The Genius Archer Who Became a One-Man Army

Chapter 10

The first person that came to mind when I heard I could create my own squad was, without a doubt, Isaac.

If I didn’t know anything, I would never have picked Isaac.

After all, my actions might alter Isaac’s future.

But Lian knows very well how Isaac became strong and achieved great feats.

‘Right now, Isaac has two major flaws.’

One is using a weapon that doesn’t suit him, and the other is his gentle nature that prevents him from killing people.

Isaac, whom I met at the training ground, was energetic and hardworking, always pushing himself.

He has more stamina than Lian and is skilled with a spear.

His spear skills are on par with a typical squad leader, and his stamina is undeniably A-grade.

But the problem is that’s where it ends.

‘His hesitation to kill when needed is probably his greatest weakness.’

I don’t know how Isaac overcame that weakness. But it doesn’t matter.

I have plenty of experience turning soldiers like him around back when I was a squad leader.

‘He was in the 1st platoon, 1st squad, right?’

Then all I need to do is talk to the 1st platoon leader.

The news about Lian had already spread throughout the company, so it wasn’t surprising.

Lian went to find Brian, the 1st platoon leader.

“Oh, Lian!”

Brian greeted him warmly.

It was only natural.

Lian had greatly contributed to capturing Karouldin.

From Brian’s perspective, he practically owed his life to Lian.

Lian greeted Brian politely.

‘Is it the company commander’s positive influence? There are quite a few rare soldiers gathered in the Eagle Company.’

Even though Lian had helped capture the enemy commander, he was still just a regular soldier.

A new recruit, no less.

Usually, such actions would be met with skepticism rather than recognition.

“Congratulations. I heard you got promoted to squad leader?”

“Yes, that’s correct. I only played a small part in your success, yet I received such a generous reward. Thank you.”

“Haha, thanks for the kind words, but you should take pride in it. Your arrow was a great help back then.”

Who would have imagined an arrow would pierce Karouldin’s chest?

Brian was astonished when he saw Lian’s arrow hit Karouldin.

‘He’s no ordinary guy.’

“So, what brings you here?”

“I’m here to recruit squad members and wanted to ask permission to take someone from the 1st platoon.”

“There are many talented soldiers in the 1st platoon. Haha, who do you want to take?”

“Isaac.”

“Isaac? The one in the 1st squad?”

“Yes!”

“Hmm…”

Brian looked a bit puzzled by Lian’s request.

Isaac was a somewhat problematic soldier.

“Are you sure? There are many soldiers in the 1st platoon better than Isaac. I can recommend someone else if you’d like.”

“No, I want Isaac in my squad. Can you allow it?”

Lian answered firmly.

Brian nodded reluctantly.

“Alright, you have my permission.”

“Thank you!”

Having Isaac in my squad…

In the past, Isaac was someone Lian’s age who was the envy of many.

Feeling like he received an unexpected gift, Lian decided to assess the other company members.

Perhaps there were hidden gems he wasn’t aware of.

‘Isaac is the only one who stands out overwhelmingly.’

Isaac was one of the few in the entire kingdom who stood out.

“Phew! Now I need to talk to the 6th platoon leader…”

He had heard that the 6th platoon leader was quite pleased about the news of additional soldiers.

‘I just need to ask for a few soldiers skilled in frontline combat and a couple of fast runners.’

Anything more would be greedy.

Lian thought about the 6th platoon leader, Tyler.

He soon headed to meet Tyler.

Thankfully, it wasn’t difficult to meet him as everyone was on personal maintenance time.

“6th platoon to-be squad leader, Lian reporting!”

“Nice to meet you. We saw each other during the reward ceremony, right?”

“Yes!”

“What brings you here? Your assignment is post-leave, right?”

“I wanted to discuss my squad members with you.”

“Squad members?”

“Yes, I’d like to delegate the selection of the rest of my squad members to you, except for Isaac. I just need a few soldiers skilled in frontline combat and a couple of fast runners.”

Tyler looked surprised by Lian’s words.

Usually, new squad leaders want to exert their authority as much as possible.

Deciding squad members is the first authority they can exercise.

So, problems often arise.

It’s an issue of competence, but also, in their eagerness, they often make mistakes.

But this guy is different.

‘I heard he enlisted not long ago.’

He seems relaxed and detailed.

A soldier skilled in frontline combat to act as a shield and a fast runner.

He already had a vision for his squad members.

‘And appropriate delegation of authority…’

He seems to know how to gain benefits while maintaining a good image.

