Chapter 193

Chapter 194. The Essence of Archery (4)

Taragon was impressed by Keter’s strength demonstration, but at the same time, he became even more immersed in the “uselessness of tools” theory.

“Even with an Orichalcon arrowhead, all it does is inflict a wound. As expected, nothing works on the real deal.”

The soldiers and knights seemed to agree with Taragon’s words, but two people didn’t.

Mizari and Vulkanus looked at Taragon with pitying eyes.

They understood—no, they already knew why Keter endured the pain of being hit by the Orichalcon arrowhead. They knew how simple yet powerful that example was.

Keter placed a hand on Taragon’s shoulder.

“Brother. I don’t dislike this side of you.”

“Are you telling me to give up quickly?”

“No. I mean, you’re showing your ignorance. If you had just kept those thoughts to yourself and believed them silently, you would have been trapped by your own preconceptions for the rest of your life. But you spoke those foolish thoughts out loud. At least you have the courage to voice your opinion.”

Keter winked.

“Ignorance isn’t a sin. But someone who doesn’t even try to learn or make an effort is beyond saving. You, brother, aren’t beyond saving. So, I’ll teach you. The true essence of archery.”

This was the blacksmith’s forge. Arrows were scattered everywhere. Keter brought over a bundle of arrows and an empty quiver. He then stuffed all the arrows into the quiver.

“Can you tell which one is the Orichalcon arrow?”

“Huh? No.”

Only the fletchings of the arrows were visible in the quiver. And most arrow fletchings look similar. Even the feathers are almost identical.

If the arrowheads were visible, you could distinguish them by color, but since the arrowheads aren’t visible, how could you tell?

Keter brought another quiver, filled it with arrows the same way, and handed both quivers to the soldier and the knight.

“Can you tell which quiver has the Orichalcon arrow?”

“…Even if I guess, I’d have a 50% chance, but honestly, I don’t know.”

“That’s exactly the difference between archery and swordsmanship.”

“……?”

“……!”

Taragon, the soldier, and the knight looked confused, while Mizari and Vulkanus were impressed by Keter’s words.

Keter chose clearer words to make it easier for Taragon to understand.

“Archery isn’t a combat weapon. It’s a tactical weapon. So, what is combat, and what is tactics?”

“Hmm… Tactics are about having a plan, right?”

“Then is combat just fighting without thinking?”

“Well, not exactly. It feels like tactics involve more preparation.”

“Your word choice is crude, but you’re not wrong. Brother, do you know why archery is good? It’s because you attack first. Attacking first means you can deny your opponent the chance to attack.”

“…Ah, ah?!”

Finally, Taragon’s eyes widened as he realized something.

“Tactics are about denying your opponent the chance to attack, and archers attack ‘first’ from a distance, so that’s why it’s a tactical weapon!”

“Exactly. But it’s not just limited to the act of attacking. Tactics are about restricting all actions.”

“I understand the essence of archery now. But what does that have to do with tools being useless?”

“Not knowing what kind of arrow will come flying is also part of tactics. What arrow to shoot, where to shoot—it’s all up to the archer’s mind.”

Keter showed his palm. The wound from the Orichalcon arrowhead had healed without even leaving a scar, but no one paid attention to that.

“I blocked it with my palm to show an example, but what if it had hit my eye? Or my shoulder or leg? Of course, hitting those places wouldn’t be fatal to me. But what if I were in ‘combat’? What if I were fighting Sword Dragon Rajis in a tournament, and an Orichalcon arrowhead hit my calf from somewhere?”

“My balance would be thrown off!”

Taragon shouted excitedly. He was finally starting to understand Keter’s words.

“Do you know what it means to lose balance in a fight against a strong opponent?”

“The fight would no longer be even. I could lose my life. And now that I think about it, Keter, even if you knew the arrow was coming, you’d have to waste ‘movement’ to block or dodge it. That would give Rajis a chance to catch his breath or exploit that opening, right?!”

*Snap!*

Keter flicked his finger.

“Exactly.”

“Oh, oh! Ahhh!”

*Thud!*

Taragon, having realized the true ‘purpose’ of tools and the ‘essence’ that archery is a tactical weapon, not a combat weapon, collapsed to the ground and wailed.

