Chapter 96
Chapter 96
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: Genius Divine Archer Who Became a One-Man Legion
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It seemed like the days were just passing by peacefully, but each one was as precarious as walking a knife's edge.
"Prince Byron's side is making moves?"
"They've already started gathering troops."
"I'd heard the king's condition was worsening, but... to act this quickly. It's like they're not even bothering to be subtle anymore."
Sela's brow furrowed at her adjutant's words.
Battles had been breaking out nonstop due to the power struggles between the princes, but they were supposed to stay in the shadows.
Show their hand too openly, and the neutral factions might swing the other way.
"Could the 1st Prince have defected to Byron...?"
Up until now, the 3rd Legion had been the balancing force in this brutal struggle between the princes' factions.
A force loyal solely to the royal family and the current king.
The other major player was the 4th Legion under the 1st Prince.
Prince Byron had absorbed the 1st, 2nd, and 5th Legions—a total of three legions.
That put him ahead of the 3rd Prince's 6th and 7th Legions, but they still had to watch the other factions.
The situation could shift based on their movements.
"But moving so boldly like this... We can assume they're no longer worried about the 3rd Legion."
Which meant the 4th Legion under the 1st Prince was leaning toward the 2nd Prince.
"What's the 1st Prince's side doing?"
"No unusual activity yet. They haven't even met with Prince Byron's people."
They couldn't risk open war yet, so they'd assigned as many watchers as possible, but even that wasn't enough to catch every covert move.
Sela stood up as if it were all for the best.
"This might actually work in our favor. We needed time to divert their attention to those two anyway."
Rian and Isaac.
The key was delaying the 2nd Prince's side from tracking them down while they moved separately.
Isaac was taking his Silver Knight promotion exam, which had the kingdom's attention, so word might spread fast.
The silver lining was that the 2nd Prince's bold troop buildup had them too distracted for anything else.
"Why does that guy pop into my head even now?"
A mere foot soldier who meant nothing at first.
It just showed how dire their own position was.
Sela forced a bitter smile away and turned to her adjutant.
"I'm going to see Lord Ethan."
If they came out swinging, she had no intention of backing down.
This could even be a chance to thin their numbers.
"We'll need Count Gilbert's strength."
"Count Gilbert...?"
"Yes."
The 3rd Prince Ethan's strongest card.
She'd rather hold him in reserve, but tactically, this was necessary.
"Better to crush them hard early on so they think twice."
From their perspective, Gilbert was the 3rd Prince's final bastion.
If that man stepped up front and center, they'd panic.
And soon...
"It's almost time for that guy's promise."
"...You think Rian will pull it off?"
"Who knows? I can't guarantee it. But..."
Sela trailed off and gazed out the window.
She didn't know much about him, but one thing was certain.
"He hasn't broken a single promise so far."
The guy who always pulled off the impossible.
She was a little curious what he'd do this time.
Just one thing.
*You'd better hurry this time, Rian.*
* * *
Thud!
The dull sound was so familiar now.
Jexter watched with his own eyes but struggled to make sense of it.
"Is... is this even possible...?"
"That fucking bastard...!"
Rolf spat a double curse at Jekalin's question.
He had no other way to vent his rage.
Grit!
Jexter seethed with anger too.
It had all happened in a flash.
In mere minutes, over fifty men were dead by rough count.
Even those who'd dodged arrows and reached the fortress walls died before scaling them, felled by that monster's shots.
In this absurd situation, his men climbing the hill cowered behind bushes or low rocks, trembling.
They knew raising their heads meant death.
The terror of not knowing when death would strike paralyzed the mind.
Even on a battlefield where reason already fled.
"We can't give him time. Spread out and charge up fast."
"All of us?"
"Yeah. We have to get over that wall somehow. Otherwise, we're just wasting time here."
"Why not starve them out? They can't have much food."
Jekalin offered a plausible plan.
They couldn't hold out for months anyway.
Jexter looked at him.
"Can you handle that guy in the dark?"
A chill ran down their spines at the mere thought.
"Better to take him out while he's pinned down inside. If that monster melts into the shadows and picks us off, time won't be on our side."
"...Right."
Jekalin nodded in agreement.
Before sunset today was their best shot.
"...Fuck."
Rolf swallowed hard and cursed.
Even he, who loved charging in like a madman, felt instinctive fear from those arrows.
But that meant they had to push harder.
Hesitate, and you're dead—they knew that.
"...Impossible."
Others were just as stunned as the Black Ogre Unit below.
Herilda and the mountain folk around Rian.
*An arrow... could be this terrifying?*
How long would it take them to sprint from the hill's base to here at full speed?
Even accounting for the slope, about a minute.
Yet over a hundred men had charged up, and thirty were dead before arriving.
Twenty more died before cresting a wall barely taller than a man.
"...We'll win."
