Chapter 143: I’m Going to Kill You (3)

The forest, which had been swept through by ten knights, was now desolate and silent. The cries of insects and the chirping of birds quietly echoed through the air. Then, a sudden movement broke the stillness.

“Looks like they're definitely gone,” Taragon said as he dropped down from a branch.

Anis rose from the bushes, replying, “I never imagined the training with Keter would help us this much.”

At the time, they had thought their stealth training at the artificial mountain range of the Seventh Training Ground was only intended to strengthen their mental resilience. But now, that stealth training had saved them from a crisis.

Of course, their stealth skills weren’t exceptional. However, the knights simply could not have imagined that the direct descendants of a master family would even attempt stealth techniques. Even if they had suspected it, it wouldn’t have been easy to find them. Detection and tracking were fields for specialists; all the knights could do was search for what they could see.

“They must have headed toward where we started. Let's move deeper into the island.”

Anis was about to start moving, but Taragon remained still.

“What is it?”

“Anis, I think we should deal with them now.”

“I understand your frustration. But right now, we have no bow or arrows. Using aura should be a last resort. Besides, it’s impossible to take down ten men quietly. Reinforcements would come.”

“They came for us the moment the tournament started. Just because we slipped away for a moment doesn’t mean they will give up the chase. They are definitely going to scatter and start searching individually. This is the only chance we have to pick them off one by one.”

“You have a point. But...”

What troubled Anis wasn’t the idea of fighting—it was the lack of bow and arrows. Even if he could replicate them using aura, he instinctively felt uncomfortable and anxious. He had never once been separated from bow and arrows in his entire life.

At that moment, Taragon grinned and lifted a tree branch.

“Look at this, Anis. The moment I saw this, I thought of taking them down one by one.”

Taragon grabbed the branch with both hands and bent it hard. Normally, an ordinary branch would snap, but this one bent with a smooth, flexible curve.

Anis’ eyes gleamed.

“That's oak, isn’t it?”

Oak—the wood most commonly used for making bows due to its excellent flexibility. Of course, to make a proper bow, the wood would need to be sun-dried and properly treated, but for now, all Anis and Taragon needed was something that could serve the basic function of a bow and arrows. The rest, they could reinforce with aura.

“There are plenty of vines around we can use for bow strings too.”

“You’re better than me, Taragon.”

At Anis’ praise, Taragon smiled bashfully and immediately began gathering materials. Anis joined in as well.

Even without swords, shaping wood and vines was no problem. They could channel aura into their fingers and use them like blades. And since oak could also be used to make arrows, they didn’t even need to search far.

The two, uncaring of getting their hands dirty, worked quickly to craft makeshift bows and arrows.

“We don’t have quivers, so we won't be able to carry many arrows,” Taragon said.

“Tie them with vines and hang them at the waist,” Anis replied.”

“Ah, good idea.”

They crafted twenty arrows each and then exchanged satisfied smiles.

“Taragon. If you were them, where do you think you would go?”

“I think they followed the coastline along the cliffs. If they had returned the way they came, we definitely would have run into them.”

“I agree. No need for us to split up anymore—let's work together.”

The difference in combat power between one swordsman and two was at least double. Having someone to guard your back made all the difference. But for archers? When two archers worked together, their combat effectiveness multiplied at least fourfold. Because archers, by nature, could secure the first strike against any opponent, and when the rear was protected, their power could increase exponentially.

Anis, well aware of this, decided to fully capitalize on it.

“I’ll leave the lead to you.”

“Yes.”

* * *

Anis and Taragon moved east. Even though it seemed like an arbitrary choice, there was a clear reason behind it: by positioning themselves with the sun at their backs, they would hinder the enemy’s vision. Even if enemies spotted the archers’ location, the intense sunlight would momentarily blind them. Meanwhile, the archers would have a clear view, unhindered by the sun, and could buy precious time while the enemy adjusted their eyes.

“Looks like those are our targets.”

Upon reaching the shore, Anis pointed toward a group of knights. At first glance, they could have just been knights searching for weapons, but they were already armed.

And even if they weren’t part of the pursuit, it didn’t matter. To rack up a high score in this tournament, they needed as many badges as possible.

“There are five knights in total. Should we take out the two heading toward the sea first?”

“You take the lion, I’ll take the hawk.”

