The Genius Archer Who Became a One-Man Army

Chapter 28

“…?”

Suddenly, their movements were strange.

The ones who had been trying to keep their distance were now approaching them.

‘Have they gone mad?’

If not, it means they are relying on something…

*Heh.*

Gallel’s lips curled into a grin.

In this situation, Theobal’s flanking maneuver would be pointless.

Before his troops could even ambush them, the battle would commence with Gallel’s forces.

“Crazy bastards, for sure.”

Whatever they were relying on didn’t matter.

Facing him head-on was akin to carrying firewood into a blazing inferno.

Gallel tightened his grip on his axe.

He relished the thought of finally smashing that damn rat’s head.

“…”

But Lian remained calm as ever, observing his surroundings.

‘Our troops’ movements… have changed.’

With nearly two thousand soldiers, it was hard to notice all at once, but something had definitely opened up in this direction.

Sensing this change, Lian immediately directed his squad towards Gallel’s position.

“Kyle, we might clash a couple of times. Arthur, support Kyle.”

“Ugh…”

“Don’t worry!”

Thinking about the impending clash with the monstrous Gallel made Kyle’s head ache already.

His eyes gleamed sharply.

‘A reliable guy.’

Lian kept an eye on the distance between them and Gallel while surveying the surroundings.

He was gauging the right moment to draw Gallel in completely.

Soon, they were close enough to see Gallel’s face clearly with the naked eye.

“We meet again, rat!”

The booming voice pierced his eardrums, causing a cold sweat to form on the back of his neck. But,

“6th squad, form up!”

With Lian’s shout, Kyle and Arthur raised their shields and charged forward.

Of course, Gallel would think they were preparing for a fight.

‘I need to stall him here.’

The key was how long they could hold out until their reinforcements arrived…

Probably only 1-2 minutes.

The question was if they could withstand the monster for that long.

*Creak!*

‘There’s no time to ponder; it’s time to act.’

The decision was made.

Lian quickly nocked an arrow and pulled the bowstring.

As he did, Gallel’s eyes flickered with a hint of apprehension.

He knew how threatening Lian’s arrows could be.

*Whoosh!*

The moment Lian aimed, Gallel pushed off the ground, accelerating further.

He had to minimize the number of arrows Lian could shoot.

*Whoosh!*

As Gallel sped up, Lian’s arrow flew.

A beast warrior, seeing the arrow, raised his sword hastily.

*Thunk!*

“…!”

He thought he had blocked it, but the arrow pierced through his sword and embedded itself in his forehead.

The beast warrior collapsed, and the eyes of those beside Gallel wavered.

‘I definitely saw it…’

‘What is this?’

They had been warned about the arrows and had clearly seen it, yet,

‘It vanished from my sight suddenly.’

‘The arrow wobbled strangely…?’

What kind of magic is this?

But there was no time to dwell on it.

As another arrow came, a beast warrior instinctively raised his sword to cover his face.

*Clang!*

The arrow struck the sword and deflected. He shouted,

“Protect your vitals! Just guard the vital spots!”

As long as they protected their vitals, they wouldn’t die from a single hit.

The wounded beast warrior gritted his teeth, broke off the arrow, and moved.

“Squad leader! They’re spreading out!”

“So, that’s your play…?”

Among them, only Gallel could block Lian’s arrows.

That’s why he aimed to reduce their numbers before they got too close…

*Swoosh.*

Lian nocked two arrows and drew his bowstring tight.

The bow creaked as if it might snap, but Lian’s gaze remained steady on his targets.

“If that’s the case…!”

*Whoosh!*

The two arrows shot out, not aiming for their vitals, but their legs.

*Thunk! Thunk!*

“Ugh!”

“Argh!”

The arrows struck the legs of two beast warriors, causing them to collapse.

While he couldn’t kill them with one hit, hitting their legs immobilized them.

‘If only I could use aura…’

Lian was learning magical techniques but was still lacking in using aura.

If he could, he would pierce through their swords or axes and hit their heads.

Despite his regrets, he was doing his best.

*Creak!*

Realizing they couldn’t avoid Lian’s arrows, the beast warriors flinched whenever he drew his bowstring.

In that moment of hesitation,

*Whoosh!*

*Thunk!*

Two more beast warriors fell.

“Squad leader!”

But Gallel, the biggest threat, was now right in front of them.

“Haaah-!”

Shouting as if avenging his fallen comrades, Gallel swung his axe mightily.

*Boom!*

“Ugh-!”

Kyle, who had blocked the attack with his shield, grimaced in pain.

His insides twisted, and he felt like vomiting, but he gritted his teeth and endured.

“…Blocked it?”

