https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-227-Career-Change-The-Apothecary/12996847/
Chapter 226: Long-Range Strike!
Chapter 226: Long-Range Strike!
Leon rode his great black horse along the winding road, with various items hanging on both sides of the horse.
Aside from a striking large bow, there was also a pair of identically-wrapped long objects on the other side, which appeared to be short bladed weapons based on their length and exposed handles.
These two weapons were the blood-colored daggers taken from the Shadow Assassin, and due to their eye-catching glow, Leon had carefully wrapped them in animal skins.
As for why he didn't carry the bow and daggers on his person, it was because Leon was already carrying the Pig-headed Hammer and the Dim Light Greatsword, and if he added the bow and dagger to his attire, he would look like a peacock displaying its feathers!
It would be quite out of place.
Especially the daggers, as it was uncommon for a proper knight to use daggers in combat.
Even those knights who did use daggers as secondary weapons were a rare sight.
But the special effects of the Shadow Assassin's blood-colored daggers had left a deep impression on Leon, and he couldn't bear to leave such excellent weapons unused.
This was why he had requested from the Imperial South Sea Fleet that if they didn't have any metal-based wizardry, he hoped to acquire a supernatural skill related to daggers.
Suddenly, several high-pitched eagle cries rang out above Leon's head.
Upon looking up, he noticed a blue-purple raptor, about the size of a seagull, soaring and flapping its wings excitedly dozens of meters above him.
This was Leon's Bloodfeather Hawklet, and under the care of Veronica, a wizard apprentice specializing in bird modifications, the young bird had grown strong and healthy.
Its originally fluffy yellow feathers were gradually being replaced by the blue-purple plumage of an adult Bloodfeather Hawklet.
Of course, this process would still take a considerable amount of time.
According to Veronica, the larger the raptor, the longer and more durable its feathers, and it would take more time for them to molt compared to smaller birds.
As Leon traveled through the Wild Wolf Hills, he gazed at the soaring young bird in the sky with envy and decided to use the Beast's Eye, a core skill of beastmasters.
With his significantly improved spirit power, Leon successfully activated the skill despite being dozens of meters away from the Bloodfeather Hawklet.
In an instant, Leon felt like a radar station, and his spirit power radiated like radar waves, instantly locking onto the young bird's position.
With a thought, Leon's vision shifted, and he saw the vast sky and endless land before him. Looking down, he noticed the snow-covered hills stretching into the distance, their peaks still thick with snow.
In the valleys, patches of vibrant green had started to appear, and the melting snow had formed small streams.
As he scanned the horizon, he spotted a winding road leading to the distant Maester City Wall, appearing as a thin gray line.
Even the faint outlines of buildings within the city were visible.
Leon knew that this was due to the exceptional vision of the Bloodfeather Hawklet, and he had only left the Fishing Harbor Town less than half an hour ago, with half a day's journey still ahead to reach the city.
Controlling the young bird to turn around, Leon looked back at the road they had come from. Not far away, he could see the circularly-arranged buildings of the Fishing Harbor Town.
The distance was close enough for Leon to make out the faces of the town's residents walking on the streets.
Looking further into the distance, he saw the boundless blue sea dotted with dozens of scattered green and yellow islands of various sizes.
"Indeed, having a raptor as a pet provides an incredible aerial view, if nothing else!"
"It's like controlling a pre-world attack drone!"
"Hmm? What's this?"
As Leon turned the Bloodfeather Hawklet's direction towards the city, he noticed a battle taking place just below the young bird.
Due to the 'blind spot' effect, he hadn't noticed it at first.
Using the young bird's exceptional vision, Leon saw a group of cargo carriages under attack by bandits several kilometers ahead of his current position.
A dozen guards were engaged in a fierce fight with the bandits.
Among the bandits, a figure in a black cloak immediately caught Leon's attention, as they occasionally summoned black flames.
"A Flame Shadow Adept!"
More importantly, Leon recognized the Crowley family's insignia on one of the carriages and a short person among the guards was none other than his old acquaintance, Mateo, the night watch captain from Flashgold Town.
With the Flame Shadow Adept supporting the bandits from the rear, occasionally launching black flame fireballs that incapacitated the guards, the caravan's defense was in a precarious state.
Leon estimated the distance and realized that due to the winding hills, it would be too late to rush to their aid on foot.
If one wanted to provide timely assistance, it seemed that the only option was to use a bow and arrow.
However, direct shooting was clearly impossible, as it would require the arrow to pass through two patches of undulating forest to hit the enemy.
