Whoosh!
A crudely made white-feathered arrow struck a venomous snake writhing along the trunk of a locust tree and pinned it firmly to the bark.
The sharpened arrowhead pierced the snake at its vital point and killed it instantly.
Fifty paces away, Lance slowly lowered the short bow in his hands.
Ever since activating Eagle Eye the day before, he had been eager to test the subchip.
The results did not disappoint him.
Within fifty paces, his short bow could hit essentially every shot.
At one hundred paces, his accuracy still remained above ninety percent.
Beyond two hundred paces, however, the limitation was no longer Eagle Eye.
The short bow itself simply could not shoot that far.
This world’s manufacturing techniques were still relatively crude, and bows were no exception.
Lance had found this particular short bow in the castle patrol’s storeroom.
With Strength at 0.7, drawing it was easy enough.
The better bows in the storeroom were another matter.
‘A decent longbow needs at least 1.2 Strength.
The fine bow in Father’s study needs 2.0.
I’ll use this one for now.
Until I learn a proper offensive spell, at least it gives me a ranged attack.’
Lance put the short bow away.
Today’s practice and testing were complete.
He turned back toward the castle.
The small woodland lay south of Moonlight Tower.
No large beasts normally appeared there, so coming alone was safe enough.
Lance walked lightly along the muddy path washed clean by the previous night’s storm, enjoying the fresh air.
‘The air really is different in a world that hasn’t been polluted.’
He drew a deep breath.
At that moment Fox’s urgent voice sounded in his mind.
[Warning.
Scan detects a humanoid approaching at high speed.]
Lance’s expression sharpened.
He tightened his grip on the bow and checked the quiver at his back.
Twelve white-feathered arrows remained.
Nocking an arrow and drawing the bow were still unfamiliar motions, but his form was already serviceable.
A patch of brush in the direction Fox had detected suddenly shook.
Rapid footsteps followed.
Lance drew a breath and aimed.
A figure burst from the undergrowth.
Blood covered the man’s face.
His expression was panicked, and he ran with a heavy limp.
Lance nearly loosed the arrow on instinct.
Fortunately, he recognized the man in time.
A soldier from the castle patrol.
The wounded soldier spotted him and became even more frantic.
“Young Master Lance!
Run!
Run!”
Lance frowned but did not move.
He remembered this soldier.
The man had gone south with Poirot’s unit to clear the Frost Earth Demons from Conifer Forest Farm.
‘Didn’t Poirot recently report that they had found the creatures’ lair and would soon finish clearing them out?’
‘Why was one of his soldiers fleeing in this condition?’
‘Had something happened to Poirot’s group?’
A bad feeling settled over Lance.
When the soldier saw that Lance still had not moved, he became desperate.
His right arm appeared injured.
He raised his sword awkwardly with his left hand and turned around, prepared to make a last stand.
The bushes shook again.
Several harsh cries sounded, and an ice-blue figure lunged out.
‘A Frost Earth Demon?’
Ordinary Frost Earth Demons were not especially strong.
Castle patrolmen were trained soldiers.
How could one creature chase this man into such a miserable state?
There was no time to think about it.
The monster’s eyes glowed red as it charged the wounded soldier.
Lance smiled coldly.
‘Activate [Eagle Eye].’
A strange outline appeared across his vision.
His gaze instantly became unnaturally sharp.
Fox reported: [[Eagle Eye] activated.]
‘Lock onto the target’s head.’
A red crosshair appeared in Lance’s left eye.
Eagle Eye locked onto the Frost Earth Demon’s head almost instantly.
“I’ll take you with me!”
The wounded soldier gritted his teeth and swung his sword.
Whoosh!
Lance’s arrow cut through the air, passed beside the soldier, and buried itself in the monster’s forehead.
Black blood ran down the shaft.
The Frost Earth Demon let out a shriek, fell backward, and died.
The wounded soldier stared in disbelief.
When he looked over his shoulder, Lance’s expression remained calm.
A second arrow was already on the string.
More noise came from the brush.
