The Kangaroo and the Bow

The last elf fell. He stared up at the sky, his body stiff as a log.

An incomparably beautiful human woman bent down into his field of vision.

The elf saw her wavy curls hanging down, smelled the wonderful, exotic fragrance about her, and even caught sight of her two peaks hanging like bells... Then he felt a chill at his throat.

Blood gushed out, and his life swiftly ebbed away.

This was already the third group of elves they had ambushed and killed.

"Elves, do not call me despicable."

"This is for the people who died aboard the Iron Fist Bane, and for Goth's countless victims," Cleveland said softly. "Hateful invaders, may your souls find no rest."

He looked into the dead elf's open eyes, which held pain and longing. Perhaps only at the moment of death did a living being truly understand what it was about to lose.

But none of that had anything to do with him.

The knight reached into the elf's collar and tore off the animal-fang pendant around his neck. Magitech was widespread among the elves, and nearly every elf received enchanted jewelry from their parents, mentors, or even friends as they grew up. The quality and effects depended on their class and background.

Elven nobles of distinguished blood naturally received costly ornaments with powerful enchantments, while common elves received far inferior gifts. Even so, they were useful little trinkets... necklaces enchanted with the Illumination Spell, rings that could nourish the source of life, and so on.

As the elf lay dying, he saw the knight tear off his necklace. From somewhere, he found the strength to raise a hand and try to snatch it back, but he was already too tired.

The knight swung his right hand, slashing the elf's arm aside with his sword. Blood spattered.

Perhaps the ornament meant a great deal to this elf. He surely had his own story, his own life, and a family or lover he cared about.

But the Goth People had those things too. Every member of the Goth People who had died at the hands of the elves did.

So Cleveland had no interest in any of it.

He stepped over the corpse with its eyes still open and went toward his next target.

Kang De watched it all and wrote in his notebook: "Their resistance to electricity and fire is no different from humans'. Their senses are sharper than humans', and their bodies are almost identical to ours. Their hearts pump blood, their brains think, their lungs breathe, and getting kicked in the balls hurts like hell."

He looked at the two elven friends who had died the worst deaths and shuddered.

How should he put it... Although groin strikes had been an important part of martial arts and fighting techniques designed to kill since ancient times, when people were fighting for their lives, who the fuck cared about morals and honor? Naturally, they did whatever worked best and took the least effort.

It was the same on Earth and in another world. Different worlds had the same balls, and the same weakness gave rise to the same techniques. In any case, groin strikes were part of fighting. If you didn't like it, you could go die.

That was all well and good, and he understood the reasoning.

But watching Cleveland in a pretty little skirt and long high-heeled boots, his skirt fluttering and his black stockings gleaming as he kicked down one opponent after another...

It really felt too strange.

"I get the feeling he's already getting used to killing people in women's clothes..." Kang De muttered. "At first he was making big, sweeping moves with his sword and shield, but now he's learned to kick people in the balls..."

The princess nodded beside him. "Yes. Knight Cleveland truly is the most remarkable genius Goth has seen in recent years. It seems his talents aren't limited to the knightly path. Even if he became an assassin, he would surely shine just as brightly in another field..."

"...You two."

Cleveland's sigh came from a distance. "If you want to speak ill of me behind my back, could you at least avoid speaking just loud enough for me to hear?"

Tina and Kang De laughed together.

If they talked about something a little more lighthearted, perhaps the corpses and blood covering the ground wouldn't be quite so jarring... probably.

Her Highness covered her mouth and giggled, all the while stealing glances at Kang De's expression.

For some reason, his calm expression frightened her a little.

Kang De noticed her gaze, and Tina immediately looked away like a startled rabbit. He was about to say something when he heard the knight call out, "Mr. Kang De, please wait. I'll be done soon."

"There's really no need for this," Kang De said. "I'm not that delicate."

From the start until now, the knight had insisted on keeping him from helping. Whether it was fighting, finishing off enemies afterward, or even looting the bodies for equipment, he wouldn't let Kang De lift a finger. He treated him as though he were even more delicate than Tina... This unexplained care and respect made Kang De a little uncomfortable.

But A Xing wouldn't let him go either, and even the kangaroo, which cared about nothing but eating snacks, stopped him.

Kang De wasn't stupid. He could guess something of what lay behind it.

Did they see through me?

But... I don't think I'm that fragile.

A clatter of footsteps sounded as Miss Fulan walked toward him with the spoils in his arms.

A genius with outstanding fighting talent and an excellent physique really was different. In such a short time, the knight had taught himself the most efficient, effortless, and stable way to walk in high-heeled boots. Looking only at his lower half, he was fucking seductive.

If someone posted a picture online, it would become the kind of lewd image those idiot group-chat friends would drool over.

Kang De could hardly bear to look.

He turned away and whispered, "He wasn't the only one who gave a lot in this battle. I've been under a lot of pressure too. Once this is over, I need to look at some real pretty girls, forget what I saw today, and give my brain a good wash..."

