Despite his confidence, Ulrich only took one step forward.

  Wouldn’t I be hacked to death if I’m wrong?!

  He coughed and stared straight ahead, never letting the Fallen Knight escape his vision.

  “…”

  The Knight remained still, its eyes fixed on Ulrich as though his behavior entertained it. Seeing this, Ulrich let out a deep, shallow breath.

  Indeed, it’s not moving.

  However, he wasn’t completely certain of the rules that govern this knight’s behavior. For example, how far away can he be until it is provoked? Can he tickle it at range with his dark arrow, and still not get attacked?

  At this moment, Ulrich leaned over, peering down into the ravine that stretched between the inner and outer courtyards. The only thing that connected these two areas was the half-shattered bridge before him.

  As he examined the condition of the bridge, his eyes flickered with enlightenment.

  “Mason, can you hit your shot from that distance?”

  Mason's body jolted, not expecting to be called out. But quickly, he narrowed his eyes and estimated the distance between him and the knight.

  After a brief moment, he nodded.

  “I can.”

  Ulrich smiled. “Good, you don’t happen to have those—” He paused.

  “Explosive arrows, do you?”

  In that moment, Borik's face lit up with realization. “You don’t m—mean…?”

  However, Mason, as well as Snezana, tilted their head—confused.

  “Yes, I still have some saved up.”

  Saying so, he reached into the rucksack fixed on his shoulder, placing it on the ground. As Mason opened the sack, dozens of arrows spilled out.

  Explosive, poisonous, and flame arrow… I heard it’s pretty common for people to carry them around.

  As twisted as that sounds, any number of preparations is necessary if you want to survive in the wilderness, let alone when exploring a ruin.

  Mason rummaged through his pile, eventually picking out five arrows.

  “I have five explosive arrows, didn’t think I’d ever need them.” He said, turning to Ulrich.

  “It’s pretty dangerous and loud. What do you want to do with these?”

  Five? I have never seen how ‘explosive’ it is personally, this is a bit difficult.

  Ulrich turned to the bridge, narrowing his eyes at the largest portion that’s missing.

  His plan was simple: Provoke the knight, draw it to them, and blast the bridge's weak point until it sinks!

  Ulrich turns back to Mason.

  “How big is the explosion from the arrow?”

  Mason took out an arrow from his quiver, using it as a stick to draw roughly how big the impact area would be.

  “About this wide.”

  Only about two meters… With that thing’s size, we’ll need at least two arrows consecutively within a frame of a second to leave it with no room to escape!

  Thinking so, he proposed an idea.

  “I’ll draw the attention of that thing, then it’s all up to you, Mason.”

  Mason blurted. “What?”

  At this moment, Borik spoke with admiration. “Your idea… it could work!”

  “What idea?”

  Borik gathered the two clueless people closer, whispering in their ears. As they listened, their eyes lit up with astonishment, eventually finding it way to Ulrich.

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  He maintained a friendly smile and pointed at the largest holes on the bridge.

  “What do you think? Judging from the impact size of the explosive arrow and that hole, you’ll need to land two explosive arrows within a second.”

  Saying so, he lowered his voice. “Can you do it?”

  Mason's body tensed up momentarily. The weight of Ulrich’s words, as well as his teammates' expectations, wore on him.

  He looked up, glancing at the spot that Ulrich had pointed out, and imagined himself shooting it from this distance.

  Can I do it? He said to himself. If he’d fail, then they’d have to fight a Great Fallen Knight. A Great Fallen Knight!

  This was not just a group of armored skeletons or a horde of ravenous wolves. But a monster that once possessed extreme power before death, a true knight!

  It was an existence that the mercenary group never dared to face, let alone defeat.

  Borik and Snezana noticed his struggle and assured him. “Go for it. Since Sir Johan had said so, he must believe that we will still be fine even if it goes badly.”

  Really? He turned to Ulrich, perhaps to look for a more external assurance besides his team.

  Are you that scared to fail? At worst, we’ll fight it head-on! Ulrich's smile almost dropped, but still, he nodded.

  With that, Mason found some resolve and stood up, stuffing the five explosive arrows into his quiver.

  "Ready?" Ulrich asked.

  "Yes!"

  Quickly, they all got into their position. Borik stood in the front line, as usual, with Snezana supporting him on the side. As for Ulrich, it was different this time. He stood with the two of them for one reason.

  “I’ll be the one to draw its attention.”

  It wasn’t that he wanted to play the role of a hero. No, it was because he did not trust these people to do it properly. In such cases, Ulrich believed it’s best if he does it personally.

  Thinking so, he raised his hand, conjuring two dark arrows in the air.

  This time, Borik and Snezana had the opportunity to see Ulrich in action, unlike prior.

  “Black arrows? What kind of spell is this?” Borik whispered. This was his first time seeing it personally.

  As for Snezana, her eyes glimmered, though her thoughts remained unknown.

  “…”

  With a thought, Ulrich sent one arrow flying forward.

  “The show is yours, Mason. Shoot when you think it’s best, this is your job!”

  Mason nodded, though he was confused about one thing.

  “Sir, what about you?”

  Ulrich smiled. “Don’t worry about me, it’ll only get in the way. Just let me know when you shoot!”

  My agility is increased with the Blessing of the Shadow, allowing me to escape if things go bad!

  Saying so, he raised his hand and grabbed the second arrow by his side, holding the shaft body.

  Heh, the body is too short. But I’ve realized one thing.

  He blinked, letting the lines of shadow dance in his eyes. In that moment, Ulrich extended his spirituality to the arrow in his hand. Instantly, it grew double its length.

  This is more like it!

  In that same instant, the arrow met its target.

  Tack!

  It didn’t strike the shadow under it—no, that’d be pointless. His goal was to draw its attention, not try to kill its shadow. As a matter of fact, when he first saw the knight, Ulrich's first instinct was to look at its shadow.

  It was large, the largest he’d ever seen. Even the scarlet wolf he’d encountered with Silas was nothing compared to the shadow of this once Great Knight. Could he still kill it through Dark Arrow? Through striking its shadow? Yes.

  However.

  My arrow compared to that thing’s shadow… It’s like fireflies trying to outshine the moon!

  “Garrgh!”

  At this moment, the knight's crimson eye flickered with boiling malice. However, it remained in its post.

  It didn’t move despite being attacked.

  In that instant, Ulrich took the ‘first’ step onto the bridge.

  Then, it moved.

  Loyal dog, eh?

  Thump.

  Thump.

  Its weight shook the bridge, and countless debris fell toward the ravine, leaving behind resounding howls. In that moment, Ulrich frowned, fearing that even before Mason could fire the explosive arrow, the bridge would collapse into pieces!

  Fuck. I have to end it as soon as possible!

  His heart grew cold, and so did his hand. Ulrich sped forward and met the knight face-to-face.

  Tuk!

  Borik and Snezana stared at the first clash between the tall knight and Ulrich’s insignificant figure.

  As Ulrich's 'spear' met with the knight's sword, his right arm was almost shattered. Fortunately, his strength had increased along with the accumulation of runes.

  If it'd been the me before Helgan’s Keep, I would've died in one strike!

  “Garrrg!”

  The knight pushed down its sword, wanting to grind Ulrich into meat paste.