After that, Guts, wearing the Berserker Armor, was indeed able to withstand the terrifying arrows of the "demon archer," which were like ballista bolts. He even almost caught the "demon archer" several times, but unfortunately, he never succeeded.
Although Guts earned the nickname "Berserker" because of this, this armor was also silently eroding his body.
Faced with the threat from Guts, the "magic archer" quickly decided to change tactics. Instead of trying to kill Guts or other members of the Spirit Tree Pavilion, he targeted the Spirit Tree itself.
According to Flora, this was the "magic archer's" original goal.
Although it was not easy to destroy it directly, Flora repeatedly strengthened the barrier around the Spirit Tree. But the "magic archer" still stubbornly pierced the Spirit Tree's branches with arrows, one after another.
Thus, simply by consuming it in this way, the Spirit Tree was riddled with holes, and the surrounding barriers naturally collapsed.
Flora and Schierke were also forced to leave the Spirit Tree Pavilion and live in a house built by the former Hawk Company members.
Finally, with Flora's sigh, this Spirit Tree, which she had guarded for hundreds of years, was shot by arrows and turned into a withered dead tree. All the spiritual energy of the past dissipated.
However, the "magic archer" did not leave this place. It could be said that his main task was completed, and it was time to settle personal grudges.
All the cold arrows he shot afterwards were aimed at Guts and the old Hawk Company.
If Guts and the others tried to lead the crowd to relocate, or even split up, the "magic archer" would seize the opportunity to shoot more people, forcing Guts and the others to stay temporarily.
Subsequently, the "magic archer" also threatened the lives of the villagers in Irog outside the forest, forcing Guts and the others to take the initiative to attack, and then pick them off one by one.
If it came to close combat, Guts believed that by wearing the Berserker Armor and paying the price, he could expose this "magic archer."
But the problem was that the opponent always hid in the darkness, and had terrifying arrows that could hit a person's head from hundreds of meters away, or even farther. They were very accurate and ruthless. It was truly helpless and frustrating.
Naturally, Guts wouldn't give up like this. Whether to avenge the dead comrades and the victims of the Village of Irog, or to protect the survivors, he would kill the "magic archer."
This day, he went out again in the Berserker Armor, which was eroding his mind and body. Puck followed behind him.
It could be said that Guts had almost caught the "magic archer" several times in the past, and Puck had a great deal of credit. But unfortunately, luck was still against them.
Schierke tried to persuade Casca not to let Guts continue wearing the armor. She had learned from Teacher Flora about the many dangers of this armor.
However, like Teacher Flora, Casca, as Guts's wife and the mother of his child, did not stop him. Instead, she decided to trust and support Guts's decision.
"I believe he won't lose control." Gently holding the boy, Casca looked up and smiled at Schierke. "Besides, aren't you here? Flora said you could pull him back."
So far, Guts had indeed not lost control, and Schierke hadn't had the opportunity to try to retrieve Guts's mad consciousness in the form of a "spirit body."
But just thinking about it made her body tremble.
Could I really succeed? What if it doesn't work? What if it works this time, but fails next time? Why did Teacher Flora give me such an important task?
Thinking about this, Schierke flew into the air with Farnese, who was looking around like a curious infant, rediscovering the world.
Ivalera flew beside her.
She sighed and stopped thinking about the questions that troubled her.
Schierke could indeed use her spirit body to attach to a bird, which would be more concealed. But Farnese was using spirit projection for the first time today, and she wouldn't be able to use this "possession" trick. So Schierke had to take care of her a little.
Flying in the air today, there would probably be no trace of the "magic archer."
When Farnese also learned to "possess a spirit," they would search for him again and achieve twice the result with half the effort.
CRASH—!
Just as Schierke was thinking this, she suddenly heard a very strange and familiar sound. She involuntarily stopped, grabbing Farnese again.
Farnese also heard this sound and gasped!