Overwhelmed by the immense realization, Taragon couldn’t control his emotions and even shed tears.

“Keter! I was wrong. For so long! After seeing you at the tournament and seeing the masters, I felt so pathetic. But I was completely wrong. The tournament isn’t everything in life. It’s not even a real battle—it’s just a small test! Ah, why am I so stupid?!”

Taragon was crying, but at the same time, he was also smiling, his face a mix of emotions. Vulkanus smiled kindly at Taragon and said,

“It’s enough that you realized your stupidity now.”

Mizari shook his head and muttered,

“Just what kind of life has Keter lived to understand the essence of archery that I only realized late in life? And to be able to guide Taragon like this… It’s truly mysterious. I’m genuinely impressed.”

Keter chuckled as he watched Mizari bow to Vulkanus.

“That’s not it.”

“Ahem, it’s just hot in here…”

Mizari, turning back to Keter, awkwardly adjusted his clothes.

“To add to what Keter said, even the strong are still human. Even if their attacks seem ineffective, they do work. They just pretend not to work to break the opponent’s will. If attacks were truly meaningless against Transcendent Beings, why would the country organize an army? If a Transcendent Being like a lord could just sweep everything away, that would be it.”

Keter continued Mizari’s words.

“It’s easier to explain using the ‘star’ system for knights. If you pit a 3-Star Knight against a 7-Star Prime, no matter how many there are, they won’t stand a chance. But a 6-Star Grandmaster can handle it. If the opportunity arises, they could even kill. This logic continues. A 6-Star Grandmaster can be matched by a 5-Star Master. A 5-Star Master can be matched by a 4-Star Knight. A 7-Star Prime can crush a 3-Star Knight like a bug, but a 4-Star Knight can’t crush a 3-Star Knight like a bug. So, it’s possible for a 3-Star Knight to ‘contribute’ to killing a 7-Star Prime. Of course—”

Vulkanus finished the thought.

“Countless will die. Dozens, hundreds of knights will die. Just to create a fleeting opportunity… Even if it ends up being a meaningless attempt, they’ll throw their lives away. That’s what combat is. That’s what war is.”

Vulkanus picked up the dual bow and compressed arrows he had made.

“In such battles and wars, archery offers more opportunities and higher survival rates than swordsmanship. You don’t have to throw your body at the enemy. It’s not combat—it’s tactics. And what completes tactics is tools. Understand, Taragon? Never underestimate tools again.”

Taragon’s eyes changed as he absorbed the seasoned advice from Keter, Mizari, and Vulkanus.

A fire burned within him. The passion that had grown cold now burned hotter than the forge’s flames.

“I will never doubt archery again. I swear on my name that the bow is the greatest weapon.”

*Whoosh!*

An unprecedented aura faintly glowed from Taragon’s body.

The awakening of realization and an oath without a hint of falsehood caused the ‘world’ to pour strength into Taragon.

Taragon himself didn’t notice, but the three watching him couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction.

There was no one present who wouldn’t rejoice in Taragon’s growth.

* * *

Vulkanus had prepared three new weapons, but Keter only looked at the ‘dual bow’ and ‘compressed arrows’ before leaving. The third new weapon was the ‘crossbow.’

“I’m not interested in crossbows.”

“But I put a lot of effort into it. At least take a look.”

“Nope~ I’ll keep my promise and replenish the blacksmiths. Expect the finished product within two months.”

Keter, gentle but firm in his refusal, left just like that. Mizari, tired, also returned to his quarters.

Mizari’s wariness of Keter hadn’t dissipated, but at least he didn’t see Keter as an ‘enemy’ of Sephira, so he decided to observe him a bit longer.

And so, the only one left in the forge was—

“Lord Vulkanus. I’m curious.”

Only Taragon remained in the forge.

Vulkanus made a slightly displeased face but soon relaxed.

“You’d probably like this.”

The third new weapon, the crossbow. Its appearance was cleaner than traditional crossbows, and it had an additional device with an unclear purpose.

There were three types of crossbows.

A small crossbow the size of a child’s arm.

A regular-sized crossbow.

A crossbow the size of a torso, as if a ballista had been compressed.

“Wow……”

Taragon was genuinely impressed.

The moment he saw the crossbow, he felt something strongly. It was like the thrilling sensation of meeting your first love, a shiver running down his neck.