Anis was referring to the emblems on their armor—the lion of Delmore and the hawk of Eiwen.

Creak...!

The two nocked arrows onto their makeshift oak bows, pulling back the vine bowstrings. They were around three hundred meters away. It would normally be an impossible shot with such crude weapons, but a true marksman did not blame their tools.

Thunk!

The arrows fired simultaneously, cutting through the air toward the knights standing atop the rocks jutting from the sea. Though no satisfying sound of impact echoed back, they clearly saw one knight tumble into the ocean. The oak arrows couldn’t pierce their steel armor deeply, but knocking them into the water was more than enough.

The three knights remaining on the beach looked around in a panic. They had no idea where the shots had come from.

Calmly, Anis and Taragon nocked three arrows each. They prepared the second form of the Zodiac Archery, Taurus Archery. Then six arrows flew, forming two perfect triangular patterns in the air.

By the time the knights heard the sound of arrows cutting through the wind, it was already too late. Even if they twisted their bodies or raised their swords to deflect them, it was useless. At best, they could block one or two arrows, but the third would always find its mark.

“Agh! Where are they?! Where?!”

The knights cried out in frustration, but it was nearly impossible to spot archers hidden in the forest with the sun at their backs.

Moreover, Sefira’s archers did not stop until their targets were utterly broken.

Arrow after arrow rained down. Some knights managed to deflect a few shots with their swords, but far more found their mark, piercing through their skin.

“

Ack!

”

One knight, shot in the abdomen, collapsed. The others instinctively shifted their defense toward their stomachs.

That was when the targets changed to their arms and legs. Even from a distance, Anis and Taragon hit every shot with excellent precision and force, leaving the knights completely helpless. None dared rush into the forest to close the distance.

Ten seconds—it took just ten seconds to neutralize five two-star knights, and this was with nothing but hastily crafted oak bows and arrows.

“

Ugh

... Damn it... filthy, cowardly Sefira scum...!”

One fallen knight reached for an elixir hidden in his clothes—only for a shadow to fall across him. Anis and Taragon stood over him.

Crack!

“

Gah!

”

Taragon kicked the knight hard under the jaw, knocking him back down.

His voice was cold as he said, “Hand over your elixir and badge.”

“How could a knight ambush someone like this?! Have you no honor?!”

Anis, channeling Keter's spirit, responded mockingly, “Next time, I’ll shout before I shoot. Would that be more knightly?”

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

He had been about to smash the knight’s head with his bow, but remembering it was made of oak, he instead kicked the knight hard in the chest.

Anis and Taragon quickly gathered three badges and two elixirs from the incapacitated knights, ignoring the ones who had fallen into the sea. Searching for them would waste precious time, and besides, they had already used up almost all their arrows.

They retreated into the forest to craft more arrows. After crafting more, they easily dispatched the pursuers on the opposite beach as well.

Swiftly finishing off the enemy knights, Taragon said, puzzled, “Anis, this is too easy. Could this be a trap? Maybe they’re trying to make us drop our guard?”

Feeling the same way, Anis replied, “I can’t tell if they’re just weak, or if we’re just that strong now.”

Among the knights they had taken down, there were even a few three-star knights, yet fighting them felt no different from fighting two-star knights.

It wasn’t as if Anis and Taragon had shown off any special archery techniques. They simply shot from a distance, and that alone had completely overwhelmed their opponents. The knights hadn’t even dared to approach. It was a result that neither the people nor the nobles had anticipated.

* * *

The feats of Anis and Taragon were finally broadcast to the audience.

Originally, the tournament organizers had focused the screens on Sefira, expecting to show them getting humiliated. But now, they were scrambling to change the view because Anis and Taragon were overwhelmingly subduing the knights.

However, the audience did not comply with the organizers' intentions.

“What was that just now? The knights were dropping like flies under the arrows!”

“Wasn't Sefira supposed to be the weakest of the master families?”

“I thought archery was supposed to be mediocre. What’s going on?”

“Switch the screen back! We want to see Sefira!”

When one spectator shouted, others followed. They all cried out to see Sefira—to see them fighting.

With tens of thousands of spectators roaring at once, the organizers had no choice. Soon, the screen once again showed Sefira. Though they were simply moving through the forest, the audience still cheered loudly.

“What is that? They're using bows and arrows made from wood. That’s what they fought with?”