Setting aside the question of whether the arrow could even reach the target, the obstacles of trees and the undulating hills also made it impossible for Ren to shoot through with an arrow.
If one wanted to rescue the other party, it was clear that they had to use a parabolic shot.
However, relying on the vision of the Bloodfeather Eagle Beast fledgling in the sky, Ren could see the other party clearly, but after estimating the straight-line distance, he found that they were about 1.2 kilometers away.
As for the bow and arrow, the direct-shooting killing power of the elite Night Watch was similar to that of the English longbowmen in Ren's previous life, capable of piercing chainmail within 60 meters. The effective killing distance for parabolic shots was about 150 to 200 meters.
Although this was already the limit for ordinary people, it was not the limit for the extraordinary.
Even when Ren was at the peak of his knighthood, he could directly shoot at a distance of around 200 meters, still causing powerful damage that could pierce through knight plate armor. His parabolic shots could reach 700 to 800 meters, and this was with iron arrows.
Because wooden arrows were greatly affected by air resistance, no matter how great the initial velocity was, once it reached a critical distance, the power would not increase further.
Now, having advanced beyond the Grand Knight level, Ren's effective killing distance had naturally increased further!
However, what limited Ren's power at this moment was the bow in his hand.
Even though the bow he was using belonged to the 'Bloodthirsty Archer' Phil, drawing it to its full potential could only manage a parabolic shot of about one kilometer, as Phil was only a senior Grand Knight and lacked the strength to use a more powerful bow.
Additionally, if he were to use a parabolic shot, air resistance would continuously reduce the power of the arrow. Fortunately, the two bags of arrows he currently had were filled with pure steel arrows.
The weight of these arrows was seven to eight times that of ordinary arrows, and the impact of air resistance was relatively less compared to wooden arrows.
However, the power of the arrows would still be slightly reduced.
Suddenly, Ren had a flash of inspiration, and he thought of a possible solution.
He first canceled the core skill 'Beast's Eye' and took out the large bow hanging from his horse's saddle. He drew out a steel arrow, nocked it, and then softly began to chant the incantation for the 'Sharpened Shot' spell.
Soon, a faint silver light appeared at the tip of the steel arrow.
Since the entire arrow was made of metal, the effect of 'Sharpened Shot' was mostly concentrated on the arrowhead, but this silver glow extended along the entire length of the arrow.
This was precisely the effect of 'Sharpened Shot'!
Looking at the pale silver glow that could last for a minute, a smile appeared on Ren's lips.
Next, there was just one more thing to do.
Ren needed the other party to stand still for a while.
This was the most troublesome aspect of long-range sniping. The arrow he shot would slow down due to air resistance.
In simple terms, if the initial velocity of the arrow was 500 meters per second, it might only have an initial velocity of 300 meters per second after traveling one kilometer.
Estimating the distance of 1.2 kilometers, it would likely take two to three seconds for the arrow to reach its target.
During this time, if the target moved, the sniping attempt would undoubtedly fail!
So, Ren activated the core skill 'Beast's Eye' once again, controlling the Bloodfeather Eagle Beast fledgling to fly towards the position of the Flame Shadow Adept, and as it approached, it let out a crisp yet majestic call, befitting a bird of prey.
This caught the attention of the Flame Shadow Adept below, who was in the midst of casting a Black Flame Fireball, and he curiously looked up, stopping to observe.
At that moment, Ren released the taut bowstring.
"Boom!"
The steel arrow, enhanced by 'Sharpened Shot', shot through the sky like a silver lightning bolt, disappearing into the horizon with a 'whoosh'.
Ren's eyebrows rose slightly as he realized that 'Sharpened Shot' seemed even more useful than he had anticipated. Normally, when an arrow was shot, it would produce a sharp sound as it pierced through the air, but this time, there was none.
'Sharpened Shot' seemed to have a noticeable noise-reducing effect on the arrowhead.
After a moment of thought, Ren began to understand.
The mysterious side particles reduced the roughness of the arrow, particularly the surface of the arrowhead. As the roughness decreased, the adhesive force of the air molecules weakened, resulting in reduced noise.
This not only made his arrows more concealed but also increased their power!
No wonder Trevor, the Leviathan Squad's archer, had learned 'Sharpened Shot', a metal-based spell, even though his elemental affinity was not towards metal particles.
One second!
Two seconds!
The Flame Shadow Adept was looking at the strange blue-purple bird flying in the sky, wondering what kind of bird it was, as he had never seen one like it before.
At the same time, he was calculating the distance, wondering if he could attack the other party with a Black Flame Fireball.
After all, having something flying overhead like that was quite annoying.
