Archery Hall

Chapter 34 – Archery Hall

A dizzying feeling assaulted his senses. He wobbled before finally recovering. When he opened his eyes again, Jhin gaped at the sight in front of him.

A vast field full of earthen yellow rocks. At the distance were boulders lined up in an orderly manner. Surprisingly, there was a clear sky above, with white clouds drifting about.

'Is this the legendary separate dimension?' Jhin thought, stunned by the sight.

Twang! Twang!

Suddenly, harmonious sounds of strings filled his ears.

He looked around only to see countless arrows flying in the sky. They flew into a curve before impaling themselves on the boulders.

Jhin shifted his gaze to the left, only to see a row consists of hundreds of soldiers stepping backwards. While they retreated, another row replaced their position. Their bows were drawn to the limit.

"Fire!"

They soldiers let go of the arrow before retreating. Then, the previous row step forward and shoot again.

Jhin watched the scene in fascination, he didn't even realize that the black cat had disappeared on his shoulder.

The swapping of position and firing the arrows looked so clean. It was so beautiful until…

"You morons! Did you all see that? Embed that scene into your head! If you can't perform as well as them, then you better quit the army!"

Jhin looked to the right where the voice originated. There, he saw a familiar figure. It was woman with long purple hair, and long jade legs; the gorgeous Saline. This time, her angelic face has morphed into a ferocious one.

"Now, position! Draw! Aim! Shoot! Bastard! How could you shoot like that? Are you treating the beasts as rocks?"

She was scolding the hundreds of soldiers in front of her. Her amplified voice keeps echoing in the surrounding.

The soldiers numbered at least a thousand. All had bows on their hands while sweating profusely.

They copied the soldiers from the left yet, every time they shoot, most of their arrows would miss the target. Instead of hitting the boulders, their arrows would clash in the air, thus changing direction mid-way.

They had already shot a couple of times, swapped rows and shooting but in the end… most of the arrows just scattered on the ground ahead.

"Terrible!" Jhin thought as he quickly moves his gaze towards Saline.

Her expression was dark; invisible smoke exited her ears. She was gnashing her teeth while trembling.

"Where are you firing!? Are your enemies those arrows?" She shouted while stomping the ground. "How will you protect the shelter with such meager skill in the beast stampede! We only have less than a week!"

Hearing her words, the soldiers bowed their head in shame. It wasn't that they don't know how to shoot. The problem lies on syncing their attacks. All of them came from the other halls, and it was their first-time trying group attacks using archery.

"I already had the archer company demonstrated how to do it about a dozen of times! But why are you all unable to follow? Are all of you dumb? Do you…"

Her scolding and curses echoed. The pressure of her Tier 2 aura raged in the field.

"Again! Position! Ready! Shoot!"

The soldiers followed her command. However, the same thing happened again. Most of the shots missed.

"I think… I can use this." Jhin thought as he carefully observed the scene in front of him.

Suddenly, a voice sounded behind him.

"What brought you here mister?"

Jhin was startled. He quickly turned around and saw a soldier walking out from the portal. He looked at him and realized that it was someone he knew. It was Captain Mon who had fought with the berserk wolves last night.

Upon realizing the identity of the man, Jhin's eyes lit up. He looked at Mon before bowing, "I want to ask help. I need at least three Tier 2 combatants."

"Hmm?" Hearing his words, Mon's eyes shot up. He was startled. With a curious expression, he asked, "Why would you need them?"

"Well, it was to rescue some kids…" Jhin recounted the events that happened earlier. He knew that it was his chance to ask help from the army.

He narrated it in the way that it would invoke fury and sympathy. In the process, he made up stories about a summoning artifact which enabled him to summon a Tier 1 existence that were able to fight the enemy.

Except from the part where Tobaa, the black cat casted the spell, he told Mon all the events as well as his deductions about the incident.

The more Mon listened, the deeper his frown become. Suspicions and doubts sprouted inside him as he analyzed the details.

"Can I have the child for a moment?"

He wanted to interview the child. He wanted to know if what the man told him was real.

Jhin passed the child to him without hesitation. Although he was unsure if the child would tell the same things as he said, he still gambled.

"Ah! Help…"

Mon sent a surge of mana into the child, causing her to wake up and screamed. Her peaceful face warped into a terrified expression, she looked around.

"Where am I?" She asked in a meek voice, her body was shaking.

"Hi little girl, don't be afraid. I'm Jhin, what's your name?" Jhin warmly smiled at the child.

Instead of replying, the child raised her hand and inspected them. When she realized that the wounds had disappeared, she looked at Jhin with teary eyes, "Did… you save me? Thank you, mister, for saving me… huhu"

"Don't cry, don't cry." Jhin patted her head before pointing at Mon. "This uncle here wants to ask you some questions. He is extremely powerful; he might be able to save your brothers."

"Re… Really?" The child's shoulder shook, she looked at Mon with a hopeful gaze. With her trembling voice, she said, "I'm A… Aria. What is your que… question?"

"Can you tell us what happened to you?" Mon asked with knitted brows. Just from looking at the child's reaction, he could feel that something bad had happened to her. Nevertheless, the feeling that something amiss never left him.

Hearing his words, Aria froze. Frightened expression appeared on her face. She was shaking in fear as she recalled what had happened.

"It's okay, that uncle is so powerful, he can protect you from the bad guys." Jhin consoled her by patting her back. He was also interested on what she'll say.

"En!" Aria nodded and started speaking.