“Come to think of it, knights can pick up any sword lying around, but Sefira's archers can't, can they?”

“That new rule was really unfair to Sefira!”

The audience began to realize how severely the new tournament rule had disadvantaged Sefira.

Meanwhile, some spectators began analyzing their fighting style.

“Why couldn’t the knights fend off Sefira's arrows?”

“Probably because they were ambushed. They only realized they were under attack after getting hit.”

“But can’t knights normally deflect arrows? That’s how it always looks in plays.”

“Yeah, that’s weird. Every knight I’ve ever seen could deflect arrows away.”

What the public didn’t know was that in order for a knight to deflect an arrow, they first had to perceive it coming. Without perception, one needed to be two levels more skilled than the shooter to block it. It worked similarly to ambush tactics; even a two-star knight could land a hit on a three-star knight if they struck by surprise.

Of course, it was also true that Anis and Taragon had grown remarkably strong thanks to Keter’s hellish training and his outrageous training methods. But, on the flip side, the carelessness of their opponents had played a part as well.

“Those fools weren’t prepared at all,” Keter commented casually, appearing beside Myle.

“When did you get here, Keter?”

“Just now.”

“Where did you go, Master?” Katherine asked.

Keter simply shrugged.

“Went to deliver a gift to someone we’ll be seeing a lot more of soon.”

“Who?”

“You’ll find out soon.”

“By the way, I agree with you, Lord Keter,” Didos added

The reason the knights were being helplessly defeated by Anis and Taragon wasn’t just because they were strong.

“It’s clear none of them prepared for archery at all.”

There were several reasons for that. The first was the lack of experience. Knights from the wartime generation would have experience deflecting arrows, as they would have fought enemy archers on the battlefield. But most of the knights in this tournament had never experienced war. At most, they might have faced crude arrows from bandits or human-like monsters.

The second reason was efficiency. Over ninety percent of the tournament participants were swordsmen. As such, it would not have been efficient to specifically train for the rare chance of encountering one of Sefira's four archers. It would have been considered a waste of time.

Lastly, it was because of the contempt against Sefira. They simply underestimated them and their archery. Sefira was slowly falling, and they believed they could beat them without any special preparation.

Honestly, they weren’t wrong.

If it had been the past—if Keter hadn’t intervened—Anis and Taragon would have been completely humiliated on the big screens by now.

Watching his brothers staying cautious even in a favorable situation, Keter smiled slightly.

They could do it all along. They just needed someone to lead them.

If Keter had tried to reform Sefira by following noble protocols and polite conversation, this growth would never have happened.

“Yes! Anis found a bow!”

Myle, who had been staring wide-eyed at the screen, clenched his fists in triumph.

Just as he said, Anis had succeeded in finding a bow, hidden deep between rocks. How he even found it was a mystery.

Throwing away his wooden makeshift bow, Anis lit up with joy. Even with a crude bow, he had effortlessly defeated three-star knights. Though he still had only wooden arrows for now, there was plenty of time.

Plus, Anis and Taragon had already collected fourteen badges together. Even if they escaped immediately, both could secure three points. If they pushed a bit further and gathered six more, they could reach five points.

“They’re not going to let them just walk away.”

Keter, flipping through the screens he was given, changed to a bird's-eye view.

The entire uninhabited island spread out below. Though the trees concealed much, the larger movements were still visible.

“Just as I thought,” Keter muttered.

In the distance, a group was moving toward Anis and Taragon. Leading them was Regan, a renowned four-star knight, along with five three-star knights. They were headed directly toward where Anis and Taragon were.

Keter was certain it wasn’t a mere coincidence.

“One four-star knight and five three-stars...”

Among mercenaries, this would be like facing one Amantir-class and five Diamond-class mercenaries. It was a level of force Anis and Taragon had never faced before. In addition, it seemed as if they were receiving real-time reports of Sefira’s location, seeing how they adjusted course immediately every time Anis or Taragon changed direction.

It would be natural for him to get angry at or worry about the blatant manipulation, but Keter remained relaxed, biting into an apple from a nearby fruit basket.

Crunch!

“We expected this, didn’t we? I trained them precisely so they could win even in a rigged fight like this.”

And if they couldn’t survive even this...

“Then I’m going to kill them.”

Keter smiled, stroking the fireplace poker he had stolen from Eslow’s palace.