The Genius Archer Who Became a One-Man Army

Chapter 24

“Never approach him directly.”

Lian firmly instructed his squad members as they set up a small ambush position.

Kyle frowned at Lian’s words.

“Squad Leader, we’re throwing three steel nets at him. There’s no need to be so scared. Most people wouldn’t even be able to move.”

“Three steel nets… that’s nearly 50 kg of weight.”

And they were designed for monsters.

Despite their comments, Lian shook his head.

“No, you don’t understand the strength of an aura user.”

Those steel nets? An aura user could cut through them in a second if they were determined.

A master-level aura user might even disintegrate the nets before they touched their body.

Lian recalled the discussion he had with his squad as he looked at Gallel, who was trapped in the steel nets.

Just as Lian had advised, none of the squad members approached Gallel. Instead, they drew their short spears.

“Throw!”

“Die, you bastard!”

“If we kill him, it’s over!”

The squad members surrounded Gallel and hurled their spears at him simultaneously.

Though the spears were short, their compact power made them more lethal than standard spears.

As the spears closed in on Gallel,

“Yaaaaaah!”

Gallel’s axe flashed, cutting through the sturdy steel nets like string.

Swoosh!

Despite his efforts to dodge, two of the ten spears managed to wound him. One spear, in particular, struck him solidly.

In that instant,

Whoosh!

An arrow from Lian found its mark, piercing Gallel’s left calf.

“Grr!”

Gallel’s face twisted in pain, his gaze locking onto Lian.

Gallel stood as if to charge at Lian, but Lian and the 6th squad members didn’t look back and fled immediately.

A disaster loomed ahead. They knew that facing it head-on could mean their immediate demise.

‘This is enough.’

They had effectively removed Gallel from the battlefield for a significant time. Plus, Lian had managed to wound him, albeit only in the leg.

Though this wouldn’t completely neutralize Gallel’s combat abilities, it was enough to bind him to this location.

“The enemy commander is here!”

Lian’s shout echoed, drawing attention from everyone around.

Gallel’s eyes wavered momentarily as he realized the situation.

Now, not only Eagle Company but also the kingdom’s soldiers and knights had their eyes on him.

‘…Oh no.’

Gallel realized he had ventured too deep into enemy lines.

Although the surrounding soldiers were from Eagle Company, the sight of fifty soldiers and knights was enough to instill a sense of crisis.

“What’s your name?”

“Lian.”

“I’ll remember that.”

With those words, Gallel turned around.

The soldiers around him were taken aback.

“He’s running away!”

“Catch him!”

The thought that a commander of his stature would flee from the enemy was unfathomable to them.

Despite the soldiers and platoon leaders chasing after him,

‘There’s no way we can catch him if he’s determined to escape.’

Regrettably, no one in Eagle Company could match him in battle. In Pellon Gorge, three knights barely managed to hold him off, and that was only because he chose to fight.

If they tried to stop him now, it would be a death sentence.

“Isn’t it a shame? Killing him would have boosted our ranks significantly.”

“Chasing rank might send you straight to heaven instead. Always distinguish between what you can and can’t do.”

“Understood.”

Kyle responded with disappointment. But the battle was far from over.

“They’ll retreat now. Their ambush failed, and they suffered greater losses.”

“Then we’ve held them off, right?”

Isaac, who had approached Lian, asked.

Lian nodded.

“For now.”

But they won’t give up. More accurately, they can’t afford to.

“Let’s prepare for the next battle. We’ll have to fight with everything we’ve got.”

There were two reasons for their relatively easy victory.

First, Lian’s strategy had worked perfectly.

Crossing the Isis River allowed them to set up an ambush quickly, and hiding the main force slightly away from the fortress lulled the enemy into a false sense of security.

Second, and perhaps more significantly, the enemy had underestimated the challenge of capturing Saleron.

Their overconfidence had led to their downfall.

‘The balance of power is still against us.’

Despite the significant number of enemies they had eliminated in this battle, they were still outnumbered.

“We have our own wounded to tend to as well.”

The day was ending.

Some might feel a sense of calm as night fell, but,

‘For some, tonight will be the fiercest.’

Lian turned away, recalling memories of his past life.

* * *

“Hahaha! Magnificent! Truly magnificent!”

“It’s too much praise.”

Baron Biovan Terol called for Raymond immediately after the victory to congratulate him.

However, Raymond shook his head.

“No, a soldier played a significant role in making this operation a success.”

“Oh, really?”

Biovan’s eyes sparkled with interest.

When he heard about this operation, he suspected it might not have been Raymond’s idea.

It wasn’t that he thought lowly of Raymond.

It was simply that this strategy was so different from Raymond’s usual style—spontaneous and highly aggressive.

Raymond, on the other hand, always pursued stability and certainty.

Nodding to Biovan’s response, Raymond continued.

“Yes. It was my squad leader, Lian. Without him, it would have been difficult to succeed in this operation.”

Raymond acknowledged Lian’s contribution. Without him, achieving such a significant outcome would have been challenging.

Biovan laughed heartily and patted Raymond on the shoulder.

“But your role in executing the plan was crucial too. I’m curious to meet the one who came up with this strategy. I’ll make sure to meet him after this war is over.”

“Yes, sir.”

