The arrow, threaded with the transparent orb, flew through the air under everyone's gaze.

While the others held their breath in tension, Yuder’s eyes remained calm.

In the Orr Empire, where the sword is revered as the ultimate weapon, the bow is often underestimated. The fact that most warriors who made it into the history books were sword-wielding knights played no small part in that.

But the bow was undeniably powerful and full of advantages. There was no better weapon for engaging enemies from a distance. Used properly, it could send even an armored foe—one a sword couldn’t cut—straight to the afterlife with a single shot.

You don’t need a grand battle or grievous wounds just to kill your target.

A slim, fragile arrow that could be snapped barehanded could sometimes yield more extraordinary results than any overwhelming force.

All that was required were two things:

Arms strong enough to draw the bow, and the blessing of the wind guiding the arrow’s flight.

And the wind...

Had always favored Yuder Aile.

KWAHHHH—!

“Commander Weliven! Watch out!”

Weliven, standing guard at the castle’s front, nearly fell from the sudden blast of wind above his head. With help from a nearby subordinate, he regained his balance and frowned as he saw the knights around him staring up at the sky with their mouths agape.

“What are you all doing, gawking like fools—”

But when he turned his gaze to see what they were looking at, the old knight of Pelleta, just like them, found himself frozen, unable to think.

From the top of the eastern tower, a tremendous wind had arisen. A wind so massive it seemed to punch a hole in the sky, stretching toward the distant basin.

And leading it—something golden, glowing, trailing like a shooting star.

It was clearly still daylight, yet a star appeared to have lit the sky.

Small, but gleaming brightly, that golden dot—Weliven couldn’t quite place what it was at first. If not for one knight with exceptionally keen vision mumbling under his breath, he might never have realized.

“An arrow...”

“What?”

“That... that glowing thing just now. It was definitely an arrow...!”

“What kind of nonsense—!”

Weliven nearly barked a reflexive retort, but suddenly recalled the item he’d handed to the Cavalry members earlier.

A plain wooden bow. A few accompanying arrows.

He’d given them without understanding why they were requested. And now, remembering that, a chill swept through his entire body.

“...Ah.”

He was a man who’d lived his whole life in the harsh, barren northern countryside. After meeting the miracle that was Kishiar la Orr, he thought nothing could surprise him anymore.

But he was wrong. What he saw now was something beyond astonishment—something he’d never once imagined witnessing in his lifetime.

My god... he’s doing that with that old bow and arrow...!

That shining golden point sliced through an impossible distance, dragging a massive wind like a tail behind ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) it. It was hard to believe such a thing had been shot by human hands.

And then, in the far-off basin, a massive explosion of light erupted.

―――!

“Urgh...!”

The blue sky suddenly turned blinding white.

As if staring directly at the sun, the knights instinctively lowered their heads and shielded their eyes. Weliven also squeezed his eyes shut without realizing.

Oh, dear gods...

But it wasn’t over.

Soon after, they saw the second and third golden arrows soaring again from the eastern tower.

Long glowing tails streaked across the sky like comets.

The wind surrounding the eastern tower howled with ferocity. It was a terrifying sight—even for Pelleta’s people, used to the northern gales—but that wind never once turned against the castle or its knights.

What in the world is happening up there...!

Weliven wanted nothing more than to rush to the eastern tower, but he clenched his fists and stood firm.

“Everyone, stay focused! Don’t lose your heads over what’s happening on the tower. Keep your attention on your duties! Pass it on to the ones outside, too!”

“Yes, sir!”

Swallowing dryly, the knights of Pelleta scrambled into action.

Until now, the signal through the bracelet had come in short pulses. This time, it vibrated long and steadily.

Nathan Zuckerman knew this was the moment they’d been waiting for.

“Everyone, stop and regroup here!”

The basin, torn and crumbling from the monsters’ repeated attacks, was in such disarray that even walking was difficult. Thankfully, the knights with confident footwork managed to gather.

As they did, a blinding light exploded above, piercing the dust-choked sky.

It was a light like a second sun. The humans on the ground, trapped in the swirling dust, couldn’t see the sky properly and only sensed the intensity. But the monsters in the sky—those who had an unobstructed view—were different.

A bloodcurdling shriek rang out.

That one enormous burst of light wasn’t the end. Smaller flashes followed one after another, scattering like fireworks beyond the veil of dust.

“Krrgh!”

“Aagh!”

Affected by the monsters’ screams, some knights clutched their ears in agony. Nathan motioned for them to cover their ears and hunker down as he silently watched the continuing explosions of light beyond the dust.

That is...

It didn’t suit the battlefield, but the scene somehow reminded him of a shadow puppet play.

The kind performed in street markets, where puppets were suspended on strings behind a dark curtain. A lantern cast their shadows onto the fabric, allowing the audience to see their movements.

Though the curtain blocked the puppets themselves, the light revealed everything they did.

And now, every time those lights burst beyond the dust, the monsters’ positions—previously impossible to track—became sharply visible. They had broken formation and were flying in a chaotic frenzy.

No need to ask who did this.

Yuder Aile had sent that light.

A few monsters staggered and descended, trying to land rather than attack—seeking shelter, not battle.

It was clear they no longer viewed the humans on the ground as important.

But what awaited them now was not the helpless bait they had once chased.

It was the predators—beasts who had hidden their fangs, biding their time.

Nathan Zuckerman silently raised his sword.

His stance now resembled that of his teacher—yet it had evolved. Through his own realizations, his own training, it had become his own.

A blade of blue aura sliced through the air like a silent assassin.

“Grraaa—!”

The monsters sensed the killing intent too late.

The moment they chose to descend—they were no longer his equals.

Unable even to unfurl their wings again, monsters were cleaved clean in two midair by the blade. Nathan stepped over their blood-soaked remains and looked once more to the sky.

With another explosion, more light burst above, turning the dust-shrouded heavens white.

The light orbs tied to Yuder’s arrows exploded with immense brilliance, then shattered, their fragments continuing to burst in smaller explosions—like a cascade of disorienting chaos.

This light resembled sunlight, but was utterly different.

It couldn’t be touched. No matter how much dust they kicked up, how many claws or beaks they lashed out with, it couldn’t be injured or erased.

But unlike normal sunlight, just facing it temporarily blinded them—and the explosions that followed introduced strange, unfamiliar pain.

It was enough to drive them mad.

If they’d still been flying in a solid circle formation, they might’ve maintained cohesion. But that formation was long broken. Whipped into a frenzy, they attacked the bait below wildly.

Now they mistook each other for enemies.

They screamed and fell while fighting their own.

Those who descended to escape were immediately picked off by waiting hunters.

The air filled with the stench of blood.

Within the dust, the Swordmaster clad in blue aura carved through the battlefield with unrelenting ease.

He was one man against more than ten monsters—but no one would have thought him at a disadvantage.

The five knights, having risen from cover, watched the scene in stunned awe.

A new legend was being written into the skies above Pelleta.