My Computer Leads to an Instance Dungeon-Chapter 161 - 136: Selling One’s Head! Meteor Hammer vs. Plate Armor

Fang Zhen felt that within his line of sight, there was no one who could match him.

Ever since Lu Bu's death, Guan Yunchang had looked at everyone else as if they were just waiting to be beheaded.

At this moment, Fang Zhen could somewhat understand how the Second Master must have felt back then.

Looking at Viscount Montagu's soldiers on the hillside, he felt a sense of absolute certainty and fearlessness, as if all of them together weren't enough for him to take on by himself.

He brought his left hand to his lips and let out a sharp whistle.

The sound of the whistle rang out, long and clear.

He lowered his hand and beckoned to Viscount Montagu's soldiers on the slope.

The gesture was extremely provocative.

And Viscount Montagu's soldiers did indeed take the bait.

Seeing Fang Zhen beckoning, the soldiers seemed to feel mocked. A stir ran through their ranks, and it sounded like some were shouting angrily.

Before long, the soldiers seemed to reach a consensus.

Over a dozen soldiers, with two Iron Armor Can Soldiers at their core, formed up and began marching down.

Fang Zhen carefully observed the soldiers forming the combat squad.

There were thirteen soldiers in total. He wasn't sure why they had an odd number; perhaps someone had fallen behind during the pursuit.

The core of this unit was the Iron Armor Can Soldiers.

The armor worn by the Iron Armor Can Soldiers could be considered a type of plate armor. It covered their entire bodies, even their rears. On their heads were cylindrical helmets that fully enclosed them, making them look like cans made of iron.

Such plate armor was expensive to make. The armor on these Iron Armor Can Soldiers wasn't particularly shiny; it looked like it had seen some years, perhaps passed down through generations.

He visually estimated the armor was made of refined iron. Its strength was certainly no match for modern alloys, and it would be heavier and more prone to rust.

The Iron Armor Can Soldiers were surrounded by a formation of other soldiers.

Three soldiers formed a sharp triangular vanguard. The Iron Armor Can Soldier was at the central core, flanked by a spearman on each side.

The other squad was also in a wedge formation, but with an added Chain Hammer Soldier at the rear.

The two squads advanced down the slope with their own steady rhythm.

Fang Zhen narrowed his eyes.

He had learned from the last instance that fighting multiple enemies was completely different from a one-on-one duel or fighting routed soldiers.

This was especially true for a battle formation like this one, which was very difficult to break.

With Shield and Sword Soldiers, spearmen on the flanks, and a Plate Armor Iron Can Soldier in the center, this configuration was extremely tough to handle in close combat. You couldn't charge in, the flanks would pin you down, and the core Plate Armor soldier could ram you at any moment.

Soldiers in formation could be considered a single entity, posing a far greater threat than the Abnormal Ghosts he had encountered before.

Fang Zhen watched for a moment but felt no fear.

A military formation was hard to deal with up close.

'But I have no intention of fighting them up close.'

"Quade!"

Fang Zhen called out.

Quade immediately ran over from behind.

Fang Zhen extended his left hand. With perfect coordination, Quade handed him the compound bow, took the spear in return, and stood by behind Fang Zhen, awaiting orders.

A quiver was slung at Fang Zhen's waist.

Calm and unhurried, he took two quick-loaders from his quiver.

Each quick-loader was already fitted with six arrows. He attached them above and below the compound bow's arrow rest, adjusted their position, then raised the bow and waited for the soldiers' formation to descend the hill.

A compound bow's effective kill range was about 120 meters. Any farther and accuracy would drop, the arrows would dip. The most suitable range for a kill shot was between 50 and 90 meters. Within that distance, shots were accurate and penetration was high. This 40-meter gap was the golden range.

Fang Zhen held the compound bow but didn't fire immediately, waiting for the formation to enter his golden range.

He could guarantee accuracy even at a greater distance.

Letting the enemy formation get into the golden range wasn't necessarily about unleashing the compound bow's maximum power. Rather, it was to ensure that once he started shooting and their morale broke, they wouldn't be able to escape.

The 50-to-90-meter distance was perfect; if the enemy tried to run, they wouldn't get far.

On the hillside, the two squads continued their descent.

At this distance, he could even hear the soldiers' disdainful snickers, as if mocking him for overestimating his abilities, for daring to think he could break their formation with a bow and arrow.

The formation kept moving and soon entered Fang Zhen's golden range.

Fang Zhen narrowed his eyes.

Using the quick-loader, he nocked the first arrow with his right hand.

Once the carbon arrow was nocked, he activated Battle Focus, Steady Shot, and Intuitive Shot.

Instantly, he was in the zone.

In about a second, he drew the bowstring.

A compound bow requires very little strength to hold at full draw.

He adjusted his aim slightly and released the string.

"SWOOSH!"

The carbon arrow shot forward.

Without even checking if the first arrow hit, Fang Zhen's right hand was already nocking the second arrow from the quick-loader and firing instinctively at another man in the formation.

He repeated the motion over and over: nock, draw, and fire.

Carbon arrows flew toward the formation at a rate of just over one per second.

He could have been faster, but a rate of one arrow every second or so didn't strain his hands much, allowing him to preserve his muscle strength for close combat after this volley.

"THWACK!"

"AHH!"

"THUMP!"

A series of sounds erupted from the formation.

The soldier at the very tip of the sharp, triangular wedge was struck in the thigh. His Iron Skirt Armor was like paper-mâché, offering no effective defense as the arrow pierced straight through his leg.

The soldier fell to the ground and tumbled down the slope.

