Li Qiuzhi asked Ver and Noelle to help collect all the arrows and crossbow bolts that were still usable. In response to Ver's question, he said:
"I want to try using crossbow bolts to see if we can defeat a Ruin Guard."
"...Uh, isn't that way too dangerous?"
Ver shifted her stance slightly, her orange ponytail swaying a little in bewilderment. She had no idea why Li Qiuzhi was so determined to fight monsters for "practice."
"That's why we're using repeating crossbows."
Li Qiuzhi hadn't wanted to provoke them either, but after discovering that the Treasure Hoarders had something as useful as repeating crossbows, he felt they might have a chance of hitting the guards' cores and disabling them.
The only thing they had to watch out for when choosing a target was drawing a second Ruin Guard's "aggro." They needed to keep their distance, which would be rather difficult with his Wooden Hunting Bow.
After all, his hunting bow wasn't very powerful. It was fine for hunting, but fell a little short against Ruin Machines with extremely high physical resistance, like Ruin Guards.
Besides, repeating crossbows could fire consecutive shots. If they hit a Ruin Guard's core several times in quick succession, they should have a chance of disabling it.
"Besides, don't you want to go inside the ruins the Treasure Hoarders discovered and check whether there really is a domain?"
Li Qiuzhi asked with a smile. As an information broker, she couldn't leave the accuracy of her information unverified. That would be far too irresponsible.
"Hmm, you have a point."
Ver bent her right arm and rested her fingers against her fair chin in thought. Li Qiuzhi had touched on exactly what she was eager to do. Information about the existence of a domain would fetch a considerable sum of Mora, whether she sold it to the Adventurers' Guild or the Knights of Favonius.
"By the way, can you two use a bow? How's your aim?" After a moment's thought, Li Qiuzhi asked Noelle and Ver.
"Huh? Do you want us to use the repeating crossbows?" Noelle turned her head aside, gazing at the lush green grass as she said in a slightly quieter voice, "I practice Favonius Swordsmanship. As for archery, I'm... not very good at it."
Looking at her profile, he could catch glimpses of her delicate, fair ear through the gaps in her silver-gray hair.
Ver could also guess what Li Qiuzhi had in mind. She smiled and said:
"I learned some archery before, so hitting the cores of big things like Ruin Guards with a repeating crossbow won't be a problem."
He probably wanted to attack a Ruin Guard's core with both repeating crossbows the Treasure Hoarders had left behind. Given their power, there was a chance of success if the shots landed.
"Great. Then let's give it a try."
Li Qiuzhi broke into an excited smile.
"Leave protecting you two to me," Noelle said confidently, lightly clenching her right hand in a gesture of encouragement.
Once they had decided to clear out the Ruin Guards, Li Qiuzhi began taking stock of the spoils they had obtained from the Treasure Hoarders.
The two repeating crossbows would be used against the Ruin Guards. Together with the usable bolts they had found nearby, the remaining ammunition totaled over forty bolts, just enough for him and Ver to take half each.
They couldn't make the two Elemental Potions yet because they lacked the ingredients. Since the recipes were spoils belonging to all three of them, each could make a copy, ensuring everyone gained something.
As for the Scimitar Jonik had left behind, Li Qiuzhi planned to use it to practice Favonius Swordsmanship: Fundamentals. Although it was a saber, it was still a one-handed weapon, so it should work.
Buying a brand-new weapon wouldn't be cheap. He might as well save where he could, since this would only be a temporary weapon for learning the basics. Later, he would still need to replace it with a better-quality one-handed sword.
Neither Ver nor Noelle was interested in the Scimitar, so Li Qiuzhi simply kept it.
Next, they would deal with the Ruin Guards roaming the Temple of the Thousand Winds. To avoid being targeted by all five at once, they had to be careful to maintain enough distance.
Using the rubble and broken stone pillars in the Temple of the Thousand Winds for cover, they descended once more from the grassy hilltop.
The Ruin Guards' patrol routes didn't come too close to one another. The three of them crouched at a fixed position, their repeating crossbows aimed and ready.
They waited for a roaming Ruin Guard to enter their firing range on its own.
The Treasure Hoarders' repeating crossbows could fire five bolts in succession. Their effective range of seventy to eighty meters wasn't exceptional, but it was still quite good.
And a distance of over seventy meters should keep them from drawing the other Ruin Guards' "aggro."
Before long, a Ruin Guard approached their position with stiff, sluggish mechanical strides.
The brightly glowing core in its head was exposed. Li Qiuzhi and Ver aimed their Repeating Hand Crossbows in advance, waiting for the right moment to fire.
Noelle kept a vigilant watch on their surroundings to prevent any surprises.
The Ruin Guard stepped across the stone-paved ground, utterly unaware that people were lying in ambush more than a hundred meters ahead.
The kingdom that had once manufactured them had long since fallen. Without orders, they could only wander aimlessly until a living creature appeared before them and triggered their hostility.
Then, whoever that creature was would once again witness the glorious civilization that the kingdom once called Khaenri'ah had taken such pride in.
Unfortunately, at that very moment, a shameless outlander and his two female companions were lying in ambush, showing not a shred of fair play.
Watching the Ruin Guard slowly approach their effective firing range, Li Qiuzhi's gaze sharpened. He whispered to Ver beside him:
"When I say fire, pull the trigger with me."
Most of the techniques from his level-three Hunter's Archery and level-two Favonius Archery: Fundamentals also applied to repeating crossbows. He was well suited to judging when to attack; Ver only needed to concentrate on aiming.
A breeze stirred a little dust at their feet. Ver brushed her fingertips across her forehead beneath her hair, wiping away sweat that wasn't there, then took a deep breath. She was ready.
"Ready! Three, two, one, fire!"
Seeing that the rust-colored Ruin Guard had entered the right range, Li Qiuzhi gave the order to attack.
The two Repeating Hand Crossbows fired ten bolts in succession at the core in the Ruin Guard's head. They struck with precision, though the first two bounced off the still-sturdy core.
From the third bolt onward, damage began to appear in the Ruin Guard's core. The fourth, fifth, and sixth widened the damaged area, sending thin arcs of golden electricity flickering outward. It was partially disabled, but had yet to fall.
The final bolts extinguished the core at last, and the Ruin Guard crashed to the ground.
"It really went down!" Ver's expression brimmed with excitement.
[Defeated a powerful enemy. Gained 422 Experience Points.]
The corners of Li Qiuzhi's mouth lifted slightly. Although he had urged Ver and Noelle to fight the Ruin Guards for the Experience Points, the sheer amount he received after defeating one still surprised him.
I've already saved up over six hundred Experience Points. Soon I'll be able to level up again. As Li Qiuzhi thought this, his gaze toward the remaining Ruin Guards grew even more fervent.
With one Ruin Guard down, the others continued wandering on their own. It seemed they wouldn't react unless they detected an enemy.
It appeared that, powerful as Ruin Guards were, they weren't difficult to handle once you understood their weaknesses.
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