Chapter 111

Chapter 111. The Strong One’s Consideration (5)

The Diamond Class is said to be on par with a 3-Star Knight, but that is merely an example.

In terms of the quantity and quality of Aura, the Knight is overwhelmingly superior, while in terms of combat experience and skill, the Mercenary often dominates.

Therefore, if a Diamond Class and a Knight were to face off one-on-one, the Knight would win. The overwhelming difference in power would crush the opponent.

On the other hand, the true value of a Mercenary shines in chaotic battles and extreme environments. In irregular situations, the Mercenary’s experience and quick thinking come to the fore.

The Diamond Class is a testament to having survived countless battlefields.

It has been revealed that Anis’s arrows are destructive and fast. Blocking them head-on in a fair fight is not a Mercenary-like choice.

Just before Anis shot his arrow, the Diamond Mercenary slashed the ground with his sword. A thick cloud of dust rose.

The Archer’s weakness: visibility.

If the target is not visible, it is practically better not to shoot. It only wastes arrows and stamina. Running away is the right choice.

But if there is no place to retreat, one must shoot the arrow, considering countless variables.

Unlike the Platinum Mercenary who charged blindly, the Diamond Mercenary actively targeted the opponent’s weakness.

In the dust, the Mercenaries charged while maintaining a formation. They did not run in a zigzag. They closed the distance in the shortest, straightest path.

Whoosh!

With the sound of air being sliced, Anis’s arrow pierced through the dust. The arrow rained down toward the lead Mercenary.

The Diamond Mercenary leaped into the air.

As he rose into the air, another arrow flew toward him.

Whoosh!

The Mercenary twisted his body mid-air, showing acrobatic evasion skills. The arrows grazed past, creating a gust of bloody wind, but it was not a fatal wound.

Anis realized his mistake. While his attention was diverted by the Diamond Mercenary, he allowed two Platinum Mercenaries to get close.

‘I was baited.’

He had thought lightly of the Platinum Mercenaries. But if he was delayed by the two Platinum Mercenaries, the Diamond Mercenary would eventually join in.

As expected, dealing with one Platinum Mercenary was easy, but by then, the Diamond Mercenary had joined.

Anis’s eyes and hands became busy.

In terms of power and speed, he was far inferior to a Knight. But the unpredictable irregularity sent chills down his spine.

The Diamond Mercenary did not overexert himself. Even if it meant retreating significantly to avoid being hit by an arrow, he fought safely. Anis’s body was covered in small wounds.

Swipe!

The blade grazed Anis’s delicate cheek.

Anis’s bow struck the Platinum Mercenary’s arm.

Taking advantage of the moment, the Diamond Mercenary stabbed Anis’s thigh.

Thud!

Anis, who had leaped into the air, nocked an arrow and drew the bowstring.

However, he had to frown at the searing pain in his side. The Diamond Mercenary had thrown his sword at Anis, who was in mid-air.

Anis, who had lost his balance, fell.

He twisted his body to land on his back and tried to get up immediately, but the Diamond Mercenary, who was waiting on the ground, grabbed his ankle and said,

“Surrender. Or I’ll break it.”

All the arrows in the quiver spilled out as he fell. Anis grabbed any arrow within reach and threw it at the Mercenary.

Crack!

The Diamond Mercenary broke Anis’s right ankle. A chilling sound was heard, but Anis only slightly grimaced and kicked the Mercenary with his intact left foot.

The Diamond Mercenary blocked the kick with his arm and retrieved his thrown sword.

“It seems you won’t give up until both legs are broken.”

The Diamond Mercenary did not pity the limping Anis. He unleashed a relentless onslaught with all his might.

Without arrows and with one leg incapacitated, Anis couldn’t even maintain his stance. After failing to block a few times, he eventually fell again.

The Mercenary grabbed his left ankle and said,

“This is going to hurt.”

Crunch!

The Diamond Mercenary completely shattered the ankle.

Anis’s face twisted in pain, but he did not scream.

Thunk!

Anis shot an arrow from a prone position.

But his posture was imperfect, and he suffered the humiliation of having the arrow caught by the Mercenary. The Diamond Mercenary broke the arrow in his hand.

“Get treated. You fought well.”

The Diamond Mercenary turned and left the stage. Anis couldn’t get up, gasping for breath as he looked up at the sky.

It was a crushing defeat.

Unlike Jairo, who held back, the Mercenary did not hold back. He gave it his all. This was the result.

Anis let out a hollow laugh.

‘Jairo really went easy on me.’

Of course, it was harder because there were three opponents, but even one-on-one with a Diamond Mercenary, it wouldn’t have been easy to win.

A shadow fell over Anis’s head as he laughed hollowly. It was Keter.

“Second. Are you laughing?”

“I know I still have a lot to improve. I will do my best.”

“I know better than you that you’re weak. What I’m saying is, why did you give up at the end?”

“I didn’t give up. I really couldn’t get up anymore…”

“Your arms are fine. Can’t you lift your upper body? There are arrows scattered around. What reason is there not to shoot?”

“……!”

The watching Mercenaries thought Keter was truly ruthless. Even with a broken ankle, it was already combat incapacity, but to fight until the very end was cruel.

It wasn’t wrong. In real combat, it’s right to fight until you can’t anymore. But this was training, wasn’t it?

Keter continued as if he had read the Mercenaries’ thoughts.

“The reason you’re alive is because it’s training. If it were real combat, your legs wouldn’t just be broken, you’d be cut. Then your arms would be cut off, and then your neck. You just watched your arms being cut off. Even though you had the strength to move.”