Gallel was visibly shocked.

He hadn’t expected any kingdom soldier, no matter how big or monstrous, to block his axe.

But Kyle’s perspective was different.

‘That monstrous…!’

The large tower shield was completely crushed and became unusable.

One more hit and it would have simply torn apart.

But Gallel didn’t care about Kyle’s predicament.

“Hehehe, who would have thought someone could block my attack.”

He raised his axe again.

His eyes flashed with murderous intent,

“Try blocking this one too!”

“Aaaaah!”

In a desperate moment, Kyle screamed without realizing it. Just then, Gallel felt a sudden chill from the side and quickly twisted his body.

*Swish-!*

A cold sensation followed by a long cut appeared on Gallel’s side.

Although shallow, it was the first wound he had received since the battle began.

“Damn.”

Isaac, who had inflicted the wound, muttered under his breath.

If he had been a little faster, he could have cut to the bone.

No, to be honest, even if he had attacked perfectly, it would have been impossible to completely slice through Gallel.

‘What kind of body does he have…?’

He wasn’t wearing armor, yet it felt like cutting through it.

He had only managed to shallowly cut the skin and outer muscle.

But Gallel’s eyes wavered slightly as he looked at Isaac.

‘Is this one… young too?’

The attack had not been particularly powerful.

What startled him was the timing and precision of the sword strike.

And what stood out even more was that Isaac appeared even younger than the archer.

‘This kingdom is blessed.’

Gallel quickly assessed Isaac’s talent.

To be able to wield two swords so freely and sharply at such a young age…

‘These young geniuses are already standing out… They will become a great threat to us in the future.’

He needed to kill them.

They had to die here.

Simultaneously, Gallel’s eyes filled with a chilling murderous intent.

The kingdom might be blessed,

*Swish.*

but today would be a great misfortune for them.

‘Even if I kill just these two…’

It would be a significant blow to the kingdom’s future.

A faint red glow enveloped Gallel’s raised axe.

Just as Gallel was about to swing his axe at Isaac,

“Isaac, moveeeeee!”

Isaac, who had been about to deflect the axe while counterattacking, heard a scream piercing his eardrums and threw himself to the side.

“Where do you think you’re going-!”

But Gallel didn’t miss Isaac.

He took a large step in Isaac’s direction, swinging the axe at him.

*Crash!*

The axe shattered the sword in Isaac’s hand and struck his shoulder.

“Aaagh!”

It wasn’t a fatal blow, but it was severe.

Isaac screamed and collapsed, bleeding onto the ground.

Gallel, recognizing the shallowness of the wound, clicked his tongue and raised his axe again.

At that moment,

“Isaaccccc!”

*Swish!*

An arrow flew at incredible speed towards Gallel.

As he was about to deliver the finishing blow to Isaac, Gallel hastily leaned back, looking towards the direction of the arrow.

*Slash.*

The arrow grazed Gallel’s nose and cheek, drawing blood.

Gallel’s eyes burned with cold fury as he looked at Lian.

“Fine, you’re next.”

Gallel turned his attention to Lian.

Isaac was incapacitated.

It would be ideal to finish him off, but if he didn’t deal with that archer quickly, more of his soldiers would die.

*Swish!*

Dodging another arrow by leaning sideways, Gallel focused on the source.

As long as he concentrated on the archer, Lian’s arrows couldn’t reach him anymore.

“Your arrows are useless now.”

*Thud!*

With that, Gallel charged at Lian.

“Squad leader!”

“Lian, squad leader!”

Kyle, Arthur, and the other squad members tried to move in front of Lian urgently, but,

“Stay back!”

Lian shouted, stopping them.

None of his squad could withstand Gallel at this point.

They would only die meaninglessly from a single axe strike.

*Grit.*

‘Is it time yet?’

Lian turned his head. And then,

“Lian!”

“Kill the enemy commander!”

A shout came from the side.

Baron Biovan and Raymon, along with their soldiers, had finally arrived.

Lian’s face lit up with hope.

It was time!

But,

“Hehehehe, so that’s what you were waiting for?”

Gallel grinned.

He hadn’t expected such a situation.

It was both surprising and impressive that this young archer had planned such a tactic.

“But it’s too late, brat.”

Therefore, he had to kill him right here.

Lian fired another arrow at close range in desperation,

*Thunk!*

Gallel blocked it with his left arm.

The arrow embedded in Gallel’s arm, but it didn’t stop his movement.

Raising his axe in front of Lian,

Lian’s eyes widened in fear.

There was no way to avoid the attack…

“Die, brat.”

Gallel’s axe came crashing down on Lian’s head.

*Crash!*