Chapter 52: Call Me The Archery Genius (2)

An archer typically stayed outside the enemy’s range for safety, but Keter was different. He deliberately positioned himself in between Deo and Derant and shot an arrow.

Deo and Derant both wanted to kill Keter, who was shooting arrows from close range, but they couldn’t; even as blade birds, they couldn’t afford to turn their backs on Karon, a flying wolf, and Jordic, the Spear Dragon, because it was too risky.

Keter's bold strategy involving positioning himself in a dangerous spot to divide the enemy's attention and exhaust their mental focus was a tactic only someone like Keter could execute. Meanwhile, Luke stood at a distance, thinking about his role in the battle.

Jumping into the fight would be useless. His aura was depleted, meaning he could only shoot regular arrows. Only with the power of aura could he pierce the Blade Bird Tribe's steel-like feathers.

Could my supernatural ability be of use instead?

When Jordic’s eclipse had engulfed him earlier, Luke hadn’t taken damage, but others had. He wasn’t sure what had happened exactly, and the ability wasn’t triggered by his own will. He didn’t know if it would even be activated again, and if it did, it might not differentiate between friend and foe. It was too dangerous to use such an incomplete skill in this situation.

Besides, there's Keter...

Keter didn’t give him any instructions, which Luke interpreted as a sign. It could mean that Keter trusted him to act on his own, but more likely, it meant that he wasn’t meant to intervene in the fight at all.

Something that only I can do right now... Oh!

Luke finally moved. It took him a long time to decide, but he was quick to act. First, he moved the Bydent knights somewhere safe, then quickly escaped the battlefield.

Glancing at Luke, who was leaving the battle, Keter muttered, “Let’s look at your combat sense.”

He was both talking to Luke as well as the Blade Bird Tribe.

Keter shot an invisible Aura Arrow—two at Deo, who was fighting Jordic, and one at Derant, who was fighting Karon.

Squelch!

Deo’s wings burst with blood as he was about to finish off Jordic. In retaliation, Deo unleashed a flurry of steel feathers toward Keter, who dodged them with ease while keeping an eye on Derant's movements.

“Tricks won't save you!”

Derant, having sensed Keter's invisible Aura Arrows, deflected them with his steel feathers. But the momentary distraction created an opening, and Karon seized the opportunity, lunging at Derant and sinking his teeth into him. To assist Karon, Keter fired many Aura Arrows at Derant. Derant spun mid-air, dodging the arrows and shaking off Karon's bite.

Whoosh!

“What!?”

Derant's eyes widened in shock as the arrows he dodged curved back like boomerangs, hurtling toward him again. To make matters worse, Keter relentlessly fired more Aura Arrows, pushing Derant further into a corner.

Flap!

Derant flapped his wings, shooting straight upward into the sky. The Aura Arrows pursued him at a terrifying speed but eventually lost their power and dissipated at a certain height.

“Not bad, birdbrain,” Keter muttered.

This was why Keter found dealing with the Blade Bird Tribe a hassle: whenever they felt the fight turning against them, they could always fly into the sky.

Watching Derant ascend into the sky, Keter decided to keep him distracted, ensuring he wouldn't have time to strategize.

“Don't be a coward! Get down here and fight!”

Keter’s strategy was building, step by step. For instance, he figured out that the effective range of the blade bird’s steel feathers was similar to that of a crossbow—after eighty meters, their lethality sharply decreased.

Deo has more raw power and speed, but Derant has better awareness and combat sense.

Keter, who had analyzed their combat styles, didn’t rush—he knew that an opportunity would come. Shooting feathers was a way to maintain pressure. To deliver a lethal blow, even the blade birds had to come down to the ground at some point. That was Keter’s chance.

“Hey, mutt!” Keter shouted, signaling Karon with a nod toward Deo.

Though Karon appeared feral, almost mindless in his current state, he understood Keter immediately. He charged at Deo, leaping with incredible power, jaws wide open. Simultaneously, Jordic, who had been on the defensive, switched to an aggressive stance to prevent Deo from escaping into the air.

Just as Karon lunged...

Whistle!!!

A piercing screech cut through the air as Derant, who had been in the air to catch his breath, descended rapidly with a curved blade in hand. His attack was full of aura and also had the force of gravity and speed, making it look impossible to block. Instead, Jordic retreated a fair distance to catch his breath. This left Karon alone, and he quickly became a toy for the two blade birds.

Jordic glanced at Keter, who had stopped firing arrows entirely and was simply watching.

What the hell is he thinking? If you're going to help, do it properly. Why’d he suddenly stop?