"Pfft!"
A sound like a blade piercing a watermelon echoed!
This strange noise coming from behind the squad immediately caught the attention of many of the bandits. When they turned to look, they were all struck with awe at the sight before them.
In the midst of the chaos, the arrogant and domineering figure in the black cloak, who had been wielding the power of black flames, was suddenly impaled by an arrow that descended from the sky, piercing straight through his skull and exiting from his mouth. The force of the impact was so great that it pinned the man to the ground, his eyes bulging and his expression one of sheer disbelief.
The man's body, hidden beneath the black cloak, twitched involuntarily, as if still in shock from the sudden turn of events.
The bandits exchanged glances, their faces filled with disbelief. One of them, a burly man with a bushy beard, couldn't help but twitch his mouth uncontrollably.
What the hell just happened? The bandits were winning, and now, with a single arrow, their leader was dead.
The guards, influenced by the bandits' reaction, gradually ceased their fighting and followed their gaze.
Among the bandits, Mateo, the short and small-statured leader of the guards, was the most affected. He felt the pressure ease as the burly, bearded bandit, who had been fixated on him, turned away with a dazed expression, looking towards the rear.
Mateo's curiosity piqued, and he wondered if something had happened behind the bandits.
Through the gaps in the crowd, Mateo quickly glanced sideways. His eyes widened as he spotted the steel arrow that had pierced the Black Flame Adept's skull.
Who was this marksman nearby, with such incredible skill, aiding them? Mateo was momentarily stunned.
At that moment, both the guards and the bandits looked around, searching for the mysterious marksman.
But after a minute, no one could find the marksman who, theoretically, should have been nearby.
The sudden death of the Black Flame Adept, however, dealt a severe blow to the bandits' morale, leaving them uncertain whether to retreat or continue fighting.
Just then, the sound of heavy hooves thundering on the road echoed from one end.
A massive black warhorse came into view, carrying a tall and imposing figure in silver armor—a knight. They were galloping towards the group at full speed.
The burly, bearded bandit leader needed only a glance to sense an impending danger, as if facing a natural enemy. Without hesitation, he shouted, "Retreat!" and took off running, setting the pace for the others.
Mateo, on the other hand, was overjoyed at the sight of the silver-armored knight.
"Sir Leon!" he exclaimed.
As Leon approached, the bandits quickly scattered like birds.
Leon, however, had no intention of pursuing these ordinary bandits. He rode up to the fallen Black Flame Adept, noticing the flame emblem on the man's cloak and confirming his identity without a doubt.
Mateo glanced at the arrow bag on Leon's horse and then at the steel arrow protruding from the Black Flame Adept's skull. His eyes widened in astonishment as he stared at Leon, asking, "Baron, was that arrow shot by you?"
As Leon drew closer, Mateo realized that the arrows in the bag hanging on the horse's side were identical to the one that had killed the Black Flame Adept.
The answer was obvious.
The guards, upon closer inspection, also whispered in awe.
The steel arrow matched the ones in the bag perfectly.
But where was the archer who had fired the shot? They hadn't seen anyone nearby moments ago.
How far away was the shooter?
Was this the true power of a full-fledged knight? Mateo's mind was filled with questions. Wasn't the Baron known for his prowess with a greatsword? When did he become such a skilled archer?
Fortunately, Mateo's own strength was relatively weak, preventing him from sensing that Leon had already transcended the level of a knight and reached the rank of a Grand Knight. This realization would have left him even more astonished.
Leon, too, was surprised to see Mateo among the Crowley family's caravan guards.
In response to Mateo's question, Leon nodded without denying it, a smile playing on his lips. "Mateo, what brings you to be part of the Crowley family's caravan?"
"Baron, do you remember when you invited me to come to the county town? After careful consideration, I decided to accept your offer. I resigned from my position as a watchman and came to the county town to seek you out."
"But when I arrived, Baroness Crowley, who received me, informed me that you had taken up the position of Magistrate in Fishing Harbor Town."
"The Baroness, knowing that you had sent me and aware of my previous role as a watchman captain, appointed me as the leader of the caravan's guard squad."
Leon's expression revealed a moment of realization.
He had invited Mateo to work at his new manor in the county town long ago.
Although working for Leon might not offer the same grand promotion prospects as an official position within the Empire, for someone of Mateo's status, the opportunities for advancement were limited. Therefore, joining Leon's team seemed like a better choice.
After further inquiry, Leon learned that since the bandit raid on the county town some time ago, the bandit groups in the Wild Wolf Hills had become scarce, and the overall security around the county town had improved significantly.
