Data.129 – Old Bowman, Rescue Arrow

Even though I was alone, the normal zombies were no match for me.
I shot them down and entered the long hallway that connected to the west ward.

“There are a lot of them here…!”

I turned the corner and saw a group of zombies.
If a player like Kyuka was trapped, then there was a high possibility that there was a special enemy.
The safest strategy to take here was not jumping with I’m Arrow, but use long range attacks to bring their number down first, and then use Warp Arrow to get close to Kyuka. Then I could hold her and use I’m Arrow to escape.
Running away would mean turning our backs to the zombies. But I’m Arrow dealt damage to anything it touched, which would protect us.

“Burning Arrow Storm!”

There was no friendly fire in this battle.
And so I could shoot my arrows without worry, even if Kyuka was surrounded by zombies.
The numerous exploding arrows killed one zombie after another…until there were hardly any left.
Huh? So there wasn’t a strong zombie?
Then why had she been struggling so much?
…I guess I would have to ask her.

“Warp Arrow!”

I shot towards Kyuka all at once.
As she knew that I was coming to help her, she was relatively calm, but a little surprised by Warp Arrow.

“Sorry. I lost my right arm in the fight. And there were no limb recovery items in this ward…”

So she couldn’t use her right arm…!
It was no wonder that she was struggling.
If it happened to me, I wouldn’t be able to use a bow at all. I would be completely defenseless.
As her main weapon was a rapier, she was able to switch to her left hand and continue fighting.

“I’m sure that Gray or Canaria found a recovery item for you.”

Now that I thought about it, Canaria hadn’t distributed her items yet…
And so I didn’t know what she had found…
Well, it was my fault for not asking.

“Now, let’s retreat. In order to do that…I’ll need to hold you…”

“Don’t worry about it. Just do it.”

“Very well…I’m Arrow!”

I held Kyuka and flew through the hallway in a straight line.
We hit the corner wall, slowed down, and then ran the rest of the way to the central ward.
There were more zombies there than before.
Oliver and Anne were not able to keep up, and the zombies were flooding into the floor.

“Kyuji here. Mr. Oliver, I was able to rescue Ms. Kyuka. Prepare to retreat!”

‘Understood! Things are starting to heat up! Over!’

So there was no time to talk…
I needed to help them!

The front entrance was filled with zombies when we arrived.
Not just the weaker ones, but there were also many special zombies as well.
The worst were the zombies that carried chainsaws.
The sound of them alone was enough to make your legs go weak.
Of course, they also cut through flesh in ways that swords and axes couldn’t compare to.
And so I had to disarm them quickly!

“Seal Demon Bind 3-shot! Exorcism Barrier! Gatling Webcloud Arrow!”

I bound the strong-looking zombies and protected my team mates with a barrier.
As the weak zombies were always close together, the sticky nets were especially effective.
The first net covered numerous zombies and made them roll on the ground like a ball.

“Demonbane Attack Blade! Rapidfire!”

Many of the skills for Exorcism Bow Arts were treated differently, and could not be combined with other skills, and so I just fired them rapidly.
And that was enough to deal with enemies that could no longer move.
Once we had decreased their numbers enough, everyone retreated up the stairs.
There were laser gates installed here as well, and so we activated them immediately.
And like that, things were settled at the front entrance.

“My mistake caused you all a lot of trouble. I’m really sorry…”

Kyuka apologized.
However, no one blamed her.
Besides, in the end, everyone had survived, and we had bought some time before the time limit.
I was more interested in the reason.

“Was there an extra dangerous zombie in the west ward?”

“Yes. It came out when I pulled a lever. Multiple times.”

So it was the same mistake that Canaria made…!
And multiple times!?
Was she that clumsy?

“The first time that I pulled a lever, a bookcase slid open and revealed a hidden room. There were several great healing items inside. And so I started to think that pulling levers would lead to healing items.”

“I see… Yes, it would be normal to think that after it happened once…”

“In fact, there were other times when it was the case. However, there were also quite a few traps… And more time passed as I fought the zombies. Many were quite strong, and one took off my arm. It was my mistake…”

While that might be the case, the important thing was that she survived and was gathering items.
Who cares, as long as it ends well…
I was pretty sure that I would be pulling the levers myself if I was in her place.
However, I didn’t really know how to say this to her.
She did seem quite disappointed in herself…

“…However, I think that it was still worth the trouble you all went through. Because I got every single item there is to get. Especially since I got a certain item that is vital when trying to survive in a zombie attack.”

Kyuka was suddenly very excited.
Was it really that good of an item…!?

“Look. It’s a rocket launcher!”

“…”

…Yes, rocket launchers were often seen as being the best weapon against zombies.
However, with waves of numerous zombies pushing at us. Would one shot of a rocket launcher really change that much…?

“Ooh! That’s amazing, Kyuka! That’s why you’re the subleader!”

“Wow! That’s so cool! We practically have already won now that we have this!”

But Oliver and Anne were very excited, and so I decided to follow along.
It was true that it was a powerful weapon, so it would surely be useful.

“With this rocket launcher, we can take care of strong zombies with one hit. It will be great during emergencies.”

“Right? And so I will entrust it to you.”

“What!?”

“You’re the one who saved me. Besides, I’m not used to using ranged weapons. So I’d want a professional like you to use it.”

While I might have been a professional with a bow, I had never used a rocket launcher before…
Still, I couldn’t argue against the logic that someone who used ranged weapons regularly should use it.
And like that, the possible trump card that was the rocket launcher, was put into my hands…

“Ah, by the way, Kyuji! How are things on the other side!? Canaria and your buddy are there, aren’t they?”

“Ah!”

I finished what I came to do, and so I should hurry up and return…!
Oliver had received an item from Gray that would heal Kyuka’s arm, and it was healed immediately.
Now they would have no trouble guarding the staircase.

Kyuka distributed the items she collected in the west ward, and then I drew back and went up the stairs.
I could no longer hear the sounds of the submachine gun that she had been firing off so cheerfully…
I hope that they were alright…!

“AHHHH!! Please don’t break the gate!!”

Canaria was still alive and well.
However, there were now zombies that swung giant iron hammers attacking the laser gate.
So, the smart ones had finally appeared…!

“AHhhhhhh!!”

That was Gray shouting now!
It was coming from above, even though there weren’t supposed to be any enemies there…

“Things are getting heated…”

It was just as the 1st hour of survival was almost up.

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