Chapter 18

Episode 18. Single-Plank Bridge Duel (4)

Single-Plank Bridge Duel.

It was one of the traditional dueling methods of House Sephira. Catherine explained the rules to Keter.

The duelists face each other from a distance of 100 meters. They can use a total of thirty arrows, with the arrowheads removed to eliminate lethality.

In this state, they shoot arrows at each other.

There are three conditions for defeat: dodging the opponent’s arrow, dropping the bow, or running out of arrows first.

Though the rules were simple, they contained profound philosophy. It was training to eliminate hesitation when shooting at a human while overcoming the fear of the opponent’s arrows.

Catherine tried to explain the history behind the Single-Plank Bridge Duel, but Keter waved his hand dismissively.

“If you’re going to talk nonsense, I’ll just leave.”

“Alright. Before we start, please put on the protective armor over there. Even though the arrowheads are removed, a direct hit can still leave bruises.”

“Why aren’t you wearing it?”

“While this is your first time in this event, it’s my most confident one.”

“Are you giving me a handicap? Fine, but I won’t shoot my arrows straight.”

“…?”

The soldiers couldn’t understand Keter’s words. Not shooting arrows straight? What kind of absurd nonsense was that?

But Catherine had an idea.

“Are you planning to shoot only with curved shots? It’s not impossible, but it’s too difficult for a beginner like you. You might get hurt, so don’t do it.”

Catherine didn’t choose the Single-Plank Bridge Duel just because she was confident. It was also because it allowed them to test each other’s archery skills.

Keter held a bow in his hand. Though it looked unremarkable, that was all. The balance of the bow was clearly off, and there wasn’t a single arrow stuck in the target.

He had come to the second shooting range wanting to try archery, but he hadn’t hit the target even once. That was Catherine’s reasonable assumption.

Yet, Keter declared he wouldn’t shoot arrows straight. This was practically admitting defeat.

‘He must not intend to keep his promise.’

Keter didn’t wear the armor he was told to and picked arrows at random.

Catherine frowned as she watched Keter pick his arrows.

‘Even if he’s picking arrows, he chose long-range sniping arrows. They’re the hardest to handle because they’re heavily affected by the wind.’

It was all Keter’s doing. Not wearing armor, picking random arrows.

‘If he doesn’t keep his promise, that’s fine too. It means he broke his oath.’

Breaking an oath isn’t something that can be taken lightly. Even nobles aren’t exempt; in fact, they’re punished more severely.

Catherine picked a copper arrow with a suitable weight and stood opposite Keter, who had already taken his position on the shooting range.

“I’ll let you take the first shot, Lord Keter. Go ahead.”

Keter’s arrows wouldn’t even reach this far. Catherine, and even the soldiers watching, all thought so.

* * *

The soldiers stood on the left and right sides of the shooting range, five on each side. They were witnesses and judges.

What kind of archery would Keter, from the Lawless City, show? Had he even learned archery? No one knew.

Archery is difficult to perform correctly without knowing the proper stance and method. Yet, Keter had even declared he wouldn’t shoot straight.

Swoosh.

Keter took his shooting stance.

The soldiers looked puzzled.

‘What kind of stance is that?’

It was clearly a stance for shooting a bow.

But it was unique.

His stride was wide, and the heel of his right foot, pulled back, was slightly raised. It was a stance that seemed ready to charge at any moment.

Keter nocked an arrow on the bowstring.

The soldiers exchanged glances, as if to say, “I told you so.” Keter had clearly said he wouldn’t shoot straight. So, he should shoot the arrow upwards, at least.

But now, Keter wasn’t aiming straight.

‘It was just bravado. He’s from Absinthe, after all.’

While the soldiers were disappointed in Keter, Catherine remained vigilant.

‘It’s a stance I’ve never seen before, and he’s pulling the bowstring with just his thumb, not his index and middle fingers. Where did he learn archery?’

Even so, using sniping arrows made it difficult to hit the target, but Catherine tensed her muscles, ready to intercept Keter’s arrow at any moment.

Soon, Keter lightly released the bowstring.

Thunk.

The arrow disappeared.

Eleven pairs of eyes were watching Keter’s arrow, and the bowstring had clearly been released.

But the arrow had literally vanished.

“…?”

How could this happen?

Keter’s arrow disappeared?

If he had missed, the arrow should be lying around somewhere, but it wasn’t. As everyone was bewildered, one soldier gasped.

“Everyone, look over there!”

The soldier closest to Catherine pointed at her.

“Why the captain all of a sudden?”

“Look at her waist, her waist!”

“What? You pervert… Huh!?”

The soldier who focused his eyes opened his mouth wide.

Catherine’s side was torn as if slashed by a sword, and blood was flowing. The soldiers stammered.

“W-what’s going on? Why is there blood on the captain’s waist?”

“S-surely not?”

Without anyone saying it, a common hypothesis formed in their minds.

Keter shot an arrow. But it wasn’t an ordinary arrow, so it was invisible to our eyes.

