Chapter 208: Ruins

The original Arrow Target Curse, under the effect of the Red Iron Rank Spellcaster, could not pierce the Green Dragon Corman’s spell resistance, let alone his will save.

However, this improved Arrow Target Curse did not act directly on the Green Dragon itself. It acted on the very position where the Green Dragon was standing. As long as the dragon left that original spot, the curse would become ineffective.

But that Green Dragon did not know these tricks. More importantly, even if it failed later, it had now bought the warriors in the territory one effective chance to strike.

“Woo! Woo! Woo!” This was the sound coming from the Ballistas on the Crenelation and the Arrow Towers. After their performance last time, the users of these Ballistas dared not underestimate the reaction of the Great Dragons anymore. Since then, they had been waiting for the right moment. All the Ballistas had adjusted their aim toward the two Great Dragons using pulleys and levers, but none had fired yet.

This was not only because they did not want to make useless attacks—wasting arrows and shortening the lifespan of the Ballistas. It was also to prevent friendly fire on the allies who were currently engaged with the Dragons. The destruction caused by the heavy arrows to the buildings inside the city was still fresh in their minds! In their eyes, such attacks might be something the Knight Lord could withstand, but ordinary soldiers hit by mistake would definitely not be able to receive treatment in time.

And the unexpectedly appearing Arrow Target Curse just now became the best signal and indication for them to launch an attack. This time, to prevent the missed arrows from causing fires, the fire pans in front of the gunners were extinguished, and the incendiary agents were not installed. After removing this important load and air resistance, the speed of the arrows truly increased significantly. The Crossbow Bolts equipped with heavy armor-piercing arrowheads seemed to pierce the wind itself as they flew across the sky.

At the same time, the Magic Archer Amajir, who had just severely wounded the tip of the Green Dragon’s nose with a Phase Arrow, had already arrived among the group of two Knights. If his initial successful attack was a lucky surprise, somewhat like a sneak attack, then the exposed Amajir certainly could not fight a guerrilla war with the Dragons alone inside the city.

For such a mobile and flexible air unit, he also knew that his agile skills, which he was always proud of, would not play a very big role. If it were in a sparsely populated jungle, he might have dared to risk it and lead the Dragon away. But in the city, he would not treat the protected Commoners as obstacles to block the enemy.

So, joining the main force became the best choice. As a unit specializing in ranged strikes, he could best display his continuous combat ability only when protected by the frontline warriors!

Among the many crossbows, the Magic Archer Amajir began to sing a folk song from his homeland. The clear words, like a small bridge flowing over water, resonated with the surrounding air. At the same time, the arrow in his palm slowly began to glow with a faint green light as he chanted. When he turned his wrist to place this arrow on the bowstring.

The green light on the bow and arrow broke like a shattered mirror—scattering in all directions. With a flash of green light, the eyes of every archer and crossbowman seemed to become double-pupiled, with an extra circle of pale green halo appearing inside.

From this moment on, the consciousness of all archers and crossbowmen was connected to their comrades. That green halo was the place where their attention was focused. The soldiers already held their bows and crossbows in hand, ready for the most suitable shooting stance.

This guided shooting was not some unspeakable secret, but it was not something anyone could learn. It was said that when Amajir first arrived in the Bolerum Territory, he did not possess this ability to locally affect the battlefield. Later, it seemed he acquired this ability by trading from his collection. It was precisely this ability that allowed him to establish a firm foothold in the Bolerum Territory over the past few decades.

The Magic Archer Amajir stretched his left arm to push the bow arm, while his right hand pulled the Oathbow in his hand to full draw. The arrow was wedged between the fingers of his right hand, level with his cheek, and his wrist was lower than his earlobe. Meanwhile, his flowing long hair, which was under the air current generated by the Dragon Wings, and the jade thumb ring on his thumb, added a poetic quality to him.

Since the ratio of the draw length to the body length of a composite bow is very high, when the bow is fully drawn, the angle formed between the fingers pulling the bow and the bowstring becomes an acute angle. Using the “Four-Finger Bow Drawing Method”—similar to the “Mediterranean-style bow drawing method” before crossing over—to press the index finger. So, Amajir used a thumb to pull the string, with his index and middle fingers pressing against the thumb, while the thumb ring helped reduce the unit pressure borne by his hand.

This shooting method of his was also known as the “Mongolian (Chinese) Bow Drawing Method” before crossing over. In fact, this technique had quite significant advantages in ancient times.

First, in terms of accuracy: The most common interference comes from side-sliding. No matter how much one trains, one cannot avoid the fact that the rebound speed of the bowstring when releasing is far higher than the speed of the finger straightening, so side-sliding rolling occurs.

The direction of the side-slide is the direction of the fingertip, so the arrow shot out does not follow the flight trajectory intended by the user aiming with the arrow shaft as the rifling.