Every second mattered. The only reason Jordic even had time to take a breather was because Karon was a strong flying wolf. But even Jordic couldn’t help but shudder at the realization of how advantageous the blade birds’ mobility was in combat.

Jordic’s spear hadn’t even grazed Deo, as Deo only fought from a teasing height, always just slightly out of reach. As such, Jordic had to leap into the air just to get close, but his best jumps only reached five meters—far from enough to match Deo’s mobility. And while suspended mid-air, Jordic’s ability to move was severely limited.

Despite this, purely defending wasn’t going to do anything. He had no choice but to keep jumping and attempting attacks. Every time he did, he gained more and more injuries.

“Ha...”

Jordic, who replenished his mental focus and strength from a short break, headed to the battlefield again.

Watching Jordic run, Keter said, “We’re all going to die if it continues like this.”

Keter was nonchalantly predicting their death.

Even though Jordic was acting strong, he was approaching his limit. Karon had incredible strength and regenerative capabilities as a werewolf, but he couldn’t do much to the Blade Bird Tribe because of their natural differences. They were at an advantage in numbers, but there was no synergy as there was no teamwork.

—Keter, I just cannot understand why you are not using my powers.

That was when Amaranth, who was watching the entire battle, whispered to Keter.

—I know what you’re worried about. You’re not using me because you think they will run away if they see the power of the Demon Arrow.

As Amaranth had lived for thousands of years, it was easy for it to figure out the situation, as well as what Keter wanted right now.

—Become the Marksman of the Demon Arrow. You can use all of my powers, and then you can kill both of them at the same time. They won’t even have time to run away. You should know best of all that I am not bluffing.

“You’re really bad at making deals, you know that?”

—What?

“If I were you, I would let me use it once for free. That way, I can see for myself how powerful becoming the Marksman of the Demon Arrow is, and I would also appreciate you letting me borrow your powers for free. Seriously, how are you going to tempt anyone into corruption like this? No wonder you haven’t made any progress in half a century.”

—...

There was a moment of silence.

“Let me use it for free. I need to experience how amazing being the Marksman of the Demon Arrow is to think about using it the next time.”

—Hmph, just die.

And with that, Amaranth severed their mental link.

“

Pfft

, petty as always. I wasn’t expecting much anyway.”

Keter scratched his back with his bow and watched the battle. Suddenly, he clapped.

“Now I see a way to kill them.”

The outcome of a battle was not just dependent on skill and techniques; Keter found the answer in the other aspects.

“Derant takes care of Deo a lot.”

Derant jumped in to help whenever Deo was in any kind of danger, but Deo didn’t help Derant at all when he was in danger.

Though it was a minor detail, Keter, having grasped their psychology, rejoined the battlefield.

* * *

Karon had been confident, and Jordic had been beaming with energy, but now they both looked exhausted. Without Keter’s help, it was difficult to take the two blade birds’ attacks.

At this rate, he would die anyway, so Jordic prepared his final Lunar Eclipse.

At that moment, Keter intervened in the fight and declared, “Now it's Plan B!”

What’s that?

Jordic and Karon were confused by this “Plan B” as this was the first time they heard of it. On the other hand, the two brothers of the Blade Bird Tribe remained completely relaxed. Although they were slightly injured, they were minor wounds. With their strength and aura intact, they saw no reason to lose.

Then, Keter unleashed a barrage of Aura Arrows, all of which were aimed at Deo. Deo smirked and soared into the sky.

Squelch! Squelch!

Blood gushed from both of Deo's wings as he ascended. He was so focused on the visible Aura Arrows that he failed to detect the transparent arrows that were fired first.

He... he read my movements?

The strategy was to obscure his vision with a barrage of Aura Arrows and attack his wings with invisible arrows. It was easy to say, but depending on Deo’s flight direction, the arrows could easily miss. However, Keter was certain. He knew that Deo would attempt to dodge the arrows by ascending vertically.

As Deo fell, Jordic’s spear struck down towards him.

“Argh!”

Deo lost his ability to fly, but managed to block his spear by folding his wings.

Jordic, who was holding in his frustration against Deo and how he constantly soared into the air to taunt him, didn’t miss this opportunity.

Swish, swish, swish!

Jordic focused every muscle in his body solely on the attack. Yet, even with Deo's flight capabilities read, he was still a beastfolk. Deo clashed with Jordic’s spear solely using pure swordsmanship. Sparks flew as spear met sword, and the two people crossed paths.

Slash!

