Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Nydore’s expression was easier to read than she had thought; the Gale Snipers could tell what she had decided to do, despite being under the cover of the dark nightscape. They began to falter, unsure of whether or not they should hand their arrows over to her.
“No. I’ll create a distraction while you flee with the bow! All you need do is to get close to our village, and Tree Gramps will surely emerge to protect you,” The middle-aged Gale Sniper replied immediately.
“But, what about you? What about all of you?” She exclaimed. “Your youngest child was just borne! If I return without you, how will I ever forgive myself?”
It was no surprise that they could not come to an agreement; after all, Gale Snipers were strong guards tasked with protecting Eom Village, so they did not have as much battle experience as professional martial organizations and military units. Furthermore, these Gale Snipers did not have a commander amongst them who could make the best decisions after thinking clearly. Hence, they were faced with a dilemma; they could either buy time for the Zephyr to escape with the bow, or they could allow the Zephyr to buy them time to escape.
No one wanted to die.
However, indecision was a trait that always ushered in disaster. They had wasted too much time arguing amongst themselves, and their enemies had them completely surrounded. The enemy sorcerers began to chant simultaneously, so the fairies were forced to make a decision.
The middle-aged fairy cried out, “Fall back!”
The Gale Snipers maintained their formation and fired arrows at the encircling enemies, and as they did that, they slowly fell back, towards the deep end of the valley, even though they knew that there was no way out of there.
Amidst the chaos, a quiet silhouette snuck through the crowded woods, inching ever closer to Nydore’s back. Suddenly, a silver arc flashed, rushing towards the Zephyr’s swan-like neck, like a mantis going for its prey.
Nydore did not realize what was happening; her mind was already clouded by anxiety and a little bit of hopelessness. She only realized she was in danger when she felt the cold edge of a blade pressed against her neck. Before she could struggle, a deep voice resounded from behind her.
“Don’t move if you value your lif—”
That last word did not leave the silhouette’s mouth, and his dagger fell to the floor with a clanking sound.
The mantis may have gotten the prey, but a canary had been watching it — and now, the canary had struck.
Nydore instinctively spun around as soon as the threat was gone, but the calm that had just reached her heart was replaced with horror when she saw what was behind her. It was a peculiar looking Soul Armature, who bore an uncanny resemblance to a bandit from the wild, wild west. The Soul Armature’s arm was raised, and in his grip was the assassin who had just threatened her. His head was now hanging to the side limply — proof that his neck had been snapped.
“Yo! Sorry for my tardiness; I got distracted by something shiny along the way,” Baiyi greeted Nydore.
The Zephyr, who had yet to come to terms with what had just happened, quickly reached for her quiver, only to find it empty. Acting on instinct, she faced the Soul Armature and swung the Caudillo Butterly Bow at him, intent on striking his face.
However, Baiyi made no move to dodge. Instead, in the face of the approaching strike, he smirked. “Tsk tsk. That’s some poor manners. You need better parenting 1 .”
In the blink of an eye, a strange cowskin gauntlet appeared and grabbed the incoming bow. The gauntlet tugged lightly, and the Caudillo Butterfly Bow instantly squeezed itself out of Nydore’s grip. It was as though she had just gifted this new arrival the bow!
Nydore was stunned. This was the village’s most precious treasure! The only hope for their survival! Despite that, this new person had wrested it from her so easily.
The Fairy Walker, who was now in possession of the Caudillo Butterfly Bow, also smirked. “Aww… Helpless without some arrows?”
She twirled the bow in her hand, and it perfectly lodged itself into her grip. “Watch, darling; this is how it should be used.”
What occurred next made Nydore unable to believe her own eyes. The Caudillo Butterfly had blossomed like a moonflower under the moonlight, just as the legends described. The bow had now transformed into a colossal butterfly, and the spots that previously adorned its body were now orbiting the bow.
The Fairy Walker did not have any arrows with her. She just pulled the string back gently, and the silver spots of light— which, on closer examination, resembled little butterflies — gracefully landed on the bow’s nocking point. As she pulled the string back, the spots coalesced into three arrows made of light. 2
The Fairy Walker raised the bow, aiming at the area above the enemies. She let out a gentle breath, and her fingers lightly released the string. The three arrows of light took off into the night sky, leaving a long trail of light behind, and soon vanished into the dark horizon.
Suddenly, there were three bright explosions in the sky, and the sparks generated turned into white arrows, which plummeted downward with insane speed, towards the hostile forces below.
The scene was reminiscent of the passing of a magnificent meteor shower.
