Heart of the Castle

Chapter 598

Facing the elf queen's questioning, Li Wei's expression seemed calm and composed, but there was a trace of incomprehensible sadness in his eyes. "Your Majesty the Elven Queen," he tapped his breastplate with his right fist, his voice echoed over the poplar forest, "The weapons provided by the Kingdom of Arthur have been tested, and they are all ordinary weapons without enchantments. Grace Jazz is the most outstanding marksman in the Kingdom of Arthur, and I don’t know how many demons have died under his longbow, and among them there are even powerful Balrogs and Abyssal Demons that are close to the lord class."

There was a surprised sound from the surrounding crowd.Although the kingdom of elves has been closed for hundreds of years, for humans, this period of time often means the replacement of more than a dozen dynasties, and even the rise and fall of several kingdoms.However, for the long-lived elves, hundreds of years is just a long period of time. Even those elves who have participated in the dragon war have not yet entered old age.

Before the Dragon War, the Moon Whisper Forest had been attacked by demon armies several times. Although the elves had successfully repelled the demon army every time by virtue of their geographical advantages, the fierce and fierce demons still gave the Moon Whisper Forest quite serious losses.

Among them, the image of the Balrog, who is surrounded by the flames of hell, turning everything he passes into scorched earth, and the image of the abyssal demon, who is besieged by dozens of sharpshooters and full of sharp arrows but still fighting in rage, is the most terrifying.Even until now, many elves who have fought against the demon army can't help but feel chills in their hearts when they recall such scenes.

Sir Grace was able to kill such a powerful demon, which made many elves feel respect.Since the precise arrow just now showed Sir Grace's ability as a first-class marksman, they didn't even think that Levi's answer might be exaggerated.

Seeing many people showing expressions of agreement, Sun Chanter stepped out of the crowd with a stiff face, and questioned loudly in a suspicious tone. "Your Excellency the Regent, I am not questioning the weapons you provided or Sir Grace's marksman status, but I have doubts about his ability to master an unfamiliar weapon so quickly."

Li Wei turned to face the Sunsinger, with a faint smile flashing in his eyes, "Master Sunsinger, I don't understand what you mean. Sir Grace's usual weapon is a silver fir longbow. One thing everyone knows.”

The sun chanter narrowed his eyes, his vision became as menacing as lava, and even the air was ablaze with it, "Your Excellency, the excuses you used to prevaricate are not good at all." He announced word by word Said, "The elves are all skilled archers. Even old people or underage children can fight with bows. If you want to deceive the elves in terms of bow and arrow skills, your plan will definitely fail."

"Cheating?" Before Levi could answer, Mr. Dish had already interjected from the side, "This elf chanter, your accusation against Master Levi is completely unreasonable, can't Sir Grace have what you elves don't have?" Ability? Is it all the result of deceit and tricks as long as it is better than the elves in bow and arrow skills?"

"That's right, in that case, what's the point of this contest?" The dwarf master blacksmith Brebe shouted, "It's better to simply announce that the elves have won!"

The elves gathered around the poplar forest looked at each other in blank dismay. Of course, they didn't want to see their side lose in the bow and arrow contest they were proud of.There is no evidence that Sir Grace could not possess the ability to quickly familiarize himself with weapons.

The sun chanter looked at Mr. Dish with a gloomy expression, and then turned his gaze back to the Griffin Lord. "Your Excellency the Regent, no matter what you say, I hope you can help me and make my doubts completely disappear."

Li Wei nodded, and then turned to the sniper archer who was waiting quietly with a longbow, "Sir Grace, please change to a longbow, and then show off your archery skills to the respected Sunsinger."

Sniper Archer didn't say a word, just nodded in reply.He put down the steel war bow in his hand, picked up another one from the pine table, then hitched a long arrow, turned around and raised the bow to shoot.His movements seemed smoother than last time, from picking up the longbow to releasing the sharp arrow, there was not even a pause in the middle.

The sound of the bowstring vibrating was still reverberating in the forest, and the elf who reported the target stumbled out, holding two pieces of poplar branches in his hand, "Hit the bull's-eye! The human marksman hit the bull's-eye again!"

Surprised voices erupted, and this time there was much less suspicion. If Sir Grace might have tried one of the longbows in advance, he couldn't have tried all the longbows, could he?That would be ridiculous, and for a sharpshooter, the feel is likely to be completely messed up.

However, the Sun Chanter still insisted on his point of view, "The longbow you provided cannot get rid of this suspicion. If you want to convince me, let your sharpshooter use the weapon provided by our elves!"

"Sir Grace has always used a silver fir longbow. The style and technique of using this longbow are quite different from the elf bow." Li Wei said, looking directly into the eyes of Sun Chanter, without giving in. "If Sir Grace must use an elf bow that he has never touched before, then to be fair, Lord Larry Moonbow must also use a human steel bow."

