Free Web NovelChapter 105: Chapter 97: Surging Undercurrents
Their specialized skeletons allowed them to exert greater power, making their arrows more potent. At the same time, it granted them melee capabilities on par with Skeleton Warriors.
That’s right—melee capabilities that were in no way inferior!
In his past life, influenced by video games, many people believed archers could only fight from a distance. They thought that once someone closed in, an archer would be easily killed. In reality, this was a misconception. Anyone who could become an archer generally had considerable melee skills. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
The reasoning was actually quite simple. To be an archer, one needed to fire arrows, making arm strength essential. Ancient times didn’t have advanced modern mechanical bows; at best, they had composite or recurve bows. Ultimately, you couldn’t be an archer without strength. After all, if you couldn’t even draw the bow, what arrows could you possibly shoot?
So, with such impressive arm strength, how could they possibly be weaklings in close combat? It just didn’t add up.
The Skeleton Longbowmen could kill enemies from afar, and in close quarters, the 1.5-meter-long White Bone Long Arrows would become short spears in their hands, allowing them to fight on even footing with their foes.
He opened the system to check the detailed stats. A Skeleton Longbowman holding a White Bone Longbow could fire ten consecutive shots. This wasn’t because they ran out of strength, but because the Soul Energy contained within their Soul Fire only allowed them to fire ten arrows. The bow itself was limiting their potential.
’No wonder I couldn’t find a bowstring when I was examining the White Bone Longbow earlier. It turns out the string is formed from Soul Energy. That saves me some trouble, though. At least I won’t have to worry about materials for bowmaking.’
Li Ziyu had the system craft some White Bone Long Arrows, equipping each Longbowman with twelve of them. In addition to the ten arrows for long-range attacks, he set aside two for each of them to use as defensive weapons in close combat.
Once the equipment was fully distributed, he dismissed the Skeleton Longbowmen to await his orders. ’They’ll have a chance to show what they can do tonight.’ Then, he opened the chat window.
[Private Chat]
Don’t Want to Get a Driver’s License: How much longer until you arrive?
Conscience Merchant: About three hours or so. You changed the coordinates, so I have to take a much longer route. You should get ready, too. There are quite a few people chasing me.
Don’t Want to Get a Driver’s License: Don’t worry, I’ll have everything set up.
Conscience Merchant: I’m counting on you.
After closing the chat window, Li Ziyu immediately summoned ten thousand new Skeleton Undead and sent them to the coordinates to lie in wait. He then summoned Liu Xingxing.
"Boss, you were looking for me?" Liu Xingxing rushed over immediately after receiving Li Ziyu’s summons.
"Yes," Li Ziyu said with a nod. "I have something to do tonight, so I’ll be heading out. I need you to watch the fort."
"Huh? I’m watching the fort? But Boss, I don’t have any resources. What am I supposed to do if something actually happens?" Liu Xingxing was dumbfounded. He only had two Catmen under his command; relying on them to defend the fort was completely unrealistic.
"Don’t worry, I’ll grant you the authority," Li Ziyu said, patting his shoulder reassuringly. "If anything happens, you can mobilize the Undead logging on the mountain and the ones in the caves."
"Oh, okay then. That’s a relief," Liu Xingxing said with a sigh. He then asked, "Boss, what are you going out to do so late at night?"
"Conscience Merchant is almost here. Hasn’t he contacted you?" Li Ziyu had already made the two of them add each other as friends, so he gave Liu Xingxing a surprised look.
"Oh, you’re going to meet him! I get it now," Liu Xingxing said, puffing out his chest with a serious expression. "Don’t worry, Boss. Leave the fort to me. I guarantee there won’t be any problems!"
"I’m counting on you. I’m heading out now," Li Ziyu said with a smile.
After gathering the Skeleton Warriors and Skeleton Longbowmen, Li Ziyu set out. Although the coordinates he had chosen were much closer to his fortress, it would still take some time to get there. By the time he arrived and made his preparations, he estimated Conscience Merchant would be arriving as well.
