Iron Blooded Hound

Chapter 195: The Archer's Gambit

Ziggy Geek...

A momentary phenomenon, surely a temporary event.

But it was a shock to Professor Sady nonetheless.

The golem stopped.

The whip attack that had threatened to crush Vikir at any moment had been interrupted.

[...?]

Professor Sady jerked back in surprise.

This time, the golem listened and followed.

...?

All the spectators were dumbfounded.

"What's going on? What's going on? Why are you stopping?"

"Is it a bad mood? The golem seemed to stop for a moment."

"Anyway, this is your chance! Run, kid!"

"Abstain! You'll get yourself killed!"

Everyone who saw Professor Sady's golem moving again exclaimed in unison.

[This is ridiculous; what was that just now?]

Mud golems and stone golems often malfunction like this.

But most of the time, it was just a minor glitch that would go away with a test drive.

Professor Sady raised the whip again and aimed it at Vikir.

Down, then up, then down, then up again.

But.

...pinch!

Once again, the movement was stopped.

Zap!

The whip that was falling towards Vikir stopped midway, destroying the wrong place.

[No, really! [What the hell!?]

Prof. Sady threw up her hands in annoyance and stepped back.

Just then.

Ta-ang!

Vikir, who had escaped from the corner, fired another arrow into the golem's lower abdomen.

Crunch!

The golem made another short stop.

Finally, a gasp escapes from the professors.

"That's it! I get it!"

"It's because he kept hitting the same spot!"

"You're constantly putting fatigue on the joints that weaken with every movement!"

"Oooh, that's a pretty good hit rate!"

And then there's the reaction from the students.

"Wow, he keeps hitting the same spot with the arrow; is that possible?"

"It's possible! He's a really good archer!"

"Yeah, I saw him shoot right up there with Bianca on the range the other day!"

"And from what I saw during the defense test, it looks like he's almost an advanced sword expert, too!"

"Who the hell are you?"

The public opinion took a sharp turn.

The crowd booed at the villainous Professor Sady and cheered at the unexpected appearance of the dark horse, Vikir.

"Great!"

Tudor, who was cheering outside the arena, exclaimed.

"Vikir, you've been targeting the joints of the most mobile golem's limbs and the joints of its underbelly; I've got to give you credit for some real archery skills!"

But Sancho, beside him, shook his head.

"It's certainly a feat to keep shooting at the same spot without missing a beat, but... can you really make Professor Sady's golem stutter like that?"

Tudor scratches his head at the question.

It was Sinclair, the young girl next to him, who answered their questions.

"Partly because of my hyung's arrow, but also because of Professor Sady's habits."

"Habits?"

"Uh-huh. Professor Sady uses a whip, so where do you think it takes the most effort to use a whip?"

"Yeah... ... Is it the lower abdomen? Due to the structure of the golem, both arms and legs move while applying force to the lower abdomen. Moreover, the characteristics of the weapon called a whip are the same."

"Exactly. That's why he's been targeting the lower abdomen. If he can loosen the joints there, he can seal the arms and legs as well, which will weaken the whip's power and accuracy."

"Is that even possible? Those areas are much smaller than normal joints. It's supposed to be super-precise sniping."

Bianca cut in on Tudor, Sancho, and Sinclair's conversation.

"He can."

Bianca chewed on her bottom lip as everyone turned to look at her.

"The other day, we were practicing archery together at the training grounds, and he shot and killed a flying mosquito from a hundred meters away, and he didn't even use any mana."

"Hey, does that make sense?"

"It's real!?"

Sinclair ran a hand through his hair as Tudor and Bianca bickered.

"Alas, the joint in the lower abdomen is a weak point. You're always one step ahead of me. Why didn't I think of that?"

Then. A voice answered everyone's questions.

It was Dolores, the student council president.

"That's because it's a weakness you didn't have against Professor Sady."

At this, everyone's eyes widened.

Dolores turned her head as if to answer, and there was Piggy, looking awkward.

"Do you remember the last piece of sword that Piggy put in?"

Dolores asks, and everyone gasps.

Even Piggy himself.

The piece of sword that Piggy had stuck into the golem at the last moment had been countered, embedded deeply, and created a tiny weakness.

