I Am The Madman Of This Family

Chapter 18: Battle on a Bridge (4)

Battle on a Bridge was one of the traditional duel methods of the Sefira family. Katherine explained the rules to Keter.

The duelists faced each other from a distance of one hundred meters. Each had thirty arrows to use, with the arrowheads removed so that the arrows were safe. Then, they would shoot arrows at each other.

There were three ways one could lose: if they dodged an arrow shot by their opponent, dropped their bow, or ran out of arrows first.

The rules were simple, but they contained a profound philosophy. The duel was training to eliminate the hesitation felt when aiming at a person and to overcome the fear of the opponent’s arrows.

Katherine was going to explain the history behind this duel method, but Keter shook his head.

“I’m just going to go if you’re going to keep talking about useless things,” he said.

“Alright. Before we start, please wear the protective armor over there. Even if the arrowheads are removed, the arrows will still leave a bad bruise.”

“Why aren’t you wearing one?”

“You’ve never done this kind of duel before, but this is my specialty.”

“...?”

The soldiers didn’t understand what Keter was saying. It seemed nonsensical not to shoot arrows in a straight line.

However, Katherine had an idea of what Keter was talking about.

“Are you planning to shoot in a curved trajectory? It’s not impossible, but it’s too difficult for an inexperienced archer like you, my lord. You might get hurt, so please don’t do it.”

Katherine chose the Battle on a Bridge duel not simply because she was confident but because it allowed them to test each other’s archery skills.

Keter was holding a now. Although it didn’t seem like a regular bow, that was all. The bow’s balance clearly didn’t seem right, and, more than anything else, there wasn't a single arrow stuck in the targets. It was reasonable for Katherine to think that Keter came to the Second Shooting Range to try shooting a bow, but he couldn’t hit the target even once.

And yet, Keter had declared he wouldn’t shoot arrows in a straight line. This was no different from admitting defeat.

I don’t think he’s going to keep his promise.

Keter didn’t wear the armor Katherine told him to wear, and he picked whatever arrows he wanted. Watching him, Katherine frowned.

Of all things, he chose arrows meant for long-range sniping. They are the most difficult to handle because they are greatly affected by the wind.

Everything was Keter’s own doing: not wearing armor and choosing just any arrows.

If he doesn’t keep his promise, that would also be good since it would mean he’s breaking his vow.

Breaking a vow was not something that could be brushed off lightly. Even nobles were not exempt; in fact, they were punished more severely.

Katherine picked up copper arrows with a suitable weight and stood across from Keter, who had already taken his place at the range.

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

Katherine, as well as the soldiers watching, all thought that in any case, Keter’s arrows wouldn’t even reach her side.

* * *

Five soldiers stood on either side of the range. They were both witnesses and judges. They wondered if Keter, someone from the lawless city of Absinthe, had ever learned archery and what kind of archery he would show. There was no way of knowing. ṛåＮƟ₿ĘŞ

Shooting an arrow was difficult without knowing the proper stance and technique. Moreover, Keter even said he wouldn’t shoot in a straight line.

Creak.

Keter took his shooting stance. The soldier looked puzzled.

What kind of stance is that?

One could definitely shoot a bow in that stance, but it was unique. Keter had a wide stance, with his right foot drawn back and the heel slightly raised, as if he were ready to charge forward at any moment.

Keter, now in position, placed an arrow on the string. The soldiers exchanged glances, looking amongst each other like they had expected this. Keter had clearly stated he wouldn’t shoot in a straight line, which meant he would have to aim at least upward toward the sky. However, he was now aiming straight ahead.

It was all talk. He really is from Absinthe.

While the soldiers felt disappointed in Keter, Katherine remained vigilant.

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

Even though Keter was using sniping arrows, which would be difficult to hit with, Katherine tensed her muscles, ready to knock Keter’s bow down at any moment.

Then, Keter lightly released the bowstring.

Twang.

The arrow disappeared. Eleven people were watching Keter’s arrow, and the bowstring had indeed been released, yet the arrow seemed to have just vanished into thin air.

“...?”

How could this be?

Keter’s arrow had seemingly disappeared. If he had missed entirely, the arrow would have been scattered nearby, but that wasn’t the case. While everyone was bewildered, one soldier gasped.

“Look over there!”

The soldier closest to Katherine pointed at her.

“Why Dame Katherine all of a sudden?”

“L-Look at her waist!”

“What? What a pervert… Huh?!”

The soldier’s eyes widened and jaws dropped. Katherine had a cut on her side, as if slashed by a sword, with blood trickling down.

The soldiers stammered, “W-What happened? Why is there blood trickling down her waist?”

“N-No, it can’t be… right?”

Even though no one said it, the soldiers all thought of one thing: Keter had shot an arrow, but it wasn’t visible to their eyes because it wasn’t an ordinary one.

