The Genius Archer Who Became a One-Man Army

Chapter 8

*Creak.*

As the three, including Raymond, charged at Karouldin, Lian discreetly aimed at the beastmen.

‘I can’t just shoot haphazardly. I need to end this in one shot.’

If I fail, not only will my position be exposed, but a crisis similar to when I faced Furokuta earlier will arise.

But if, unlike Furokuta, that thing comes after me…

‘I’ll die for sure.’

It’s a certain conclusion that doesn’t even need an ‘if.’

*Creak. Creak-!*

Standing behind a rock, Lian aimed his bow, his gaze fixed on Karouldin.

The taut string of the bow was gradually stretching further, and the old bow creaked in protest.

Because this single shot was that important.

‘It’s coming… it’s coming…’

Surely, an opportunity will come while they fight like this.

Lian waited for that moment, holding his breath.

“Slash-!”

As 2nd platoon leader Holun slashed at Karouldin’s leg, he shouted.

Is the tide turning in our favor?

In that moment, Lian slightly relaxed the tension in his arm while holding the bow.

If they can win without me shooting, there’s no need to interfere.

But,

*Crack!*

“Ugh!”

Karouldin grabbed Holun by the throat, lifting him as if the bleeding from his leg was of no concern.

‘What the…?’

That beastmen?

Lian, who was about to release the bowstring, aimed his arrow back at Karouldin.

He hoped that Raymond and Brian might do something, but then, *Uwoooong-!*

Karouldin’s eyes flashed, and the blade of the halberd he held glowed faintly red.

*Boom!*

“Ugh!”

“Aaagh!”

With a single swing of the halberd, Raymond and Brian were thrown back, rolling on the ground.

An unbelievable display of destructive power.

Watching this, Lian’s eyes wavered significantly.

“O…ra?”

Just for a brief moment, the weapon glowed red.

He didn’t see it wrong.

It was aura.

‘He can use an aura?’

Insane!

This battle at Pellon Gorge wasn’t about the ambush by the beastmens.

It was a massacre due to an overwhelming difference in skill.

Who would have imagined the enemy commander to be an aura user of general level?

‘He must be stopped…!’

The only hope is that he is still an incomplete aura user.

If he could use aura properly, he would have used it before getting injured.

‘Moreover, the aura’s glow was very faint.’

There’s a chance.

Lian gritted his teeth.

He didn’t know if he could do it with this wretched body, but…

‘I must…!’

If I fail, everyone here will die.

Sweat trickled down Lian’s forehead.

*Creak.*

And Lian slightly twisted the arrow nocked on the bowstring.

The bowstring trembled as if it was about to tear his fingers apart.

‘Endure!’

The aim was already unstable, but it had to be done.

If he could shoot accurately, he could create a ‘special’ trajectory.

Though the angle Lian could achieve was very slight.

‘The wind is blowing… from the left.’

Feeling the breeze lightly touch his cheek, Lian gauged the wind’s direction. He steadied his breath and fixed his gaze on Karouldin.

*Thwip-!*

*Shwoooo-!*

The arrow released from Lian’s hand flew swiftly towards Karouldin.

As it tore through the air, the arrow seemed to curve.

“…!”

*Whoosh!*

Karouldin quickly bent backwards and turned his head.

Holun, who had been in his grasp, fell to the ground, coughing, and Karouldin glared at the direction from where the arrow had come.

There he saw a boy holding a bow.

“…A kid?”

A youthful face that hadn’t lost its baby fat.

An unfully grown body, yet how could he shoot such a powerful arrow?

No, the power was formidable, but it wasn’t threatening.

It just felt strong for his age.

The problem wasn’t the power but the trajectory.

‘The arrow… curved?’

Nonsense.

He thought he had perfectly blocked the arrow with the halberd blade.

But the arrow that he thought he had surely blocked had strangely curved and avoided the halberd, flying towards him.

Had he hesitated for a split second, his neck would have been pierced by the arrow, and he would be lying on the ground now.

‘Dangerous.’

Karouldin’s eyes gleamed with murderous intent.

And at that moment, someone else realized the situation.

‘Recruit… Lian?’

What was that arrow just now?

An arrow that even the swift Karouldin couldn’t block, having to dodge it.

Though he didn’t see it properly, he could tell something was different from what he knew.

“Holun, are you alright?”

“Ugh…! I’m fine. I was careless for a moment.”

Holun, having gotten up again, gripped his sword. Raymond then shouted loudly to Lian.

“Lian! Prepare the next arrow!”

He thought of a way to kill that beastmen.

At Raymond’s shout, Lian looked at him in surprise.

“We’ll restrain its movements. Can you do it? Brian, Holun platoon leader!”

“Of course!”

“We’ll definitely block it!”