The Sun Chanter instinctively wanted to reject this request, but when he saw that everyone onlookers - including the Elf Queen and the Great Elder - were deeply frowning, the refusal he was about to blurt out was like a stone. in the throat. "Since this is the case, then..." He forced a smile with some difficulty, and turned to Larui Yuebow behind him, "Secret archer Larui Yuebow, would you like to exchange weapons with your opponent?"

Larry Moonbow didn't say a word, just nodded solemnly, then handed the elven longbow in his hand to Sir Grace, and at the same time took the heavy steel war bow and arrow-filled bow from Sir Grace. The quiver of arrows, these arrows are also made of fine steel, the weight is quite amazing.

In the next few minutes, there was no sound among the poplar forests. The two sharpshooters were familiarizing themselves with weapons that were extremely unfamiliar to them. However, although Sir Grace had never used the Elven Longbow, he had come into contact with the imitation of the Elven Longbow. I was able to quickly adapt to this weapon. After a few trial pulls, I raised my right hand to signal that I was ready.On the contrary, the steel war bow, which requires a lot of strength to use flexibly, made the elf secret archer feel quite awkward. It took a full five seconds longer than Sir Grace to raise his hand to signal that he was ready.

Due to the five-second gap, the complexions of many elves became ugly, and it also confirmed Levi's statement that Sir Grace did adapt to unfamiliar weapons faster than the elf sharpshooter.Watching the two sharpshooters raise their bows to aim, some people even had an ominous premonition in their hearts. It seemed that the status of the strongest sharpshooters in the kingdoms of the elves was no longer so stable.

Fortunately, the five-second gap was so slight that it could be generally assumed that the two sides were on the same level. If the difference was a full minute like just now, there would be no need to continue the competition.A few crisp silver bells rang, and then a nimble elf ran out of the dense forest and waved his hands towards the two.

"Ten arrows quick fire! Start!"

Almost as soon as the words fell, the sound of the bowstring vibrating sounded at the same time, and two long arrows flew out of the hands of Sir Grace and Larry Moonbow almost indistinguishably, whizzing through the air.One of them flew past the elf's ear, looking extremely dangerous, but the elf looked calm, without even the slightest trembling.

There was a burst of praise for this calmness among the onlookers, but most of the elves showed an expression that should have been so, which made the Griffin Lord a little strange, and then he asked the Marquis Osiris this question softly, and got The answer made Levi a little unexpected.

"Brave? Maybe it's barely enough." The elf sky knight's tone was also extremely indifferent, "Everyone in the elves is good at bows and arrows, so we have seen too many contests between archers. If Sir Grace or Larry Moonbow can even accidentally injure such a big target, so is there any point in fighting?"

Li Wei was stunned, then nodded with a wry smile, and refocused on the game. , the rapid-fire contest between the two sharpshooters became intense from the very beginning, and the sound of the bowstrings was almost intertwined. In less than half a minute, the targets of all twenty poplar branches were either broken in the middle or split in the middle. Two halves, nothing left out.

Crackling applause sounded from the crowd, but it was not very enthusiastic.If this level of archery is placed in the human kingdom, the cheers and applause will almost sweep the audience like a huge wave, but in the minds of the elves, a sharpshooter should have such qualities, and it can barely be regarded as an archer. It's an appetizer.

The elf in charge of reporting the target entered the dense forest, then quickly turned around, and placed the aspen branch in his hand in front of everyone. "Grace Tully, all ten arrows were hit, and it took 22 seconds; Larry Moonbow, all ten arrows were hit, and it took 21 seconds!"

The results can be said to be so close that the Elder Elder who was the referee was hesitant, his two snow-white eyebrows frowned, unable to make a decision for a long time.

"Your Excellency, the Great Elder, Larry Moonbow will take less time." The Sun Chanter pointed out in a clear tone.

"But he was one step behind in the preparation." The Green Leafsinger, the head of the Natural Magic Guild, retorted, and then added to his own statement, "The core foundation of the Gift of Peace is fairness and justice. If this detail is questioned, then what is the value of this ancient ceremony?"

The Great Elder Elf nodded lightly, so small that he could hardly see clearly, "We should believe in the strength of Larry Moonbow. In the quick-fire link, the two sides should be evenly divided." Then he announced this conclusion loudly, among the crowd There was a burst of warmer applause.

"It's a good opponent!"

"Nice skill! Larry-sama, come on!"

Several elven sharpshooters gave cheers, but they did not ignore Sir Grace's results, and at the same time, they praised his excellent results.

Sir Grace and Larry Moonbow each returned to one end of the long pine table, waiting for the target to be re-set.The expression of the former is still indifferent, but the flames of fanaticism are burning in his eyes, and his right hand is gently stroking the smooth back of the elf bow. "It's really a good bow." He suddenly whispered in blunt Elvish language, and at the same time glanced at his opponent, "The elf's bow is as good as the elf's archery."

Larry Moonbow nodded calmly, and his eyes fell on the steel bow in his hand, carrying a well-disguised bitter taste.Although he had a slight advantage in the ten-arrow rapid-fire contest just now, this steel war bow that requires extremely strong strength to use flexibly has also caused him a lot of suffering. Now the joints of both hands are aching. If you do it again soon If you shoot ten arrows quickly, I am afraid that you can achieve half of the result just now.