Barely a second later, the other two men at the point of the wedge—a Shield and Sword Soldier and a Battle Axe Soldier—were also hit.

The Shield and Sword Soldier's Shield was pierced clean through. The carbon arrow passed through the Shield and struck him in the chest, knocking him to the ground, his fate unknown.

The Battle Axe Soldier was also shot in the thigh. He dropped to his knees, lost his balance, and fell down the slope as well.

Before they could react, two more arrows flew out. One pierced a spearman's lower abdomen, while the other hit the other spearman in the thigh. With these piercing attacks, the spearmen on both flanks of the formation were taken out.

In just five shots, the formation around one of the Plate Armor Iron Can Soldiers was completely cleared out. All five soldiers in the formation had been shot down.

The Iron Armor Can Soldier looked around in a daze. Staring at the men on the ground, he was momentarily unsure whether to advance or retreat.

It wasn't just this Iron Armor Can Soldier who was confused; the other squad beside him had fallen into chaos as well.

Fang Zhen gave them no time to think.

He ignored the Iron Armor Can Soldier and continued to fire rapidly at the other soldiers in the formation.

In the five or six seconds that the soldiers hesitated, Fang Zhen fired four more times.

In the other squad, the three soldiers forming the sharp wedge at the front were shot down, and the spearman on the left was pierced through the thigh, left immobile on the ground.

And this was Fang Zhen holding back.

These were human opponents, not monsters. He wasn't shooting to kill, aiming for places like the thigh to inflict serious injuries that wouldn't be immediately fatal.

The ones who were hit in the abdomen were just unlucky; they had shifted their position as they moved, turning what should have been a severe thigh wound into a piercing abdominal injury.

'Can't blame anyone for bad luck.'

Four more men in the formation fell. The brutal reality snapped the remaining soldiers to their senses.

"Charge!" one of the Iron Armor Can Soldiers roared. He gripped his sword with both hands and, with clumsy steps, charged toward Fang Zhen.

They were still over fifty meters away from Fang Zhen. Charging from this distance wasn't entirely irrational. After all, if they turned to run, an Iron Armor Can Soldier would never outpace Fang Zhen and would be an easy target for an arrow to the back.

With so many men already down, failing to charge would not only be a bitter regret but would also likely lead to them being completely wiped out.

Fang Zhen wasn't surprised to see the enemy soldiers charge.

He still had three arrows left.

Raising the compound bow and aiming instinctively, he fired two more arrows in quick succession.

Shooting human-sized targets at this range was a sure thing; he would never miss.

With those two arrows, the Chain Hammer Soldier and the last spearman were knocked down.

Only two Tin Can Soldiers remained on the field.

These two Iron Armor Soldiers were now in an extremely awkward position. Even knowing they were at a disadvantage, they had no choice but to continue their charge.

The Iron Armor Soldiers were now just over thirty meters from Fang Zhen.

Charging forward offered a slim chance of survival; retreating meant certain death.

Fang Zhen had one carbon arrow left in his quick-loader.

He aimed for the chest of the Iron Armor Can Soldier on the left.

He had never tested a compound bow against plate armor in actual combat before. He was a little curious to see what effect a normal carbon arrow would have.

"SWOOSH!"

The long arrow flew, covering the thirty-odd meters in an instant.

The Iron Armor Can Soldier's instincts were sharp. As the carbon arrow flew toward him, he raised his left hand, blocking his chest with his armored arm.

"THUMP!"

The carbon arrow pierced the Iron Armor Can Soldier's left arm and continued on, pinning his arm to the plate armor on his chest like a nail.

The Iron Armor Can Soldier staggered but didn't fall. After a brief pause, he actually managed to lift his head and resume his charge.

Fang Zhen shook his head slightly.

The arrows in his quick-loader were spent.

He casually drew a Meteor Hammer Armor-Piercing Arrow from his quiver.

He nocked the arrow, drew the bow, and aimed instinctively.

At this distance, Fang Zhen wasn't holding back anymore.

An Iron Armor Can Soldier up close would still be a significant threat.

He aimed the Meteor Hammer Arrow at the soldier's helmet, which looked like an upside-down iron bucket—specifically, at the very center of it.

The Meteor Hammer Armor-Piercing Arrow in Fang Zhen's hand shot forth.

A powerful bow, an armor-piercing arrow.

The distance was now just over twenty meters.

The instant after he released the bowstring, the Meteor Hammer Arrow slammed into the Iron Armor Can Soldier's helmet.

"BANG!"

A loud crack echoed.

The Iron Armor Can Soldier's helmet completely shattered, flying apart in pieces, the faceplate sent spinning away.

The Meteor Hammer Armor-Piercing Arrow smashed into the soldier's head, and suddenly a rainbow of colors burst out, like a dyer's workshop had just opened.

The Iron Armor Can Soldier was killed instantly by the headshot.

Though gruesome, it shouldn't have been very painful, as the initial impact likely killed him from shock alone.

Seeing the brutal scene, Fang Zhen shook his head slightly.

"Wouldn't it have been better if you hadn't blocked that last arrow with your arm? You'd just be lying on the ground with an arrow in you, not necessarily dead. But now look at you. After taking a Meteor Hammer Arrow, it would be hard to spare your life even if I wanted to."

With a soft sigh, Fang Zhen took the compound bow and handed it back.

"Quade!"

Fang Zhen called out.

With perfect coordination, Quade came forward to take the compound bow, simultaneously handing the spear to Fang Zhen.

Fang Zhen gripped the spear and gave it a shake.

'Time to test the close-combat strength of an Iron Armor Can Soldier!'