I Am the Madman of This Family

Episode 18. Single Bridge Dalian (4)

Single wooden bridge Dalian.

It was one of the traditional sparring methods of the Sephira family. Catherine explained the rules to Keter.

Opponents face each other at a distance of 100 meters. A total of thirty arrows can be used. The arrowhead is removed to eliminate the killing power.

In this state, they shoot arrows at each other.

There are three conditions for defeat. Either dodge the opponent’s arrow, drop the bow, or the side whose arrow landed first loses.

It’s a simple rule indeed, but there’s a profound philosophy in it. It was a training to overcome the ‘fear’ of the opponent’s arrow while eliminating the ‘hesitation’ felt when shooting a human.

Catherine even tried to explain the history behind the single-legged sparring, but Keter waved her hand.

“If I’m going to talk about pointless things, I’ll just leave?”

“all right. Before we start, put on the protective armor over there first. Even if the arrowheads are removed, they will still bruise if hit properly.”

“Why aren’t you wearing them?”

“It’s your first time at this event, but it’s the one I’m most confident in.”

“Will you give me a hand? Alright, instead I won’t shoot arrows in a straight line.”

“… … ?”

The soldiers did not understand Keter’s words. How bizarre is this to not shoot arrows in a straight line?

But Catherine had a guess.

“You mean to shoot only with a howitzer? It’s not impossible, but the level of difficulty is too high for a young archery novice. You might get hurt, so don’t do that.”

Catherine’s choice of single-legged sparring wasn’t simply because she was confident. It was also because they could compete with each other in archery.

Kether holds a bow in her hand. Although the exterior looks unusual, that’s all. Just looking at it, the balance of the bow was not good, and most of all, there was not a single arrow stuck in the target.

I came to the 2nd shooting range because I wanted to shoot an arrow, but I couldn’t hit any of the targets. That was Catherine’s reasonable reasoning.

However, Kether declared that it does not shoot arrows in a straight line. It was practically nothing to say that he would lose.

‘I guess he’s not going to keep his promise.’

Keter didn’t wear the armor he was told to wear, and he chose his own arrows.

Catherine frowned as she watched Keter pick up the arrow.

‘Even if you choose, you’re choosing a long-range sniper arrow. It is the most difficult arrow to handle as it is greatly influenced by the wind.’

It was all brought on by Keter. Not wearing any armor, not even choosing any arrows.

‘If you don’t keep your promise, that’s fine in its own way. Because I broke my oath.’

Breaking an oath is not something that can be easily overlooked. Even nobles are no exception. Rather, they are punished more severely.

Catherine picked up a copper arrow that had the right weight and stood opposite Keter, who was first at the shooting range.

“I’ll yield the first attack to Master Keter. Shoot first.”

Keter’s arrows won’t even reach here anyway. Catherine, as well as all the soldiers watching, thought so.

* * *

The soldiers stood in groups of five each on the left and right sides of the shooting range. It is both a witness and a judge.

What kind of archery will Keter from the lawless city show? Have you ever learned archery? I couldn’t tell.

Archery is difficult to shoot properly if you do not know the posture and method in the first place. Keter even refused to shoot straight.

Swoop.

Keter took a shooting stance.

The soldiers made puzzled faces.

‘What kind of posture is that?’

It’s definitely a posture that can shoot a bow.

But it was unique.

The stride length is large, and the heel of the right foot, which is pulled back, is slightly lifted. It was as if he was about to rush at any moment.

Kether, who had taken a stance, threw an arrow into the string.

The soldiers exchanged glances with expressions of yes. Keter clearly said he would not shoot in a straight line. Then you have to shoot the arrow into the sky, at least up high.

But isn’t Keter aiming in a straight line now?

‘It was a bluff. You’re also from absinthe.’

While the soldiers were disappointed in Keter, Catherine was not caught off guard.

‘In addition to the posture I’m seeing for the first time, I’m pulling the bowstring only with my thumb, not with my index and middle fingers. Where did you learn archery?’

It would be difficult to hit because she used a sniper arrow, but Catherine tensed her muscles so that she could shoot down Keter’s bow at any time.

Before long, Keter lightly let go of the bowstring.

Toong.

the arrow is gone

A total of 11 pairs of eyes were watching Keter’s arrows, and the string that had been pulled was apparently released.

The arrow literally, just disappeared.

“… … ?”

what’s going on

Keter’s arrow disappearing?

If it was said that it was a wrong shot, there should have been arrows scattered nearby, but that was not the case either. While everyone was confused, one soldier was shocked.

“Everyone look over there!”

The soldier closest to Catherine pointed a finger at her.

“Why is the unit commander suddenly?”

“Waist, look at the waist!”

“what? Such a perverted bastard… omg!?”

The soldier who gave strength to his eyes opened his mouth wide.

Katherine’s side was torn as if it had been cut by a sword, and blood was dripping. The soldiers stuttered.

“Um, what’s going on? Why is there blood on the commander’s waist?”

“Ser, can’t you?”

A common hypothesis popped into their heads even though no one said it.

Keter shot an arrow. However, it was not an ordinary arrow, so it was invisible to our eyes.

“When you said you wouldn’t shoot in a straight line, did you mean that you shoot arrows so fast you can’t see them?!”