The tranquility didn't last long. Recently, the remaining bandit gangs in the area had become active again.
Ren gazed at the body of the Black Flame Adept, deep in thought.
It seemed that the absence of the Zalar Resistance had created a power vacuum, allowing the Black Flame Church to infiltrate the Wild Wolf Hills.
Although Ren didn't recognize the other guards, they approached and bowed respectfully, "Good day, Baron."
"Oh? Have you met me before?"
"Yes, my lord. We witnessed your trial when you became the Crowley family's Guardian Knight, and we admired your skills from afar alongside the other knights."
Ren nodded and turned to the short Mateo, "Are you escorting goods to the county town?"
"Yes, Baron. This time..."
During the journey, Ren contemplated a question. Perhaps the legendary Weapon Master profession was even more powerful than he had imagined.
For instance, just now, he had combined the Weapon Master's archery skills with the Beastmaster's abilities, achieving a sniping effect comparable to a long-range sniper rifle in his past life.
From a certain perspective, the Weapon Master was like a highly compatible motherboard, capable of accommodating various electrical components such as chips, graphics cards, and memory, thus forming different aspects of combat power.
This was something Ren hadn't considered initially.
As his Weapon Master profession became proficient in more types of weapons, when combined with other professions, it would unleash unimaginable combat power.
However, for now, Ren hadn't discovered this potential.
The half-day journey passed quickly as Ren chatted with the short Mateo.
The county town's gate was already in sight, and as an imperial baron, Ren didn't need to undergo inspections at the entrance.
Mateo's Crowley family caravan, bearing the Crowley family emblem, was also waved through by the guards without hassle.
As Mateo had to deliver the goods, Ren bid him farewell and proceeded to the new manor.
Thinking of the family and Jennifer he was about to meet, Ren's heart stirred.
Soon, Ren was reunited with his long-missed parents and his younger sister, Mint.
"Ren, you seem to have grown taller!" Mother Ma, seeing her son's increasingly tall and robust stature, felt both happy and a bit concerned.
Ren was only sixteen years old, and he was already close to two meters tall. She wondered if he would have trouble finding a suitable noble lady in the future.
"Mother, I have grown a bit," Ren replied.
"Brother, Cookie's injury has healed completely, and he's even stronger than before!" Mint hugged Ren tightly and said enthusiastically.
"Hmm?" Ren raised an eyebrow.
He had assumed that Cookie's spinal injury would not heal on its own, and he had planned to take Cookie to the Goddess of Wind and Sea Church for treatment after returning. To his surprise, Cookie had recovered on his own.
Just then, as if on cue, a remarkably large and sturdy Lurcher suddenly dashed out from behind the villa. Upon seeing Ren, Cookie's eyes lit up with joy, and he rushed over.
Ren smiled and patted the wagging tail of the Lurcher, who was circling excitedly.
This was his first pet, albeit an ordinary Lurcher.
However, Ren could sense a strange change occurring within the dog's body, which explained its ability to heal such a severe injury on its own.
Perhaps, it wouldn't be long before he fulfilled the requirement for the Beastmaster profession—to raise at least one ordinary animal into a ferocious beast.
At that moment, the Bloodfeather Eagle Beast chick circling in the sky seemed to notice the interaction between Ren and the Lurcher, and its emotions became somewhat complicated. It let out a loud cry and descended.
The guards at the manor were startled by the formidable raptor and drew their weapons in response.
Ren waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, it's my pet."
"Huh? Brother, is this your pet? What kind of bird is it? It's so beautiful!" Mint, captivated by the blue-purple feathers of the Bloodfeather Eagle Beast chick, couldn't take her eyes off it.
"Haha, this is a Bloodfeather Eagle Beast, a naturally ferocious species," Ren said, petting Mint's head affectionately as he introduced the bird.
The chick, sensing its owner's attitude towards those around him, approached Mint and examined her curiously.
"Brother, have you named it yet?" Mint asked, her sparkling eyes fixed on Ren.
"I... haven't thought of a name yet," Ren replied, taken aback. Could it be that his sister wanted to name his pet again?
"Brother, can I name it?" Mint asked.
Ren smiled wryly and said, "Of course you can."
"Great! Can I call it Bloodfeather?" Mint tilted her head, suggesting a name.
Bloodfeather? Representing the meaning of Bloodfeather Eagle Beast?
It seemed like a much better name than 'Cookie.'
Ren nodded in approval, "That's a great name."
Just then, Ren noticed a familiar figure in a one-shoulder white dress, her voluptuous figure gracefully walking out of the villa's entrance towards him.
(End of Chapter)
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