock knock.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Lian, Company Commander.”
“Lian? Come in.”
As Lian entered, Raymond stood from his seat with a broad smile.
“Ooh, Lian! Weren’t you due back tomorrow? But... your face looks a bit roughed up. What happened?”
Lian gave a small smile at his question.
Raymond offered him a seat and asked about what had happened during his leave.
“What happened that you had to extend your vacation?”
“Well......”
Lian spoke about Dianal, whom he’d met in Velotra.
He mentioned encountering a mercenary of considerable skill and learning various things from him by chance.
Raymond looked a bit surprised at Lian’s words.
From a soldier’s perspective, mercenaries weren’t exactly welcome.
Especially learning from one.
Pfft.
Raymond burst into laughter.
“Truly a righteous reason, just like you.”
“I’m sorry for being late due to personal reasons.”
“There’s no need to apologize for something already approved. I’m just curious. What exactly did you learn from that mercenary that required extending your leave?”
Raymond looked at Lian with interest and asked.
“So, you got stronger? Then that wound must be from then!”
“A little... I think I’ve made some progress.”
Lian grinned as he spoke. Raymond laughed along and took a sip of the prepared tea.
“By the way, the commendation ceremony is in two days. Scheduled for right after your return.”
“Thank you for always being so considerate.”
“Heh heh, more importantly, do you have anything you want? This commendation is for subjugating Bieltuna’s barbarians, and the rewards are substantial.”
Lian pondered briefly at Raymond’s words, then smiled faintly and said,
“I just want to grow stronger for the kingdom. Both personally and to build an even stronger unit.”
A steadfast goal.
Unchanged from when he first met Lian.
From a greater perspective, for the kingdom.
Personally, aiming higher.
Lian’s purpose always pointed clearly upward.
At those words, Raymond gave a somewhat bitter smile.
“For the kingdom...... yes, for the kingdom. That’s what we’re doing.”
Then he grew serious and asked Lian,
“Are you thinking of stepping into this political struggle that’s unfolding?”
“......”
Lian looked at Raymond at his question.
A complex expression.
That alone made it clear.
‘You’re still hesitating.’
He fought more bravely than anyone on the battlefield, but he wanted to avoid the kingdom’s civil war.
‘Moreover...... you’ve already experienced it once.’
Before coming to Bieltuna, they had already shed blood against fellow kingdom soldiers in a bid for supremacy, which must make it even harder.
‘But......’
Lian already knew.
This wasn’t something they could decide.
They would have to fight whether they liked it or not.
The only difference was whether they gave it their all.
That was also why Lian wanted to meet the Third Prince.
“You know we can’t avoid it anymore.”
“Huu...... you’re right.”
Raymond let out a deep sigh and nodded at Lian’s words.
He knew too.
That he had to decide for himself.
Not under anyone’s pressure, but after agonizing and thinking fiercely on his own.
“A difficult matter.”
Perhaps feeling a bit better, Raymond smiled faintly as he stood.
“Then go rest. Welcome back.”
“Thank you.”
After finishing his talk with Raymond, Lian returned to the barracks.
Whatever happened, this place was the most comfortable home for Lian.
“Waaah-! The Deputy Commander is back!”
As he entered the building, a soldier who spotted Lian shouted loudly.
At his cry, soldiers poured out from each barrack.
“Oh! Deputy Commander, you’re back?”
“Welcome back! But are you okay?”
“Huh?! Deputy Commander has a scratch on his face?”
“Must’ve been a tough solo op.”
Lian chuckled at the rowdy welcome from the guys.
Then, in the distance, he saw Isaac and several other squad leaders running over.
“Deputy Commander!”
“Sir Lian!”
They approached Lian and welcomed his return.
“Welcome back, Deputy Commander. How did the mission go?”
“Yeah, did everyone rest well while I was gone?”
“R-Rest? We’ve been doing basic training every single day since you left!”
“Th-That’s right!”
Arthur chimed in after Kyle.
Lian grinned and said,
“Basic training is just the basics. Things will change from now on, so brace yourselves.”
“Eek!”
“What kind of training now?”
Everyone looked horrified.
Whenever Lian did something, it always came with hellish pain.
And at those words, Florang, who had stepped back a pace, said to Isaac beside him,
“Huu...... the Vice Deputy Commander was right.”
“What’d I tell you?”
Isaac shrugged and approached Lian. Seeing him, Lian looked a bit surprised.
“Isaac, you......?”
“I seem a bit different, Deputy Commander.”
Having trained his Aura continuously, his sensitivity to mana had grown sharper before he knew it.
Perhaps because of that?
Lian and Isaac could instantly tell that each other had changed greatly since the leave.
“Please take care of me from now on.”
“Yes!”
Lian lightly patted Isaac’s shoulder. Then he turned and looked at the unit members.
“The commendation is in two days. Even if you get leave as a reward, no using it right away. You’ve all rested plenty, right?”
His tone was light, but his expression serious.
The unit members listened intently with serious eyes.
Lian continued.
“Let’s prepare anew, everyone. Before long...... a big fight might break out.”
Their goal was just one thing, after all.
To become the kingdom’s—no, the continent’s—strongest unit.
“Leave is over now.”
“Yes-! Understood!”
Lian nodded at the resounding reply from the unit members.