Chapter 256 - Stray Arrows (1/2)
The excitement could be felt in the air. Everyone was pumped up and gathered in the village square. It had been a long time since they witnessed such an exciting sparring session. magic, qi and adrenaline thrummed through the veins of every warrior who was watching the demonstration. Zero didn't know who would emerge victorious. Both ladies were equally strong and he couldn't help but want to root for both of them at the same time.
As Zenobia and Mitchnew stepped into the magically reinforced arena, Lovina wondered if she missed out any reinforcements. Zero had a hand in this and the witch couldn't help but run through her mental checklist as the master of ceremonies began riling the crowd up.
”You might know them already,” Lowis smiled.
The crowd cheered and Zero joined in with Seff on his lap. Ruth was on standby as part of the security team in case something went out of hand. Karris couldn't seat so near to the front because nobody could predict how the fight would turn out. They didn't want to risk Karris getting severely wounded from a stray arrow during the fight even if the ladies were using dummy arrows for it.
”On the right, we have Lady Zenobia, our Chieftess and an agile archer who is known for her graceful war dance!”
The crowd cheered and Zenobia raised her bow. The half-elf-half-rabbit-beastman warrior grinned. She came fully prepared with her quiver full of twenty arrows dipped in red ink without arrowheads. Three short daggers were strapped onto the side of each muscular thigh. They were practice daggers and whetted down to be blunt but could still be proven dangerous in the correct hands. Her brown leather leotard left nothing to the imagination and Zenobia had her hair tied into a bun to prevent it from obstructing her vision.
The chieftess looked very much like a warrior queen but Mitchnew's presence didn't waver in Zenobia's glory. Instead, the dark elf was like a shadow waiting to ensnare her target in one fell swoop. Lowis smiled and looked to his left.
”On the left, we know who this is. As one of the most infamous assassins of all-time, famed for killing within a strike, Mitchnew.”
The dark elf didn't do anything and continued to stand nonchalantly at the side while the crowd went wild. Unlike Zenobia who was rather muscular, tall and heavy chested, Mitchnew was sinewy and thin with a very flat chest. The seamstress wore a tight-fitting black leather archer costume that covered her from head to toe. The black hood covered her head and Mitchnew wore a mask over her mouth and nose, giving her red eyes glowed ominously. If Zero had to compare her to an animal, he would compare her to a raven that resided near Baal's castle. Mitchnew resembled death and perhaps that was due to the oversized black hood that looked very similar to what Hades wore all the time.
”Today we've gathered for the first match of the Martial Exchange Demonstration. Make some noise between the showdown of archers!”
The villagers cheered and Lowis grinned. He should really think of getting himself a side job as the hosting master of ceremonies for events.
”For those of you who don't know, here's a short introduction of the warrior's fighting style. Zenobia is a close to mid-ranged fighter who specialises in rapid shots to suppress her enemy's movements before closing in with her short daggers. Be careful though, our chieftess is an expert with not only the short bow but also with her daggers that can be used to slash, stab and throw.”
Zero took down notes and Seff watched him curiously. The brunet was no fool. Half Moon Village was full of talented individuals and it would be his loss if he didn't make full use of the event to study different combat styles. Even if Zero wasn't a bow user, he could take down notes about how bow users fought. The teenager wanted to think of a way to defend against bow users as they posed a lot of threat to melee fighters if they didn't know magic.
”Most of you might not have seen Mitchnew in action before and honestly, neither have I. However, this is what Sekkin told us and we will simply have to take his word for it even if he isn't here with us today. Mitchnew's speciality is assassination with a longbow that she enhances with magic. Her signature move is a one-shot snipe from eight hundred metres away. apart from being an expert marksman, our seamstress is an expert in High Elf Savate, a form of dance-like kickboxing.”
The foreign martial art unheard off to many made the spectators curious. Lowis grinned. This was going to be a treat for everyone. Mitchnew might have left the bloody world in her past to live peacefully with her husband in the village but it was difficult to forget one's roots. Nobody has seen Mitchnew demonstrate her abilities much and it certainly made them wonder what she was capable of. If it wasn't for Zero's studies, he wasn't so sure that the dark elf would willingly participate.
”Last but not least before we start the match, please stay clear of the village square and only watch from the benches or apartments. Although magic enchants have been placed to ensure your safety, the security team will not be held responsible for any unforeseen accidents during the match. If there are no further questions, let us not delay any longer. Cleo, please!”
The dryad grinned and went up to the middle of the village square while the lab members got into position with image capturing magic devices that will show the audience a better view of the match using a gigantic holographic display above the arena space.