"We can win...!"
How could they lose fighting alongside someone like that?
No matter how they thought about it, defeat was impossible.
And then,
"Rawrghhh—!"
The Black Ogre Unit spread out wide and charged as one.
"......!"
They weren't just spreading out—they'd ditched their armor, using it as shields.
They figured if they reached the top and cleared the wall, victory was theirs.
"Rawrghhh—!"
The bull-like roar and charge made everyone flinch.
The overwhelming menace erased thoughts of certain victory.
It was only natural.
Four or five hundred berserkers charging—only the emotionless wouldn't fear it.
But one man stood unmoved.
Rian calmly nocked his bow.
One change in him.
*...Gotta shoot faster.*
He grabbed three arrows at once.
They were spread wide but charging boldly with armor shields—no zigzagging like before.
*Thanks for making it easy.*
His eyes sharpened as mana flowed into the ring.
His vision cleared; he could see the bandits' faces vividly.
And one more thing.
Humm.
His bow vibrated faintly.
Blue aura rippled along it, cloaking the arrows.
*If they block it, just pierce through.*
Creak—!
He drew the string, three arrows aimed straight at the enemy.
Twang!
The arrows flew amid a howling gale, slamming into the charging bandits.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
"......!"
The arrows punched through armor without stopping, piercing torsos and hitting those behind.
Three shots, eight dead.
Two arrows took three each, one took two.
"Arghhhh!"
One survivor: Rian's arrow had shredded his left shoulder, ripping the arm clean off.
Like a beast tearing it away—a fatal wound, and he rolled screaming.
"Herilda, everyone to battle stations. Can't block them all."
"Yes!"
She bolted to the wall crew, shouting.
"Battle stations! Skewer them the second they crest!"
"Got it!"
"No worries!"
They roared back, gripping weapons with resolve.
But Jexter's eyes shook at the blue aura on Rian's arrows.
"A-Aura...!"
"Aura?!"
Rolf halted mid-charge, yelling.
That insane power.
The visible blue glow.
Aura.
Had he ever seen an archer wield aura?
"What the hell is this madness?!"
Reality felt unreal with impossibilities piling up.
One bow killing over fifty men in seconds.
That alone was infuriatingly absurd.
Aura on arrows too?
*We never stood a chance...*
A lone aura user could maybe be overwhelmed by numbers.
They're human—limited stamina, finite aura.
But now? Terrain advantage, defenders inside.
Even those scruffy mountain folk made their force company-level or better.
*G-Gotta run...!*
Live to fight another day.
Retreat? He'd pick them off the second they turned.
Showing your back to an aura archer was suicide.
Plus,
*With these numbers, we might break through.*
Over five hundred with the merged bandits.
No one man handles that. Arrows aren't infinite.
"Push! Kill! Only one's a real fighter!"
Jexter bellowed at his men, then slipped back.
He eyed Rolf nearby.
*Run?*
*Or die to that monster?*
One glance sealed it.
Rolf nodded.
Better rebuild than die.
As Jexter and Rolf edged away,
"...That's the boss?"
Rian atop the wall spotted them, eyes gleaming.
Ring-enhanced vision caught everything.
The one barking orders, then retreating.
*There they are.*
He locked on the pair turning away, hiding their fear, and drew fully.
Creak.
Unlike before, full draw.
Two arrows quivered, tips dead on Jexter's back.
Twang—!
The shots streaked out.
Splash!
Jekalin mid-charge froze as arrows whistled past.
Too fast to react.
He glanced back instinctively.
Thud!
Rolf, fist-sized hole in his torso.
"Rolf!"
Jexter yelled beside him.
Thud!
Not spared.
"...Huh?"
Jexter paused, looking down at his left chest.
A cool burn spread.
He saw the hole and laughed in disbelief.
"Haha... This can't be real?"
Arrow from that range piercing flesh—no, obliterating it.
Impossible.
"...Crazy."
Thump.
He crumpled, lifeless.
Jekalin dropped his shield in shock.
Clang.
And then,
"I ammm—!"
Rian's mana-charged roar shook the hill.
Climbers froze, staring up.
"Arrowhead Unit Vice Captain, Rian."
Sharp gaze.
Boyish face, but overwhelming presence rooted the bandits.
"Your boss is dead."
He pointed at the distant corpses.
They looked—despair hit.
Not just dead.
They faced away from the bandits.
Toward escape.
"No more killing. Drop weapons and surrender. I'll spare your lives. And this promise..."
Rian paused, exhaled.
"...Is on the honor of the Arrowhead Unit."
Clang! Clang—.
Weapons hit the ground; they knelt.
No will to fight.
Herilda gaped at them and Rian, stunned and amazed.
"...It's over?"
She muttered.
Rian glanced over.
"It's over."
Promise kept.
Joyful tears welled in her eyes for the first time.