“Did he mean he wouldn’t shoot straight by shooting an arrow so fast it’s invisible?!”

“Don’t talk nonsense. No matter how fast, it doesn’t make sense for it to be invisible.”

The shot arrow is, of course, very fast.

But it’s never so fast that it’s invisible to the ‘eye’. Even Basil, the lord of House Sephira, who shoots the fastest arrows, leaves afterimages.

Yet, Keter’s arrow left no afterimage. It was an impossible feat.

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

‘I didn’t even blink. The arrow clearly existed before the bowstring was released. But as soon as it was released, the arrow disappeared.’

Catherine had been fully prepared. She planned to shoot down Keter’s arrow when he shot it. She thought he would realize the difference in skill and give up.

But Keter’s arrow suddenly disappeared. She thought he might have missed and shot it into the sky, but the moment she raised her head.

A sharp pain shot through her side.

Puzzled, she looked down to see her clothes torn and blood flowing from her side. It wasn’t a deep wound, but it burned like fire.

‘So, not shooting straight meant this?’

If the arrow is invisible, how can you tell if it’s flying straight? This was an impossible feat compared to shooting with a curved trajectory.

An invisible arrow.

Even in the long history of House Sephira, known for its archery, there was no record of such a thing.

Catherine felt a strange emotion.

Not fear or dread.

But a competitive spirit and excitement.

Keter, who she thought was a beginner in archery, had shown a new possibility in archery. How could she not be excited?

‘I’ll uncover the secret. And I’ll learn it.’

Catherine’s strength isn’t just from effort.

Her true strength lies in her freedom from conventional thinking, even in a conservative environment.

‘Don’t try to find it with your eyes, feel the flow of the wind. Maybe then you can sense it.’

But first, Catherine could now attack.

Quickly taking her shooting stance, Catherine took a deep breath and immediately shot at Keter’s knee.

Among human body parts, the relatively thin arms and legs are the hardest to hit. Because the opponent can dodge with even a slight movement.

But now, under the rules of the Single-Plank Bridge Duel, dodging leads to defeat.

In such cases, you must shoot down the opponent’s arrow. But could Keter really do that? Shooting down arrows is one of the techniques even knights find difficult.

Then, Keter smoothly nocked an arrow on his bow. It looked so natural it didn’t seem fast, but Catherine’s arrow hadn’t reached him yet.

Keter immediately drew and released the bowstring.

To the soldiers, it seemed like a reckless move. Just like the first shot, Keter’s movements were excessively fast.

He didn’t ‘aim’ at the opponent, didn’t ‘align’ the target point and the arrow tip to the center, and didn’t go through the process of ‘calibrating’ the trembling of his hand and body.

Normally, ignoring even one of these three would send the arrow completely off course.

Thunk.

Keter’s second arrow was shot, and like the first, it vanished without a trace.

And-

Clang!

Catherine’s arrow, which had almost reached Keter, was blocked as if hitting an invisible wall and fell to the ground.

“The captain’s arrow… bounced off!?”

“W-what on earth is going on?”

The soldiers, who had to watch quietly, couldn’t stay silent and were busy gasping in shock.

“Where’s the arrow? Where did the arrow go?!”

The fact that Keter, from the Lawless City, shot an arrow and hit Catherine’s arrow was surprising enough. But where did Keter’s arrow go?

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

‘Even if I don’t know how he shoots invisible arrows, how does he hit the target and still maintain invisibility? Even magic can’t do that, can it?’

The soldiers’ expressions changed moment by moment. At first, they were sure of Catherine’s victory, but now they were starting to worry about her.

Catherine admitted it. Keter had unexpectedly shown high-level archery. And shooting invisible arrows was a technique beyond impressive.

‘I haven’t lost yet.’

Catherine activated her Aura, maximizing her physical abilities.

Strengthening the body with Aura is exhausting. Pushing it to the limit could cause internal injuries.

Catherine didn’t care about the consequences, staking her life on winning this duel. This wasn’t just a friendly match; it was a mission.

With her body enhanced by Aura, she began shooting arrows at an unbelievable speed.

Thunk, thunkthunkthunkthunk!

There was no interval between the shots.

It was as if the entire process of nocking the arrow, drawing the bowstring, aiming, releasing, and nocking again was all skipped.

The third archery technique of House Sephira’s secret art, ‘Hwangdo Twelve Palaces’. The rapid-fire ‘Ssang-a Palace’ that rains arrows like a storm.

Even if Keter shot invisible arrows, it was just one shot.

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

“Oooh!”

The soldiers’ expressions brightened at Catherine’s strategy.

Keter’s shooting speed was indeed ordinary. If Keter had been wearing armor, he could have withstood the arrows.

But his arrogance kept him from wearing armor, so even one hit would make him collapse in pain.

So, this match, Catherine had won!

The soldiers’ speculation soon turned into certainty. Keter’s movements in response to Catherine’s rapid-fire were painfully slow.