In the woods ahead, an enemy held a longbow, leaning against a large tree. He had just fired an arrow, but it missed the target.
He hadn’t expected to hit anyone; their leader’s task was just to suppress the enemy with firepower and ensure they wouldn’t escape.
Their plan was very successful; the arrows from their side never stopped, making it difficult for the opponents to charge out.
He nocked another arrow, observing the surroundings cautiously as he quietly readied himself to shoot another arrow.
Suddenly, a sharp pain struck his forehead. His eyes widened as he saw an arrow piercing his head at the very moment he revealed himself.
"Why am I so unlucky..." His consciousness gradually faded into darkness, never understanding why his luck was so bad before he died.
He couldn’t believe that the opponent had aimed accurately at him; in such a dark night, it could only have been a random shot, yet it hit him precisely.
Herag, after striking the target with an arrow, drew his bow again, aiming at another tree.
The moment the person behind that tree revealed themselves, Herag loosed the bowstring, and the foe fell dead.
"Charge!" Emil didn’t have time to applaud Herag’s archery skills and was the first to rush out.
With a Knight Level body, he could see his surroundings at night, though not as clearly as Herag, nor was his vision as far.
After witnessing Herag’s consecutive kills, Emil decisively decided to break through.
Using the forest trees as cover to evade arrows, within moments, he closed in on an enemy, and with a slash of his sword, the opponent’s head fell to the ground.
Herag and the others followed closely behind, seizing any available opportunity as they advanced.
Whenever a foe showed themselves, he raised his hand and loosed an arrow, never missing so far.
Suddenly, red flashes appeared in his vision, and Shenlan gave a prompt to dodge right.
Without any hesitation, Herag rolled to the right.
A giant sword crashed down exactly where he had just been.
"Oh?" The man who threw the giant sword let out a surprised sound, clearly not expecting Herag to evade the attack.
Herag felt a chill. Had he not dodged, he would’ve been cleft through the crown by that giant sword.
Thanks to Shenlan’s prompt, he evaded it; others weren’t so lucky.
The three who pursued were all Knight Level, and the other two each killed a guard.
Big-bearded Hagen clutched his throat, having been slashed by a slender man with a dagger, and fell powerlessly to the ground, blood pooling around him.
The third Knight Level warrior also wielded a sword, the blade was long and fine, typically used in flamboyant court swordsmanship displays.
With a closer look, Herag realized the figure was indeed a woman.
The Female Knight pierced through a guard’s throat with a single strike and turned her gaze on Herag.
"Shenlan, detect the opponent’s body data."
"Power 2.1, Agility 2.3, Constitution 1.9, Spirit 1.2, contains unknown energy within."
Herag put away his longbow and drew his longsword.
The opponent’s agility was far superior; running would only expose his back and quicken his death, leaving no choice but to fight to the death.
At that moment, a hand pressed on his shoulder.
Originally about to break out, Emil turned back, addressing the surviving Herag and others, "You guys go first; they’re after me."
"Emil, I thought you’d scurry away like a rat." The man wielding the giant sword mocked, laughing.
Emil remained expressionless, "Long time no see, Marco."
Marco, gritting his teeth, pointed angrily at Emil, "You’re always so insufferable, looking down on everyone! Now I’m a Knight too, and tonight I’ll crush you completely beneath my feet..."
Herag didn’t catch Marco’s last words; he and the remaining four faced another dilemma.
The three Knight Level warriors went for Emil, while the remaining two teams of archers targeted Herag and the rest.
They stayed stationed in the woods ahead, suppressing Herag and others with arrows, preventing their escape.
Herag took out the longbow from his back, saying to Jimmy and the others, "I’ll take them down; observe and adapt accordingly."
"Shenlan, plot the best route, target eliminating all opponents."
"Route planning complete."
A map marking the route and enemy positions appeared before him; Herag observed it from a bird’s-eye view before beginning his hunt.
Simultaneously, Shenlan monitored all enemy movements, predicting the arrow paths in advance.
Utilizing the darkness, Herag easily dodged these arrows, drawing bow and arrow, eliminating the enemies in the woods one by one.
At first, these people didn’t notice anything amiss, but as more and more fell, they finally realized how many of their own had been lost.
Herag was like a ghost lurking in the night; they couldn’t pinpoint his location at all.
Every time Herag killed someone, he immediately changed position as per the route, with arrows always hitting his previous spot, always a step behind.
After he shot the eleventh person, the pressure became too much for them to bear, and they began to retreat.
"Help us, Master Marco! They have a Knight Level archer!" One cried, rushing to where the four were in fierce battle.
Marco furrowed his brows, "Knight Level archer? That wasn’t in the intel. Sean, go take care of him!"
Sean, the slender man with the dagger, silently melted into the darkness, using the assassin’s usual stealth techniques.
Assassins were the best counters to archers; this was common knowledge.
"There’s a Knight Level approaching!"
The moment Sean entered the range, Shenlan issued a warning, marking the position on the map.
Herag turned to look at the spot, which appeared deserted.
If not for Shenlan’s warning, he wouldn’t notice this person sneaking up behind him.
He hid behind a tree, pretending to shoot forward, suddenly changing direction to target Sean instead.
As Sean silently moved forward, seeing this made his muscles tense and pupils contract.
"How’d he discover me from at least a hundred meters away?" Sean wondered.
The arrow was already nearing his face; Sean twisted his body in an uncanny manner, barely dodging the unexpected arrow.
Yet his right arm was still grazed, leaving a small wound.
This minor injury was superficial, and Sean didn’t mind it.
Evading an arrow gave him more confidence.
"He’s not a Knight Level archer, just accurate," he deduced based on the arrow’s speed.
Herag’s surprise shot missed, and Sean felt more equipped to avoid subsequent arrows now that he was on guard. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ɴovel(ꜰ)ɪre.nᴇt
On the other side, after witnessing the missed arrow, Herag immediately changed positions, delving deeper into the woods.
"Trying to run?" Sean smirked, as assassins relished hunting fleeing prey.