Chapter 20

Season 1, Episode 20 of The Genius Archer's Streaming

8. Assassination Mission (2)

Oh Director's eyes widened.

'Kill the lord of the castle?'

He, too, was a hardcore player who had played Kingdom many times and really enjoyed it.

However, he had never seen such an impossible quest.

'Perhaps with a shield and a spear...'

The most stable setup in Kingdom, a shield and a spear. If their proficiency and equipment quality were pushed to the extreme, it might be possible.

'But a bow... it's almost only used for long-range interception or assassination.'

Infiltrating the castle and killing the lord with a bow is almost impossible.

Firstly, due to the guard system.

If a single guard is killed and makes a sound, an immediate signal is sent to all the guards.

So, if they are moving together, they must either kill them simultaneously, avoid them completely, or kill them one by one without making any noise.

'Furthermore, this lord...'

Especially the lord Talorant, who has been designated. His compatibility with Almond is the worst.

'He can't be killed with arrows...'

Even if Almond could avoid the numerous guards and intercept the lord.

Almond cannot kill the lord Talorant.

Because of the armor he always wears, which is much heavier and more tightly woven than other knights' black armor.

'If this is really cleared with a bow...'

If he really takes down the lord with just a bow?

Oh Director could strongly appeal to the upper management that this person has star potential.

So, he should sign a publicity contract in advance.

'Claiming he has the potential to become a star wouldn't be a stretch.'

Oh Director liked Almond.

He had a clean image and good skills, but that alone wouldn't make him a star.

Becoming a star required adding a spoonful of magic to that.

And now, Almond in the screen chose an option.

* * *

"Of course. I expected you to accept."

Emilia smiled brightly.

Her beauty was enough to make one feel that the previous choice was right.

- Cr. 1 is correct.

- Really, is life that important? Emilia-ssi's smile is enough.

- Let's go to die!

- Really lol

The viewers seemed to have similar thoughts as Almond.

The reactions were good. They were also looking forward to how Almond would clear this mission.

- I'm really curious how Almond will do it.

- How can he? He'll just die lol

- Is this a troll? Almond doesn't die, only during sponsor reactions.

- lol 100,000 won sponsor and he dies lol

Of course, there were people predicting his failure.

Actually, most of them.

- No matter what, infiltrating a castle and killing the lord is impossible.

- Really lol

- Anyone who has played a siege battle in Kingdom knows how difficult it is. This is just a troll lol

- Probably people who haven't played Kingdom.

The reason is the difficulty of this game, Kingdom Age. Among its contents, the siege battle, which involves attacking a castle, is as difficult as a real war.

In reality, one must climb the castle walls one by one, and the enemies' AI is not stupid, so if you are detected even a little, many soldiers will immediately rush over.

Infiltrating a castle is said to be more difficult than crossing the 38th parallel in South Korea.

- Crossing the 38th parallel to defect is easier.

- Ah, the 38th parallel is a joke lol Where lol

While these were exaggerated comments, they indicated how difficult it was.

Almond, of course, had a premonition that it would be difficult.

'It will be difficult. Infiltrating a castle alone and killing the lord sounds overwhelming just to hear it.'

However, the reason he accepted was simple.

'You have to do the impossible to become a star.'

He was a person who had bet everything on this broadcast. If he were to back down, he wouldn't have started in the first place.

'His body is now very familiar. Maybe he can really do it.'

Thanks to training and optimization, Almond felt almost like he was flying.

His condition was at its best.

In this state, nothing seemed impossible.

'A castle, after all, isn't that big.'

Almond had some confidence - apart from his physical abilities.

A medieval castle, in fact, isn't that grand, and the number of people guarding it isn't that large.

"Medieval castles usually have no more than 50 people, right? I think I can do it."

He showed some confidence.

- Haha

- Almond: 50 to 1 is a piece of cake.

- A medieval castle is just a large mansion, really.

Almond, who had been reading the chat, turned his gaze elsewhere.

'Anyway...'

His gaze stopped at Emilia's eyes.

'What could be the reason for this woman to order someone to kill?'

Emilia - although a game character - didn't seem like someone who hated others or wanted to hurt them. Yet, she assigned such a dangerous mission. It was impossible not to be curious.

Then, the screen went dark.

A new cut scene began.

Almond, who had escaped Sanghyun's control, asked the young lady.

"Milady, what did the lord of this castle do wrong?"

"..."

Emilia looked at Almond without speaking for a moment.

"Almond, a mercenary doesn't ask questions."

"..."

Was she not going to tell him?

Just as he thought that, Emilia turned her gaze back to the hill below and spoke.

"...They are essentially making the villagers into slaves."

"..."

"Not just serfs, but actually selling the villagers to slave traders. Even children and women."

"But the estate can't function that way."

"No. They do it to run the estate. They lend money at high interest and keep making the villagers pay it back until they become slaves."

"Will the problem be solved if the lord dies?"

"..."

