<h4>Chapter 97: Skirmish (1)</h4>
The final stage of this promotion match would take ce at the cliff in this forest. Almond would win as long as he could reach the top of the cliff. Ironically, one of the best strategies was to not climb the cliff because several yers aimed at it as the blue zone shrunk.
<i>''Just try climbing up.''</i>
<i>''Are there any more idiots trying to climb it?''</i>
<i>''Alright, go for it.''</i>
They weren''t aware of each other, but around twenty-five guns aimed at the cliff. Only thirty-five yers remained, so at least ten would try to climb the cliff. These ten would likely fail.
<i>''I might as well gamble and climb since I lost a lot of HP.''</i>
<i>''I fucked up on farming, so I have to try this at least.''</i>
<i>''There''s no way I’ll do well with what I have.''</i>
The yers who chose to climb the cliff either suffered severe injuries, had poorly farmed, or possessed equipment in bad condition. As a result, they determined that the only way to win was to risk climbing the cliff.
A chest with a legendary item could be found on top of the cliff, which could turn the tides.
The nine yers risking their lives began to slowly climb the cliff and hoped the yers on the ground would fight among each other. However, it didn''t go their way.
The fight at the cliffside began like usual as the climbers became targeted.
<i>Tang!</i>
A gunshot signaled the start and twenty-five more shots followed.
<i>Tududududdu!</i>
<i>"Kugh!"</i>
A yer''s hand reaching for the next handhold suddenly exploded. A bullet also struck his shoulder and the other missed shots crumbled his surroundings.
The yer leading the climb fell first. He grabbed onto the belt of another climber as he fell.
"I''m not dying alone!"
"Hey! Hey! Are you crazy…!"
The yer being dragged down panicked. During the panic, his body became riddled full of holes from gunshots. As a result, his corpse also fell.
<i>Thud!</i>
The corpsesnded on the ground with a terrifying noise. Two yers had already been eliminated from the climb.
<i>''Now.''</i>
Therge, unsuspecting tree leaves shook.
<i>Shaak.</i>
Someone who wasn''t part of the nine climbers or twenty-five yers on the ground began moving.
<i>Creak…?</i>
His weapon didn’t make a sound.
<i>Swoosh!</i>
The target died without knowing what happened and instantly copsed.
<i>Thwack!</i>
The shot had been perfect.
<i>[Almond → Trickery]</i>
<i>[Eliminated!]</i>
<i>[29/100]</i>
***
One yer beneath the cliff died. Almond felt satisfied at the timing of his strike.
<i>''Perfect.''</i>
This strategy wouldn''t work if the yers climbing died too quickly. The yers on the ground would notice Almond if he struck before anyone died. He intervened right when two other climbers died and it worked.
He didn’t catch anyone’s attention and no one knew of his existence. The gunshots masked the sound of his arrow cutting through the air.
Almond drew his bowstring again.
<i>Creak…?</i>
Another arrow hissed like a snake and struck a yer''s head.
<i>Thwack!</i>
<i>[Almond → MyGummy]</i>
<i>[Eliminated!]</i>
<i>[27/100]</i>
Only twenty-seven yers remained from the earlier thirty-five yers. Four climbers died and Almond killed two more. Two more yers died while skirmishing on the ground. Chaos was bound to ur with the other yers on the ground.
Almond had to hurry and eliminate half of them before the chaos took over.
He grabbed four arrows from his quiver and ced them between his fingers. Then he quickly fired at several yers like a minigun and they fell one by one as he aimed at them.
<i>[Almond → BechuWant]</i>
<i>[Eliminated!]</i>
<i>[Almond → Fire]</i>
<i>[Double Kill!]</i>
<i>[Almond → WestCoast]</i>
<i>[Triple Kill!]</i>
All four arrows perfectlynded. He only ended up getting a triple kill because one yer wore a bulletproof helmet that needed to be struck twice.
<i>— That''s crazy!</i>
<i>— Kya!</i>
<i>— So satisfying!</i>
<i>— That was nuts!</i>
<i>— Summer? I''m not scared because I watched Almond''s stream!</i>
<i>''Faster.''</i>
Almond wasn''t satisfied. He needed to finish them off in this position before the situation changed.