Two additional Frost Earth Demons leaped out.
Lance did not hesitate.
He aimed at the first.
Whoosh!
The arrow pierced its throat and killed it cleanly.
The remaining monster recognized Lance as the greater threat.
It ignored the wounded soldier and rushed straight at him.
Unfortunately for it, only death was waiting.
Whoosh!
The short bow’s string trembled.
The arrow buried itself deep in the Frost Earth Demon’s right eye.
At such close range the impact threw its thin body backward several paces before it crashed to the ground.
The brush fell silent.
The danger was over.
Lance exhaled and deactivated Eagle Eye.
Unlike Fox, every subchip imposed some kind of cost while active.
Eagle Eye doubled the rate at which Lance consumed both stamina and mental energy.
There was no reason to keep it running when he did not need it.
Ignoring the stunned soldier, Lance walked to the three corpses and examined them.
Every monster’s eyes were an unnatural scarlet.
More importantly, the blood flowing from their bodies was black.
That contradicted everything Lance knew about Frost Earth Demons.
There was only one likely explanation.
‘These things were demonized?’
His expression turned serious.
“Young Master Lance…”
The wounded soldier limped toward him, still staring as though he had seen a ghost.
“What happened to your group?” Lance asked.
The soldier smiled bitterly.
“We were ambushed.
The lair Lord Poirot found…
it was a demonized lair.”
“All the others are trapped inside.
I was the only one who escaped.”
Lance looked toward the deeper forest.
There was no sign of more Frost Earth Demons following them, but there was no reason to take chances.
“Let’s return to the castle and discuss this with Ola.” Find the original chapter at g.com.
…
“What?
Ola went to sea with Teacher?”
Lance listened to a patrolman’s report in surprise, his already poor mood darkening further.
The wounded soldier’s name was Henry.
A castle physician was treating him nearby.
“Last night, a large group of Blue-Scaled Murlocs attacked Windguard Town,” another of Ola’s adjutants explained.
“The town soldiers repelled them, but Captain Ola suspects a Blue-Scaled Prophet may have appeared among the murloc nests in the nearby Misty Sea.
Otherwise the creatures should not have been able to organize an attack on a human settlement.”
“So early this morning, Captain Ola asked Wizard Amman to accompany him to sea.
They intend to search the nearby islands and determine whether a Blue-Scaled Prophet really exists.”
The adjutant glanced at Henry.
“If Henry is right—if the Frost Earth Demons are organized, acting strategically, and have also been demonized—then we should wait for Captain Ola and Lord Amman to return before taking action.
Going in now could be extremely dangerous.”
“How long before they return?” Lance asked.
The adjutant hesitated.
“At least three days.”
“Three days?”
Henry immediately became agitated.
“Captain Poirot and the others are surrounded inside that lair right now!
Their lives are hanging by a thread!
Three days from now they may all be dead!”
His movement pulled at his wound and he grimaced in pain.
“Henry, calm down.”
Lance thought for a moment.
“Do you remember exactly where the demonized lair is?”
Henry nodded.
Lance turned to the adjutant.
“How many soldiers are left at the castle?”
“Three squads.
Lord Viscount took most of our men when he left.
We’re short-handed.
Windguard Town also lost soldiers during last night’s murloc attack, so we may need to use militia just to maintain the town’s defenses.”
The adjutant looked troubled.
“All right.
Give me one squad.”
He stared at Lance.
“What?”
“Give me one squad.
I’ll lead them myself.”
Lance’s voice remained calm.
“This is an order.
Carry it out immediately.”
The adjutant swallowed.
“Understood, Young Master Lance.
But…
what about the First Madam?”
“The First Madam was badly frightened a few days ago.
There’s no need to trouble her with matters like this.”
Lance gestured toward the door.
“Gather the soldiers.
I want them waiting outside the castle in ten minutes.”
The adjutant no longer dared hesitate and hurried away.
By then Henry’s wound had been bandaged.
He found a walking stick and managed to stand.
“Ready?” Lance asked.
Henry grinned.
“No problem, Young Master Lance.”