At Raymond’s words, the two men responded with fierce determination and charged at Karouldin again.

A deep wrinkle formed between Karouldin’s eyebrows.

“Fools who don’t know their place…!”

Karouldin gripped his halberd with both hands and swung it towards the approaching Raymond. But then, *Shwooo-!*

Once again, the sound of an arrow cutting through the air came from a distance, and Karouldin quickly raised his halberd.

*Clang-!*

The halberd blade shook as it blocked the arrow.

Having experienced it once, blocking it wasn’t impossible this time.

But that wasn’t the problem.

*Slash!*

In the moment he focused on blocking the arrow, Raymond and the platoon leaders’ swords cut into Karouldin’s body.

“Ugh!”

Blood flowed from his tightly clenched lips.

Enduring the pain, Karouldin glared at the ones holding their swords at him.

“Get them!!”

“Stop them!”

Desperately, the beastmens’s officers struggled to rescue Karouldin, but,

“Block them! Don’t let them through!”

“If we kill the commander, it’s over! Raise your shields!”

At the front, with the shouts of other platoon leaders and squad leaders, the battle grew even more intense.

From the beastmens’s perspective, losing their leader meant the end, so they launched ferocious attacks without thinking of defense.

Naturally, more blood was shed, and more soldiers were dying.

But despite this, Raymond, Brian, and Holun focused all their attention on Karouldin.

Even though his body was wounded, they couldn’t relax yet.

‘A monstrous… beastmen.’

Normally, with such injuries, morale would be shattered.

But Karouldin raised his halberd as if it was nothing.

And once again, Karouldin’s halberd glowed with a red light.

“Get out of the way! Don’t try to block it!”

Raymond shouted.

Knowing that Karouldin could use aura, a frontal confrontation would be suicidal.

*Crash!*

The ground caved in where Karouldin struck, and debris flew in all directions.

Such unbelievable destructive power.

“I’ll kill you first…!”

Karouldin spoke fluently in the kingdom’s language, glaring with wide eyes.

Although the arrows were very threatening, he had figured out their path with two attacks.

‘Two or three more shots…!’

The estimated number of arrows to be fired while killing these three.

If he could dodge them, it would all be over.

“Arrgh-!”

Karouldin charged at Raymond like a beast with a roar.

As Brian and Holun moved to Karouldin’s sides, swinging their swords, he dodged Holun’s sword and spun around, swinging his halberd.

In that moment, aura gathered on the halberd’s blade,

“Ugh!”

The destructive power was so great that no scream could be properly heard.

Brian, who was sent flying more than three meters, staggered to his feet.

Thanks to blocking with his shield, he survived, but several fractures likely resulted from the attack.

Meanwhile, Karouldin, standing before Raymond, raised his halberd.

‘I’m going to die…!’

Raymond instinctively knew.

This attack couldn’t be blocked.

Karouldin, holding the halberd with both hands, focused all his power solely on himself.

“Captain!”

Holun ran up, shouting loudly. But Karouldin’s halberd moved first.

“Die.”

*Swish!*

Simultaneously, a piercing sound rushed past his ears. Another arrow?

“I’ve figured out all your attacks…”

*Thunk-!*

“…!”

Karouldin twisted his body as he saw the incoming arrow.

He thought he had completely understood it after experiencing it twice already, but,

“…The…opposite?”

*Stagger.*

Karouldin looked at the arrow lodged in his left chest with disbelief.

*Swoosh! Thud-!*

Another arrow followed and lodged into his chest again.

“Cough!”

Karouldin, who seemed unyielding to any attack, staggered heavily, blood pouring from his mouth.

‘To think… I’d die to such a brat…!’

That such a young, inexperienced kid would be the reason for his death?

*Clench!*

Karouldin grabbed the halberd in reverse.

He planned to throw the halberd and kill the boy first.

*Uwoooong-!*

Karouldin concentrated all the aura he could muster into the throw.

Although it was a weak level of aura, killing a kid like that wouldn’t be a problem.

*Pooosh!*

The overwhelming aura emanating from Karouldin’s body and the sharp killing intent enveloped Lian.

Lian felt his body freeze momentarily.

‘I-I can’t move…?’

What is this?

Is this the pressure emitted by an aura user?

His legs trembled, and he couldn’t even make a sound.

If Karouldin throws the halberd in this state… he would die for sure.

“Haaaa-!”

But then, a shout came from right behind Karouldin, and *Slash!*

Raymond’s sword slashed horizontally across Karouldin’s side.

“Ugh!”

As his side split open, blood gushed out profusely.

At the moment Karouldin, unable to endure it, knelt on one knee,

*Slash!*

Raymond’s sword struck his neck.

*Thud.*

As Karouldin’s head flew into the air and hit the ground,

“The enemy commander is dead!”

