<h4>Chapter 30: War (4)</h4>
The field that Almond stood on echoed with the sound of bows and enemy screams.
<i>Swoosh! Thwack!</i>
<i>“Keugh!”</i>
<i>“Urgh!”</i>
The well-trained soldiers fell like Jenga blocks. Only three remained from the initial forty.
Almond had decimated almost a hundred soldiers by himself.
<i>— How many has he killed…</i>
<i>— Insane!</i>
<i>— Shudders…?</i>
<i>— Boss, you’re killing me!</i>
<i>— Can you do a hundred headshot kills in a row?</i>
The record number of consecutive headshots in <i>Kingdom Age?</i>was one hundred.
Almond would soon beat that record, which made every shot he took even more nerve-wracking.
“Now it’s 770,000 won.”
Almond simply counted his earnings despite the viewers’ nervousness. He showed no signs of anxiety at all. He only saw the enemy heads as targets and only heard the wind as a guide.
<i>Swoosh!</i>
The wind against his skin told him where to shoot.
<i>Creak…</i>
Almond aimed for one of the remaining three.
“God… dammit!”
The target chose to die fighting instead of fleeing. He charged towards Almond with his de and a determined look.
<i>Thwack!</i>
Almond’s arrow already pierced his head.
“Dammit! Just run!”
“I’m already running!”
The remaining two fled in fear. Could the forty soldiers have gotten him if they charged together with all their might? Who knows? No one could confirm it now since it was toote to wonder about what-ifs.
<i>“Kugh…”</i>
One of the fleeing soldiers screamed and fell. Only their dying breath could be heard.
The other one screeched in horror and ran even quicker as Almond aimed at him next.
However, Almond lowered his bow.
“<i>Ah…</i> I’m out of arrows.”
Thest enemy got lucky. Almond had exactly eighty arrows and used an extra one to deflect the arrow earlier.
<i>— Ah, damn.</i>
<i>— He barely lived.</i>
<i>— We’ll let you live!</i>
<i>— He actually let him live haha.</i>
An archer couldn’t do much after running out of arrows. He had to acquire more arrows to fight again.
The audience presumed that Almond’s massacre had ended.
The one who assigned the mission, ShyNapoleon, sighed in relief.
<i>— Phew, haha.</i>
However, he rxed too early because Almond had no intention of stopping here.
<i>Thump—</i>
Almond suddenly ran forward.
<i>— ???</i>
<i>— What’s he chasing?!</i>
<i>— Shudders…?</i>
<i>— You’re a persistent one!</i>
Almond decided to chase after the soldier who fled to finish him off.
The fleeing soldier nced back and screamed,<i>?“Heeegh!”?</i>He increased his speed out of fear and truly ran for his life. His movements became desperate like a chicken without a head. <i>“Agh! Agh! Agh!”</i> He screamed with drool flying out of his mouth.
<i>— LOL</i>
<i>— Damn, look at the ss of this AI.</i>
<i>— This is the ss of Kingdom Age.</i>
<i>— It seems like he’s really alive.</i>
<i>— For real!</i>
The audience cheered at the NPC’s realism.
The enemies in <i>Kingdom Age?</i>acted viciously when they had the advantage, but became cowards once they lost their authority just like real people.
This added to the sense of realism for the viewers.
<i>— Anyone would run like that if Almond chased them.</i>
<i>— That’s terrifying.</i>
<i>— You killed all his friends. Show some mercy, will you? LOL</i>
<i>— Hahaha</i>
The viewers even sympathized with the fleeing soldier.
Almond looked like the grim reaper while chasing him down. He ran as if in a 100-meter sprint, but suddenly changed his position. Almond stopped and crouched.
<i>‘Found it.’</i>
He stuck his hand out and grabbed the lost arrow.
<i>Chuck.</i>
Almond immediately nocked it onto his bow. His aim remained steady even while running.
<i>Creak…?</i>
He slowly drew back the bowstring and synchronized with the enemy running away. His fingertips slightly vibrated from the string’s high tension.