From this point of view, the human steel warbow seems to be slightly inferior to the elf longbow, but Larry Moonbow knows very well in his heart that the actual situation is exactly the opposite.

The elven longbows brought out by the elves are the legacy of legendary heroes. Even if they are treasured by the Moonwhispering Forest for thousands of years, there are only a dozen or so.However, these steel war bows produced by the human kingdom are all standard outfits for ordinary knights, not just the guard knights of the mission, Larry Moonbow saw with his own eyes hundreds of such steel war bows in Green Castle Under the moonlit night, a group of human archers went up to the top of the city to change defenses.

"Equipped with such a powerful long-range weapon, it's no wonder that the Sunsinger attaches great importance to this contest. That human kingdom called the Kingdom of Arthur has indeed possessed terrifying military strength that threatens the lifeblood of the elves." Larry Moonbow thought, While gently moving his sore arm a few times, "But it's okay, the gift of peace has stopped the bloody conflict between the two races, if I can win in the contest of bow and arrow skills, it will make those humans even more afraid of the elves. strength."

The crisp silver bell rang again, heralding that the second round of the contest was about to begin. Larry Yuebow was full of energy, holding the steel warbow firmly with both hands, and then raised his eyes to look at his opponent.

Sir Grace had been playing with the elven longbow in his hand just now, and his mind seemed to be much simpler, and he just regarded the gift of peace as an ordinary contest.Seeing Larry Moonbow raised his head, he squeezed out an uncomfortably stiff smile from the corner of his mouth, and then nodded in greeting.

Larry Moonbow almost forgot to return the gift due to being too preoccupied. When he hurriedly bowed, the elf ran out of the dense forest again and announced loudly.

"Long-range sniper! Start!"

The rules of long-range sniping and rapid fire are different. Two sharpshooters do not need to compete in terms of speed, but in terms of accuracy. Therefore, in order to be as fair as possible and to avoid mutual interference, the two will compete one after another. Shoot arrows at the same target from the same location.

Since Sir Grace had a slight disadvantage in the previous round, he had the right to shoot first in this round.The magic sniper archer held the elf longbow firmly in his hand, opened his bow and set his arrows, and aimed at the target set on the branch of a big poplar tree a full 300 meters away.

Due to the distance, the target this time is no longer a peeled poplar branch, but a bright red tomato, which is particularly eye-catching in the shade of green.However, the tomato that the elf chose as a target was smaller than a fist. To hit such a target at a distance of 300 meters, the requirements for using bow and arrow skills were extremely demanding.

Sir Grace aimed for a long time this time, and his movements were also very slow. He was even slightly adjusting his breathing, because if the breathing range was a little larger and the muscles on his arms moved slightly, he might not be able to hit the target.

The onlookers watched Sir Grace's actions with bated breath, waiting for the result to appear.A full 2 ​​minutes passed, and the bowstring suddenly uttered a sharp sound, which moved everyone's heartstrings. A long arrow flew towards the big poplar tree 300 meters away, and the tomato fell to the branch. Then there was a burst of loud applause among the onlookers.

"Good archery, hit it!" This is the cry of several elf marksmen with admiration, because even if they use the elf longbow they are familiar with, they may not be able to hit such a target every time.

"Sir Grace's archery skills are unparalleled in the world!" This was the shout from the Kingdom Mission. Levi, Mr. Dish and Sir Rodriguez clapped their hands together, as if they had firmly grasped the victory in their hands.

Lizardman sharpshooter Miss Leslin's eyes were filled with tears, and her shout with a hiss and trill at the end of her words overwhelmed the dwarves and orcs' roars. "Good shot, Sir Grace, I love you!"

"Aww..." A rather sad howl came from the mouth of the wolf-headed chieftain of the Sharp-tooth tribe, Wolf. Even uglier.

"Don't be too happy!" Seeing the elated appearance of the human mission, Sun Chanter couldn't help blurting out, "The contest is far from over, do you think Larry Moonbow will miss the target?"

"We're just celebrating Sir Grace's successful hit." Li Wei shrugged his shoulders and replied, the smile on his face seemed to hide a well-thought-out meaning, which made Sun Chanter feel uncomfortable.

The target-reporting elf ran out holding the tomato in both hands, "Sir Grace, the human sharpshooter, successfully hit the target, but it was not the center, about five centimeters off." He announced loudly, and at the same time held up the tomato to show everyone Look.The crack on the tomato was indeed not in the center, which made the smiles on the faces of the members of the Kingdom Mission less.

"You didn't think about repairing wind deflection just now." Larry Moonbow said to Sir Grace, while raising the steel bow in his hand, "Sir Grace, you are an excellent marksman, even in the It’s rare among elves, but you probably don’t have the experience of shooting this kind of target at such a long distance, otherwise, I’m not sure I’ll beat you this time. Next time if you have a chance to compete, consider the power of the wind Interfere!"

(End of this chapter)