Blood spurted from Deo’s chest. Without his wings, his swordsmanship was no match for Jordic’s spear technique. With the advantage in hand, Jordic relentlessly attacked him. Blood, flesh, and feathers scattered everywhere.

“Brother!”

Seeing his brother being driven back repeatedly, Deran hurriedly ascended, leaving Karon behind. Karon, who was going to follow Derant, was about to run whenever Keter shouted at him.

“Leave him! Finish this one first.”

Over a short distance, especially on a straight path, Karon was overwhelmingly faster than Derant. Understanding what Keter was saying, Karon stopped chasing Derant and struck Deo’s back with all his might.

“Jordic, prepare a big one.”

Jordic, who had been attacking without taking a single breath, frowned as he began to prepare Lunar Eclipse. Although his attacks were landing, Deo’s wings were deflecting most of the blows. This opponent could only be defeated by Lunar Eclipse from the start.

“Get lost!”

Derant swung his wings with all his might, creating a gust of wind that pushed Karon and Jordic back. Deo, who was hastily defending, was finally able to catch his breath thanks to Derant. Instead of thanking his brother, Deo pulled out a small vial from his chest.

It was an elixir—not just a regular potion that helped recovery, but a truly miraculous liquid that instantly healed wounds upon use. With Derant protecting him, Deo felt secure enough to drink it.

However...

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Crack!

Just before he could drink it, the elixir shattered and spilled onto the ground. Keter’s arrow had struck the vial with perfect precision.

“This damn archer!”

Deo, having lost his one and only elixir, was seething with rage. Barely managing to shoot several steel feathers at Keter, Derant then grabbed Deo by the waist and took off into the sky. His plan was to ascend to a dizzying height and use his own elixir to heal Deo.

However, they were already in the palm of Keter’s hand. As Deo clung to Derant, his voice trembled with shock.

“Arrows above us?!”

It was a perfect trap, as they were vertically ascending and couldn’t change their direction. While they could use their wings as shields to block the Aura Arrows, the inevitable consequence was their plummet back to the ground.

Thud.

As their feet touched the ground, what stood before them was Jordic. He was done preparing for the Lunar Eclipse, the secret technique of the Moonlight Spear Technique, and smiled chillingly. Deo and Derant lost their chance to escape, but they didn’t just stand there in shock. Aura concentrated on their blade, creating a strong Aura Blade.

“Raaagh!”

Jordic let out a desperate roar, hoping to end it all with this one strike.

“Kraaah!”

Deo and Derant unleashed a powerful battle cry, pouring all their will to survive. Their combined slashes tore through Jordic’s Lunar Eclipse from both sides.

As the Lunar Eclipse was split apart, Karon charged through the opening, swinging his Aura-infused claws at Deo. Deo and Derant, who had already depleted their aura in breaking the Lunar Eclipse, were left defenseless against Karon’s attack.

But—

Crash!

Karon’s claws were stopped; Derant had extended his right wing, blocking the blow.

“Gahh!!” Karon roared, then ripped off Derant’s right wing.

However, Derant didn’t just stand there; he swallowed his scream of pain and pierced Karon’s body with his remaining left wing.

“...!”

Whoosh!

Derant threw Karon, who had been stabbed, to the side. He covered his body with his left wing and took out his elixir. Derant’s right wing, which was ripped from his body, was beyond recovery. However, Deo’s wing had only suffered minor injuries. They would still be able to fly high as long as Deo took the elixir.

Neither Deo nor Derant had any intention of retreating now. It was easy to escape now and request reinforcements, but if the empire’s forces captured the Seven Cursed Species with their help, their military exemption would be gone.

Moreover, the spearman had already fallen. All that remained was to deal with the injured flying wolf and the archer. Victory was within their grasp. Although the archer’s Aura Arrows were a threat, they couldn’t pierce their wings.

Or at least, that should have been the case.

Crack!

The elixir shattered. An arrow pierced through Derant’s thick, sturdy wing and struck the elixir, breaking it. What was even worse was that the arrow pierced deeply into Derant’s chest. This wasn’t an Aura Arrow. It was a black arrow—a Demon Arrow.

The arrow, infused with the power of death, began to consume his body.

“W-What is this?”

Derant, pale and trembling, looked at Keter as he carved out the tainted flesh.

Keter, gripping the Demon Arrow, smiled and said, “Does it hurt? It hurts me too.”

Keter’s relaxed demeanor made it clear to Derant that everything had been meticulously planned. Realizing this, Derant hastily attempted to negotiate.

“Wait! We surrender. As an imperial noble, I request a negotiation!”

“Bullshit. You lost, so you die.”

Keter shot a second Demon Arrow.