However, to the enemies, who were on the receiving end of the attack, it was nothing more than a nightmare. The first wave of arrows shattered their barriers as though they were eggs, while the subsequent waves turned them into swiss cheese. The forest was soon filled with the sounds of flesh being pierced, closely followed by howls of pain.
The elite enemy team, which had numbered two hundred, were instantly destroyed by this glittering attack.
“Now that’s how you use the Caudillo Butterfly! You’re pretty bad at this, kid.” The Fairy Walker tut-tutted. The bow suddenly reverted back to its original form, and its silver spots vanished.
“Catch!” The Fairy Walker said, tossing the bow back to Nydore.
“G-gah!” The girl cried as she shakily caught the bow. Her gaze, however, remained on the two odd looking Soul Armatures, who had just rescued her from a threat that had almost finished off her and her Gale Sniper companions. Still shocked, she mumbled, “Th-thanks? Tha-thanks for helping us? Um, uh… have we met before?”
“Looks like the coast is clear,” said the middle-aged fairy, who had just returned to senses after watching the spectacular rescue. He instructed his son to scout for any survivors, theirs or the enemies’, and he walked towards the Fairy Walker. “That… was the Shower of Arrows — an ultimate technique known only to the Sidhe clan! I heard that, other than the ancestor who invented the technique, only one person could perfectly use the skill.”
“Huh?!” Nydore cried softly. As the Zephyr of the current generation, she also knew about the legends of her own clan. She gazed at the Fairy Walker in astonishment and exclaimed, “You can’t… you can’t possibly be my grandaunt, right?”
“And here I thought you would realize it the moment I arrived!” The Fairy replied a little sourly. She took a few steps forward and ruffled Nydore’s hair. “You’re not a very bright child, are you?”
“Alright; now’s not the time for catching up. We barely had enough time, to begin with,” Baiyi said, cutting into the conversation before a flashback scene would ensue. The situation was still dire; they had only solved a minor problem.
After all, it had only been four hours since Eom Village was destroyed by the enemies’ forbidden fire spell!
It had been difficult for Nydore and her team to hold off the attacks for as long as they had. Baiyi and the Fairy Walker had taken a long time to arrive partially because the Zephyr was far away from Eom Village. The other reason they had arrived late was because they had met trouble along the way.
After Baiyi found the dragon scale, he and the Fairy Walker began rushing in Nydore’s direction, but they were ambushed a few times by hidden enemies; however, after witnessing Baiyi’s strength, the enemies turned tail and fled. Baiyi gave chase and made sure to erase them from existence.
Along the way, Baiyi was ambushed three times. Whenever the ambushing enemies had fired off enough attacks to warrant a response from Baiyi, they would suddenly stop suddenly and flee. It was as though they had been tasked with delaying him, but Baiyi gave chase regardless; he knew he could quickly finish them off.
After finishing off the last team of ambushers, the Scholar Walker finished deciphering the rune on the dragon scale. Although it seemed complex at first glance, it was nothing more than a rune for detection, which could cover a large range.
Baiyi suddenly had an ominous feeling. He quickly took out his communication slab and tried to contact his students, but the signal was heavily distorted. He put it away and tried to see through the eyes of the Hammerhead Shark plushie in Mia’s possession, but he could not! He turned his attention to the Void and looked for the lingering consciousness of the Cleric Walker. When he found it, it was already in full battle mode!
It was at that moment that the Fairy Walker solemnly reminded him that the Caudillo Butterfly had begun transforming, meaning that Nydore was in big trouble.
Baiyi found himself between a rock and a hard place. One involved rescuing his cheap granddaughter-in-law, Nydore, and securing the Caudillo Butterfly Bow, which he had originally arrived in Marle to obtain. The other involved his precious students, who were now in danger.
He had almost no time to make a decision, and this caused him to feel really anxious.
However, when Baiyi took another look at the lingering consciousness of the Cleric Walker, he realized that the Voidwalker had not sent him an SOS, or even tried to contact him, meaning that whatever was happening over there was still under control. This was understandable because the enigmatic Mr. Bear and the great druid, Grandfather Tree, were also there to protect his students and the other fairy survivors.
He quickly calmed down and decided to continue pushing forward, hoping to reach Nydore in time.
Looking back, Baiyi believed he had made the right choice.
“Alright; now, clearly tell me what happened to you all, ” Baiyi said to Nydore.
After listening to what she had to say, Baiyi came to a conclusion in his mind: the Wise Mad King was really a bastard.