The enemies didn’t notice Almond''s existence or location yet. He kept ncing toward the cliff.
<i>''Three left!''</i>
Three climbers remained. If those three died, a skirmish would ur on the ground. Almond wouldn’t be able to freely shoot anymore after that.
He quickly took out another four arrows from his quiver and fired four more shots. This time, he only killed two because they both wore helmets.
<i>[Double Kill!]</i>
Almond checked the cliff again. One more climber fell and two remained.
<i>''Two more...''</i>
Ten yers remained on the ground. Including himself, thirteen yers remained in the game.
<i>[The blue zone will shrink in 30 seconds!]</i>
The blue zone would soon shrink, but he didn''t have time to check the map. The match would be decided in this phase.
Almond ced more arrows between his fingers and drew his bowstring. He fired four more shots and two more yers died.
One barely survived thanks to their helmet and quickly hid behind a tree, but another arrow curved towards that yer.
<i>"Kugh!"</i> the yer died with a scream.
Almond took out four more arrows. This time, four yers died. They all wore helmets that were already damaged and one shot was enough to finish them off.
Almond fired four more shots right afterward. Now, only one yer remained on the cliff.
<i>Tang!</i>
Thest yer also fell and a gunshot rang out. As always, no one had conquered the cliff.
Almond quickly readied his bow. His right hand gripped the bow in a rxed manner as if taking his first shot of the day.
<i>Piing!</i>
Three yers remained on the ground. Four arrows flew through the void and killed two. Only two of the three yers died.
<i>''Dammit.''</i>
One still remained.
Almond struck him in the head twice, but he still survived. This had happened before.
<i>''Legendary?''</i>
That yer wore a legendary helmet, so he had to aim for the body and not the head. Almond reached for more arrows, but only grabbed air.
<i>''I''m out.''</i>
He ran out of arrows.
His viewers, unaware of the situation, began celebrating.
<i>— He just killed everyone once he got into position!</i>
<i>— What''s going on...</i>
<i>— Almond, the human turret.</i>
<i>— He''s insane!?</i>
<i>— Wow! How many people just died?</i>
<i>— Is this what happens when he sets his mind on something?</i>
<i>— Isn''t this the first time he’s done something like this since Kingdom Age?</i>
<i>— Holy shit!</i>
<i>— What did I just witness?</i>
<i>— Is it already 1v1?!</i>
It felt like a given that Almond would also kill thest yer alive.
<i>''I couldn''t farm a lot of arrows because of the hospital route.''</i>
He farmed conservatively at the hospital instead of killing other yers like usual. As a result, he stocked up on medical equipment, but not arrows.
<i>[2/100]</i>
Now he faced a 1v1 situation.
<i>Chul-kuk.</i>
The enemy aimed at Almond with what looked like a legendary rifle. He somewhat had an idea of where Almond was hiding.
<i>[The blue zone is shrinking!]</i>
The blue zone began shrinking.
<i>Bzzt...</i>
Almond could feel the static against his back.
***
The viewers noticed the danger too.
<i>— Hey! Almond doesn''t have any arrows!</i>
<i>— Oh fuck!?</i>
<i>— No!</i>
<i>— The hospital farming...</i>
<i>— Oh no!</i>
<i>— Damn! This is the worst timing!</i>
To top it off, the blue zone moved in favor of the opponent. It wasn''t a big distance, but Almond had to move while the enemy could stay put.
Almond came to a decision. He jumped down and hid behind the tree. The enemy discovered him and started firing.
<i>Tudududududdu!</i>
The powerful rifle covered the tree with holes. The tree Almond previously hid on copsed.
<i>Thud!</i>
He wouldn’t be able to keep taking cover behind trees. Nothing in the jungle could protect him from that gun. He decided to hide since relying on obstacles was impossible.
Almond ran toward the blue zone.
<i>[You have been exposed to the poisonous gas in the blue zone!]</i>
<i>[You have been critically injured!]</i>
His vision grew foggy because of the gas. As the game progressed, the gas grew stronger and denser. It waste in the game now.
