Heart of the Castle

Chapter 597
The elite archers of the elves have a great reputation. In addition to their super talent for bows and arrows, their craftsmanship in making bows and arrows should not be underestimated.Even for a longbow used by the most common elf warriors, its accuracy and range far surpass those of the so-called well-known craftsmen of other races, and it can even be compared with the average magic longbow.

The gift of peace is an ancient traditional ceremony of the elves, and the bows and arrows that the elves can provide are of course not of ordinary standards, but something that can be called a boutique among the elves.When five longbows of different shapes - which is also one of the characteristics of elf bows and arrows - are placed side by side on the long pine table, even the sunsinger, who is deeply thoughtful and shows no signs of emotion or anger, has a look on his face. Can't help but reveal a trace of pride.

These longbows are indeed the pride of the elves, and the most famous one belongs to the ancient legendary elf hero Thranduil Demon Slayer, who once ended the life of the notorious demon lord with three long arrows; The elven bow depicting the small golden sun emblem belonged to Haldir, the sun singer who "blew the dragon's death knell". In the battle to defend the Evergreen Tower, the arrows shot by this elven bow once broke the The sturdy dragon scales, comparable to magic armor, pierced through the abdomen of the Fire Diamond Dragon King Darija, but failed to save the owner's life under the dragon's breath breathed out by the furious Burning Dragon King.

The owners of the other three longbows are not as famous as these two legendary heroes, but they can also tell a series of wonderful stories.The Sunsinger told the stories behind each elf longbow in his solemn and deep tone, and the surroundings were silent for a while, as if even the breeze in the forest was paying sincere respect to the ancient elf heroes.

"This is the weapon provided by the Elf King's Court for the two contestants." After the narration, a sneer appeared on the face of the Sun Chanter, with obvious arrogance in his tone. "Your Excellency the Regent of the Human Kingdom, according to the rules of the Gift of Peace, it is your turn to provide weapons now. However, if you cannot come up with decent bows and arrows, the Elven King Court will generously lend you another five longbows for the sake of Guarantee the smooth progress of the first round of the gift of peace."

Sun Chanter's pretentious attitude is really disgusting, but Li Wei still politely thanked him for his "kindness" in lending the weapon. "Master Sunsinger, you are too polite." Li Wei's tone was mixed with sincerity and sarcasm, "The history of the Kingdom of Arthur is indeed too short compared with the kingdom of elves, so we really can't show it. There are so many old antiques, but the contest of the gift of peace obviously does not include this, I think as long as we come up with five high-quality bows and arrows, it will be enough."

"That's really great." The Sun Chanter showed a smiling expression as if he was enduring a naughty child, and at the same time, a trace of disgust flashed across his eyes very quickly. "Your Excellency the Regent of the Human Kingdom, then I will wait and see what kind of things you can come up with."

Li Wei then ordered the escorting knights to take out the bows and arrows they were equipped with and put them on another pine table.The appearance of these long bows is very different from that of elf bows. The back of the bow is made of [-]-forged fine steel, without any decoration on it, just engraved with anti-slip spiral patterns; The weight of the bow is more than [-] kilograms, and it is quite difficult for weaker people to even lift it.

Compared with the elven longbows, which were so slender as if they were exquisite works of art, these steel longbows looked big, ugly, thick and clumsy, just like the gap between a beautiful elf woman and a rough orc man.Many high elf nobles showed contemptuous expressions after seeing it, and some even couldn't help laughing.

The Sun Chanter's expression was also mixed with contempt and sarcasm at first, but it soon became very dignified. He walked to the long pine table amidst laughter, and met with the secret archer Larui Moonbow, who was carefully observing these longbows. Standing shoulder to shoulder, fingers lightly brushed the back of the steel longbow one by one.

"Is this... a longbow made of pure steel?" Sun Chanter half asked, half muttered to himself, "This kind of thing... how much strength does it take to draw it? How far is the range? Woolen cloth?"

There was no smile on the face of the secret archer Larui Moonbow from the very beginning. Hearing Sunsinger's inquiry, this leading marksman among the elves took a steel longbow and tried to open it. I drew the half-bow a few times, and the movement was as stable as if the astonishing weight of the steel longbow didn't exist.

"Singer, a half-bow requires about 100 kilograms of pulling force. It is estimated that the direct shooting range is between 170 meters and 220 meters, and the full-bow shooting range... probably can reach more than 400 meters!" La Rui Yuebow judged in a positive tone. .

"400 meters!" Sunsinger's face showed an unconcealable shock, "Isn't that farther than our sharpshooter troops? Even if they are equipped with the best quality elf longbows, direct fire The shooting range is only about 300 meters, and at a distance of 350 meters, it is difficult to even pose a threat to unarmored targets."

"In theory, that's right." Larry Moonbow shook his head and put the steel longbow back on the table. "However, I wonder how many archers can have a strength of more than 200 kilograms?"