“Captain Raymond has beheaded the enemy commander!”

Raymond and Holun’s shouts echoed loudly.

Raymond then shouted,

“Those who surrender will be spared! If there are beastmens who understand me, shout out! If you resist, you will all be killed!”

Some of the beastmens who understood Raymond’s words dropped their weapons and lay flat on the ground.

“TKFFU! SHWNRDMA!”

“XNGKDGKA! DNFLRK WUTEK!”

The battle was quickly coming to an end.

Watching this, Lian unknowingly collapsed to the ground.

Having faced Karouldin’s overwhelming presence, his entire body was drained of strength.

“Huff… huff… Did we win?”

The battle at Pellon Gorge, which had almost been a massacre.

But this time, the outcome was entirely reversed.

‘We did it…’

The outcome was overturned thanks to Lian’s efforts.

Lian couldn’t hold back the surge of emotions welling up inside him.

“Aaaaaaaah!”

A victorious roar burst from Lian’s mouth.

* * *

Naturally, the journey north for reinforcements was altered.

It wasn’t a major issue.

The victory at Pellon Gorge was a tremendous achievement in itself.

The bodies of the fallen comrades were dealt with, and temporary tents were set up to treat the wounded.

“Lian! The captain is calling for you. Go see him right away.”

“Huh? Oh, yes!”

At the words of Lieutenant Derek, Lian tried to suppress the pounding in his chest.

Lian’s contributions in the battle at Pellon Gorge were immense.

He had guided the way on the special mission to the rear and killed Furokuta, a beastmen officer holding the rear.

And he greatly assisted in killing the biggest threat, Karouldin.

‘…Probably not.’

But Lian tried not to get his hopes up too much.

He didn’t know Captain Raymond’s personality, but most of the superiors Lian knew would naturally take credit for their subordinates’ achievements.

At least, many saw him kill Furokuta, so maybe he’d get some recognition for that?

Even before meeting Raymond, Lian felt a mix of bitterness and uncontainable anticipation.

Lian headed towards Raymond’s tent.

“Captain, this is Lian from 3rd Platoon, 4th Squad!”

“Come in.”

A low voice.

When Lian entered the tent, Raymond turned to look at him.

Bandages peeked out from under his armor.

Considering the fierce battle, it was more surprising that he wasn’t more injured.

Raymond smiled at Lian.

“Lian, this was your first battle since enlisting, right?”

“Yes, sir!”

“You must have been very nervous. You achieved remarkable feats for a recruit.”

Raymond approached Lian and lightly patted his shoulder.

“Were you always this good with a bow? I’m not great with bows myself, but I can recognize skill when I see it… Your archery seemed a bit different.”

“Th-Thank you, sir!”

“No, you were truly incredible. Without you, it would’ve been impossible to kill that beastmen.”

Raymond reminisced about Karouldin with a bitter smile.

Despite teaming up with two platoon leaders, they were no match for him.

That’s how strong Karouldin was.

Raymond looked at Lian.

“Your contributions will be formally recognized and rewarded later. But beyond that, I want to give you something personally.”

“…What?”

Lian looked surprised.

He hadn’t expected Raymond to say such a thing.

Amused by Lian’s reaction, Raymond chuckled.

“Tell me, within my power, what is one thing I can do for you? Monetary rewards and promotions will come through official commendations, so think of something else.”

Captain Raymond.

‘Who are you…?’

How did such a noble soldier die so meaninglessly in the past?

Or perhaps, being a true soldier, he died fighting for his men to the end.

Raymond’s unexpected offer made Lian clench his fists.

‘Money, promotion?’

No, what Lian wanted was something else entirely.

“Captain, if the unit returns, could you grant me access to a personal training ground?”

“A personal training ground?”

Raymond looked quite surprised.

He expected requests for a transfer to a good unit or something else, but this was completely unexpected.

“A personal training ground… Do you need a space to practice archery?”

“Yes, sir. Preferably an indoor training ground where I can practice without being seen.”

“Hmm…”

Raymond let out a small sigh.

A personal training ground was a privilege reserved for those of captain rank or higher.

No ordinary soldier had ever been granted access to one.

Raymond wanted to fulfill Lian’s request, but he couldn’t grant a personal training ground.

“Then let’s do this. When we return to the unit, I’ll allow you to use my personal training ground when it’s free. How does that sound?”

“That would be more than enough!”

“But it might be at early or late hours. Is that alright?”

“I’d be grateful for just that opportunity.”

“Alright. Then it’s settled. The space isn’t large enough for archery practice, so I’ll arrange for you to use a facility where you can practice shooting.”

“Thank you!”

Lian placed his right fist over his left chest and shouted loudly.

‘I’ve secured a personal training ground. Now…’

Lian began to envision the plans he had been thinking about.

The first thing he needed to do…