A young man drew his bow, adjusted his breathing, and released the bowstring.
The moment he released his fingers, the young man's breathing suddenly stopped, and his arms trembled slightly.
With a hum, the long arrow left the bow and flew towards the target a hundred steps away, stabbing into it.
"Nine rings!"
A young man beside the target shouted at the young man.
"Why is it like this again!"
The young man put down his longbow dejectedly.
"Why do I always have problems at the last moment?”
"Ika, you must be tired from training today."
The young man walked to the young man's side and said in an even voice.
"Let's rest for a while."
The young man bit his lips tightly and shook his head stubbornly.
The young man sighed and walked back to the target.
The young man shot another arrow, but as time passed, his hand trembled more and more, and the distance between the arrow and the bullseye became farther and farther.
The sky had darkened, and the young man could no longer see the bullseye in the distance. He could only helplessly put down the bow in his hand.
The young man put away the target and walked back to the young man. The two of them silently walked towards the flickering bonfire in the distance. The young man walked with uneven steps. He was obviously a cripple.
" Rita, we're back."
The two of them walked to a small tent. As they lifted the curtain, the young man called out.
"Welcome back, Brother Baz, Brother Ika.”
In the tent, a young girl heard the cry and looked away from the pot on the fire. She turned around and answered happily.
"I'm here to see what's on tonight."
The young man walked to the pot and sniffed.
"Yo, what fat mutton and milk tea. Mmm, it tastes good too. She's becoming more and more like a good woman. I wonder how many boys will go crazy for our Rita during Batulu Festival.”
"Brother Baz, what are you talking about?”
Rita blushed.
"Rita won't marry without a woman to take care of her.”
Ika stood in the shadow of the tent, quietly looking at his brother and sister.
Ika's family was originally a big family in the tribe. His father was one of the top warriors in the tribe, and his mother was a famous beauty. He had two sons and a daughter. The eldest son had shown talent in swordsmanship very early on and became a warrior in his twenties. He then went out to travel and broaden his horizons. The youngest son, Ika, was also discovered to have talent in archery and was valued by the entire tribe. His daughter, Rita, was even more beautiful when she was young. Countless parents were waiting for her to grow up and come to propose marriage. The family lived a happy and beautiful life, making others envious.
However, three years ago, there was a heavy snowstorm. Almost all of the tribe's cattle and sheep were frozen to death, and the family's tent was crushed by the heavy snow. Ika's leg was broken at that time. Due to the blizzard, Ika's parents were unable to go out to seek medical treatment. From then on, Ika became a cripple.
However, the disaster was not over yet. In the spring of the following year, a plague swept through the entire tribe. Ika's parents died of illness in that disaster, leaving only two young children behind. Fortunately, after the plague, Ika's brother had returned from his travels and had taken up the burden of supporting his family.
Even though the country quickly provided various relief after learning about the epidemic, it could only barely sustain the tribe. After two years of cultivation, the tribe had finally recovered. However, it was not something that could be done overnight.
A month later, it would be the Batulu Festival in this area. This was a festival for the herdsmen. Everyone celebrated and competed during the festival. The individuals and tribes with outstanding results would receive generous rewards. In order to obtain rewards, Ika's tribe was gathering promising tribesmen for special training. Ika and his brother Baz were part of it.
Baz had been favored by his clansmen since he was young. After he went out to travel, he was said to have joined some kind of guard. His martial arts knowledge was even higher than others. Now, he was already a peak second-grade warrior. Although he did not dare to say that he was the first in the youth group participating in the competition, he should not be able to escape from the top three. As for Ika, who had been favored since he was young, his balance had been affected since he became lame, and his aim was no longer as accurate as before.
But no matter what, Ika had to participate in this competition because there were only a few young archers left in the tribe, and because the players in the junior group were not mature enough, their results fluctuated greatly. Therefore, the people in the tribe had a glimmer of hope for Ika.
"Ika, come and eat."
Seeing his brother standing in the shadows as usual, Baz shook his head slightly and said to his brother.
Ika walked out from the shadows and sat down slowly.
Seeing the expression on her second brother's face, Rita knew that today's practice had not yielded any results. She tactfully stopped asking questions. For a moment, the entire tent was quiet, and only the sound of chewing and drinking soup could be heard.
"Brother, I'll go train by myself tomorrow.”
Ika, who was drinking his soup with his head lowered, suddenly said.
"You've been training with me for so many days, and I don't know how much time you've wasted. You should go and train yourself, everyone is counting on you.”
"What are you talking about?"
When Baz heard his brother's words, he was stunned for a moment and immediately refused.
"My level has long stabilized. No matter how hard I practice, it will still be the same. You are different.”
Seeing that he could not convince his brother, Ika lowered his head and continued to eat quietly.
"I'm going out on patrol. You don't have to wait for me to come home tonight.”
After dinner, Baz picked up his weapon, told his younger siblings, and walked out.
At night, there would be some wild beasts on the grasslands. If they did not arrange for people to keep watch to chase away the wild beasts, they might find that all the livestock had been eaten the next day. Tonight was the day Baz was on guard duty.
After meeting up with the few tribesmen who had already arrived at the location, Bath led the group around the tent group. They did not find anything unusual. The few of them lit bonfires around the tent group and each monitored a direction.
Looking at the stars in the sky, Baz's heart was filled with many memories.
Baz, who was immersed in his memories, suddenly heard the sound of hooves and wheels grinding on the ground.
"There are still people hurrying so late at night?"
Baz jumped up and looked in the direction of the sound.
After a while, Baz saw a carriage coming in his direction under the moonlight. There were two knights on both sides of the carriage.
One of the knights pressed his horse's belly, and the horse ran towards Baz's position.
"Sir, we missed the night, so we want to stay in your tribe for a night. Is it convenient?”
asked a knight who was fully clad in armor.
"Welcome."
Baz hurriedly replied.
"It's inconvenient for everyone to go out. How can we refuse guests at the door? It's just that I have a sentry duty, so it's not convenient for me to lead the way. Could you please wait here for a moment and wait for me to inform the tribe to come and welcome you?”
"Then I'll have to trouble you, sir."
The knight gestured behind him, and the carriage in the distance sped up.
Baz blew the whistle to inform the tribe that there was a visitor.
"My name is Lauder. I'm accompanying my young miss on this trip. May I know your name, sir?”
While waiting for the tribe to come, the warrior asked.
"My name is Baz, and I'm a guard here.”
Baz hurriedly replied politely.
"Baz?"
A gentle voice suddenly came from the car.
Hearing that voice, Baz's entire body trembled, and his eyes revealed a pleasantly surprised light.
"Miss?"
A white shadow flashed, and Margaret walked out of the carriage.
As expected, it really was Miss.
Seeing that familiar figure, Baz knelt down on one knee.
"Baz greets miss."
"No need for formalities."
Margaret waved her hand and followed Madam Mary who got out of the car to pull Baz up.
"I haven't seen you for more than two years. You've aged a lot. Hmm? Why are you still stuck at Level 2 Warrior?"
"There have been some changes at home. I've been neglecting martial arts these few years. Baz has disappointed you.”
"Oh, let's talk about that later.”
Seeing a group of people walking towards the tent, Margaret said.
"By the way, Baz, I'm now a Level 2 Bow Warrior who's out traveling, not some Earl's daughter.”
"Yes."
Although Baz didn't understand why the young miss was traveling with this identity, he immediately bowed and agreed.
After a while, the tribe leader led a group of people and happily welcomed the distinguished guests. After some small talk, the group entered the tribe leader's tent.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。