Beast Slayer Online: Initialization
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 171: Moonlight Across Dead Fields
Superior Ursine Armor had no gorget protecting the throat.
So in the eyes of the archer known as Sweetmouth Raff, the outcome should have been simple.
Either this magic-using freak abandoned his attack on Gregor and blocked with his vambrace.
Or the arrow punched clean through his neck.
Magic?
Could magic truly be used again and again without pause?
Sweetmouth had never seen magic before, but he refused to believe it was such a convenient power.
His archery ranked among the elite even within the Lannister forces. Earlier, amid the mounted skirmish, he had already shot one of Stark’s guards clean through the chest.
Quick.
Precise.
Fatal.
On a battlefield this small, a master archer could decide everything.
As long as he stayed outside the melee, hidden in safety with a bow in hand, anyone targeted by his arrows would feel ice crawl down their spine.
Sweetmouth Raff understood his role perfectly.
After Gregor’s men loosed their first volley and charged, only Raff remained hidden in the roadside woods, using trunks and brush for cover while firing from the shadows.
Lannor reacted exactly as Raff expected.
The fist originally driving toward Gregor’s helmet slowed halfway.
But it did not fully withdraw to guard his throat.
Instead, Lannor pulled the hand back so both hands could seize the sword hilt.
“Eddard!” Lannor roared. “Throw me the dagger!”
Eddard Stark was still locked against two soldiers. Though age had crept onto him, he had once been counted among the Seven Kingdoms’ finest warriors.
While Lannor fought Gregor, Eddard had already slit one man’s throat with his longsword.
The instant he heard Lannor’s shout, he reacted without hesitation. Trust, already rooted deep enough to border on instinct, made him yank the Dragon Bone Dagger from his belt and hurl it toward Lannor without even turning to look.
Then he immediately returned to fighting the men before him.
Eddard was no expert thrower, but a properly trained knight would not miss at such a distance.
The expensive dagger spun through the air toward Lannor’s side, still within reach of his sword.
After firing the shot meant for Lannor’s throat, Sweetmouth Raff had already retreated most of his body behind the tree trunk.
When he saw Lannor halt the punch, he felt no excitement.
Only certainty.
He understood bows, arrows, and the limits of flesh better than almost anyone alive. To him, Lannor’s reaction had been the only possible choice.
An elite archer was, by necessity, an expert observer of battle.
Then Sweetmouth’s calm confidence shattered.
Lannor stepped completely outside the situation Raff had constructed.
How dared he ignore the arrow flying toward his throat?!
The arrow and the Dragon Bone Dagger reached Lannor almost simultaneously.
The arrow arrived first.
But just before the iron tip pierced flesh, it struck a dim golden Mana Shield.
Crack!
The arrow bounced away in front of Sweetmouth Raff’s widening eyes, while the golden shield shattered apart like brittle glass.
Witcher Tip: Standard [Quen Signs] are Permanent Signs. If their duration has not expired and incoming damage does not exceed the durability threshold, the Sign remains active.
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