Raymond replied, and Biovan immediately continued.

“Regardless, Eagle Company has secured a significant victory. I’ve heard that in this first engagement alone, we’ve killed nearly four hundred of the enemy. Including the wounded, we’ve reduced their force by almost half.”

“But it seems we have quite a few wounded on our side as well. I suggest we defend the fortress tomorrow while treating and resting our injured.”

Raymond assessed the situation calmly.

Although they had achieved a great victory in the first operation, the enemy’s strength was not to be underestimated.

Especially when facing them head-on, their overwhelming combat power had been evident even in this battle.

Despite their ambush and successful surprise attack, they had two hundred wounded soldiers.

Naturally, they needed to focus on recovering their strength.

“No, we won’t do that.”

Baron Biovan shook his head.

Raymond looked at him in surprise.

“What do you mean? We won’t do that…?”

“At dawn tomorrow, we’ll lead all our troops and attack the retreating enemy.”

“…!”

Raymond’s eyes widened in shock.

What nonsense was this?

But Biovan continued.

“They’ve already lost four hundred, and with the wounded, they’ve taken a hit to over a thousand of their troops. That’s more than half their force.”

“But even so, their remaining numbers are similar to ours. And while they’re wounded, they’re not entirely incapable of fighting.”

Fighting outside the fortress was reckless.

While he couldn’t say it outright, comparing their soldiers individually to the enemy warriors, the enemy was stronger.

It was their superior tactics that made the Kingdom of Artian’s army formidable.

Engaging in an open field battle was sheer madness.

But Biovan looked out of the tent and spoke.

“Captain Raymond, do you know the current situation of the kingdom?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you know why the 3rd Battalion, which was originally supposed to come to Saleron, was replaced by our 2nd Battalion, and why Eagle Company was sent here on a special mission?”

“Well…”

Raymond faltered.

He was well aware that they were being used in the kingdom’s political power struggle.

However, he couldn’t speak of such uncertain matters recklessly.

As Raymond remained silent, Biovan continued.

“As you know, the power struggle between the princes is intense. It’s not surprising if one attacks the other at any moment.”

“Hmm…”

“In such a situation, pulling us here means the third prince made a significant move.”

Biovan sighed deeply.

“I hadn’t intended to push this hard, but thanks to your efforts, the stage is set to quickly end this battle.”

Biovan pointed to the map.

“I intend to end this fight quickly and return to Kalron.”

Kalron was the city where the third prince was building his power base.

It was close enough to the capital to be both a strategic asset and a potential threat.

Biovan continued.

“The second prince, Prince Byron, controls the capital. He has a tight grip on the military and the senate. We don’t know when or how he might move.”

Biovan saw this situation as a heaven-sent opportunity.

No one expected them to end the battle in Saleron so quickly.

“If we can end the battle tomorrow, we can disrupt Prince Byron’s plans. It will create an unexpected variable that no one foresaw.”

“…”

Raymond’s expression grew complicated.

He knew that whenever politics intervened, the fate of soldiers often turned tragic.

A sense of unease grew in his heart.

Nevertheless, he couldn’t disobey Biovan’s orders.

“…I will follow your orders.”

“Thank you. Eagle Company will lead the attack tomorrow. The credit for the victory at Saleron will primarily go to Eagle Company.”

Raymond could only look troubled at Biovan’s words.

* * *

Tyler relayed the urgent orders to the entire company.

Lian couldn’t hide his surprise as he listened.

“We’re going out to attack the enemy in the plains?”

“Yes. At dawn, we’ll prepare and strike the retreating enemy before they can recover.”

“But that’s madness! There’s nothing more dangerous than a wounded beast. We have the advantage in supplies and terrain. If we hold out in the fortress, they’ll collapse from exhaustion.”

Lian spoke to Tyler, and the other squad leaders, though silent, looked at Tyler with agreeing expressions.

Tyler’s face showed his inner conflict.

He knew Lian was right, but he also understood the broader context.

“…But the orders have already been given. There must be a reason for the urgency.”

“…”

They couldn’t refuse orders from above.

Seeing the dark expressions of the squad leaders, Tyler continued.

“Captain Raymond has also given this a lot of thought. But… if we win tomorrow, Eagle Company will gain the most credit for the victory.”

“…Understood. We’ll prepare.”

“We will follow orders.”

There was no turning back.

One by one, the squad leaders responded.

Lian also returned to his squad, thinking about the situation.

‘Going out to fight is suicide. We don’t know how many casualties we’ll suffer…’

But what choice did they have?

They could only do what they could now.

Lian called Kyle over.

He had planned to seek him out after the battle with the enemy, but,

‘Given the situation, there’s no choice. For tomorrow’s battle… we need that.’

Giap’s Bracelet.

He needed to retrieve Giap’s Bracelet before dawn.

Lian bit his lip and looked at Kyle, who had approached.

“Squad Leader, what’s going on?”

“I need your help with something.”

“…Me? What do you need me to do?”

Kyle tilted his head in confusion.

Among the squad members, no, in the entire Eagle Company, Kyle was one of the strongest in terms of physical power.

Lian explained to Kyle.

“I need to get into a place that’s likely locked right now.”

“So?”

“I need you to break down the door.”

“…What?”