Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Defeating the Ruin Guards
Nolan asked Vile as well as Noelle to help gather all the arrows and crossbows that could still be used, and facing Vile's question he said:
"I want to try using the crossbow bolts to see if I can defeat the Ruin Guards."
"Uh, isn't that too dangerous?"
Vile shifted her stance slightly, the orange ponytail swaying just a bit to indicate her puzzlement. She had no idea why Nolan was so fixated on "training" by fighting monsters.
"That's why I'm using the Repeating Crossbow," Nolan replied.
Originally, Nolan didn't want to mess with the Ruin Guards, but after discovering the thieves had such excellent weapons, he felt there was a chance to paralyze them by striking their cores.
The main thing to watch out for was choosing targets carefully to avoid aggroing a second Ruin Guard. He needed to maintain distance, which would be tricky with just his wooden hunting bow.
After all, the hunting bow lacked power. It was fine for hunting but against the high physical resistance of the Ruin Guards, it fell a bit short.
The Repeating Crossbow could fire multiple bolts rapidly. If he could hit the Ruin Guard's core in a short period, there was a chance to paralyze it.
"Plus, don't you want to check out the ruins the Treasure Hoarders discovered and see if there really is a secret domain or ruin?"
Nolan asked with a smile. As an intelligence broker, one couldn't just take the information at face value without verifying it - that would be irresponsible.
"Well, that's right too."
Vile conceded, cupping her chin in thought. The intelligence about a possible Secret Ruins would fetch a high price from the Adventurers' Guild or the Knights of Favonius, regardless of who she sold it to.
"By the way, do you guys know how to use a bow? Are you any good at shooting?" Nolan asked Noelle and Vile.
"Huh? You want us to use the Repeating Crossbow?" Noelle turned her head, gazing at the emerald grass as she responded weakly, "I train in Favonius Bladework, so I'm not very good with bows..."
Looking at the side of her face through her silver-gray hair, one could glimpse the delicate and snow-white ears that were hidden in the gap between the hair.
Vile could also guess what Nolan was thinking and said with a smile:
"I learned some archery before, so hitting the Ruin Guard cores with the Repeating Crossbow isn't a problem."
He probably wanted them to use the two crossbows left by the thieves to jointly attack the Ruin Guard cores. With the firepower of the crossbows, they had a decent chance if they could land their shots.
"Great, let's try it then," Nolan said excitedly.
"Leave the protection of you guys to me," Noelle said confidently, while slightly clenching her fist in a 'fighting' gesture.
Having decided to clear out the Ruin Guards, Nolan took stock of the spoils from the Treasure Hoarders.
The two Repeating Crossbows were for fighting the Ruin Guards. Between unused bolts and usable ones, they found nearby, they had over forty in total. He and Vile could split them evenly.
The two elemental potion formulas can't be crafted for the time being because of the lack of materials, but the recipe could be copied so each of them got one - a fair distribution of the spoils.
As for the scimitar Johnny left behind, Nolan planned to use it to practice [Favonius Bladework - Fundamentals]. Though it was a blade rather than a sword, it was still a one-handed weapon so it should work.
Buying a brand new one wouldn't be cheap, so saving money now made sense since it was just temporary for learning the basics. He'd need a higher-quality single-handed sword eventually in the future.
Vile and Noelle were not interested in the scimitar, so Nolan took it directly.
Next was dealing with the Ruin Guards roaming around the Thousand Winds Temple. In order not to be targeted by all five Ruin Guards at the same time, they had to be careful to keep a sufficient distance.
Using the rubble and broken stone pillars in the Thousand Winds Temple to hide themselves, they went down the grassy hill again.
The patrol routes of the Ruin Guards didn't overlap too closely. Nolan's group staked out a fixed spot and took aim with the crossbows.
They waited for the Ruin Guards to wander within firing range.
The Treasure Hoarders' crossbow could fire five arrows in a row, with an effective range of 70~80 meters, which wasn't that great, but it was still impressive.
Moreover, A distance of over seventy meters probably wouldn't attract aggro from the other Ruin Guards.
Before long, a Ruin Guard lumbered towards their position in its mechanical, sluggish stride.
The glowing core on its head was exposed. Nolan and Vile aimed the crossbows, waiting to fire.
Noelle was on alert to the surroundings to prevent accidents.
The Ruin Guard stepped onto the rocky ground, completely oblivious to the ambush over a hundred meters away in front of it.
The kingdom that created them was long gone. With no orders, they could only wander aimlessly until a living being appeared before their eyes, triggering hostile recognition.
Then, whoever it was would witness once again the proud technological brilliance of the fallen nation of Khaenri'ah.
Alas, at this moment the despicable foreigner was dishonorably lying in wait with two female companions.
Seeing the corroded Ruin Guard approach firing range, Nolan's gaze sharpened. In a low voice, he said to Vile beside him:
"I'll say when to shoot, then we fire together."
Most of the techniques in the Level 3 Hunter Archery and Level 2 Archery Fundamentals are also applicable to the crossbow, so it is appropriate for him to judge the timing of the attack, and Vile only needs to be in charge of aiming.
The breeze swirled a bit of dust around her feet, and Vile brushed her fingertips across her forehead beneath the tips of her hair, wiping away nonexistent sweat and taking a deep breath, she had been ready for this for a long time.
"Ready... Three, two, one, shoot!"
Seeing the rusted Ruin Guard enter an optimal range, Nolan gave the order.
Ten bolts flew from their Repeating Crossbows towards the glowing core on the Ruin Guard's head. Precise hits - the first two bolts glanced off its sturdy shell.
Starting with the third, damage appeared on the core. Bolts four, five, and six widened the breaches, golden electricity crackling outward as the Ruin Guard froze mid-paralysis, not yet collapsed.
The final bolts extinguished its light completely. With a crash, the Ruin Guard collapsed to the ground.
"It really collapsed!" Vile's complexion was filled with the emotion of excited words.
[Defeated A Powerful Enemy, Obtained 422 Adventure EXP]
The corner of Nolan's mouth rose slightly. Although he had encouraged Vile and Noelle to fight the Ruin Guards for the sake of Adventure EXP, but to obtain so much EXP after defeating it was still beyond his expectations.
Now that he has accumulated more than 600 Adventure EXP, He is close to leveling up again...
Nolan thought silently, and his gaze looked at the remaining Ruin Guards with even more fervor.
One of the Ruin Guards had fallen, and the rest were still wandering around on their own as if they wouldn't react if they didn't find an enemy.
It seemed that although the Ruin Guards were powerful, it wasn't difficult to deal with them when they understood their weaknesses.
(End of Chapter)
To be continued...
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