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Season 2: Chapter 71. Bow (2)

In the dazed state of her soul, Jessie's mind echoed with these words.

‘What is that?’

Almond drew the bowstring taut. He held a curved bow and gripped an arrow.

Yes, that was a bow. A weapon to kill the enemy. It had no other purpose, which was true for all weapons.

However, a bow could kill much faster and easier. It pursued extreme efficiency and functionality. It had no aesthetic value because such a thing wasn’t even considered, but why did it look so beautiful?

The bowstring was made of thin rope, the bow itself was made out of water buffalo horn connected by a grass carp's swim bladder, and the arrows had bird feathers on them.

Earth, water, and sky... Elements from all over the world converged to kill the enemy like a kind of madness. The sight made one’s heart beat. It was beautiful.

Why did it feel so uplifting to watch Almond draw the bowstring? Because one could see perfection being honed to the extreme.

Jessie thought, ‘They’re one and the same.’

The bow’s beauty and that man’s nobility were already one.

His right hand pulled the string straight and parallel to the appropriate width of his shoulders as he stood firmly. His sharp gaze contrasted his slowly beating heart like a dead person's halted breath.

All of this was to cut off the target's breath.

Despite the stifling pressure, Jessie couldn't help but admire him.

He released the bowstring more quietly than a ghost's whisper.

‘Wow.’

A whooshing sound spread out.

Swish─

A single arrow flew straight ahead and tore through gravity. The flame from the torch stretched horizontally and stopped at the soldier's Adam's apple.

Pook!

‘......!’

The enemy couldn't even scream.

Thud.

Time seemed to flow slowly and finally found its place again. The enemy instantly collapsed.

Jessie's mouth gaped open.

Swoosh!

Another arrow flew.

Just once would have been enough to compare it to performance art, but this work of art repeated itself faster than the blink of an eye.

Thwack!

Another enemy fell.

"There!"

"The enemy has a bow!"

The enemies figured out Almond's location. He was naturally visible because of their torch.

‘Dodge it! Quickly!’

The silent scream of Jessie’s ghost couldn't be heard.

Almond didn't move an inch. He stood in the same place and posture as if nothing happened. Again, he readied himself and released the bowstring like a machine born for this task.

Swish!

A charging enemy suddenly sprawled out.

Thud...!

Again, he readied and released. Another enemy fell.

Thud!

Another one.

Koong!

"Kugh!"

And yet another one fell.

When did he shoot? No one could see or hear it.

Only the results could be found on the ground in the necks of corpses. As if by agreement, the arrows precisely pierced them in the center. Seven soldiers collapsed in less than two seconds.

Jessie saw a message in the corner of her vision.

[Will you participate in the same battlefield again?]

Earlier, she hesitated to return. Now, she didn’t.

[Yes]

***

Almond looked around and couldn’t spot any more enemies in sight. He lowered his bow and let out a shallow breath.

"Huh."

Before him lay numerous corpses of archers and spearmen.

"Aren't they coming anymore?"

— They wouldn't, would they? Haha.

— Would you if you were them?

— He's still alive, as expected.

As the viewers said, it seemed like the enemies had no intention of sending reinforcements.

— Wow, damn, he did it!

— What did I just watch???

— Insane, it happened so fast.

Watching Almond with a bow thrilled the viewers.

[ShyNapoleon has donated 200,000 won!]

[I won't set a mission per kill...!]

— How would you set it, haha?

— Extreme, haha.

— Agreed!

— Call for bigger hands!

"Thank you, ShyNapoleon. If you could, please set one."

— Crazy guy, haha.

— Kill moderately before speaking!

— Shameless.

[Highlights has donated 100,000 won!]

[Paying for the eye candy.]

[CivilFan has donated 100,000 won!]

[Crazy... Wow, haha.]

[Jessi-chan has donated 20,000 won!]

[Seriously, not mentioning Hero Jessie? This nutty guy.]

The donations continued.

"Wow, thank you guys."

— These names, haha.

— LOL.

— He became remarkable, haha.

"Jessie... Jessie said she'd come back. She's not really dead, is she?"

— Harsh...

— He never reads Jessie’s username, haha.

— Will she come back? ??

Almond briefly greeted the donors before turning back to the battlefield. Among the dead were enemy archers.

"I'll pick up some more arrows."

He approached the archer corpses and gathered their arrows.

Due to their unique trait, an archer’s quiver would naturally replenish when it emptied. However, Almond was originally a spearman who obtained a bow and didn’t have that trait. He had to individually pick up more arrows.

Despite the tedious task, Almond gathered the arrows without complaint. He was simply happy to shoot a bow.

'I had a blast shooting.'

The corners of his mouth curled up to his ears ever since.

‘This is pretty fun.’