With a smile, Tyler asked, “Your name is Lian, right? What did your father do?”

“He was a soldier. I enlisted to become a good soldier like my late father.”

“I see. I look forward to your future contributions.”

The conversation ended there.

Now, all that was left was to wait for the leave granted as a reward.

‘Isaac…’

It might be better to tell Isaac after returning from leave as a surprise.

Although things seemed to be going smoothly, Lian began to calmly organize the upcoming tasks once he returned to the barracks.

‘I have so many things to do…’

He still didn’t know why he was sent back to the past or how he came back to life, but he decided not to overthink it. He just considered it a second chance and wanted to make the most of it. But because of that, he had to be more cautious than ever.

He didn’t want to miss this miraculous opportunity.

‘The first thing I need is a magic cultivation technique.’

The reason he obtained a private training room was precisely for this.

In his past life, although he rose from an ordinary soldier to a squad leader, Lian never learned how to use magic.

It was natural. Handling magic was a privilege reserved for those on the elite path.

‘Or geniuses.’

For someone like Lian, a commoner, magic was something that existed only in dreams.

But this time was different.

Lian calmly collected his thoughts.

‘I created an unbelievable cultivation technique.’

A genius from the Child family.

He had combined two existing magic cultivation techniques to create an utterly astonishing method.

It shortened the time to acquire magical power from 20-30 years to just 3-4 years.

Of course, there were conditions.

One must not have learned any other magic techniques and must have completely unblocked the blood vessels throughout their body.

There were a few other conditions, but these were the most important.

‘If you learn that technique without fulfilling the conditions, your body… will explode, right?’

It was incredibly risky, but since Lian already knew all the conditions, it wasn’t a significant threat.

“I have a lot to do outside.”

Although he received additional leave as a reward, he needed to move quickly.

The night before his leave, Lian lay down, trying to calm his excited mind before closing his eyes.

* * *

Vilcher was a soldier who enlisted at the same time as Lian.

“Wow… To have such an unbelievable battle within two months of enlisting. Lian! No, Squad Leader Lian, where are you going on your first leave?”

But within two months, the gap between them had widened.

Lian unfolded a map in response to Vilcher’s question.

“First, I’ll go to Bellotra.”

“Bellotra?”

Vilcher looked a bit surprised.

Bellotra was a three-day journey from where Lian’s unit was stationed.

Spending half of his leave traveling.

“If you’re looking for a big city, Terpon would be a good choice too. The wine there is excellent. Although Bellotra is bigger…”

“I just really want to go there. See you later.”

Smiling at Vilcher, Lian immediately turned away.

Given the considerable distance to Bellotra, as Vilcher mentioned, he needed to hurry.

‘I have to go.’

There were several reasons for going to Bellotra, one of which was the presence of the Hallitian Temple.

‘There’s a high-ranking priest at the Hallitian Temple.’

The first condition to unblock his blood vessels was to receive a holy blessing from a high-ranking priest.

The holy blessing would purify his blood vessels, making it easier to unblock them.

This fact became known only after the Child magic cultivation technique had been studied for some time.

It indicated how intensely people researched the Child magic technique.

But there was an even more important reason.

‘Will I meet him…’

This could be the first step in his plan.

Lian bit his lip.

“It begins now.”

With expectations and a bit of worry, Lian headed to Bellotra, executing his planned steps one by one.

* * *

Needless to say, receiving a blessing from a high-ranking priest was quite expensive.

It cost between 30 to 50 gold per blessing.

Considering that the monthly living expenses for an average family of four were 2-3 gold, it required more than a year’s worth of living expenses.

Despite receiving a 15-gold reward for his recent achievements, it was far from enough for a blessing.

“Phew, it’s here.”

A smithy on the outskirts of Bellotra.

[Broken Shard]

Most of the letters on the sign that read “Broken Shard” were faded, indicating the shop’s long history.

“At least I can see it now.”

In his past life, when he first visited this place after reading the autobiography of someone, he could only make out the word “Shard.”

Although it felt slightly eerie compared to before, it didn’t matter.

Creak.

Lian carefully pushed the door. At that moment,

Bang!

“Ah!”

Someone suddenly came flying out from inside, knocking Lian to the ground.

“Ow…”

His butt hurt where it hit the ground.

Lian frowned and looked at the person who flew out of the smithy.

“…Walter?”

The reason Lian sought out this place.

Walter was sprawled on the ground in front of him.