“Don’t be silly. Does it make sense that you can’t see it no matter how fast it is?”

The arrows fired are of course very fast.

But it’s never to the extent that you can’t see it with the ‘eye’. Even the head of Basil, who is said to shoot the fastest arrow in the Sephira family, leaves an afterimage.

However, it was absurd that Keter’s arrows did not leave even afterimages.

As much as the soldiers were perplexed, Catherine couldn’t believe the current reality.

‘I didn’t even blink. Arrows definitely existed until I let go of the bow. But as soon as I let go, the arrow disappeared.’

Catherine was fully prepared. When Kether shoots an arrow, it is intended to shoot the arrow. Then I wondered if I would realize the difference in my skills and give up on my own.

But the arrow shot by Keter suddenly disappeared. The moment I look up because I wonder if it was shot by mistake and flew into the sky.

I felt a burning pain in my side.

When I looked down in wonder, my clothes were torn before I knew it, and blood flowed from my side. It wasn’t a deep wound, but it was very painful, as if it had been burned.

‘You said you wouldn’t shoot straight. Did you mean this?’

If you can’t see the arrow, how will you know if it flies in a straight line? It was so impossible that it couldn’t be compared to trying to hit it with a howitzer.

It’s a transparent arrow.

Regarding archery, it was not even in the records of the Sephira family with a long history.

Catherine felt a strange feeling.

It’s not fear or fear.

It is a sense of joy and excitement.

Keter, who thought that he must be a beginner in archery, showed a new possibility of archery. How could I not be excited?

‘I will reveal the secret. And, I will learn.’

Catherine’s strength is not only hard work.

One of her true strengths was her freedom not to be bound by common sense even in a conservative environment.

‘Don’t try to find it with your eyes, let’s feel it with the flow of the wind. Then maybe I can detect it.’

Before that, Catherine can now also attack.

Quickly assuming a firing stance, Catherine took a deep breath and fired straight at Keter’s knee.

Of the human body parts, the relatively thin arms and legs are the most difficult to hit. If the opponent moves even a little, you can avoid it.

But now, according to the rules of sparring on a single bridge, evasion leads to defeat.

In this case, you must hit the opponent’s arrow and shoot it down. But can Keter really do that? Shooting down arrows was one of the skills that even knights had difficulty with.

Then, in a gentle motion, Keter hooked an arrow to her bow. It looked so natural that it didn’t look fast, but Catherine’s arrow hadn’t reached Keter yet.

Keter immediately pulled a protest and let go.

It was a very reckless act in the eyes of the soldiers. Like the first shot, Keter’s linking movements were too fast.

He did not ‘aim’ at the opponent, did not ‘contrast’ whether the target point and arrow tip were in the center, and did not go through the process of ‘tuning’ the tremors of his hands and body.

Normally, if you ignore any of these three things, it is standard practice for arrows to go to the wrong place at all.

Toong.

Kether’s second arrow was fired, and like the first, it vanished.

and-

Caang!

Catherine’s arrow, which came close to Keter, fell as if it had hit a transparent wall.

“The unit commander’s arrow… Did you bounce!?”

“Hey, what the hell is this?”

The soldiers, who had to watch quietly, couldn’t stand the silence and were busy in amazement.

“An arrow? Where the hell did the arrow go!”

Keter, from the lawless city, shooting an arrow and hitting Catherine’s arrow is a surprise in itself. But where did Keter’s arrow go?

That was what Catherine, the person involved, was most curious about.

‘I don’t know how to shoot an invisibility arrow, but how the hell does it hit the target and remain invisible? Isn’t that impossible even with magic?’

The complexion of the soldiers changes every moment. At first, the soldiers, who were sure of Catherine’s victory, began to worry about Catherine.

Catherine also admitted. Keter unexpectedly showed high-level archery. On top of that, shooting invisible arrows is a skill that is not enough to say that it is amazing.

‘I haven’t lost yet.’

Catherine activates her aura and maximizes her physical abilities.

Strengthening the body by aura is very tiring. If you push it to the maximum, you may suffer internal injuries.

Catherine didn’t care about the aftermath, and risked her life only to win the match. This isn’t a friendly sparring, it’s a mission.

Her body was strengthened by the aura, and she started shooting arrows at an unbelievable speed.

Tung, thump, thump!

There is no gap between shooting arrows.

It seems as if the series of processes of feeding an arrow to the bow, pulling the string to aim, releasing the string to hit, and then feeding the arrow again are all omitted.

The third archery of the Sephira family’s vision, ‘zodiac’. It was the rapid-fire ‘Twins’ that rained down arrows.

Even if Keter shoots an invisible arrow, it’s just one shot.

Then I’ll fire three, five, eight. That was Catherine’s strategy.

“Ohhh!”

Catherine’s strategy brightened the soldiers’ complexion again.

Keter’s bow shooting speed was certainly mediocre. If Kether had worn armor, it might have survived the arrows.

However, since he didn’t wear armor because of his pride, he would be stricken with pain even if he was hit by a single arrow.

So this game, Catherine won!

The soldiers’ guess was soon confirmed. Keter’s movements in response to Catherine’s rapid fire were unmatched.