Chapter 82: Chapter 0082: The Most Difficult Task

Translator: 549690339

“Multi-Arrow” contains no content about Dou Qi cultivation and does not belong to Dou Qi Manuscripts, but it does belong to Dou Qi techniques. Any knight of any attribute of Dou Qi can practice it.

It’s divided into three levels: Double Arrow, Triple Arrow, and Multiple Arrow, plus one Ultimate Mystery Technique  the Multi Shadow Arrow.

Riding on a yellowish-gray horse, Marcus meticulously demonstrated the “Multi-Arrow” he had practiced on the horse track and then explained each shot in detail.

“There are five ways to use the Double Arrow, but the one I use most often is to shoot two arrows at once, which simply means releasing two arrows to hit a single target. The next is the crossing of the two arrows, which involves firing two arrows side by side and using magic power to guide them to collide mid-air, thereby changing their course. The remaining Double Spiral Arrow, Double Chain Arrow, and Double Speed Variation Arrow are not very practical.”

Riding on a horse, controlling the horse and controlling the double arrows, is indeed difficult.

Therefore, Marcus meant that as long as one masters both the Double Arrow Released Together and the Double Arrow Crossing, one can be called a Divine Archer, undefeated on the battlefield.

The other types of archery can only be effective when carefully considered on the ground.

He continued, “The Triple Arrow is essentially an advancement of the Double Arrow, with the principles of Three Arrows Released Together, Triple Spiral Arrow, Triple Chain Arrow, Triple Speed Variation Arrow, and Triple Random Shot being the same, but with higher control requirements. The Multiple Arrow is the same, with Multiple Arrows Released Together, Spiral Shadow Arrow, Multiple Chain Arrows, Multiple Random Shots, and Multiple Arrow Crossing requiring even stronger control.”

Only after dismounting was Marcus able to perform the Triple Arrow and Multiple Arrow one by one.

After emptying the arrows in the quiver, he shook his head, unsatisfied with his archery, “The Triple Arrow can be mastered while stationary, but the Multiple Arrow can’t be. It’s too difficult. And that last Ultimate Mystery Technique, the Multi-Shadow Arrow, takes me at least a quarter of an hour to prepare before I dare to shoot it.”

A person’s hand.

One arrow is stable to hold; two arrows are not bad; three arrows can be managed, fitting exactly between three fingers, one arrow per gap.

But more arrows are problematic, requiring two arrows to be held in each finger gap, a tremendous difficulty, let alone needing to distribute magic power to guide each one.

Earth Knights don’t have such delicate control over Dou Qi yet.

The retainer plucked each arrow from the target and handed them back to Marcus.

Marcus let out a long breath, easing his tense emotions, “My lord, I’m not so good at controlling more than three arrows at a time, and now the Ultimate Mystery Technique is even harder to master. That’s why I split it into two shots, one with three arrows, which can just about achieve the effect described in “Multi-Arrow”.”

He pulled three arrows from the quiver, “The first three arrows are shot with a gentle force, allowing them to be lobbed at a low speed. The next three arrows are shot with a swift force, to shoot them at high speed in a flat trajectory, striking the first three arrows, thus uniting the speed of all six arrows and confusing their flight path, creating an illusion-like effect.”

Having said that.

He bit the three arrows in his mouth and then pulled out three more arrows to shoot immediately. The instant he released them, the three arrows soared diagonally upwards.

With a very quick motion, he placed the three arrows from his mouth into his hand, drew his bow again immediately, and this time, he stretched the bowstring almost to a full moon. As the arrows were shot, they made a sharp hissing sound as they broke through the air.

“Whiz!”

“Whiz!”

“Whiz!”

In midair, the three fast arrows flew on a flat trajectory, hitting the arrows thrown in front of them just right. In an instant, the six arrows began spinning in the air.

To the naked eye, it seemed as if dozens more arrows suddenly appeared, shooting chaotically at three targets.

It happened in a blink of an eye. Before Liszt could even blink, the illusions scattered, leaving only the six arrows that hit the center of the targets. Five of them were embedded straight in the targets, but one arrow flew past.

“Still can’t fully control the trajectory of all six arrows,” Marcus said somewhat disappointedly.