With the countless lewd pictures on his hard drive and phone backing him up, Kang De wasn't worried at all. It was just a cross-dressing guy, not like he'd never seen one before. It wasn't a big deal.

But the princess blushed.

After hearing Kang De, she froze, then her face reddened at a visible pace. She blinked rapidly, her eyes full of panic, and stammered, "I... I..."

"What's wrong?" Kang De asked, puzzled.

Why is she blushing?

Wait.

Ah, I know!

A flash of insight crossed Kang De's mind.

Hmph, I'm not some clueless straight guy.

You have to understand a woman's heart! Women are all creatures of appearance. They care a great deal about their looks, refuse to lose to anyone in beauty, and hate being compared to others most of all.

So she must be feeling a little insecure right now, maybe even a little unhappy!

Because Cleveland is a man! What kind of woman gets outshone by a man in the looks department?

I understand. I completely understand.

Kang De put on the sunny smile of a warmhearted man and said sincerely, "Don't mind it. Cleveland only managed this with makeup and a necklace. He's a man, after all. How could he compare with you? You'd definitely look much better than him in that outfit, and with the necklace, you'd be an unparalleled beauty..."

The princess's face instantly grew even redder. She became flustered, even taking two steps back and holding her hands protectively in front of herself. "I... you... Mr. Kang De, please behave yourself!"

...Huh?

What did I do?

While Kang De was still puzzled, the knight noticed what was happening and quickened his pace. "Mr. Kang De, Your Highness, what happened?" he asked, sounding somewhat confused.

Kang De looked utterly bewildered.

The princess was still a little red in the face. "N-no... it's nothing," she said softly.

The knight frowned. "Really?"

The princess shook her head vigorously. "Really, it's nothing."

But she still gave Kang De a discreet little eye roll.

...Kang De's country is so lewd, and Kang De is lewd too. He actually wants me to wear that kind of outfit for him to see.

Hmph.

This was only a minor interlude. With life and death at stake in battle, there was no time to dwell on such girlish feelings.

The spoils were much the same as before. The only things worth collecting were the elves' magic ornaments and the bowmen sergeants' weapons and equipment... There were too many bows and swords to carry, so Second Senior Brother's underlings took the extra weapons to nearby caves and similar places to hide them for later use.

According to Cleveland, there were several true warriors aboard the Penguin who could wield the elves' broad-bladed greatswords and great warbows. The weapons were intended for them.

Next, they dealt with the corpses and had the island's various animals come over and defecate.

"That's the third group."

Kang De marked an X on the map.

There were thirty groups of elves in total, spread across thirty areas of the island. Kang De had chosen the locations of the three groups for a reason. The elves contacted one another at regular intervals, so the principle behind selecting targets involved a mathematical algorithm that minimized the chance of the elves discovering that their allies were missing.

"We're getting close to the limit."

"If we keep killing them, the elves will notice something's wrong sooner or later," Kang De said. "If they raise their alert level, we won't be able to use the cross-dressing seduction tactic anymore."

The knight's face darkened. "Please don't call it that..."

Kang De naturally ignored his protest.

Once the elves were on guard, the method really wouldn't work. After all, they would already know something was wrong. Given the nature of elven soldiers, if they saw a human woman running toward them, no matter how beautiful, fairy-like, or alluring she was, they would surely shoot her dead with a hail of arrows on the spot and be done with it.

At worst, they could do it while she was still warm.

So they couldn't use that method anymore.

The knight hesitated.

As far as his own feelings went, he naturally wanted this hellish journey in women's clothing to end as soon as possible. But from the perspective of the battle, he still hoped to kill a few more groups of elves.

The more elves they killed in surprise attacks, the fewer casualties their side would suffer once a full-scale confrontation broke out.

It was a simple calculation.

So he said, "I think we can kill a few more groups."

"It's better to be cautious."

"Of course it's necessary to kill as many of their fighting men as possible," Kang De said, "but looking at the plan as a whole, that isn't our objective. Besides..."

He glanced at the knight. "Your endurance and stamina are nearly at their limit too, aren't they?"

People weren't machines. Without extraordinary power to support them, they could only fight using the strength of their bodies. With fatigue building and their nerves stretched taut, how could they handle prolonged, intense fighting?

The knight shook his head. "I'm all right. I can rest and recover on the way. As a knight..."

Kang De cut him off. "What about Tina?"

That was the knight's weak point. As soon as he heard it, Cleveland looked ready to compromise.

"I can keep going too..." Tina said.

"All right, no more arguing. I proposed the plan, so I'll make the decision."

Kang De shook the map in his hand. "We've already inflicted some casualties on the enemy. Next, it's time to stir up the grass and startle the snake. We'll make them realize the Goth People are on the island and send them searching for their missing comrades like headless flies. Then we'll let them stumble across traces of the Goth People and the ancient civilization, and draw their attention into that rift."

