Archer's Adventure Manual

Chapter 188 Lake Returns

Outside the inn, monster corpses kept appearing, but shadowy figures continued to emerge from the darkness.

The air was thick with the stench of blood.

The density of arrows has visibly decreased, which means that there are some obvious gaps in the number of arrows.

"Change swords!" Roth's deep, steady voice rang out, stabilizing the soldiers' morale.

The ten soldiers obeyed the order and put down their bows and arrows, drawing their longswords from their waists.

Holy light flowed across the sword, radiating a holy glow.

"My name is Klot, and I will make you remember this terrifying name!" The enormous kobold roared as it charged into the enemy lines.

The massive body covered in rock armor, like a runaway carriage, instantly knocked down two soldiers who were holding swords to defend themselves.

Taking advantage of the soldiers' momentary lapse in balance, Claude swung his scimitar down fiercely.

The curved blade swung down, but was blocked by another longsword.

The soldier who was parrying scoffed, "Damn beast, let me deal with you!"

The soldier holding the sword had his blade slightly chipped, but he did not retreat, because his comrade beside him had already thrust his sword towards Clott's ribs!

Klot roared a few times and retreated, revealing a deep wound on his rock armor.

It angrily brandished its scimitar, only to find the surrounding soldiers retreating like a tide, only to surge forward again in the instant it froze.

This is a tactic commonly used by legions to deal with larger prey—pulling and tugging.

Behind the monster horde, the Goblin Thorn shaman chanted a strange incantation, a ghostly green light emanating from him:

The wounds of the large number of injured monsters began to heal, and their flesh began to repair itself.

Fortunately, the recovery effect was very limited, because the damage caused by the soldiers using Holy Light could not be repaired by this strange spell; the power was countered by Holy Light.

The shaman frowned, slamming his staff, which emitted a dark aura, heavily onto the ground. "Let me show you!"

A moment later, a gigantic goblin giant emerged from the darkness.

Its every step caused the ground to tremble slightly, and its size and proportions seemed out of place for a creature that should exist in this world.

Loran witnessed this scene from the window on the second floor of the hotel. He waited for his opportunity, gathering his strength.

When the time was right, his magical arrow was aimed at the enormous creature.

"Penetrating! Ignition! Lightning strike!"

"Whoosh!" The arrow shot forward, its magical aura mingled with thunder and blazing fire, whistling as it flew out!

"Zzzzz!" The arrow pierced the goblin giant's neck in an instant, and a strong current spread from top to bottom to the goblin giant's lower body!

The current eventually split into a terrifying regional network of currents, which in turn caused a chain reaction of currents on the surrounding monsters.

"Plop..." Black blood splattered, fist-sized drops of blood fell to the ground with a loud dripping sound, leaving foul-smelling black stains on the ground.

The goblin's head, now without a neck, hung precariously from the side.

This arrow severed the goblin giant's neck, rendering it unable to support its enormous head.

Just when the soldiers thought the goblin was doomed, something surprising happened: the headless goblin still managed to move.

At the same time, the eerie goblin shaman cast a spell, and the goblin's head, which was originally about to fall off, was miraculously moved and reattached.

This ability is truly terrifying. Losing one's head signifies the loss of a creature's life force, yet the bizarre witchcraft of the goblin shaman has now broken this natural law.

"What... what kind of bizarre method is this? Is there no way to kill this monster in front of us?!" the soldiers exclaimed.

The other soldiers frowned deeply as they looked at the black blood on the ground. "What kind of monster is this... how can it be so huge? Could the legendary dragons be this enormous?"

"Hey! This is nothing. I've heard that legendary dragons can blot out the sky. What's this guy compared to that?"

"Can we really beat this guy...?"

The scene before them was beyond their comprehension, and even the soldiers who had experienced many battles were somewhat frightened.

The soldiers were vaguely feeling powerless against the powerful monster, which was not a good sign.

Rott squinted and carefully examined the giant goblin that had lost its head but had rallied again.

