I’m the Madman of This Family

Chapter 385. The Appearance of the Divine Archer (3)

Tris thought Keter was joking to ease her tension.

Until he took everything except her clothes.

“What’s this?”

Keter’s question as he saw the seed of the moonlight apple.

Tris spoke seriously.

“That’s the seed of the moonlight apple. It grows well even in harsh environments. It could save this fog-covered world…?”

Crunch, munch.

“Tastes good.”

“Huh?”

“I was feeling a bit hungry, thanks.”

“Wait, no? You didn’t eat it, did you?”

“Are you hungry too?”

“Ah, that was the only seed I brought…”

Tris slumped down, tears streaming like chicken droppings. Keter looked at her as if she were strange.

“You’re crying over a few seeds?”

“It’s not just any seed!”

“Yeah, I know. But there’s plenty in the city, right?”

Keter pointed to the city of Teresa visible below the mountain. Thanks to that, Tris remembered the knights and territory residents who sacrificed themselves for her, and her tears flowed even more.

“Everyone sacrificed so much to get that seed. Sob…!”

“Alright, alright. I get it. Take that guy and head back to the city.”

Head back to the city. That sounded like a death sentence.

Only then did Tris realize. She had been toyed with by a monster.

“You monster! You played with me!”

“What are you talking about?”

“The monsters attacked, and I barely escaped. Telling me to go back is the same as telling me to die!”

“I killed them all, so it’s fine.”

“…?”

“Including the ones that attacked the city, I wiped out all the monsters around here. And there won’t be any more monsters coming.”

Tris doubted her ears. He killed over 100 monsters? When?

They had been fighting fiercely just before escaping, and it only took about 20-30 minutes to get here.

Each monster was at least a 3-star level. There were even monsters among them.

Monsters that even Regan, a 6-star, couldn’t guarantee victory against. No matter how strong the Divine Archer is, could he really kill 100 monsters and a monster in the blink of an eye?

When Tris couldn’t believe it and stood frozen, Keter turned his back without hesitation.

“You said moonlight apple, right? Next time, bring the fruit, not the seed.”

And with that, Keter left.

Tris decided to wake Regan first.

“Regan, Regan!”

“Huh?!”

Regan, who had been knocked out by Keter’s flick, suddenly woke up. He had clearly lost his vision from a monster’s attack, but now he opened his eyes.

“My lord? Where is that guy, no, where is he?”

Though Regan couldn’t see, the voice he heard just before passing out was definitely Keter’s.

“Him? Do you know him?”

“My lord. That’s Keter. The Divine Archer who suddenly appeared at the Southern Sword Tournament and revived Sephira.”

“Wait, so that crazy guy, no, he really was the Divine Archer?”

Tris couldn’t believe Keter was the Divine Archer. She had thought he was a lunatic, then a monster, and back to a lunatic.

But when Regan confirmed that the lunatic was indeed the Divine Archer, she was utterly confused.

“So he really killed the monsters?”

Tris hurriedly ran towards the city. Her parents were dead. She had no siblings. The knights and territory residents were like her family.

“Haa, haa.”

Tris returned so quickly it was hard to believe she was tired, feeling the mystery of the human body.

She thought she had cried all her tears, but seeing the living territory residents made her cry again.

“My lord? My lord!”

“It’s the lord!”

They were cleaning up the monster corpses when they saw Tris and immediately ran to her.

As the lord, Tris was happy to see the living territory residents, but as an alchemist, her eyes were drawn to the dead monsters’ bodies.

They had fist-sized holes in their heads and chests. Their bodies were drained of moisture, like mummies. Not a single one was spared.

‘What kind of archery could do this?’

Anyway, the Divine Archer had truly helped her. Even before she could ask.

‘He’s quite different from the rumors…’

Blushing.

Tris decided that the crazy Divine Archer wasn’t so bad and vowed to bring the moonlight apple to meet him again.

Ruquer’s fog had engulfed the entire Lilian Kingdom. Many problems arose, but the second most serious was the obstruction of vision.

The fog was so thick that visibility didn’t exceed 10 meters even at noon. At night, even with torches, only a few inches ahead were visible.

This put humans, who rely on sight, at a severe disadvantage in battle. Monsters, who perceive the world through other senses, had the upper hand.

Not just in battle, but movement and transportation were also greatly hindered because humans remember places by roads.

Even known paths were lost, causing people to wander. Thus, interactions between cities and families drastically decreased.

Finding a way through the fog was hard, but monsters hiding in the fog and ambushing were a major headache.

Of course, Keter didn’t care at all.

-Screeeech!

A monster passing through the fog screamed. It had been attacked by Keter.

Thud, thud, thud!

The monster struggled, but Keter’s arrows were merciless. Originally meant to be shot from afar, he stabbed with them like daggers, leaving the monster clueless on how to respond.

Standing before the fallen monster, Keter extended his left arm.

The Blood Sword Dracula, received from Sword Demon Walt. His left arm, created by Walt’s power, contained the essence of Blood Magic. Keter had even sublimated that into archery.

Sluuuurp.

The dark red blood sucked from the dead monster’s body. It formed into arrows in Keter’s hand and shot into the sky.