"We'll make them commit a large force to the island and pursue the Goth People inside at all costs. Ideally, they'll get into a major fight with the Black Beasts or whatever dangerous things are in there, and both sides will suffer heavy losses. Then, while they've deployed a large force to the island..."

He lowered his voice. "We'll go... get their ship!"

The knight and the princess both froze.

Even though they had vaguely suspected something, this was the first time they had heard Kang De lay out his entire plan himself.

It was imaginative, brilliant, and unexpected, but...

"Kang De, it's a brilliant plan," Tina said tactfully, "but you're Cathayan and don't understand the situation on the continent. Even with few crew aboard, an elven warship has extremely powerful defenses. Even if its magitech attack platforms can't be used and its onboard spellcasters can't be deployed, it's still a capital ship of the Dusk Moon Dynasty, with a powerful ballista array and an extremely sturdy hull..."

Afraid the princess might say too much and upset Kang De, the knight hurriedly took over. "I can tell you plainly that even if the Penguin regained its mobility and sailed straight for the Wings of Wayne to board her, our chances of victory would not be very high... Naval battles are different from land battles. On land, there's strategy and courage, but at sea, big ships beat small ships, and more men beat fewer..."

Kang De smiled. "But now you have us. Don't worry, you won't need to sail over. I'll figure out a way and make the plans. It'd be best if we can capture their ship, but failing that, we'll sink it."

The knight and the princess exchanged a glance. The knight asked cautiously, "Mr. Kang De, you aren't thinking of diving over and boring holes in the ship, are you? I know you may have some animal companions in the sea too, and the Wings of Wayne is anchored in calm, shallow water. That method really could work."

"But the elves' watertight compartment technology is highly developed, and the wood of the hull is specially treated. Once the crew discovers someone boring into the ship, they'll operate a mechanism in that section of the hull to release a huge amount of plant toxins into the water. It's a tactic used against sea races, and they're very practiced at it..."

Kang De nodded again. "I see, I understand... But don't worry. It'll be fine."

He wasn't entirely certain he could capture the elven warship, but sinking it wouldn't be very difficult... After all, when the elven designers planned the ship's defenses, they surely hadn't imagined that a peculiar extraordinary power called Element Extraction existed in the world.

When the time came, all they could do was shout things like, "Where's the bottom of my ship? I left a huge chunk of the bottom right here!"... Of course, sinking the ship was only a last resort.

At that thought, Kang De smiled. "Don't worry, leave it to me... Besides, we don't need to worry about that at this stage. We have something else to worry about... We need to take out a fourth group of elves and stir up the grass to startle the snake."

He pointed to a group of elves on the map in his hand, in an area near the rift. "This group has nine elves. Besides two sergeants and five sailors, the other two must be elven officers-big fish. For our last kill, we'll go after them. We don't know how strong the enemy is, so we need to give it everything we've got."

Kang De looked at the knight. "I'll help."

The knight shook his head instinctively. "No, leave it to me..."

"I'm afraid you can't handle opponents like these," Kang De said. "It's settled. I'll help launch the attack. Don't underestimate me..."

Cleveland still shook his head. "No, please let me try first. If I'm not at a disadvantage, please continue protecting the princess. You needn't risk yourself..."

Kang De frowned. "I told you, I'm not delicate..."

Before he had finished speaking, a broad hand landed on his shoulder. He looked back. A Xing thumped her chest with her other hand, indicating that she would do it.

"No, I'm fine..." Kang De said, rejecting the offer.

Although A Xing was a powerful fighter, she didn't like fighting. He knew that.

But at this moment, the gorilla was insisting.

Just then, another paw came to rest on A Xing's head.

Kang De and A Xing looked over at the same time.

It was the kangaroo.

The kangaroo gave A Xing a haughty look that said, "Out of the way, kid." Then it stuffed an entire handful of QQ gummies into its mouth, hopped in front of Kang De while chewing, and showed off its well-developed chest muscles.

Kang De almost laughed. "...Old Dai, I appreciate the offer, but they're elves. They have bows and arrows and weapons. They're different from Black Beasts. A Xing at least has a rebar staff, but you have no armor or weapons. You'd be at a serious disadvantage fighting elves up close. How would you block their weapons when they slash at you?"

The kangaroo gave him a disdainful look.

It reached out, took the great warbow from Kang De's back, and held it in its paw. It gestured to Kang De, meaning, I'll use this.

Its paw couldn't even close fully around the bow.

The span of its forelimbs was also rather questionable.

Not to mention its body structure. How could a mere kangaroo use a bow and arrows made for humanoids?

But Kang De couldn't laugh.

He didn't know whether it was an illusion, but he saw immense confidence and sharpness in the kangaroo's two glossy black eyes. It was as if this lazy glutton had changed after taking up the bow.

A thought arose in his mind.

The kangaroo had used a bow... before.

PS1: This chapter was five thousand Chinese characters, combining two chapter updates into one, so it came out a little late. Sleepy, sleepy. Good night, everyone. I'll write more tomorrow. Time for bed.