As an experienced deputy commander, he knew that there was no perfect magic in the world, and that all magic would have flaws.

He noticed that the goblin giant in front of him looked dull and moved very slowly. Its attacks rarely hit the agile soldiers and were more likely to disrupt and create chaos.

Loth looked again at the goblin giant's neck, where the mark of magic healing it was very obvious—a black line.

Rott said to the soldiers in a deep voice, "Don't be afraid, everyone. Although that big guy can heal wounds, it comes at a price. As long as we keep depleting his energy, he will collapse!"

"Yes, sir!" The soldiers' voices boomed. The deputy commander's judgment gave them great confidence.

They took the initiative to meet the giant head-on, forming groups of three, supporting and cooperating with each other, and launched an attack.

Each attack by the Goblin Titan leaves a deep crater in the ground, but it cannot harm the agile soldier squad. Instead, the soldiers are able to injure the Titan by various means.

More and more wounds appeared on the goblin giant's body, and even the wounds that had healed were darker than before.

This is also a type of attrition warfare that the legion excels at.

After waiting for a while, Loran seized the opportunity, drew his bow and nocked an arrow again. He was determined to make a significant impact when he did strike!

"Whoosh!" The magic arrow trailed a dazzling trail as it traversed the chaotic battlefield, striking precisely the goblin shaman's left eye from the shadows behind!

The goblin shaman hiding in the shadows never expected to be suddenly hit by an arrow. How did the archer find his location?!

The magical light suddenly went out, and the shaman let out a shrill scream. The eerie green shields covering the monsters shattered like bubbles.

The goblin giant, as if it had lost its battery, froze in place, becoming like a wooden puppet.

At this moment, Loran's left eye had transformed into a horrifying eye of flesh and blood. He sneered at the helpless goblin shaman, thinking that everything would be fine if he hid in the shadows.

The principle of "capture the king first" is applicable at any time and in any situation.

Roth seized the opportunity, raised his longsword, and shouted, "Advance!"

The soldiers stepped forward in unison, and holy light erupted, instantly purifying the goblins at the forefront into ashes.

Upon seeing this, a hint of fear appeared in Klot's eyes. After all, it was a monster, and what's more, it was a light that its race feared, a holy light that represented purity!

It tried to retreat, dragging its curved blade, but was simultaneously pierced in the chest by three longswords.

Even the rock armor seemed somewhat powerless in the face of the holy light.

"Boom!" The rock armor shattered, and Klot burst out with astonishing speed in an instant, quickly creating distance and avoiding damage from the soldiers' continued pursuit.

The other monsters began to scatter, and it was at this moment that a figure emerged from the darkness.

His steps were neither hurried nor slow, but they made a considerable noise as he stepped into the pool of blood.

Furthermore, one can clearly see that the person's arms are covered with thick brown hair, and the fingers have turned into claws and teeth, which are characteristics of a monster.

However, some soldiers who saw the man's face were stunned.

"Commander?!"

They were shocked. They were very familiar with the face. Wasn't this Commander Lake, the highest-ranking leader of their legion?

There has been no news of Captain Lake since he went to the castle, and he has been managed by Vice Captain Roth. Now, the captain has returned at this time... but something feels a little strange.

Lake didn't answer, but looked at the fleeing monsters in the darkness and slowly raised his transformed arm.

"Get out." His voice was deep, yet it carried throughout the entire battlefield.

As if struck by an invisible force, the monsters were stunned for a few seconds before they began to retreat, tumbling and crawling away into the night.

Soon, the area in front of the hotel also quieted down.

Vice Commander Roth naturally noticed Lake's return, and his gaze first fell on Lake's unusual arm.

Upon seeing this, Roth's hand holding the sword trembled slightly. Lake was back, but what had happened to him?

Having gone through a series of events, Roth now knew the current situation in Rockfall Town. It was fortunate that Captain Lake had returned from his solo trip to the castle.

Lake noticed Roth's gaze, turned to look at Roth, and then at the blood-soaked soldiers, before finally saying only, "We'll talk about it when we get back."

