Chapter 40 (1/2)

Chapter 40: Give it All in One Fell Swoop

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

A bizarre madman, a ridiculous imbecile, riding a horse alone into the cove then beginning to insult and ridicule their leader—who could stand for that?

“Kill him! Kill him!”

“Shoot him with the arrows! Turn him into a porcupine!”

“Skin him alive! Teach him a lesson that he’ll remember into his next life!”

The expanse of the cove was large, and the trees were all cut down. The cove’s land was oval shaped, and the perimeter was lined with rows of wooden huts, about twenty or thirty of them; it seemed like a small village. In the middle of the cove was a clearing, and right in the middle of the clearing was a cave.

Jacker’s shadow avatar stormed into the clearing and stood there as he banged the metal shield with the war hammer in his hand. “Viktor, get out of that cave! If you’ve got the balls get out here and let’s have a duel!” he yelled.

The avatar continued to spew out more insults, enraging the robbers even more.

Dark Brotherhood members slowly continued to trickle out from the wooden huts around the clearing. They only stood there surrounding the avatar, not one of them making a move.

These bandits were all carrying impressive weapons. The ones nearest to the avatar held single-handed swords and a shield. From the shine, they must’ve been made from steel. They also wore good quality black leather armor and protective metal plates which had both aesthetic and practical value. The bandits furthest from the avatar wore the same leather armor, but they were holding longbows in their hands, and their arrows were all aiming towards the intruder.

There were about 70 or so robbers there, but none of them hurried to make a move.

One with double swords in his hands walked out from the crowd. He sneered at the avatar and said, “Our leader won’t stoop to accept anyone’s challenge. If you want to fight him, then you have beat us first!”

The bandit was wearing leather armor of a higher quality than those around him; he also wore a helmet. He must’ve been a lesser chief amongst the bandits in the cove.

The avatar made no answer, instead, he only positioned himself into a defensive stance.

“Ha! You really are an idiot after all!” The lesser chief went back into the crowd.

There were 75 of them all around the intruder, their arrows nocked and ready. Even if the intruder was a Level-6 Warrior clad in full-body iron armor, he would still come to a sorry end when all the Archers shot their arrows down at him.

Just as the bandits’ attention was focused on the avatar, Gildern asked in a low voice, “Attack now?”

Link shook his head, “No, wait for the moment the avatar makes a move. Gildern, your target is the small chief. Kill him with one arrow.”

Just after the first wave of attacks came to pass, there would be a break before the next attack. This gap was the safest window of time for them to retaliate. If they attacked now, the risk of being hit by a stray arrow would be too high.

The three mercenaries had plenty of combat experience—their only reply was a gentle nod of the head.

Link breathed in and his whole spirit was calmed. His gentle demeanor was gone without a trace, and now he only looked solemn and still.

In that instant, he focused all his energy and entered a state of absolute tranquility in preparation for spellcasting.

In that moment, everything in Link’s surroundings melded together like the flow of water. Every emotion in him was gone, and all he could see and think of now was the target in front of him. The flow of time seemed to slow down; the preparation for the spell was done.

His eyes focused solely on the ring of bandits. The shadow avatar in the middle of their enemies immediately lowered its head and made a move as if to charge.

“Kill him!” the chief bandit ordered.

The strum of bowstrings rang out, and at least forty arrows were shot towards the avatar, his whole body quickly covered with the wooden bolts.

But the avatar did not fall. The magic structure inside his body remained undamaged, and he kept on propelling forward.

The bandits all stood in shock, none of them fully understanding what they were seeing.

A moment later, one of them suddenly noticed the slumped body of their chief. An arrow was shot through one of his eyes and pierced right through his brain. He was dead. The bandits grew even more alarmed.

Did someone misaim and shoot the chief instead? But they were shooting at such a small distance, how could anyone make such a stupid mistake? the bandit thought to himself.

Then, suddenly, rapid successions of explosions resounded throughout the cove.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

After each explosion, an Archer would fall.

The faces of these Archers were a horrifying mess of flesh and blood. Their noses, eyes, and lips were an indistinguishable muddle—they were completely destroyed.

Such a frightening attack came from nowhere, and the bandits began to panic. Each of them suspiciously eyed left and right for the unseen perpetrator.

After about two seconds, the most perceptive of them identified the attackers’ location. The assailants were hiding behind a wooden hut—there were four of them. Behind a huge figure who looked very familiar, a quick series of fireballs flew out. There were close to 20 fireballs released within a single second, each one aiming at a different Archer.

In just two seconds, 40 small balls of fire shot out and exploded on impact. Immediately afterward, all of the Archers fell, their faces totally obliterated. It was clear by the looks of it that not one of them survived.

After the Gladstone experience, Link was accustomed to sights of blood, murder, and death. He felt no mercy for these bandits either; they were just villains anyway!

The Archers were all dead and only the bandits with swords and shields were left standing. Now they had no means of long-range attacks.

“What the hell just happened?” one robber said out loud.