Bow and Arrow - 675

Even ignoring the fact that it was simply such a good book, it gave him an idea he had never thought of before. It started with the issue of range. 

When using poisons, it was more or less impossible to do so without being close. If you wanted to do it from afar, you would have to set it up in advance.

However, as the Weapon God had, why couldn't he use a bow and arrow? He simply had overlooked it before, as range had never been a major issue.

Though not an issue, it would surely help to be able to assassinate someone from farther away, without having to perfectly throw a vial of poison.

Skymender stood up and looked at Skymerge. 

"What did you think?" Skymerge asked.

"It was one of the greatest things I've ever read in my life." Skymender said honestly.

Skymerge lightly smiled. "I know. My new book should be done in around a year. Prepare yourself."

Skymender nodded. He would absolutely come back.

Nearly a year had passed since he had started reading the book. Everything about him had advanced greatly. This included poison knowledge, money, and his assassination organization.

He had two things he needed to do. One was to begin practicing with the bow and arrow. He would not use it unless he was absolutely confident in his aim.

The other was to finally purchase some of the classified materials he now had access to.

He started with practicing the bow and arrow. He had one specially made, with his own money of course. It was high quality, powerful, long range, and fit perfectly to his current stature. He naturally had it made through an underground channel as he would end up using it for assassinations and being as careful as possible couldn't hurt.

With his current connections, he basically had full access to the underground of Sky city, and could even go so far as to be considered one of the most major individuals involved in it. This naturally included association with those he may eventually assassinate. Therefore, he had recently started a new business, where he was able to make even more money than before, and by a lot.

He called it assassination insurance.

He would give individuals who were interested an amount, and by paying that amount, they would be safe for an entire year, no matter how much he was offered to kill them.

Of course, the amount they paid would either go up or stay the same after a year, depending on how much interest they garnered and how much others would be willing to pay to assassinate them. Along with making him far more money than before, this also actually saved a few lives, even those which the police had wanted dead.

They had tried to cause some trouble after his rejection, but the threat he posed made them very quickly calm down. If it happened again, Skymender may have to take action to let them understand that they were the lesser party in their agreement.

But for now, everything was once again calm, and they seemed to understand the idea of assassination insurance. 

Skymender spent a lot of time practicing with the bow and arrow. He practiced both as Skymender and the Skygod. Perhaps it was his experience with weapons, but he progressed rapidly. He felt as if he had much more talent with the bow and arrow than he did with the sword.

After around a month, he was able to hit most of his targets at any range. Only extremely far targets had a lower hit rate.

However, he did not need to shoot that far. A hundred feet or so was more than enough for a majority of his targets. He would naturally continue practicing, as the further he could attack from, the better.

Just as Skymender had felt like testing his new bow and arrow skills by assassinating someone, he received a very interesting assassination mission from the hesitant informant.

"I'm not sure whether I should even give this to you, as it may get me involved, but since we've worked so well together, here."

Skymender opened up the envelope, and was surprised. Indeed, it was a tricky situation.

The assassination target was a police officer, and not some corrupt one, but a truly positive aspect to society.

Naturally, one would be hesitant to even consider accepting it, but the price paid was something that nobody could ignore.

Skymender thought for a moment. The police's reaction may be an issue, but he believed that they needed to be put in their place regardless. 

Skymender nodded. "I can take this mission."

The Informant nodded. "This is dangerous even for me, as they will know it was I that gave you the mission. I can pay you to protect me." 

Skymender nodded. "It's on the house this time, Informant."

He breathed a sigh of relief as Skymender left.

That same night, in the house of the police officer, an arrow shot through the window, piercing his heart. No poison was necessary.

The police were oddly silent about the matter in the morning and afternoon. However, the entire city could feel the tension in the air.

Skymender had an idea about their plans. That night, the police gathered and advanced towards the Informant's house. Since they had no idea who Skymender was or where he could be, they could only make a move on the Informant.

The Informant looked out the window for a moment before closing his curtains. He laid on his bed, possibly for the last time. "It is up to you, sir Skygod."

The police, silently moving and hidden, soon entered the open yard. The house was surrounded.

It was as they neared that they stopped. 

On the roof of the Informant was a silhouette, the moon high behind him.

Without a word, he raised his bow.

The police chief yelled out. "SKYGOD! RETREAT!"

But he was late. Skymender released his bow. Arrows coated with poison fell as he rapidly shot tens of arrows.

Poison mist sprang up as the police fled. 

Like a god of death reaping the battlefield, tens of police officers fell to the ground, never to get back up.