In other words, the more fingers used to pull the string, the greater the interference with side-sliding. The Mediterranean style uses three fingers of different lengths, so its interference must be the greatest and most unstable. The Mongolian style uses only the thumb to release, so it is relatively more accurate than the Mediterranean style.

Furthermore, it also has certain advantages in stability. This is because the fingers used in the Mediterranean shooting method only serve to pull the string and cannot truly clamp the arrow shaft. Therefore, at the moment of release, there is a high probability that the arrow is “hit” out rather than “pushed” out. Because there is a “gap” between the arrow tail and the bowstring.

It can be said that in the cold weapon period of that world, the “Mongolian (Chinese) Bow Drawing Method” had quite obvious advantages over the “Mediterranean-style Bow Drawing Method.” It is a small trick accumulated over thousands of years of war wisdom from our Eastern civilization. Accompanied by the Mongols’ westward expedition, it was spread to Europe and can be said to be a wisdom worth sighing over for future generations.

Then why, in modern archery competitions, can we not see this excellent bow drawing method? That is because the times are changing. Now, archery competitions use release aids to shoot. The bowstring is hooked on the release aid, and the trigger is pulled to fire, which can effectively eliminate the horizontal swing during manual release, achieving precision that manual release can never reach.

At the same time, for modern compound bows with a bow window, the “Mediterranean shooting method” has directional compensation when shooting from a fixed stance. It has many advantages such as being more energy-saving and more beautiful. This has caused the “Mongolian (Chinese) Bow Drawing Method,” which once showed great power on the battlefield, to quickly decline. Is it not precisely because humans are different from animals due to the invention and use of tools? Humans must keep up with the times; we cannot just rely on “you have technology, I have magic.”

And now in this world, although George did not know whether this “Mongolian (Chinese) Bow Drawing Method” had appeared in the distant The East, there was no such technique in the region where he was located. George turned this bow drawing method into a technique that circulated within a small scope. Whether used to win hearts or for mutual benefit, it produced good results.

The Magic Archer Amajir learned this technique from George. However, George did not dare to shamelessly claim this technique as his own invention. He attributed its origin to ancient books found in Kalado.

The distance between the Great Dragons and the crowd was only a hundred feet away. As the arrow shot first by the Magic Archer Amajir flew out, piercing through the green mist.

Led by it, one arrow after another shot out rapidly, forming a straight line in the air. The soldiers raised their throwing tools in hand. They did not need to find targets or aim; the supernatural power would guide them to point the arrows correctly.

The bows and crossbows they used had been pre-calibrated. Using these instruments to shoot, the trajectory of the arrows was exactly the same as the arrow shot by Amajir. This meant that without too much training, one could instantly become dozens of legendary archers.

Unfortunately, this move could only be used when the number of people was small and they stood very close together. Once the number of people increased and they stood more scattered, the shooting angles would definitely differ.

With the first wave of arrows flying out, Amajir raised his bow again. With his other hand, like plucking a string on a zither, he quickly plucked the bowstring with incredible speed.

A few archers in the group could barely keep up with his speed, but those crossbowmen had to bend over one by one, struggling to string those Crossbows. Because the number of legendary archers originally in the Territory was not large, and except for a small number who became Mercenaries, the rest had been taken away by George for this operation plan.

But just then, the Magic Archer Amajir boldly drew his bow and launched a round of dense, breathless rapid-fire arrows—an arrow rain. This ability, which caused significant damage to the shoulders and arms, allowed him to single-handedly support the striking power of an entire unit.

Combined with the soldiers’ shooting, these rapid-fire arrows fell like fine raindrops toward the Green Dragon in the mist. Among this rain of arrows, there was also a wave of dense arrow formations. The simultaneous volley of more than forty Crossbows had absolutely tremendous power.

By the time the Green Dragon Corman flew out of the range of the Arrow Target Curse, he was a complete mess! Arrows of all sizes were stuck all over his body. Although he did not suffer many serious injuries, the holes in his wings affected his flight agility.

Just as the Green Dragon Corman was preparing to cross the human wall in front and unleash revenge on the shooters hiding behind, a fear from the bottom of his heart and soul spread through his entire body. He had only felt this sensation before when he was young, during his travels on the sea. That time, he encountered a hurricane attack. In the struggle against the great power of nature, he had barely survived.

This ability to predict danger had saved him more than once in his thousand-year life. But since that natural disaster, it had never appeared so strongly again. Although he did not know the reason at this moment, he had already decided not to stay in this dangerous place anymore.

Regardless of the consequences, the Green Dragon Corman turned around and flew out of the city. In his view, neither the mission nor anything else was as important as his own life. He struggled to flap his wings, while activating his innate ability as a Wind Subspecies—Wind Riding. He fled northward, escaping this ominous place that made him shudder.

But just as he flew out of Poitou, he heard the heart-rending scream of the Black Dragon Klein. Judging from the sound, even if he was not about to die, he had suffered a heavy injury that would be difficult to recover from in a short time.