Lake slowly walked toward the inn, and the soldiers automatically made way for him.

The soldiers' eyes were filled with confusion and bewilderment.

The hair on Captain Lake's arms is so obvious. What has the captain been through?

Loran was somewhat surprised to see the monsters that had surged in like a tide retreat from the second floor.

Such a spectacular scene was all because of a single word from Commander Lake: "Get out!"

And until now, apart from the lingering smell of gunpowder and blood from the battlefield, there is no sign of any other monsters in the air.

Is this really something Commander Lake could do? Obviously not.

This phenomenon may symbolize more of a kind of... power, as if Commander Lake were the leader of those monsters, and that he was simply issuing an order.

Considering that Commander Lake recently visited the castle at Warren Manor, his return now likely indicates that he reached some kind of agreement with that mysterious creator.

"Kid, now you realize how important I am," the Eye of Flesh and Blood thought to itself. "With so much flesh and blood constantly remembering your achievements, I won't be lenient with you anymore."

Loran's eyes gradually returned to normal. He turned his head and saw that Barton had been watching him the whole time.

Barton had naturally taken note of Loran's Eye of Flesh, but he didn't ask Loran for details about it.

"Let's go downstairs and take a look." Loran smiled slightly at Barton.

"Okay." Barton's expression was natural. He knew that everyone had their own secrets, and he didn't ask too many questions.

In the lobby downstairs at the hotel, a few candles flickered.

The soldiers sat down against the wall, bandaging the wounded and polishing their damaged iron swords to regain their strength.

Loran noticed that the soldiers were silent, unlike their earlier laughter and drinking.

Their eyes were all, intentionally or unintentionally, drawn to one place: the corner where Commander Lake was sitting.

Lake was sitting across from Roth, who poured him a glass of ale. "Lake, your hands... look a little... different."

Mark sat in the other seat, staring intently at Lake's arm without saying a word. As someone who had been in deep contact with the Creator, he knew perfectly well what this meant.

"As you can see." Lake smiled slightly, brushing aside the brown hair on his arm, and gave a self-deprecating laugh. "I've become a little different, even a little less human."

Rot swallowed hard and said earnestly, "Commander, you are still you. They must have done something to you, but whatever it was, I think we have a way to solve the problem!"

Roth recalled Mark's experience; Mark seemed to have recovered from such a state, and perhaps Lake could do the same.

Lake calmly looked at his teammates and said, "I believe you've all seen the situation in Rockfall Town. It's not as peaceful as it seems on the surface."

"And indeed, he is indeed at the extremely dangerous red alert level, just as described by Plasson headquarters."

"Unfortunately, I was careless in the end and fell into the trap set by the Creator," Lake sighed.

Lake looked down at his claws. He could feel the power from the giant bear surging in his veins, frenzied and bloodthirsty—an extremely powerful force.

"He was a terrifying man. He possessed the ability to modify living beings, and his ideas were truly horrifying—ideas that could threaten the entire kingdom..."

"I witnessed his methods. Believe me, if he wanted to kill us, we would have had no chance. I came back only to convey his message."

For the first time, Roth saw a hint of helplessness and despair on the face of this battle-hardened legion commander.

"So, Commander..."

"Yes, I made some compromises, but of course, not completely. I think... I'll give you the choice."

Rott frowned, asking nervously, "What...does 'choose' mean?"

"The Creator gave us a few choices: either stay trapped in Rockfall Town and die, or join them—which is what I am now."

He transformed into a monster, neither human nor ghost.

"This is their method. If the creator wanted, he could make us completely lose ourselves and become one of his monster materials."

"

"This is a deal with death, so I want to give you the choice. I have already seen the monster horde of that creator, which is absolutely beyond our ability to contend with. We will only face death here."

"I consider myself a legion commander full of honor, and I would disdain to do such a thing, but when it comes to your lives, I still... cannot do something that would make you sacrifice yourselves for the greater good."

"So I came here. The Creator sent me back to persuade you to compromise, but I... I can't do either. I want to hear your thoughts."