“Hmph. You’re of Sephira’s bloodline, yet you’re okay with crossbows.”

Sephira only considers arrows shot from bows as archery, not crossbows.

But Taragon didn’t bind himself to such traditions. Having trained under Keter, Taragon had no strong attachment to archery, making this mindset possible.

“If it means I can become stronger, I’ve decided to climb even if it’s a cliff, not a set path.”

“That’s a dangerous thought. Would you even learn dark magic to become stronger?”

“I think that’s completely straying from the path. I won’t leave the ‘path’ of archery.”

“You’ve matured, Taragon.”

“Right now, I want to hold a crossbow, haha.”

“…Ahem!”

Vulkanus turned away and coughed. His pride was hurt.

‘I almost laughed. Damn it.’

Vulkanus, calming his twitching lips, began explaining the crossbows.

“As you can see, I’ve modified traditional crossbows to greatly improve convenience. Moreover, I’ve achieved something impossible with bows—the ‘rapid-fire’ function. I’ve incorporated the technology of the compressed arrows.”

“Ooh……!”

Crossbows have the advantage of requiring less training time and being able to be pre-loaded, but in all other aspects, they fall short compared to bows.

Their range is shorter, and reloading is much harder than with bows. The draw weight is much stronger, so even knights need to enhance their strength with aura, and soldiers require a separate ‘reloading motion,’ making it complex and strenuous.

But Vulkanus’s crossbows maximized the advantages and eliminated the disadvantages, making them a groundbreaking invention.

“The rectangular box attached to the crossbow’s body is the quiver. It’s detachable and connected to the crossbow, allowing for continuous firing.”

“The small crossbow doesn’t have a trigger. How do you fire it?”

“Hehehe, that’s the thing. You do it like this.”

Vulkanus fixed the small crossbow to Taragon’s forearm.

The small crossbow had a string-like attachment connected to the index finger.

“Aim at the 50-meter target and bend your index finger.”

Taragon’s heart raced. Could it be that just bending a finger would fire the arrow?

*Thunk!*

Taragon bent his index finger. Even though he only bent it slightly, the crossbow on his forearm fired an arrow.

The bolt, a specialized arrow for crossbows, missed the target entirely, but that was to be expected.

“Hmm, when I tested it, I had to fully bend my finger to fire, but with you, it fires with just a slight bend. Is it a personal difference? Or a racial one? I’ll need to test this more.”

“L-Lord Vulkanus. Can I try firing again?”

“Hoho. Did you like it? There are ten bolts loaded. Fire them all.”

“Ten bolts in rapid succession?!”

Excited, Taragon repeatedly bent and straightened his index finger.

*Thunk thunk thunk!*

Being his first time using a crossbow and the odd sensation of firing from his forearm, Taragon didn’t hit the target even once.

But Taragon was thrilled. Something was boiling inside him.

Seeing Taragon’s reaction, Vulkanus, excited about the potential of his new weapon, said,

“Try the others. This is a regular-sized crossbow, but it’s more stable and also has a rapid-fire function.”

“Especially this Man-Size Ballista is something else. It fires bolts the size of an arm! It’s a bit heavy and has the minor drawback of needing to be carried on your back, but still.”

Taragon, seizing the opportunity, equipped all of Vulkanus’s crossbows.

On his back, the Man-Size Ballista—

On his right wrist, the small crossbow—

In his left hand, the regular crossbow.

Taragon’s mind raced.

“I can use the wrist crossbow and rapid-fire crossbow to limit the enemy’s mobility, and finish them off with this Man-Size Ballista.”

“That’s up to you. The range is limited due to the bolts, but in close combat, it’s much more useful and destructive than a bow. Though, the lords and elders would likely reject using crossbows.”

“Lord Vulkanus… You know the history of Sephira well, right?”

“Huh? Yeah, I do.”

“In the long history of the House of Sephira, has there ever been a ‘Crossbow Marksman’?”

“No, there hasn’t. As I said, Sephira has a strong aversion to crossbows.”

At Vulkanus’s words, Taragon made a resolute expression.

At that moment, the ‘Cross Association,’ a group of Crossbow Marksmen rivaling the Lunar Knight Order, Sephira’s strongest military force, was born.