“……”

“Don’t regret dying in real combat. Enjoy the experience while you can in training.”

Crack!

Keter quickly reset Anis’s dislocated right ankle, then touched the left ankle and lifted Anis by the arm.

“It’ll take an hour to recover with Elixir. Third trainee! Your turn.”

Taragon, who had seen Anis’s crushing defeat, stepped onto the stage, tense.

The 6th squad of the 2nd platoon, who had fully grasped the training system, immediately entered the stage, and the battle began.

* * *

Taragon definitely had a different style from Anis. Instead of standing in one place to intercept, he constantly moved to create distance.

This tactic worked well against Platinum Mercenaries, but when the Diamond Class Mercenary joined, the limitations quickly became apparent.

Swish!

The Diamond Mercenary’s sword cut through a chunk of Taragon’s hair as it passed by. It was a strike that could have severed his ear.

“Gah! Ugh!”

Taragon, who had leaped into the air, twisted his waist in a hurry and fell to the ground.

The fallen Taragon writhed on the ground, having lost his bow. His back was completely out.

“Hmm, it seems his back is broken.”

It wasn’t a matter of insufficient warm-up or anything like that.

The 6th squad left the stage, and Keter immediately entered.

Poke poke.

Keter poked Taragon’s back and clicked his tongue.

“Lack of flexibility. If you lack flexibility, at least protect yourself with Aura.”

The two who fought well to the end against the three Platinum Mercenaries of the 1st platoon were severely injured from the first squad against the 2nd platoon, which included a Diamond Mercenary.

The difference in level was stark.

Taragon lay face down on a makeshift bed. A servant applied Elixir to his back and massaged it.

Beside him sat Anis, soaking his ankle in Elixir.

“……”

“……”

Despite being brothers, they did not speak to each other. Instead, an awkward silence lingered.

They weren’t originally distant. But as they became rivals, it became difficult to start a conversation.

Taragon, being the younger brother, thought about speaking first but decided against it, thinking it might be unnecessary.

Anis also glanced at Taragon but averted his eyes when they met.

‘I want to encourage him, but I don’t know if I have the right to.’

Though physically close, the emotional distance between the two brothers grew as Keter entered.

“Trainees. Attention.”

Anis and Taragon looked at Keter.

“The instructor told you to use your imagination. You clearly didn’t understand. It’s my fault for trusting you, so I’ll give you an example. Don’t just do the same thing every day. Don’t you have anything you want to try? Something you think would be good to do? Even if you get injured, I’ll heal you. Even if you fail, you have dozens of chances left. If there’s something you want to try, something you want to attempt, try it all. Even if it’s ridiculous, nonsensical, or stupid, just try it.”

Keter, who had spoken rapidly, looked refreshed.

“Now I feel a bit better.”

Keter spoke as if he had explained everything, but Anis and Taragon were confused.

‘I understand what he’s saying, but what exactly does he want us to try?’

The difference in perspective between Keter, who grew up without rules, and the two, who grew up in a strict, prestigious family with strict discipline, was immense.

It was like a bird telling a fish to fly, or a fish telling a bird to swim with its fins.

The diversity Anis and Taragon thought of was already fully utilized by mixing martial arts. It wasn’t easy to think of anything beyond that.

But since Keter said to do it, they at least thought hard about it. Something other than archery and martial arts that could be used in combat.

The break was over.

Anis, who had recovered first, stepped onto the stage, and the 2nd squad of the 2nd platoon also entered the stage.

But this time, the 2nd squad’s approach was very unique. Until now, the Mercenaries had always entered the stage ‘together.’ But the 2nd squad entered from three different directions. They intended to surround Anis from the start.

In response, Anis, perhaps influenced by Keter’s words, responded with a bizarre action.

He leaped to the center of the stage, then jumped vertically. He then created an Aura foothold and continued to soar into the sky.

The Mercenaries chasing Anis stopped at some point and looked up.

“How far is he going?”

The range of Aura Flight is 5 meters, at most 10 meters. Anis went up a whopping 50 meters, to the point where his figure was now small.

At 50 meters high, Anis shot an arrow. While 50 meters in height is daunting, in archery, 50 meters is a short distance.

“Whoa!”

An arrow shot from above is on a different level from one shot straight. The gravity that usually hinders now aids, making it faster and more powerful.

Moreover, it’s harder to visually perceive, so the Diamond Mercenary, aimed at by the bow, couldn’t even think of blocking and rolled his body heavily.

Thud!

The arrow shot from the sky embedded itself deep into the ground.

Fast and powerful.

The Mercenaries were busy dodging. No matter how good their jumping ability, 5 meters is the limit. The precise Aura control to create footholds was also beyond the Mercenaries.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Anis shot arrows while falling from 50 meters. All the Mercenaries could do was cover their bodies with Aura Armor and run.

But the Mercenaries also had their chance. Anis had no wings. He would inevitably fall.

However, Anis created another Aura foothold at the 20-meter mark. He intended to rise back into the air, but—

Crack!

The Aura foothold couldn’t withstand the pressure and shattered.

Of course. The impact of falling is dozens of times greater than that of rising. Anis knew this and injected twice the Aura, but twice was still far from enough.

Anis’s body, which had been balancing in mid-air, shook violently. It was an uncontrollable posture.

Crash!

Anis fell to the ground. He had deployed Aura Armor, but the impact from such a height struck his entire body.

The Mercenaries were dumbfounded. Without even a chance to swing their swords, Anis had self-destructed.

Keter approached Anis, who was twitching just like Taragon.

“The attempt was good.”

Even with his entire body’s bones shattered, the compliment seemed to please Anis, who smiled.