Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Genius Divine Archer Who Became a One-Man Legion
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The entire Black Ogre Band mobilizing was quite an unusual occurrence.
But because of that, they were able to wrap things up without any major losses.
Thud.
Lucailda, who had been plundering Boreol, finally couldn't hold out and dropped to one knee.
Swish.
Lucailda gulped as he stared at the sword pressed against his throat.
‘S-strong...’
He had already heard that the man was strong, but he never imagined the gap would be this wide.
Even so, Lucailda had prided himself on being one of the top three in Boreol in terms of skill.
Yet when he actually crossed blades with Jexter of the Black Ogre Band, the difference was stark.
“Are you going to die like this, or will you obediently come under me?”
“...I admit defeat.”
At Jexter’s words, Lucailda finally raised the white flag.
A few of his subordinates let out regretful sighs, but this was a far cleaner outcome.
If they had gone head-to-head with the Black Ogre Band, they all would have died.
“Are we going to take out those guys?”
“Of course.”
Lucailda was well aware of Boreol’s current situation. That was why he had accepted Jexter’s merger proposal.
With a third enemy in the mix, fighting among themselves would only benefit those outsiders.
‘Those bastards...!’
That was why Lucailda couldn’t help but seethe at that third party.
Those sudden interlopers had completely disrupted Boreol’s order.
Swish.
Jexter withdrew the sword from Lucailda’s throat.
From Jexter’s perspective, absorbing Lucailda’s bandit crew without spilling a drop of blood held immense significance.
These guys numbered over 150 strong.
Both numerically and in terms of skill, they were a far greater force than the Rialkan and his men they had lost.
Jekalin, watching the scene, nodded.
“This... is definitely an opportunity.”
If that third enemy hadn’t appeared, would they have been able to swallow a skilled bandit crew like this?
No, absolutely not.
At minimum, they would have had to brace for over a hundred deaths on their side, and they’d have to kill all but the ones who surrendered.
That could easily turn into a situation worse than not fighting at all.
But in the end, this favorable outcome had arisen.
Jexter, their leader, had gone through some effort, but they had gained a massive force without any losses.
“Heh heh heh, now all that’s left is the hunting.”
Rolph’s lips curled into a wide grin at the thought of slaughtering those filthy slash-and-burn villagers.
Killing ones that charged in desperation was fun, but stabbing a spear into the backs of fleeing cowards had its own thrill.
But it was then.
Piiiieeeeng-!
A signal flare rocketing high into the sky from somewhere.
At the sound, Jexter, Rolph, and Jekalin’s expressions hardened.
That red signal flare was used to announce emergencies.
“...Damn it.”
Jexter muttered lowly toward the direction the flare had come from.
It was where their base was located.
* * *
Thuck-!
“Gahk-!”
A bandit collapsed to the ground before he could even sense the incoming arrow piercing his throat.
And in that gap slipped a black shadow.
Slash!
The moment the short sword in his hand severed another’s throat, dozens of people charged in behind him.
“Uwaaaah-!”
“Kill them all!”
“There are at most a hundred left at their base! They’re outnumbered!”
Led by Rian, Boreol’s slash-and-burn villagers armed with weapons rushed into the Black Ogre Band’s base.
‘...To think they even scouted this.’
Herilda felt a chill as she entered the Black Ogre Band’s base.
It was more systematically built than expected.
If they had blindly charged in while the enemy’s main force was still there, swept up in the moment...
‘Half of us might have died before even getting inside.’
But for a group of this scale, the absence of their main force was fatally crippling.
The remaining bandits scrambled to defend, but they couldn’t block attacks coming from two directions.
“Herilda! Ahead, ahead!”
“I see it!”
A bandit suddenly appeared from above, swinging his sword at Herilda. She instantly accelerated, slashing back at him.
“An attack that simple—!”
The bandit sneered at her strike and raised his shield.
Climbing uphill with such a brutishly large sword.
The moment he blocked with the shield, gaps would open all over that girl’s torso.
‘She seems like their leader, so if I just kill her...’
Crack!
“...Huh?”
But the instant the bandit blocked her sword with his shield, his eyes widened in shock.
Something was wrong with the sensation in his left arm.
“Kuaaaagh!”
His left arm shattered along with the crumpled shield.
And it didn’t end there.
“Uwaaaah!”
With Herilda’s shout, the bandit was flung sideways, tumbling across the ground.
She didn’t care if the enemy blocked or not.
—Herilda, remember. The greatest strength of your current fighting style is the ‘one-shot.’
Rian had told her.
If you couldn’t drop an enemy in one hit, you’d be the one to die without fail.
So put everything you had into every swing.
“Hah... hah...!”
It drained her stamina terribly, but Herilda didn’t stop moving.
How long had she awaited a day like this?
The day she could kill all these filthy scum who had turned this place into hell.
Rustle!
Her sword arm felt heavy.
Blood now dripped from wounds splitting open on the hand gripping the sword.
Grip!
But Herilda didn’t let go of the sword.
This pain almost made her feel alive right now.
“Iyaaaaah-!”
Slash!
“Kuaaaagh!”