He found great joy in Civil Empire. Each bow model had its own feel like how each car model had its unique handling.

He had always been curious about using a traditional Korean bow in the national competition and never shot one in real life. They were rare and easily damaged by humidity, which made them difficult to obtain and couldn’t be stored in poor conditions.

Swoosh.

Almond stood up after filling his quiver with arrows. Then, a question crossed his mind.

‘What happens to archers when they run out of arrows? It might not be as advantageous as I thought...’

Indeed, he wasn't particularly bothered at picking up arrows because he didn't fully understand the characteristics of archers.

"I'll go back to hunting workers now."

***

The opposing commander, 2_many_moms, hadn't failed to notice Almond and Jessie's intrusion. It was just an oversight. After all, they were just two spearmen. He thought sending a squad of soldiers to the worker camp would handle it.

However...

"?!"

All the dispatched soldiers died even though he sent ten of them!

‘That’s impossible. What happened? Were they trolls?’

The commander thought the users he recruited had trolled him. This level of trolling was reportable. Just as he decided to file a report...

It wasn't that.

Piyoong!

Piying!

An enemy archer, the only one left, was shooting arrows.

"?"

As if in collusion, the workers fell one by one with each shot.

Tuk.

Tuwuk.

Every shot couldn't be critical unless each shot from that archer struck a vital spot.

He ordered the workers back into the lumber camp, thinking that would resolve the situation.

"What!?"

Thud.

He got up from his desk in frustration.

The workers couldn't even reach the lumber camp. They were all killed en route. Now he wouldn’t have any more wood supply.

"What?! Rapid-fire arrows?!"

It was an unbelievable sight and a clear case of cheating.

"This is a hack, dammit!"

The enemy was using illegal software, which was expensive for capsule users.

"Damn Chinese."

The enemy seemed Chinese judging from their black hair. It wasn't rare for them to use hacks. In their culture, such actions weren't even considered illegal.

He resolved to report them after the game, but the game was still on. He needed to win.

"What to do...?"

There was only one way.

"The best defense is offense."

He was close to breaching the enemy's base and planned to invest all his resources there.

[Start making siege weapons on the field!]

He ordered the engineers with the cavalry to make siege weapons. No matter how strong a knight was, they couldn't breach walls. Siege weapons were essential to end the game and they require a lot of wood.

[Insufficient wood!]

"?"

Just building one or two would consume all his wood supply. The workers kept getting harassed and didn’t collect enough at all.

His hands trembled.

"Shit... shit..."

On the brink of defeating the enemy, he had a tough decision to make.

[All cavalry retreat.]

He chose to retreat his forces.

***

"We... survived!? We survived!" the ecstatic Commander MyDinner shouted in relief and waved his arms.

The enemy's cavalry had dramatically retreated.

"Wow, that was close!"

The enemy likely didn't know, but he was losing the ability to defend. Then, they suddenly withdrew.

"Crazy, absolutely crazy."

He knew well what caused this miracle.

[Special Mission Bonus]

[27 Gold]

The amount of bonus gold Almond accumulated indicated his stellar performance. One gold had been promised per worker and he earned twenty-seven gold, which meant he killed that many workers.

He had slaughtered half of them considering the total worker count was only fifty to sixty. He also killed all the reinforcements.

"Wow... a madman. He turned the tides all by himself! A legend!"

MyDinner briefly celebrated.

"It's not the time for this."

He refocused on the game to turn the tables. He had to reactivate production and rebuild the fallen city and its walls. Most importantly, he wondered what to do with that spearman.

"He's done enough. Even if he dies..."

There was no need for more, but...

"He’s better off dead. Resurrect and rejoin our battlefield."

He hoped Almond would die and rejoin them, earning even higher pay.

Survival was impossible in Almond’s current position. There was no need to anyway. It was better for him to just die and resurrect for more action.

[You've done enough. It’s better to just die and resurrect. Join the battlefield again and I'll give you more special missions. Contract fee increased fivefold.]

After sending the message, MyDinner turned his attention away from Almond. There was no reason for Almond to refuse.

"Now, let’s focus on development."

Commander MyDinner focused on rebuilding the base, starting with his cavalry.

The cavalry began to form in preparation for a counterattack. It was a formidable cavalry ready to charge in.

MyDinner savored the sight.

[wackjassey]

Familiar faces returned, but MyDinner couldn’t see their IDs and remained unaware.

He missed another fact. Contrary to his wishes, Almond had no intention of dying.

[ShyNapoleon has registered a mission!]

[Survive without dying and win for 500,000 won!]

— Can't bet per kill, haha, survive and win 😂

— This guy Napoleon never fails, smart 😂

— Cunning! General!

The first mission in Civil Empire began.