Almond collected his breath and briefly closed his eyes before releasing all the tension.
<i>Paang!</i>
<i>— !!!</i>
<i>— Oh!</i>
<i>— Shudders…?</i>
<i>— Shot!</i>
<i>— Shiet!</i>
The arrow perfectlynded at the center of the enemy’s back.
<i>“Heuk!”</i>
The eightieth enemy fell without even a scream. The corpse stumbled over from the momentum of running.
Almond finally stopped running and said, “It’s 800,000 won now.”
***
After that, Almond shot and killed twenty more. He ultimately racked up 1 million won.
<i>[ShyNapoleon has donated 1 million won!]</i>
<i>[This is a bit much… :( ]</i>
<i>— LOOOL</i>
<i>— ShyNapoleon hahaha.</i>
<i>— Napoleon out!</i>
<i>— Hahaha.</i>
<i>— 1 mil won is too much!</i>
Of course, they won the war too. A single soldier killed a hundred enemies, so the opposing army couldn’t possibly function properly.
The victory cries of his allies echoed throughout the battlefield.
<i>“Ooooooooooahhhh!”</i>
No one cheered out Almond’s name because no one knew he had killed a hundred soldiers.
Instead, the soldiers shouted the name of theirmander, “Robern! Robern!”
He hadmanded them, so that only made sense.
<i>— Dang…</i>
<i>— Sigh, these guys don’t even know anything.</i>
<i>— Almond did everything!!</i>
<i>— Damn!</i>
<i>— This is why no one acts alone lool.</i>
Sang-Hyeon and the viewers felt bummed out, but it couldn’t be helped.
<i>‘What the… I killed one hundred enemies, but no one noticed?’</i>
He somewhat understood after directly experiencing the war. His mind had gonepletely nk too.
People tangled up while grappling, exchanging blows, and thrusting with blunt weapons to knock each other out. He learned and saw firsthand how chaotic a war could be.
The soldiers couldn’t spare any attention as to how the war unfolded. They couldn’t even bepletely sure if they just attacked an ally or not.
No one would be able to tell if Almond had killed a hundred or even a thousand people.
“<i>Sigh</i>, I get that we’re mercenaries, but still…” Romanined from next to him. The mercenary leader snuck up and ced a hand on Almond’s shoulder.
“But still? What do you mean?”
“We achieved quite the aplishment, but they’re telling us to leave with just the minimum payment.”
Roman thought they weren’t getting paid enough for the amount of work they put in.
“What did they aplish?” As Romanined…
“Is that a problem?” Amander who stood next to Robern intervened. His gaze from the top of his horse looked worrisome. “What’s the problem with giving the fixed amount?”
“It’s in the description that the rewards increase along with our aplishments,” Roman answered without backing down.
“Aplishments? What aplishments did mere mercenaries achieve in a battle between knights? Do you think we don’t know that you guys just hid during the battle?!”
The knights possessed great strength. On the other hand, the only asset a mercenary possessed was their body. They were hired to fight battles that weren’t theirs, which often resulted in them fighting more cowardly. Hence, the knights didn’t respect them very much.
“How did you trust us with this war if you don’t respect us? You respect us during battle, but you change your words once the war ends? That’s not very honorable.”
“What did you say?”
However, the knights only made an assumption. Many mercenaries fought with all their might. If that wasn’t the case, how would mercenaries maintain themselves and their reputation?
“This man alone defeated a hundred soldiers. Even now, do you think all we did was hide? Do you think we achieved nothing?”
“Defeated a hundred alone? <i>HAHAHA!”?</i>He loudlyughed so the other knights could hear. “Apparently, this one defeated a hundred knights on his own!” He told his subordinates in a mocking tone.
<i>— Man, is there a quest to kill that guy?</i>
<i>— Can’t you just shoot him now?</i>
<i>— It’s just a game, rx.</i>
Roman seemed as furious as the audience. However, he stopped himself and recognized that they held different ranks. Confronting that knight any further would result in certain consequences.