"There are a lot of human knights with battle qi power, at least not less than the number of sharpshooters in the Moon Whispering Forest." Sun Chanter's eyebrows were still tightly frowned, and his eyes continued to stay on those steel longbows. The expression revealed in it can be described as hatred. "Larry Moonbow, this competition...you must win." The Sun Chanter said abruptly.

"Of course, I will do my best." Larry Moonbow replied firmly, "I guarantee with the glory of a marksman, Chant, that I will never affect my bow and arrow skills because of personal feelings."

"I fully believe in your glory as the number one sharpshooter in the Moon Whispering Forest," Sunsinger said emphatically, while grabbing the shoulder of the secret archer with his hand, "but in this competition, what you need is not to do your best , but must win!"

Larry Moonbow felt the unusual weight coming from his shoulders, so he couldn't help raising his eyes in surprise. "Singer?" He said softly, "That opponent's bow and arrow skills are quite good, and the ordinary elf marksman may not be his opponent. I can only promise to do my best and show my best level, but the final outcome How it will be judged by the Red Moon Goddess who is in charge of fate."

"That won't work, victory, only victory can stop the ambitions of mankind!" Sun Chanter's voice was sharp and hurtful, and every word was like a whip, "Although the Silver Pegasus Knights and the War Dancer team They are all elite troops, but compared with the heavy armored knights of the human kingdom, they have no way to gain any advantage. Only the sharpshooter troops are our strongest trump card, the trump card that deters the human kingdoms from taking a step beyond the thunder pool! If we lose in what we're good at, Larry Moonbow, you should know what that means!"

The last sentence made Larry Moonbow's whole body tremble, but Sunsinger couldn't continue, because the silver bell rang softly and the horn blared sharply, heralding that the first round of the ceremony of peace was about to start.Seeing countless gazes cast from all directions, the Sun Chanter hesitated for a moment, let go of the shoulder of the Archer, and walked aside with a heavy face.

Larry Moonbow calmed down and stood quietly beside the long pine table, waiting for his opponent to appear.On the surface, the elf secret archer had recovered his calm, but the last words that the sun chanter just said echoed in his heart.

"If we lose in what we are good at, Larry Moonbow, you should know what that means!"

Will losing in the contest of bow and arrow skills really arouse the ambition of human beings to annex the Moon Whispering Forest?Larry Yuegong felt a little confused, but he quickly suppressed this thought in his heart. "In any case, only by being calm can we win this contest." The elf secret archer told himself.

Ser Grestully, the sniper archer, walked into the poplar forest surrounded by several knights guarding the human mission, and stopped at the other end of the long pine table.Larry Moonbow looked at his opponent. This archer among humans looked old and haggard—from an elf's aesthetic point of view, even Li Wei, who was just 16 years old, looked a little haggard, with a beard on his upper lip. Slightly messy and clearly not well manicured.However, his eyes are steady and sharp. This is the eyes that only a true archer can have, an opponent that should not be underestimated. Larry Moonbow thought quietly, holding his hands secretly, as if this could It's the same as adding strength to yourself.

The person in charge of presiding over the ceremony of peace is Sautind Loma, the great elder of the elves. Even among the high elves known for their longevity, this elder is well-known for his age. It is said that he has witnessed a Fifteen hundred seasons, and seemed ready to witness another fifteen hundred more.

The Great Elder has an old face that is extremely rare among the elves, his hands are withered like dry and hard branches, and his body is leaning on the Sky Chaser Staff that symbolizes the status of the Elf Great Elder. At first glance, it is almost impossible to tell the difference between the two.After the ceremony began, he walked to the center of the poplar grove, and with his unique old voice, he prayed to Alara, the goddess of life, Mafa, the goddess of justice, and Mata, the goddess of red moon, that they would be like thousands of people. Witness the Rite of Peace as it has been for years, grant strength and even victory to the righteous among them.

The Great Elder should have prayed for half an hour, followed by a ceremony where the elves chanted in unison, followed by many red tapes that the elves love most, but Li Wei had already tactfully proposed to complete it as soon as possible Ritual comments.The Emerald Dragon King even stated straightforwardly that if all the gifts of peace were done in accordance with the practices of the ancient elves, he would first go back to the Emerald Dragon Cave to take a nap, and after lunch, he would come to Baiyanglin to see the results.

Many high elves felt very reluctant about this, but the Sun Chanter and the Great Elder, who should have maintained the tradition the most, expressed that they could accept it, so all the red tape was simplified. After just a quarter of an hour, the Elf Great Elder held up the sky in his hand stick, announcing the official start of the first round of competition.