<i>Pop.</i>
Almond poured all the painkillers into his mouth and the stinging eased a little.
<i>[HP: 36%]</i>
One shot from a legendary rifle would down him since he had a bulletproof vest. Maybe he could take two shots.
He continued to hear gunshots. Thankfully, the enemy didn’t seem to know Almond''s whereabouts and shot elsewhere.
Almond further distanced himself and used two med-kits.
<i>[HP: 94%]</i>
He healed himself to 94% HP, but it went back down to 89% in just three seconds.
<i>''I can''t keep this up for long.''</i>
He was still being severely damaged despite using eight painkillers. The poison gaste in the game was critical. Almond reassessed his equipment: smoke grenade, shbang, grenade, and several bandages.
<i>''Grenade.''</i>
Right, this was his only weapon left. If BubbleSniper taught him anything, it was how to use the grenade.
<i>[HP: 74%]</i>
His health continued to drop as he assessed the situation. Almond quickly moved.
<i>''Can I do it?''</i>
He wanted to ask himself, but decided not to. It was a useless question. No human asked themselves if they could breathe before breathing.
<i>''I have to do it.''</i>
He had no choice. He would die if he didn’t do it.
Almond took a deep breath. He circled the blue zone and ran in. The opponent aimed his gun after hearing footsteps.
Almond hid in the dense gas and couldn’t be seen. He threw the smoke grenade and shbang.
Loud noises, bright lights, and smoke covered the area.
The gunshots stopped.
<i>‘Is he panicking?’</i>
Almond used this opportunity to run in.
<i>Bzzt.</i>
He returned to the safe zone with 46% HP remaining.
<i>[HP: 46%]</i>
***
Everything became chaotic due to the smoke and sh grenades. The opponent went blind, but so did Almond. They could only see directly in front of them.
However, that was enough. Almond continued walking around while looking at the ground.
<i>''Found it.''</i>
He picked up the arrows he fired earlier and looked for more.
<i>Swoosh...</i>
The smoke began to clear and he managed to pick up five arrows in total.
<i>''Where is he?''</i>
Now he needed to find the enemy. Almond bent forward and readied a grenade. He would only have one left after this, but had no choice.
The enemy would still lose even if they discovered each other at the same time.
<i>Click.</i>
Almond took out the safety pin and threw it.
<i>BOOM!</i>
A loud noise rumbled throughout the area and the opponent reacted as expected.
<i>Tudududududu!</i>
The enemy hadn’t found Almond, but simply shot towards the noise. However, Almond found the enemy’s precise location thanks to their gunfire shining red in the fog.
<i>''Over there.''</i>
Almond hid behind a rock and quickly fired his arrows. He fired four of the five arrows that he picked up.
The opponent drained his magazine too. The bullets pulverized the rocks and trees while Almond''s arrow perfectly flew and struck the enemy''s torso.
Almond decided to strike below since a legendary helmet negated damage to the head. All four arrows struck, but the opponent survived and hid behind an obstacle.
<i>— Goddammit, why isn''t he dying?</i>
<i>— It seems like he has a good vest too.?</i>
<i>— Doesn''t he look like takoyaki? His avatar is like the same.</i>
<i>— No? Tako didn''t turn his stream on.</i>
<i>— Vest or not, arrows to the body don’t do that much damage...</i>
<i>— The headshot bonus is good, but body shots are terrible. Especially from a recurve bow...</i>
<i>— Tako is practicing by himself. I think it is him?</i>
<i>— Damn, how''s he gonna win this?</i>
<i>— One more shot won''t do the trick. He needs to hit him like ten more times. I think he has a hero vest...</i>
<i>— No, Almond!!!</i>
Just then, Almond replied to his viewers.
"I''m aware that I need more arrows."
He continued reading the chat even in this situation.
<i>— ??</i>
<i>— He''s still reading the chat?</i>
<i>What a streamer!</i>
<i>— Hey! Crazy guy! Focus!</i>
<i>— Wow!</i>
Without hesitation, he took out a bandage and grenade.
"Do you think I can''t calcte the damage with the bow as my main weapon?" He raised thest arrow and confidently said, "But I won this one."