〈 Chapter 98 〉 Underdog (3)
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My gut instinct was sharp, pointing towards defeat.
But it was also true that you wouldn’t know unless you tried.
It was a familiar feeling by now.
‘There’s still a bit of distance left.’
Even if I couldn’t escape, there was still quite a bit of space.
I nocked an arrow to my bow.
And then shot it at the spearman again.
You might be wondering why I was shooting again after just confirming the presence of a magic shield.
Well, since I couldn’t run away, there wasn’t much I could do until those guys got up close.
Plus, I had a tiny bit of confidence thanks to Sung Yoo-rang’s knowledge.
Pshw!
The arrow imbued with Wind’s Power flew swiftly and accurately, embedding itself in the spear wielder.
The overload reinforced the power enough for the arrow to pierce the leather armor.
There was no interference from the magic shield.
‘As expected.’
Of course, barrier magic was an advanced spell that was tough for candidates to use.
But that also meant it required high levels of concentration and a lot of mana.
So I figured that casting barrier magic and magic shield at the same time might be too much.
Luckily, that assumption was correct.
The spearman, with the arrow lodged in his chest, soon dissolved into particles and vanished.
‘Now it’s just three knights left?’
It was a pretty encouraging accomplishment to reduce the number of opponents from four to three.
But the fact that the situation was still desperate hadn’t changed.
In the meantime, the three knights had already closed the distance to me.
‘Monsters.’
They were all surprisingly fast.
They were slower than Elsie, who specialized in speed, but the important thing was that there were three of them.
And I was in no position to use my sword.
‘Wind’s Power.’
I wrapped myself in Wind’s Power.
Once I started accelerating, it would be too late.
I needed to keep accelerating from this moment on.
‘Maybe it’s a bit late.’
My Wind’s Power only became useful once I had enough acceleration.
But with my current state, I wasn’t sure if I could reach the desired speed in time.
If it were one person, maybe. But having to deal with three charging at me at the same time made it even harder.
Desperately wanting to take down at least one, I drew my bow again.
Since they were already quite close, I didn’t need to adjust my aim with Wind’s Power.
I shot an arrow that only had overload applied at the approaching knight, reading his movement.
It wasn’t close-range shooting yet, but it was hard enough to handle in the mid-range.
But in that moment, his forearm glowed.
And a circular, translucent shield formed from his forearm.
With a dull sound of impact, the knight blocked the arrow.
‘Is this some kind of equipment advantage?’
I couldn’t help but wonder how much they had invested just to take me down.
Still, the arrow I shot didn’t go without some effect.
Because of the impact of the overloaded arrow, he was pushed back considerably.
This momentarily reduced the number of opponents I had to face down to two.
‘Just two left…’
Could I handle them with my current speed?
That thought crossed my mind.
The knight charging in front of me stretched out the tip of his sword.
‘So the Swordsmanship Class 1 really does make a difference?’
His attack range had increased significantly.
That meant I had even less room to breathe than before.
But it was crucial to reassess the situation around me in times like these.
‘What about the other one?’
I quickly turned my head to check the other knight.
Even though one was attacking right in front of me, I had to take a moment to reassess the situation before evading.
‘As I thought.’
The sword of the knight on the opposite side was also radiating a sinister glow.
They had no intention of giving me even a slight moment of respite.
‘Are they planning to swarm me all at once?’
In the midst of such dire circumstances.
It was an unexpected figure who managed to create a slight opening.
‘Bell?’
She had no particular weapon.
But she threw herself at the opponent behind me.
The knight effortlessly sliced her with his sword, but that action created a momentary gap.
‘If that’s the case…’
A tiny gap formed between the three foes.
It was just a split second, but it was enough to open up possibilities.
I raised my bow, aiming at the knight whose attack was coming in fast.
‘I’ve got enough acceleration.’
At least it was enough to aim for a moving target.
Next, using the senses from Swordsmanship S to predict the knight’s attack trajectory.
Once I predicted the trajectory, I could naturally predict his movement as well.
There was no room for even a single miss in close-range shooting.
I had to read the knight’s movement and pierce through the vital point precisely.
I focused my eyes and concentrated on his movement.
And then it happened.
‘The center of gravity just shifted!’
The knight shifted his weight to his left leg.
As he turned his body, preparing to swing his sword.
…It looked that way, but it was all a feint.
‘Thorough.’
He didn’t underestimate me as an archer.
It meant they didn’t see me as an ordinary archer, capable of close-range shooting.
They treated me like a fellow knight they were facing off against.
If things had gone a little differently, I might have been in real trouble.
If my swordsmanship rank wasn’t S, that is.
I read that feint.
‘He’s going for a thrust.’
The shifting center of gravity and steps were mixed with feints.
But the decisive clue was how he held the sword.
