Amber Sword

Brand looked at the bewildered expressions of the young officers and nodded silently. These young Erune officers would inevitably face stronger enemies someday. On the lands of Vorn, there weren’t just Noble Private Soldiers and the backward Kingdom’s Army as opponents. Both Madara and the Cruz people had long started their military reforms, and they had to keep up.

Though even among the Noble Private Soldiers or the backward Kingdom’s Army, Baron Valen still had a few accompanying Wizards. The most experienced among them was a Silver Middle-Rank high-level Wizard. In "Amber Sword," the Silver Middle-Rank is roughly around level 29-32, someone who had mastered Four-Circle Magic. Although he wouldn’t yet be considered a Wizard Master, he had stepped into the ranks of high-level Wizards.

Unfortunately, their adversary was Char, a genuine Gold Rank Wizard Grandmaster. Brand let the Naga Priestess focus on maintaining illusions, while counter-spells were assigned to the young Wizard’s Attendant by his side. Wizards skilled in Law Magic naturally excelled in deconstructing spells. Once Char made his move, the Wizards beside Baron Valen suddenly became veritable blind men, unaware that their spells had been suppressed—only sensing vaguely that something was amiss.

The First Highland Infantry Battalion of Finn Column was roughly 1,500 men strong, and Baron Valen, as Commander, was passably competent. Even in the forest, the marching formation still kept decent order. Brand patiently waited until most of them had passed, and when Baron Valen and his knights came closest to him, he raised the Shale Longbow in his hand.

The bowstring in his hand flickered with a faint grey light, enveloping the arrows to form a stone-bound projectile. This was the Petrification Arrow effect of the Shale Longbow. However, the bow was of such a low level that its powerful effect was hardly noticeable against many high-level enemies, until this moment when it could truly manifest its greatest effectiveness.

Brand naturally aimed at Baron Valen’s entourage, who hadn’t noticed a thing yet. He subtly judged the distance and the humidity in the air, then released the bowstring. With no wind, the arrow had almost no deviation beyond a slight drop, heading straight toward the Baron on horseback.

"My skills have deteriorated," Brand couldn’t help but shake his head. In "Amber Sword," warriors were not mere muscular fighters limited to hand-to-hand combat. Warriors constituted a profession, including those like mercenaries. Warriors often had to be proficient with various weapons and armor to adapt to any battlefield. Brand, as a level 130 warrior, was truly a master, though it had been too long since he used a bow.

Baron Valen finally heard the piercing wind, a sound all too familiar to him as a soldier. The guard Wizard beside him reacted quickly, immediately raising a Wind Shield. However, the arrow was simply too near. A hundred-meter distance meant nearly nothing to a Magic Bow, and the Petrification Arrow pulled a bright grey trajectory that pierced the Wind Shield a second early.

"My Lord, watch out!" The Guard Knights beside the Baron, all Silver Rank experts, instantly drew their longswords to cut down the flying arrow. Yet before he could swing his sword, the Petrification Arrow suddenly exploded with a ’bang.’

A swath of grey-white light followed the arrow’s trajectory, nearly enveloping Baron Valen and all the knights around him, freezing their last actions—be it surprise, screams, or sword drawing—turning them and their mounts into a stone sculpture.

Seven knights, two wizards, along with the Baron himself, were caught completely, except for one wizard who narrowly escaped. But that wizard’s left arm had already turned into a stone sculpture, still spreading to his shoulder. He quickly raised his right hand, striking his petrified left arm. With a flash of fire, the stone arm shattered instantly.

"Ambush!" In the blink of an eye before grasping his left hand, the wizard raised his wand beside him and shouted.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Instantly, the initially calm forest erupted with a barrage of arrows.

Brand collected the brass-colored longbow in his hand. After all, it was a magic weapon with a Brass Label. Though it struggled against those monsters awakened with elemental powers or even against Golden Domain strong enemies, it was simply lethal against the small fry.