According to the rules of the Gift of Peace, both parties can choose any of the ten longbows. However, the steel longbows used by humans require too much strength. Although the Larry Moonbow is not impossible to use, it always feels very uncomfortable. Habit.The elf secret archer thought about it, and chose the sun-rayed elf bow used by Sunsinger Haldir, because this longbow was the closest to the longbow he usually used.

The elf secret archer first gently pulled the bowstring a few times, each time it was half full, and then carefully placed an arrow on the string, raised the bow to aim, and slowly adjusted it, so that he could familiarize himself with and master the bowstring. properties of the bow.

Sir Grace chose a steel longbow. Unexpectedly, after he picked up the longbow, he did not try to pull it at all. Instead, he took a long arrow without hesitation, then turned around and raised the bow.He moved very quickly, and he almost didn't even aim at the target. Amidst a low cry of surprise, the bowstring vibrated like light thunder, and the long arrow shot straight towards the arrow deep in the dense forest with a shrill sound of breaking the wind. Target shot.

Different from the archery targets on the ordinary shooting range in the human kingdom, the archery targets prepared by the elves are actually poplar branches with the bark removed, about one meter in length, and the thickness is equal to that of a thumb.According to the habit of contests among elf sharpshooters, there are a total of twenty of these arrow targets, randomly inserted in the middle of the huge poplar forest. Find out where those targets are.

For example, Brebe, the master dwarf blacksmith, didn't see anything. After Sir Grace shot an arrow, he immediately yelled. "Oops, the stone is on the top, Sir Grace, can't you hold on tighter?" The old dwarf's noisy voice hit at least a dozen elves, almost all the voice of the elf sharpshooter who came running to report his shooting results. pressed down.

"Hitting the target!" The voice of the elf sharpshooter was full of surprise, and he held up the poplar branch that was split in half from the middle. "Ser Grestully of the Realm of Men hits the bull's-eye!"

Shocked voices erupted from the crowd watching the battle, especially Sun Chanter's performance was the most excited, "This is impossible!" His voice was almost roaring, "There must be something wrong with that bow!"

No wonder the Sun Chanter was so surprised. Almost all elves are excellent archers, so they are no strangers to the use and competition of bows and arrows. The rules of the gift of peace require that both parties should not use the weapons they are used to, but provide each other with a number of weapons. The selection of a set of weapons and equipment is not only for the sake of fairness, but also an important part of the competition of bow and arrow skills.

Because after reaching the level of sharpshooters, hitting the bull's-eye is already a very simple matter for them, so unless there is an accident such as missing the target, the outcome is often decided in other links.

However, even if it is as strong as the secret archer La Rui Yuebow, after getting a longbow that has never been used before, it will take a short time to get familiar with it. It can take days or even months to do so.This not only tests the sharpshooters' ability to quickly master unfamiliar bows and arrows, but also increases their chances of deviating from the target.

However, the human sharpshooter held the steel longbow, as if he was holding a weapon he had used countless times, and hit the bull's-eye almost without aiming, which of course made people feel unbelievable.

The expressions of the other elves were not much better. Many high elves who paid attention to their appearance were stunned. They didn't wake up from their sluggishness until the roar of the sun chant suddenly sounded. After a moment, Voices of protest and questioning rose into the sky like a volcanic eruption.

"This is impossible!"

"Cheating, it must be cheating!"

"Examine that longbow!"

The Sunsinger took a few steps to the side of the long pine table, and was about to reach out to grab the longbow in Sir Grace's hand, when a figure suddenly took a big step from the side and stood in front of him.

It was Larry Moonbow, the secret archer.

Sir Grace's arrow also left an expression of surprise and disbelief on his face, and it hasn't faded until now.However, his movements to block the sun chant were very firm, his gaze as stubborn as hard gravel.

"Singer, this is a contest between me and Sir Grace, you are overstepping the rules!"

The Sunsinger was trembling with anger, staring fiercely at the secret archer Larui Moonbow, but before he could lose his temper, the voice of the Elf Queen sounded from behind.

"Singer, calm down!" The Elf Queen frowned slightly, and stopped him softly, "Those weapons have been fully tested by the Great Elder and several druid masters, and there are no magic weapons in them. Do you think there is something wrong with that longbow? Or are you going to question the appraisal results of the elders?"

"No, it's not..." Sunsinger suddenly woke up, and beads of sweat glistened on his forehead, "I made a mistake in my statement, Your Majesty, please forgive me, what I mean is that the human being picked up the long hair To be able to use the bow so proficiently must have been prepared in advance, yes, it must be like this!"

The elf queen turned her gaze to the Griffin Lord, carefully examining the facial expressions of the young man, "Your Excellency the Regent of the Human Kingdom, although the question raised by the Sunsinger is a bit unreasonable, I think many people present have more or less in their hearts Some." Her voice was as soft as the finest silk, but her words seemed aggressive, "Can you please answer this doubt for us? Is it because human marksmen are too good, or is it because of other reasons?"

(End of this chapter)