Vikir, a veteran warrior, sees that weakness and grabs hold of it.

He was so confident that he would never lose that he willingly signed Professor Banshee's waiver.

Sensing this, Professor Banshee could not help but make another face in front of the stadium.

"What an annoying little thing."

Professor Sady's golem visibly creaked, and she twisted her mouth in disbelief.

Even though she'd dealt with a lot of examinees in her time, she'd never had a student dare to play mind games with a professor.

Even more so, it had never worked, let alone against the mighty Professor Sady!

As time passed, public opinion was turning in Vikir's favor.

"Good job, kid, keep it up!"

"This is your chance to score big!"

"Go, Vikir, go!"

"Show me what you can do as a commoner!"

"Brother, you're awesome!"

Cheers and responses erupt from the audience. It's pushing Vikir's back.

But.

[You're funny].

Prof. Sady has turned all these flows upside down once again.

She straightened her posture.

Her posture, which had been so fragile that she could have fallen at any moment, was quickly restored.

It was a wonder how she could balance on those unstable-looking heels.

At the same time, her whip swept around like a fierce snake.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwak! Pop! Ttuduk! Crash!

Broken shafts and broken arrowheads are scattered in all directions.

All the arrows lying on the ground were shattered and scattered.

Rather than attacking Vikir, Professor Sady is trying to disable the arrows around him.

All the arrows that were still in good condition were now gone.

The battle was effectively over.

[Hohoho—what can an archer do without arrows?]

Professor Sady gritted her teeth, a wry smile tugging at one corner of her mouth.

It was true.

Vikir didn't have any arrows left.

All of the supplied arrows had already been used up, and even when he tried to use those that were stuck on the ground or off, most of them had already broken after being shot several times.

The wind had carried them off in strange directions, making them impossible to retrieve.

And now, with all of the remaining arrows broken by the blows of Professor Sady's whip, there was nothing the archer could do.

In the end, Vikir was left with no means of offense.

"...."

"...."

"...."

The crowd's cheering dies down rapidly as the harsh reality sinks in.

[Hohohoho—do you get it now, pigs?]

Prof. Sady said, smacking the whip a few times on the floor.

Did I say get out of the way? There's still quite a bit of time left in the test. [What are you going to do—quit or play with your sister some more?]

But.

"...."

Vikir just stood there, expressionless.

It didn't mean he was going to quit, but it also didn't mean he was going to continue.

[...?]

Professor Sady frowned.

Vikir's eyes were obscured by his bangs, but it was clear that his gaze was directed in this direction.

An unpleasant gaze.

It did not belong to a cornered prey.

Absolute confidence without a single doubt.

The eyes of a predator who is clearly looking at this as prey.

A moment.

...Creepy!

Professor Sady shuddered once.

Where does this chill running down my spine come from?

The opponent was a first-year academy student, a commoner with nothing to show for it, an archer with a broken arrow.

But for a moment, Professor Sady was overwhelmed by the unseen energy, neither mana nor aura, emanating from the boy.

It was an instinctive reaction, similar to that of a frog in the presence of a snake or a dog recognizing a dog dealer.

But reason overcame emotion.

Professor Sady came to her senses and quickly recognized the obvious: there was no reason for her to be intimidated by the boy in front of her.

And being pushed off the momentum even just for a moment left a nasty scratch on her stubborn pride.

Is that why?

Professor Sady was furious.

The genius, who normally would have trusted and respected his own instincts, ended up making the mistake of looking down on the prey in front of her.

[How dare you arrogant pig? You don't even know the subject, and where do you get your eyes like that? Just close your eyes!]

She growled, her eyes widening.

At that moment, Professor Sady, who had been focusing all his attention on Vikir, saw his lips curl into a small smile.

So small that no one else could have possibly seen it.

A message that could only be understood by reading the shape of the lips.

'Blinded by anger, where are you looking?'

Suddenly, Sady's eyes widened.

At the same time.

...Puck!

A strange sound came from somewhere.

It sounded like the popping of something soft, and it must have been very close.

[...?]

Professor Sady blinked a few times through her wide eyes.

Her left eye felt strangely hot, and then her vision went black.

At the same time.

[...! ...! ...! ...!]

A searing pain began to engulf the entire left side of her face.

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