That was clearly a grip for performing a thrust.
‘If he follows through with that thrust…’
The knight pretended to spin while swinging his sword at a ferocious speed, only to twist his body sharply again.
But I, who had predicted that movement beforehand, calmly guided my bow.
And then he entered the thrusting motion.
‘From here on out, it’s a linear attack.’
Due to the nature of thrusts, his upper body was leaning forward.
It was difficult to aim for his neck or heart at this angle.
So once I anticipated the thrust, there was only one place I aimed for.
The forehead.
I had been aiming for that spot since the start of his movement.
The knight’s expression turned to one of horror as he realized.
Kwahk!
Before the knight’s thrust could reach me,
The arrow darkened by the overload pierced through his head.
I didn’t have the luxury of waiting for his death verdict.
‘There are still two left.’
There was no time to rest.
I immediately turned my body.
Then I saw the knight behind me swing his sword.
‘This is dangerous.’
The sword emitted quite a strong light.
I had seen that light back during past matches.
It was a power-enhancing ability that, while maybe not as powerful as Yusera’s, still packed a punch.
Blocking it was out of the question.
Dodging was already too late.
So there was only one option.
‘I’ll deflect it.’
I set the arrow I was holding upright.
The arrows used by heroes are made of metal rather than wood, so while they’re thin, they’re hard to break.
The knight’s attack would take quite a toll to deflect, so I didn’t bother using overload.
“Ugh!”
It sounded like steel tearing steel.
But the shock reverberating through my arm told me the arrow had managed to absorb the impact.
After the shock passed, I quickly moved my gaze to check the arrow.
‘Looks like it can still hold up…’
The arrow was battered by the knight’s strike.
But the tip was still intact.
There was no time to waste. The knight who had just pushed me back was also closing in.
I didn’t pull back from the knight who had just attacked.
Although I didn’t use Libero’s swordsmanship, my right arm ached from the shock. I switched the arrow to my left hand.
And in an instant, I lunged at the knight.
He seemed stunned, clearly not expecting that I would deflect his previous attack.
He was inexperienced in real combat.
‘Overload.’
I drove the enhanced arrowhead straight into the knight’s neck.
Now only one remained.
The last knight rushed at me, swinging his sword.
I couldn’t evade, as I had just succeeded in my earlier maneuver.
In the end, my only means of defense was the bow I held in my hand.
Clang!
I gripped the bowstring with both hands and blocked his sword.
But since I hadn’t found my footing, I was thrown back due to my inferior strength.
“Ugh…!”
I rolled on the ground after being deflected, hurriedly lifting my head.
I saw the knight moving quickly toward me once again.
But I couldn’t nock another arrow.
My bowstring had broken during the previous defense.
That’s why most bow-shaped relics are pretty durable yet shouldn’t be used as blunt instruments.
Though, things were different here.
‘In reality, it’ll be repaired.’
Finally managing to get up, I used the bow to mindlessly block the knight’s attack again.
The Wind’s Power had reset from the previous shock.
I was at a disadvantage in every way against the knight now.
‘There’s no way I can beat this guy.’
There was a significant gap in strength and speed.
The outcome of the match was already practically decided.
Even so, I held on till the end.
I wouldn’t use my sword.
I wouldn’t use Libero’s swordsmanship either.
If I used those two, the very purpose of me hiding my identity and coming here would be thwarted.
I was just holding on, wearing out my strength.
Yet, I didn’t feel a tinge of regret.
Because…
‘Even if I lost this fight, I won the mock battle.’
At the moment I was thrown back by the knight’s attacK, the barrier that should have been there was nonexistent.
At the same time, I finally received word.
(This is Elsie. I encountered an enemy support mage on the way and dealt with it. Yusera is heading straight there, so please hold on a bit longer.)
My role was never to take down all these knights.
It was to hold on until Yusera arrived.
And that role was now coming to an end.
“Did you take down three all by yourself?”
I didn’t exactly defeat them.
I just happened to end up killing three while trying to hold out.
“Go, Yusera.”
I halted before finishing with “mon.”
Yusera rushed past me as I lay there, beaten.
I watched her swing her sword.
The blade darkened by overload.
As expected, she was the original source, her attack radiated a fearsome light unlike my overloaded arrows.
She took a large step and swung her sword diagonally.
‘I’ll need to fine-tune my stance next time I get the chance.’
My stance wasn’t quite satisfactory yet.
But the power behind it was undeniable.
To block Yusera’s strike, the knight created a shield again from his forearm, but that was as flimsy as paper.
‘From the start, the idea of blocking was out of the question.’
Nothing remained in the wake of Yusera’s strike.
Soon, further reports came through.
(I’ve taken out the hidden attack mage!)
(The last surviving member of Team 1-A has surrendered.)
I told you.
If you don’t try, you’ll never know.
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