It was the sound of arrows piercing the air. They didn't know how many times they had heard it day and night. Every time, someone died because of it. They could never mishear it!
FWOOSH—!
And indeed, when they looked down, they saw a thick arrow, piercing through several tree trunks. Its power was only slightly reduced, but it was still astonishingly powerful and buried itself in the forest.
They heard a THUD in the distance. The pulsating arrow seemed to hit something and finally stopped.
Schierke, Farnese, and Ivalera looked in that direction. It was still some distance from the house they lived in. Guts and Puck were not heading that way.
So who was this arrow aimed at? Who was shot?
They looked at each other and quickly flew in that direction.
After a while, they finally found the arrow. It was embedded in a stone wall. The entire stone wall was cracked and shattered in a pattern, seemingly about to collapse.
At the same time, this arrow had also pinned an old man with short hair and a beard to the stone wall. His shoulder was pierced. Blood flowed. His face was as white as paper from the pain. He was almost unconscious!
"That's Uncle Morgan from the Village of Irog!"
Schierke recognized this man. He was one of the few people she could get along with recently.
Morgan was favored by Flora, and then silently believed in the existence of the "witch" until Nidhogg appeared and convinced him that his belief was correct.
It turned out that Morgan was one of the few trustworthy people in the Village of Irog.
When the old Hawk Company wanted to buy materials from the outside world, if it was not easy for them to go forward, they would do it through Morgan. Morgan was also happy to help, so everyone got to know each other.
Morgan was also able to see Flora again and thank her in person.
He didn't expect to see Morgan here today, pinned to a stone wall by an arrow from the "magic archer"!
Schierke, Farnese, and Ivalera hastily flew towards him.
It's just that Morgan's perception talent was mediocre. He couldn't see them fully, only vaguely seeing blurred spots of light around him.
These spots of light attached themselves to Morgan's bleeding wound. Soon, the bleeding stopped, and the pain subsided.
Thus, Morgan was sure that it was the people from the Spirit Tree Pavilion who had saved him. He couldn't help but ask, "Is this Miss Flora?"
"I am Schierke." Schierke replied to him. But unfortunately, Morgan couldn't hear her voice clearly.
Morgan didn't care too much about this. He could only say anxiously and weakly, "This 'magic archer' is here again... He shot the village chief of Irog and the knight sent by the lord..."
"I'm afraid the lord won't send any more troops. The priest in the monastery asked the villagers not to resist, just to pray, and then the gods would settle each other's fate... This can't go on..."
"I came quietly to ask for help, but I didn't expect to be hit by an arrow... If not for my foot slipping just now, that shot would have been aimed at my head, right?"
After all this, Morgan, whether from fear or pain, his whole body trembled violently.
Schierke, Farnese, and Ivalera looked at each other, not knowing what to do.
"Try to pull out the arrow first and send him to us." Schierke finally made a decision. "If we leave him here, he will die."
Farnese and Ivalera also nodded in agreement.
At that moment, another shot rang out. An arrow was fired from a distance!
Schierke and the others had just reacted. When they turned their heads, they saw that the arrow, fired from a very long distance, was right before them!
The target of this arrow was Morgan, who couldn't move at this moment. Everyone couldn't help but be shocked!
Seeing that the arrow was about to hit Morgan, everyone's eyes widened in astonishment. But no one could do anything!
Suddenly, a silver arc slashed from an angle!
They just heard a CRACK!, and the arrow was sliced into several pieces. All the energy released from afar vanished. They clattered to the ground.
The crisis was suddenly resolved.
At some point, a young man with black hair in Vagabond Knight armor had appeared here, standing before everyone.
Everyone was stunned. They all recognized him and couldn't help but shout his name in surprise and joy: "Nidhogg?!"
Nidhogg didn't reply to everyone. He just frowned, looked in the direction from which the arrow came, and narrowed his eyes slightly.
This direction! There!
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