Chapter 206: Longbow

David’s heart tightened; he hadn’t expected Cole to burst with such speed.

At Cole’s current speed, dodging the sword seemed unlikely.

In haste, there was no time to conjure a defensive spell.

David’s innate spell, Rock Layer, couldn’t withstand Cole’s strike.

In a flash, Helag appeared behind Cole.

Using a teleportation spell, Helag swiftly closed in on Cole.

He reacted quickly, able to stop Cole sooner, but waited for the right moment—when Cole struck.

As Cole swung, it was the perfect time to act.

At that moment, Cole’s focus was entirely on David, making it difficult to retract his sword.

Everything happened in an instant; Helag had to seize the fleeting opportunity.

Otherwise, David would die, and Helag would lose his chance to strike.

Appearing behind Cole, Helag delivered a powerful punch to his back.

Cole sensed Helag’s sudden presence, startled but unable to stop his attack, opting to speed up the strike and endure Helag’s blow.

Helag’s punch was faster than Cole’s sword, its force slamming into Cole’s back.

Though a wind shield covered Cole, it shattered on impact.

Crack.

The sound of breaking ribs echoed as Cole spat blood.

His sword’s trajectory shifted, initially meant to cleave David in two.

Now, it veered, striking David’s left shoulder.

David’s innate spell triggered, forming a thick rock layer on his skin.

However, the layer only slowed the sword, soon pierced, cutting into flesh.

David grunted, his left shoulder nearly severed, held by a strip of flesh.

Despite the severe injury, David remained silent, clutching his shoulder and retreating.

Cole, like a cannonball, was sent flying by Helag’s punch.

Even airborne, Cole concentrated, casting spells.

Using wind as a cushion, he slowed his flight, landing smoothly.

Upon landing, he spat more blood.

Helag’s punch was powerful, taken almost directly.

Despite maintaining knightly training and strong physique, Cole couldn’t withstand such force.

Using his sword for support, Cole quickly drank a green potion.

Green specks appeared on his skin, rapidly healing internal injuries.

An elven secret potion, incredibly rare, almost reviving the dead.

In moments, Cole’s broken ribs healed.

The potion was remarkably effective.

David, using a healing potion, stopped his bleeding temporarily.

But his left shoulder was misaligned, greatly reducing combat ability.

Helag glanced at him, saying, “Fall back. I’ll handle him. Don’t cause trouble.”

David was of little help now; if fighting resumed, Helag couldn’t watch over him.

Nodding, David retreated to heal.

Cole sheathed his sword, drawing a wooden longbow.

The large bow, entirely wooden with a green string, appeared plain, lacking decoration.

“Breath of Wind.”

Cole increased his speed, drawing the bow, a green arrow forming quickly.

He fired at Helag.

Helag prepared to dodge, but the arrow vanished.

Arrows typically vanished due to speed.

Yet, with Helag’s physique, seeing arrows should be easy.

Deep Blue, his AI, should also track the arrow’s path.

But the arrow simply disappeared.

Boom!

An explosion sounded before Helag, pushing him back.

“It suddenly appeared right in front?”

Helag realized the arrow indeed vanished.

The green arrow, upon firing, reappeared before him.

Thus, neither he nor Deep Blue saw its flight path.

“Deep Blue, calculate the arrow’s attack strength.”

Helag sensed the arrow’s power was high; without Absolute Defense and Dark Armor, he’d be severely injured.

“Estimated arrow strength: 19 units.”

Deep Blue quickly provided the result.

“What kind of bow is this? A casual shot with such power,” Helag wondered.

The bow seemed ordinary, lacking any special aura.

Yet, a casual shot had 19-units strength, surpassing many spells.

Seeing the arrow ineffective, Cole turned to flee.

Helag pursued, Cole firing another arrow.

The arrow was unavoidable, appearing directly before Helag, a guaranteed hit.

Again, Helag was pushed back, Cole using the chance to widen the gap.

“Let’s see how many times you can shoot.”

Power and cost are balanced; such powerful arrows can’t be shot without cost.

Cole couldn’t use the bow indefinitely; there must be a price.

Indeed, after two shots, blood trickled from Cole’s mouth.

Holding the bow, he ceased firing.

By now, Cole had distanced himself from Helag.

Helag, seeing Cole escaping, discreetly activated a trace of royal elven bloodline power.

Since arriving in the elven plane, Helag sensed the usable royal elven bloodline power in his bloodline mark.

Previously, at Base 27, he hadn’t encountered special circumstances to try it.

Activating some bloodline power, Helag felt a noticeable increase in mental strength, power, agility, and constitution.

The slight agility boost significantly increased Helag’s speed.

Soon, Helag caught up with the fleeing Cole.

“Dark Orb.”

Helag conjured a black orb, launching it at Cole’s head.

Cole dodged, but the orb’s explosion hindered his movement.