Lowis made his hasty escape, not wanting to become tree fertiliser as the dryad worked up magic to convert the barren ground into a small forest. It wasn't simply a battle of merely skills but wits as well. With ample of shadows and trees to hide behind, both archers would be pushed to their limits. In a new terrain that neither archer knew, it would test their ability to make good and fast battle judgements as well as setting traps for their opponents while avoiding becoming a target.
Seff was taken away to where Karris was. He was too young to be so near the border. On the other hand, Zero decided to jump to a higher spot where he could see everything going on more clearly. The sky bridge was perfect for it and he didn't think that Roovan or Olaf would be there.
”You like the view from here too?” the Frost Dragon asked and offered Zero some tea.
The teen grinned and accepted a cup. The three of them turned their eyes back to the match that had already begun.
Zenobia was fast with her hands and made traps to alert her if Mitchnew was near. The trap was fairly simple and it was something Zero recognised. The hunters often set up the same trap to know if there was a wild animal in the vicinity. He didn't know how effective that trap would be against Mitchnew who was also on the hunting team.
On the other hand, the dark elf didn't bother with traps. Instead, she took to high ground and was studying the direction of the wind, looking for a good spot with a clear view. Mitchnew was careful as she ran around to study the new terrain, opting to stick close to the shadows and cover of tree trunks when she did so.
The two archers were not close to one another and there was no fighting but everyone was nervous for them. The preparation stage progressed steadily and the opponents got closer to discovering each other's location. It wouldn't be long before someone launched the first attack. Zero thought that Mitchnew might have a higher chance in initiating the surprise attack. She has the widest angle of view and Zenobia was closing in on her location from the middle grounds.
Roovan grinned when Mitchnew landed on a tampered branch. That alerted Zenobia of where her opponent was and she stopped running to turn back. the chieftess approached with caution and stopped just before entering Mitchnew's field of vision, cautious about the assassin's sniping skills.
Zero raised a brow. Why wasn't Mitchnew doing something about her location? Surely she should know that she'd been discovered. Still, he held his tongue to continue watching.
As Zero suspected, Mitchnew knew when she had given her position away. Instead of cursing or panicking, the dark elf retrieved a small knife and started cutting off barks and vines to make something. Not everyone who saw that understood what the sniper was doing. Zero was also confused until Olaf explained that she was making decoys.
Zenobia crept closer and hide in the cover of the thick undergrowth. The chieftess moved silently and the rustling of bushes could easily be passed off as the breeze. Mitchnew was at the upper canopy of the bush Zenobia was currently hiding under. Now, the only problem was how Zenobia would attack now that she was in position.
Mitchnew sensed something amiss too. the forest was too quiet and her instincts were telling her that Zenobia was already in the area. Luckily, her decoys were complete and Mitchnew slunk back into the cover of shadows. Both archers waited, neither making the first move and the tension rose.
After a few minutes of stillness, Zero couldn't help but ask why neither archers were moving.
Roovan smiled. ”It's called tactics. mitchnew is waiting for a more favourable position to make her move. She has to get out of the area before Zenobia gets to her now that she has decoys. On the other hand, Zenobia might know where Mitchnew is but she's at a geographically disadvantageous location. For archers, those on the higher ground has an advantage in terms of field of vision. Before Zenobia can reach the top to where Mitchnew is, she would get shot at and has to defend which would give Mitchnew time to escape. They are both waiting for something to change and give them the advantage because neither of them wants to lose the factor of surprise.”
Olaf didn't say anything as Zero took down notes. The teenager watched diligently and kept his eyes trained on them like a hawk.
The wind blew pleasantly and the clouds floated past to cover the sun for a brief moment. At that exact moment when the sun was covered, both ladies made their move. Zenobia leapt from the bush and hopped her way into the upper canopy but Mitchnew was already setting up her decoys. The dark elf was gone by the time the clouds passed and Zenobia drew her bow back only to find that her target had escaped without a trace. She didn't have time to worry about it because her next trap was triggered nearby and the chieftess rushed to pursue.
Zero couldn't help but be impressed by the tricks Mitchnew had at her disposal. The dark elf wasn't waiting in vain. Other than the weighted decoys, Mitchnew readied small pebbles that she threw at branches she knew were tampered with. In order to throw Zenobia off her trial, the dark elf used sound to distract her.
If it had been Zero, he would have been fooled and stalled. Mitchnew threw them in a way that they would ricochet in opposite directions. Zenobia was fooled the first two times but she soon learnt the trick and ignored them. The dark elf didn't have a choice but to draw her bow and hid in the tree to wait for Zenobia to appear when she found a good spot.