It didn’t feel good, but they could make do with receiving the fixed amount for now.
“I hope you get what I’m trying to say.” As Roman came to terms with him…
“Move! Let him go!”
A mercenary dragged in the enemymander wearing golden armor.
“Let him go!”
<i>Thud.</i>
The enemymander threw the mercenary holding him to the ground and picked himself up.
“I will go on my own.”
“...”
The typical arrogance of nobles briefly caught the mercenaries off-guard. The difference in rank had been permanently etched in their heads.
One couldn’t simply kill a noble in this age even if they were enemies because of the noble’s worth.
<i>Swiff, swiff.</i>
The golden armoredmander brushed himself off and marched toward Commander Robern.
“Are you themander-in-charge?”
“Yes, I am.”
His tone sounded as snobby as his shining armor and he acted as if he was an even greater royal than Robern.
“It seems like you guys won in the end. Our castle was taken for no reason and our soldiers have been wiped out as well…”
The golden armoredmander babbled on as if he didn’t fear for his life and no one spoke back.
“Does it feel good? Killing everyone?”
Before the knight could respond…
“Talorant treated the people of thisnd—”
“No, it doesn’t matter. I just want to speak with Jeanneret. Bring her.”
The golden armoredmander cut off Robern and suddenly called for Jeanneret.
“We can’t do that,” Almond subconsciously said. This seemed like part of the progression regardless of Sang-Hyeon’s intentions.
The golden armoredmander turned around and looked at him with an expression that seemed to be asking, <i>Who are you?</i>
“!?”
His eyes almost popped out after recognizing Almond.
“You?”
The nearby knights felt confused as to why the enemy leader reacted like that toward Almond. Almond was just another hired mercenary and a simple archer to them. Most knights ignored archers because their armor easily rendered arrows useless and archers didn’t fight as honorably.
However, the enemy leader thought differently.
“Are you a knight as well?”
“No.”
“Then, who are you to say yes or no?”
“...”
“No, wait. Who are you if you’re not a soldier?”
“He’s a mercenary,” Roman replied instead of Almond.
“Oh?”
The golden armoredmander seemed rather d to hear that because a knight would be impossible to recruit. However, mercenaries only required money to hire.
Meanwhile, the knights still felt curious as to why the golden armored man took such interest in a mercenary.
“The one who killed a hundred of our soldiers is a mere mercenary?”
“!?”
Not only the knights, but Almond felt surprised too.
<i>‘They knew?’</i>
The enemy knew of his aplishment instead of his allies. Maybe it would be more obvious to them as they counted their losses.
<i>— The victim always remembers.</i>
<i>— Damn, that’s satisfying.</i>
<i>— I wonder if the knights will finally recognize him.</i>
<i>— Kya, the enemy leader recognized their honorable opponent!</i>
<i>— Honorable opponent lmao</i>
The viewers weed the fact that the golden armoredmander had witnessed Almond’s incredible feat. However…
“You’re taking a joke too far.”
“A mercenary killing a hundred?”
“<i>Ha</i>, good one.”
All the knights thought he just made a crude joke.
“They don’t seem to believe it. You there, do you really want to work with these people?”
The golden armoredmander smiled and took off his helmet.
Her navy hair like the night sky flowed out and her face looked as chiseled as a statue without a hint of imperfection. Her deep eyes showed that she was full of herself despite her loss. Such confidence seemed to shine through her armor.
<i>— It was Rosenita!</i>
<i>— I knew it!</i>
<i>— LOL</i>
<i>— Right, she was a Talorant.</i>
<i>— Wow.</i>
Sang-Hyeon’s viewers had mentioned Rosenita in the past. She was the second heroine and from the opposite house as Emilia.
“How about youe and work with me?” Rosenita asked him.
<i>[1. It’s an honor for you to recognize my potential.]</i>
<i>[2. I am still loyal despite being a mercenary.]</i>