"Our family will rule."

"Then why not a full-scale war..."

"There is no just cause. I think this explanation is sufficient for you, mercenary. I will give you more than enough compensation."

After saying this,

The scene changed again.

* * *

Auuuuu...

The howl of a wolf and a large moon.

The sunny spring hill was nowhere to be seen.

Almond was now in the dark night.

Thud.

A sound effect accompanied by a large text.

A mission was assigned.

'Now it begins.'

Swoosh.

Almond calmly hid in the cornfield.

And whispered to the viewers.

"Does talking count as a penalty?"

A question about whether muttering during stealth would be detected in-game.

- I don't know~

- Try muttering~

- lol

- You can change it in the settings lol

- It's possible to change.

It's possible to change.

Almond thought for a moment.

'But this is a game that values realism.'

He decided to proceed as is.

"I'll just go."

Swoosh.

He whispered, hiding in the darkness. From then on, Almond didn't make a single sound.

Crunch crunch.

His steps were as precise as a trained assassin.

A characteristic that was not seen in the previous Almond.

- Oh...

- His movement is unusual.

- He's not just good with a bow, it seems.

- It seems to have changed due to optimization.

- Dotori said he has intense concentration.

The viewers attributed the cause to innate talent or optimization.

But Almond knew the cause was the action he took before entering the capsule today.

'The training program is better than I thought.'

He diligently spent 3 hours on the training program in the capsule, which significantly improved his movements in the virtual world.

Almond successfully approached a side of the castle wall where there were almost no guards.

Thud.

He leaned against the dark wall and sighed.

"Huff."

The next problem was how to climb the wall without being detected.

Almond's gaze moved upward.

Flare.

Two torches patrolling the top of the wall were visible.

Swallow.

Almond swallowed dryly.

He felt quite tense now that he was close. He didn't know where to start.

Of course, he had to deal with the two up there first.

'Two... '

Currently, two guards were in his field of view.

'If one dies, the other will definitely cause a commotion...'

He had to either take them out simultaneously or without them noticing.

- If you're going to make noise, kill them both at once.

- How can you kill them both at once?

- You have to kill them without making noise lol

- You have to go behind them and silence them one by one.

Silencing them and laying them down slowly would prevent noise. But Almond shook his head.

'No.'

Honestly, Almond lacked confidence in handling the two without using his bow.

'I want to use the bow.'

But if he used the bow, one would see the other get hit.

Almond, who was pondering, suddenly had an idea.

'Ah.'

He carefully took out an arrow and whispered to the viewers.

"I think I can kill them both with the bow simultaneously."

His declaration made the viewers hang question marks in the chat.

- ???

- ??????

- ?

- Surely not like in movies, shooting two arrows at once?

- No way lol

- That's not possible here. This is Kingdom, not a movie!

Of course, in their common sense, it was impossible to kill two guards with arrows simultaneously.

Almond thought differently.

'I can do it.'

Kreeee...

Almond's bowstring started to be pulled.

- Wow, he's really going to shoot?

- lol 50 to 1 ON!

- They'll all come running.

- Almond, is this your first death?

- If one is hit, the other will scream!

Worries and taunts filled the chat.

But Almond focused all his attention on the bow. The chat had long disappeared from his field of vision.

'First, the one on the left. Draw a large parabola... to make it fall later.'

He repeated the tactic, raising the angle of the bow sharply.

He didn't take too long to aim.

Whoosh!

The arrow shot up instantly.

Immediately, Almond loaded another arrow on the string.

'Hit the one on the right in a straight line, timed to fall when the left one does.'

Kreeee!

The arrow was pulled back very strongly this time.

"Huff."

He took a slight pause with his breath.

Whoosh!

The arrow, shot with immense power, cut through the night air.

And the two arrows pierced the flesh.

Thud!

The left and right guards fell exactly at the same time.

A perfect timing with no error.

- Huh? Why at the same time?!

- How did he do that???

He used the timing difference due to the angle.

The first shot was aimed at a steep angle to hit later, and the second shot was aimed almost straight to hit quickly.

In the end, Almond did as he said, killing both with the bow simultaneously.

The viewers finally understood the situation.

- Wowwwww!

- He's insane.

- He's a monster!

- Really... a monster.

- Is this possible? lol

- Wow lol

- Almond! Is he a god? Almond! Is he a god?

- Wow, so cool ㅠㅠㅠ

The cheers in the chat, of course. With the broadcast now having nearly 1,400 viewers, sponsorships poured in generously.

* * *

Oh Director watched Almond's broadcast with a dazed expression.

'Oh... I really didn't know.'

Although not a developer, as a director of a game distribution company, he had seen countless games.

Especially Kingdom, which he had a fondness for, and he had seen many players.

However...

'I've never seen anyone like him.'

There was no one like Almond.

Oh Director quietly picked up the phone.

"Hey. The kid I'm sending you a message about, you have to recruit him. And set up a meeting for tomorrow."