The blood arrows trembled in the air before scattering in all directions, chasing anything with ‘blood’ like itself.

“Only small fry. Disappointing.”

Keter could return to Sephira within 10 minutes if he wanted. But he continued killing monsters because it was a task he had to do anyway.

‘Even if I go to Sephira first, I’d still have to kill monsters. Cleaning them up on the way saves time.’

This entire area is Sephira’s land.

And Sephira’s land is essentially Keter’s. Killing monsters was a natural act of protecting his property.

But hunting down each monster individually was tedious. So, Keter made full use of Dracula’s blood power.

Kill monsters and use their blood to make arrows. The blood arrows seek out and kill others with the same blood.

Killing one monster usually yielded 10 blood arrows, so killing one was like killing 11.

“Where’s the king?”

Placing his palm on the ground, Keter used Toban’s Five Elements Divine Art to track monsters.

Of course, he didn’t rely solely on this ability. He heightened his hearing and smell as well.

Within 500 meters, 1000 meters, up to 5000 meters, everything was within Keter’s grasp.

“There you are.”

Keter smiled like a child who found a new toy upon spotting the long-awaited king.

Sephira sent reinforcements to the ‘Lion Hill Cathedral.’ It was the closest and had many valuable doctors.

The commander of the 750-strong reinforcement army unexpectedly carried a spear, not a bow. It was Jordic, the youngest of the Baydant family, once called the ‘Spear Dragon.’

Upon closer inspection, not all reinforcements were archers. Half were archers, the rest a mix of swordsmen and spearmen.

Over the past decade, Baydant had fully integrated with Sephira. They gained Sephira’s trust and were now recognized as a vassal family, retaining the Baydant name.

This wasn’t unique to Baydant. Other families, big and small, had joined Sephira as vassals.

Jordic, who had been running non-stop, suddenly raised his fist to signal a halt.

“Something’s off.”

His subordinate nodded in agreement.

“I felt it too. What should we do?”

“The path ahead is narrow. If we stretch out and get surrounded, it’s dangerous. The monsters haven’t attacked yet, but this might be their plan.”

There was no evidence, just a hunch. A foolish commander might have pushed on, thinking ‘it’ll be fine,’ but Jordic was cautious, and his subordinate was experienced.

“I’ll scout a detour.”

“No, follow me. This was once Baydant territory. I know the way back.”

“Yes.”

The subordinate, a Sephira archer, didn’t doubt Jordic’s decision. The animosity between the families had vanished, leaving only trust.

“If they’re waiting in ambush at the narrow path, they’ll move as soon as we take the detour.”

Jordic signaled with his fingers. A soldier with sharp eyes and ears was sent to scout.

Unlike before, Jordic had become cautious and strategic. He seemed flawless, but in war, there are schemes you can’t avoid even if you know them.

“Ambush!”

The monsters weren’t waiting at the narrow path. They had anticipated Jordic’s detour and ambushed there instead.

Moreover, their numbers far exceeded Jordic’s expectations.

“A pincer move…!”

Jordic bit his lower lip. The ambushing monsters numbered at least 500.

Some monsters already bore wounds, meaning the ones that attacked the cathedral had joined the ambush.

“Ha! Whether we fight there or here, you’re all dead anyway!”

Jordic swung his spear. Each thrust covered the battlefield with a bright full moon.

Though he hadn’t crossed the 7-star transcendent barrier, Jordic was among the strongest 6-star warriors.

The reinforcements weren’t flustered by the ambush or the overwhelming numbers. The surviving soldiers had all died and come back at least once or twice. Those afraid of death had long perished.

Each soldier was skilled and trusted their comrades. The monsters were cunning and individually stronger, but the archers, protected by swordsmen and spearmen, were beyond their imagination.

“Bull Formation!”

The spear-wielding reinforcements, crouched like turtles, suddenly charged forward. Monsters skewered on long spears resisted, but swordsmen swiftly beheaded them.

“Sun Formation!”

The monsters, fearless, trampled over their fallen comrades.

What greeted them were fire arrows with oil bottles.

-Screeeech!

Ordinary fire wouldn’t harm the monsters. So, they prepared sulfur fire. Even monsters suffered from sulfur flames.

The reinforcements, now reformed, dealt with the monsters. Despite the ambush, they handled the monsters remarkably well. They killed 200 monsters without a single casualty. Victory seemed certain.

But their expressions weren’t bright. Monsters often used tactics to induce carelessness. The closer to victory, the more tense they became.

Sure enough-

Jordic, fighting well, instinctively turned his head sharply.

Whoosh.

Though he didn’t feel it, he dodged instinctively, but his neck was deeply cut. Despite heavy bleeding, Jordic didn’t stop the bleeding and stared ahead.

“Dodging that, I’ll give you credit.”

A man emerged from among the monsters.

Blades sprouting from both hands, and a grotesquely distorted face. He was more monstrous than the monsters.

Jordic recognized him.

“You’re…?”

“Oh? You know me?”

“Of course. The third son of the Browning family from the north…”

Jordic, gripping his spear, smiled like Keter.

“The one who got crushed by Keter and became a eunuch, right? Your name was Vector, wasn’t it?”

Before he finished speaking, Vector’s sword severed Jordic’s left arm.

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