Herilda severed the bandit’s sword arm entirely and plunged inward like a berserker, swinging wildly.
With nothing but offense, wounds accumulated on her body with every kill.
“You monster bitch!”
“Die-!”
Had she dove into the enemy ranks too recklessly?
Suddenly surrounded, the Black Ogre Band bandits began attacking her from both sides.
Crunch!
Normally, she would have spun and sent them flying.
But her muscles stiffened in that instant, her body refusing to obey.
“He, Herilda!”
“What are you doing, man!”
Her comrades nearby shouted loudly at the suddenly sluggish Herilda.
The bandits’ weapons charging at her were now within inches.
Zeeeeeng-!
Then, a piercing whistle like tearing eardrums rang out, and Rian’s arrow pierced the bandits’ heads.
Splatter-!
No, it wasn’t just piercing—the heads of the bandits hit by Rian’s arrows exploded outright.
“......”
Herilda, pulled back from death’s door, swallowed hard and looked at Rian.
Was it possible to shatter a person’s head with an arrow?
Even witnessing it firsthand, Herilda’s face showed utter disbelief.
Rian, now approaching, looked at her hand and spoke.
“Calm your excitement. There’s still a long way to go.”
“...Yes.”
He silently wrapped her palm in cloth.
The cloth stained red, but the pain seemed less than before.
“Fall back and get a good grasp of the overall situation.”
“Yes? But...!”
“Their main force will arrive soon. I’ll need your strength then. And...”
Swish.
Rian climbed atop a piled-up wall-like spot and looked down.
The scene of fierce combat came into full view.
He pulled Herilda up beside him and pointed there.
“Taking in the battlefield is important too. Consider it homework—recover while visualizing the upcoming fight in your head.”
What you can do best here.
“...Understood.”
Herilda nodded at his words.
In this short time, she felt like she was learning so much from him.
He understood Boreol better than she did, despite her years there.
He had even scouted the Black Ogre Band’s base alone.
Compared to her, who had just fought day-to-day battles right in front of her, the gap was insurmountable.
‘Take it in... take it in... Homework, homework.’
In the spot Rian had left after patting her shoulder, Herilda murmured endlessly in her mind while surveying the battlefield.
Smirk.
Rian’s lips curled as he watched her.
This experience would make Herilda tougher and stronger.
‘She can grow stronger faster than in her past life.’
When it came to raw talent alone, Herilda was on par with Isaac.
If she gained even more rich combat experience like this, who knew how she’d change.
Swish.
Rian turned his head, gazing at the distant smoke rising as he drew up his mana.
His vision sharpened instantly as mana was sucked into Rikal’s ring, revealing the enemies’ forms.
‘So they’re coming after all?’
Earlier, he had let one Black Ogre Bandit fire off a signal flare.
They were undoubtedly coming in response.
“......Hoo.”
Once they finished off these guys completely, everything in Boreol would be over.
‘How’s it going on your end... Isaac?’
Amid the winding-down battle, Rian posed the question to Isaac in his mind.
* * *
Clang-!
“Guhk!”
With a dull thud, the brown-haired man’s body bent backward in a ㄱ shape.
Gasping repeatedly, unable to breathe properly, he soon collapsed limply to the ground.
Thud!
“S-stop!”
The instructor watching the match urgently shouted at Isaac.
But Isaac had already stepped back a pace.
“To think Bilson would lose...”
“What the hell is that guy’s skill level...?”
“A commoner, of all things...”
A light spar among Silver Knight Unit members.
Though meant for training, the matches with Isaac were different.
Fox had lost earlier, but they chalked it up to bad luck.
Plus, mana use was forbidden in training, so they figured they could overwhelm him with pure swordsmanship.
But they lost every time.
Not one could even touch a hair on Isaac’s head.
Janiel, watching, clicked his tongue.
“Tsk tsk, that’s what you get for getting cocky when you don’t know your place.”
Bilson, who had just fought Isaac, was fairly skilled even among the Silver Knights.
Skilled with the spear, but he couldn’t adapt to Isaac’s speed, yielding distance helplessly until the end.
Then,
“...Hm?”
Janiel caught a glimpse of two shadows vanishing outside the training grounds.
He couldn’t confirm properly since they were already turning away, but...
“...No way?”
It felt like he’d missed something big. And at that same moment,
Calm, settled eyes.
A somewhat angular jawline, neatly trimmed mustache, and stubborn-looking lips marked the middle-aged man as he murmured with interest.
“Isaac, huh...”
“Not bad at all, right? Looks skilled too.”
“Hmph, the kingdom’s full of guys like that.”
He scoffed sarcastically at his accompanying butler’s words. But his gaze followed Isaac.
The butler smiled faintly.
It had been truly ages.
Since this man had shown interest in something like this.
Just coming here in person showed how much attention he was paying.
The butler said,
“To me, he looks impressive, but it seems he doesn’t catch the Duke’s eye.”
“Ahem, you’re getting old too, huh? Talking so much now.”
With that, the man rose from his seat.
On his left chest gleamed the crest of a red dragon and sword crossed.
The crest of Duke Gaiyel Pitt’s house.