But Liszt applauded, “Teacher Marcus, your archery skills are already amazing. Let’s start practicing quickly. I can’t wait to perform the Multi-Shadow Arrow.” In truth, his heart was a bit bitter; Marcus’s archery skills were profound.

He had thought it was just a routine of two or three arrows, something to casually learn without seeking deep expertise, learning it was enough.

But now he realized that without mastering Double Arrow or Triple Arrow, it was probably impossible to learn Multi-Arrow, let alone the Ultimate Mystery Multi-Shadow Arrow.

“This is probably the most difficult Smoke Mission I’ve ever encountered…”

It’s already past mid-July, and he sincerely doubted he would be able to learn “Multi-Arrow” by the time August arrived. Though it felt very challenging, he decided to set aside his mental burden and focus on learning archery. One day, he would master the intricate “Multi-Arrow”.

Just as the Earl had said during the Sea Festival, “Don’t be impatient, time is on your side.”

He was only sixteen years old.

There were decades of long life ahead of him.

Fresh Flower Town was thriving every day, with no crisis too big to handle, allowing for a lifestyle of ease and pleasure. The dream of Dragon Riding couldn’t be achieved in haste.

In the blink of an eye.

August had arrived.

During this past half-month, Liszt had been furiously practicing archery and had successfully mastered Triple Arrow, now beginning to move towards Multi-Arrow. The mares in the horse pasture were mostly pregnant now, and the Li Dragon Horse had grown significantly thinner, tirelessly toiling day and night. Even with dragon blood, it couldn’t endure endlessly.

“Sir, the alfalfa in the horse pasture has reached its support limit. Currently, the town has a total of fifteen horses, all grazing in the pasture, with five stallions and ten mares. Apart from the three elderly mares that have lost their reproductive ability, the other seven, including the Fire Dragon Horse, are pregnant,”

One-Eyed Barton said, “With so many pregnant mares, the Li Dragon Horse is about to strain itself, so they need a lot of nutrition. Relying solely on the pasture’s grass is definitely not enough.”

“As long as the horses are well cared for, say whatever you need,” Liszt was very concerned about the horses’ welfare.

“For their health and nutrition, they need better concentrated feed such as oats, barley, and wheat bran. If we could also have peanuts and peas, that would be excellent,”

These foods were not inferior to what commoners ate, and even exceeded them—in quantity, at least, as one horse’s daily ration was equivalent to that of three adults.

Liszt did not refuse at all; he readily agreed to One-Eyed Barton’s request, “Okay.”

He also had the confidence to agree, because since the road through Thorn Ridge had been cleared, Fresh Flower Town’s merchant teams could now travel unimpeded for business.

Currently, their main trade was in seafood, which had started to open up the market. Tulip Castle was the main purchaser, buying seafood worth half a Gold Coin every three days. The citizens of Coral City had also begun to enjoy the taste of seafood, purchasing similarly every three days, generating another half a Gold Coin in sales.

Then there were the numerous lesser Nobles residing in Coral City, as well as those nearest to Fresh Flower Town in North Valley City and its citizens, adding up to one Gold Coin worth of seafood every three days.

This meant that Fresh Flower Town’s merchant teams could earn two Gold Coins every three days.

An average of 67 Silver Coins a day, with the cost of seafood and travel being almost negligible, this was pure profit. Of course, Liszt had not seen any Gold or Silver Coins himself, as the merchant teams had earned a little, he would order the purchase of items needed for the Castle—salt, sugar lumps, fabric, spices, soap, beer, and so forth.

And specially ordered pork pancreas.

He even had the merchant teams buy ten piglets, delivering them to the Serfs of Barley Hamlet to raise for slaughtering during New Year. Chick and ducklings were not in season to buy; colts, calves, and lambs were too expensive to afford; for now, the livestock business had to rely on the town’s own produce.

“This time the merchant team brought back…” After finishing the transaction with Old Geronte, Carter returned to the Castle to report to Liszt.

“Mr. Carter, I have a question,” Liszt, who had little interest in such intricate accounts, held his teacup, his brows furrowed in thought, “Why does Mrs. Morson manage to give me—a feeling that the milk tea tastes better than yesterday, every single day?”