“By not shooting in a straight line, did he mean that he would shoot the arrow so fast it would be invisible?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. No matter how fast it is, it can’t be invisible, can it?”

Flying arrows were incredibly fast, but not fast enough to be invisible. Even Besil, known for shooting the fastest arrows in the Sefira family, left a trail. For Keter’s arrow to leave no trace whatsoever was unbelievable.

As confused as the soldiers were, Katherine also couldn’t believe what had just happened.

I didn’t even blink. The arrow definitely existed until he released the bowstring. But as soon as it was released, the arrow vanished.

Katherine had been fully prepared. She intended to shoot down Keter’s arrow the moment he released it, hoping he would realize the difference in skill and give up.

However, the arrow Keter shot suddenly disappeared. As she looked up, thinking it might have been misfired into the sky, a burning pain shot through her side. When she looked down in confusion, her clothes were torn, and blood was flowing from her waist. It wasn’t a deep wound, but it felt scorching.

Is this what he meant by not shooting in a straight line?

If the arrow was invisible, there was no way to know if it flew straight. This was far beyond the challenge of hitting a target with a curved shot. An invisible arrow was not recorded even in the long history of archery of the Sefira family.

Katherine felt a strange emotion. It wasn’t fear or terror; it was competitiveness and excitement. Keter, whom she thought was undoubtedly a novice in archery, had shown a new possibility in archery. How could she not feel thrilled?

I will uncover the secret, and I’ll learn it.

Katherine’s strength was not solely just about her effort. Her true strength lay in her freedom from conventional thinking, even within a conservative environment.

Don’t try to see it; feel it through the flow of the wind. Then maybe I can sense it.

Before that, it was Katherine’s turn to attack. Quickly taking her shooting stance, she took a deep breath and immediately aimed at Keter’s knee.

Among the parts of the body, the arms and legs, which were relatively thin compared to other parts of the body, were the hardest to hit, as even a slight movement could avoid the shot. However, now, under the rules of the Battle on a Bridge, evasion would lead to defeat.

In this situation, Keter would have to shoot down the opponent’s arrow. But Katherine wondered if Keter could do it, as shooting down an arrow was a skill even knights found difficult.

At that moment, Keter smoothly loaded an arrow onto his bow. It was so natural that it didn’t seem fast, but Katherine’s arrow still hadn’t reached Keter. Then, Keter immediately drew the bowstring and released it.

To the soldiers watching, this seemed like a very reckless move. As with the first shot, Keter’s consecutive movements were excessively fast; he didn’t aim at the opponent, didn’t align the target point with the tip of the arrow in the center, nor did he adjust for hand and body tremors. Typically, failing to do even one of these three steps would result in the arrow misfiring.

Twang.

Keter’s second arrow was released. It vanished, just like the first.

Then…

Clang!

Katherine’s arrow, which had come within arm’s reach of Keter, was abruptly blocked by what seemed like an invisible barrier, and it fell to the ground.

“The lady’s arrow… was deflected?!”

“W-What is going on?”

The soldiers, who had no choice but to watch, could no longer stay silent and expressed their astonishment.

“Where did the arrow go? Where did it disappear to?!”

It was already astounding that Keter, someone from the lawless city of Absinthe, managed to shoot down Katherine’s arrow. However, Keter’s own arrow was nowhere to be seen.

The person most curious about that was Katherine.

I don’t know how he shoots invisible arrows, but how does it maintain invisibility even after hitting the target? Isn’t that impossible even with magic?

The soldiers’ expressions changed by the moment. They were initially confident in Katherine’s victory, but they now began to worry about her.

Katherine also acknowledged that Keter had demonstrated an unexpectedly high level of archery skills. Moreover, shooting invisible arrows was a technique that was beyond impressive.

I haven’t lost yet.

Katherine activated her aura to maximize her physical abilities. Strengthening the body with aura was severely fatiguing, and pushing it to the maximum could even cause internal injuries. Katherine ignored the aftermath and was fully committed to winning the current duel. This wasn’t just a friendly match—it was her mission.

With her body strengthened by the aura, she began shooting arrows at an unbelievable speed.

Twang. Twang, twang, twang, twang!

There was no interval between her shots. It was as if the entire process of loading an arrow, drawing the bow, aiming, and releasing was all skipped. This was the third archery technique of the Sefira family’s secret archery skill, Gemini Archery, where arrows rained down at a rapid speed.

Even if Keter shot invisible arrows, it was just one shot. Katherine’s strategy would be shooting three, five, and eight arrows.

“Wow!”

The soldiers’ expressions brightened again at Katherine’s strategy.

Keter’s shooting speed was certainly ordinary. If he had worn armor, he might have withstood the impact of the arrows. However, his arrogance left him unarmored, so even a single arrow would cause him significant pain. As such, the soldiers thought Katherine had won this battle. This speculation quickly turned into conviction, as Keter’s response to Katherine’s rapid fire was undeniably sluggish.