Because Corman was flying in the air over this plain and hilly terrain, he did not need to worry about obstacles in front. As he continued his journey as usual, he turned his head to see what exactly happened behind him.

The once majestic Black Dragon Klein now looked like a little girl in the hands of a strong man. He immediately gave up flying in the air and instead ran wildly around Poitou City. He hoped to use various man-made buildings to create some obstacles for the light ball chasing him.

That massive swarm of locusts, summoned by the “Plague Insect Swarm,” had not yet reached the inside of the light ball when it seemed to be incinerated by the golden flames burning outside.

The encounter with the acid mist breath was no better compared to the insect swarm. And when he turned around to engage in hand-to-hand combat, his claws, which he had always been proud of, could not withstand the opponent’s dry and realistic conceptual armament.

Very quickly, this Great Dragon, whose age was greater than the entire Duchy of Nohan, fell down in Poitou City. Having resolved a major threat, Knight Val, with the spirit of “taking advantage of the momentum to pursue the fleeing enemy,” turned his target toward the Green Dragon Corman who had already left earlier.

The two thus went through a chase and escape all the way, finally resulting in the scene that George and his group saw when they returned.

“This is really…” After hearing Knight Val’s account, George’s words stopped halfway, unable to continue.

This could truly be described as “when the roof leaks, it rains all night; when the boat is slow, it meets a headwind.” Outside, a strong enemy was eyeing them menacingly—although the opponent was the entire Duchy of Nohan; but the Bolerum Territory could absolutely not stay out of it. Moreover, due to their wealth and past experiences, they might become the typical example of “killing the chicken to scare the monkey.”

It can be said that in George’s view, the Bolerum Territory and the Kingdom of Lucia were now in a state of near-death struggle. Once the Duchy of Nohan was defeated and swallowed, even if the House Bolerum wanted to flee overseas, it would be a big question whether they could succeed!

After receiving the news that the Bolerum Territory would be attacked, George, under the joint efforts of everyone, had prepared quite thoroughly. But he never expected the opponent to play so big. This simultaneous attack by three Legendary Dragons had not been experienced in the entire Western Continent for nearly a hundred years, let alone in the Duchy of Nohan.

The last time a Dragon attacked a city was 87 years ago during the Battle of Parkman. In fact, that city was not the protagonist; the protagonists were the Chromatic Dragons and Metallic Dragons fighting each other in the sky above the city. Although the initial excuse and trigger were the sorcerer family ruling that territory conducting dragon blood experiments and harming a large number of sorcerers with awakened bloodlines.

But the real reason was the explosive outbreak of contradictions and hatred between the Chromatic Dragons and the Metallic Dragons. It was like a pressure relief valve for a pressure cooker. Of course, the city that served as the cause also suffered a catastrophic disaster. However, such attacks by multiple Dragons targeting humans were even rarer now. So rare that George could not even cite a decent example.

“It seems the losses this time are unprecedented!” George sighed.

“Because I was rushing to chase the Green Dragon just now, I am not entirely clear about the specific losses in the Territory. But just the damage to the houses is a huge number. During the battle, I found that there were more than 13 fire points. At the same time, the battle with those two Dragons destroyed at least one block of buildings.” Speaking of this, Knight Val himself felt a bit embarrassed. Because the most destroyed part was caused by him when he killed the Black Dragon.

George’s face was gloomy as he painfully spoke the next words: “So, the situation of casualties is still unclear, right! Then let us hurry up and set off! We will have a lot to do in the coming days!”

Upon receiving this news, George and his group were eager to return. After a brief adjustment, the caravan soon set off again.

Ruins were everywhere. Burned Teak and Birch wood still emitted heat. Although there was no longer thick rolling smoke, one could still see wisps of light smoke rising into the sky.

In the distance, the sun was about to set. The afterglow before sunset added a touch of desolation to Poitou City, where thick smoke was rising everywhere. It seemed the only thing worth being grateful for was that the city’s most prosperous commercial street and the City Hall, which served as the administrative center, had not suffered too much damage. Of course, this was because the defense forces in these two places were relatively strong.

George sat in his carriage, traveling through the streets of the city. Even though the city was now under martial law, the attack just suffered had still brought considerable chaos to the normal order of Poitou. For safety reasons, Knight Val hoped he would stay inside the carriage. Who knew if there were life-threatening threats—Assassins—hidden among the ruins everywhere.

Through the carriage window, George saw a collapsed two-story building. This place should have been someone’s warm home.

Among the collapsed rubble, a tender little face appeared before his eyes. It was a little girl about eight or nine years old. After the sudden shock, the little girl’s facial expression seemed a bit dazed. Her face, which should have been rosy, had turned black and yellow.

On her face, one could still faintly see tear stains from crying. But her eyes looking at the ruins carried a bit of hope. The little girl’s mouth was still opening and closing, crying out her mother’s name.

And above those ruins, a sturdy man was struggling to clear the rubble. His back looked so straight and powerful.