From the 300 squires participating in the tournament, 90% of them received the standard 8 to 10 points by hitting the 300-feet targets perfectly. That was the minimum requirement for them to be considered for the next stage.
Other than 8 squires who failed, there were 22 of them who managed to hit the 400 feet.
From his attempts, Emery could feel that the current longbow and arrows he held were not built to reach the 400-feet target in a straight line. Hence, to even have a shot at hitting said target, one had to have excellent archery skills and the capability to take account of the high shot trajectory and wind disruption.
Among the 22 squires, only the best ten were selected for the next round, Emery being one of them.
"Lanzelot Dulat!"
Emery smiled, his name was called as one of the ten chosen for the next round. Although he placed last due to the misses, he was not worried at all.
"Hey, Lanzo! I never thought you were that good!"
The other squires congratulated him and started to ask for tips in archery, except for Abe, who was still in disbelief over the depth of Lanzo's talents. From afar, he looked at the crowding squires around Emery, his eyes betraying his jealousy.
"Lanzo, you're so great! Now I'm sure the princess will favor you even more," said Mark, who has been jealous of Emery recent relationship with the princess
The mention of the princess made Emery unconsciously glance at the royal stage. Just his luck, their eyes met, the princess smiled and waved at him. Emery had no idea how to react, he could only look away and pretend he did not see it.
There was no time to think about the past. He had convinced himself he needed to focus for the next round.
After a few minutes, the arena preparations were finished and the 10 chosen squires were called to the open arena.
Among the squires, three bear the royal blue and bright gold colors of Logress, two the signature browns of Norgales, while the rest, unsuprisingly, were from Dementae. Those from Dementae wore an emblem shaped like a white tree with thousands of branches, while their attire was mostly green. In the other kingdoms, Dementae was known for their famous longbow fighters.
For the second and final round of the archery competition, all the targets were now placed on the 400-feet mark. Just like before, each participant was given 10 arrows.
All ten squires took their shots at the same time. The rules for this round were simple: after 10 shots, the scores were tallied and the one with highest points would obtain the title of archery champion. It sounded like an easy competition, but the distance required would make it to be anything but.
On one hand, Emery felt the title of archery champion would be too much and, to be honest, he didn't really care for the benefits of such a title. But on the other hand, being the brightest talent in this competition might open up a few doors and make it easier to infiltrate the Order of the Divine Knights.
In other words, being the best candidate here might benefit him in the long run.
It was the perfect reason for Emery to put all his skills to use and win the round.
Phiuuuuu!
Emery and the other squires shot their arrows at the same time, all of them managed to hit the target.
It was an amazing sight. All the 10 squires were truly masters of their craft.
Phiuuuuu!
Another ten arrows flew piercing the air and only one of them didn't hit the mark.
The same thing repeated for all ten shots. Five squires managed to hit 6 marks, two managed to hit 7 marks, and one managed to hit 8 marks. Thanks to Emery, this year needed a tiebreaker round.
It was truly a very rare occasion. Two squires able to hit all 10 marks perfectly, not something you see every day. The first squire with the perfect score was named Trystan, a young archery genius from the Dementae kingdom. While the other one was a very unexpected candidate. Lanzelot Dulat, a squire from the Lioness Kingdom.
The crowd was abuzz with excitement and each of them shouted one of the two candidates' names. Almost every year, the archery champion was won by the Dementae kingdom hence the crowd already used to cheer for one, but this year having such squires to have a tiebreaker was an amazing suprise, even more from a kingdom from Lioness who never shine for many years.
The two of them were told to remain in the arena and were given another 10 arrows to shoot.
Aim.
Pull.
Release.
Phiuuuuuu!
Both arrows hit the dead center at the same time. The crowds went wild and the squires' names were shouted in a bizarre mix of excited screams.
Another two arrows were released at the same time. Yet again, both arrows hit dead center.
A dead center hit was not necessary, in general, the archery competition was not something that was too sought after by the knights, but the two of them were resolved to give this competition everything they had.
Emery decided to not even consider letting this competition go. The other young squire managed to pull these shots with talent and lots of experience under his belt. The only way Emery could keep up was by relying on his spirit force. Emery couldn't afford to lose his concentration if he wanted to win this.
All ten arrows were shot, none of them missed.
The crowds and royalty were all impressed. Some of those sitting in the royal families' room even stood to get a closer look. This year had such great young talents, and the audience got the rare chance to witness them in action.
Both of them are amazing archers, but this challenge would have to continue until there was one clear winner.
10 more arrows were given. Another two arrows were shot, but still, both hit the target perfectly.
The audience was cheering in excitement seeing something that had never happened before in the history of the 7 kingdoms.
Emery couldn't believe to have got so excited for the tournament, his competitive spirit burned fiercely. He really wanted to win, so much it even came to his mind to use his spirit force to disrupt his opponent's arrow. It only needed a simple sway of his finger at the right moment and he would win the title.
Emery shook his head, pushing aside such thoughts. No matter how much he wanted to win, resorting to dishonorable tactics was not an option for him.
Fortunately, he started to notice that Trystan's aim had started to veer off bit by bit.
Emery didn't realize before, but pulling an arrow for a 400 feet target was really taxing to the muscles. While it was no problem to him thanks to his tremendous battle power, his opponent didn't have the same advantage
Finally, on the eighth shot, Trystan's arrow veered off a bit too much, missing the target completely. The squire sighed disappointed, finally letting go of his bow. He approached Emery and congratulated him sincerely.
Afterward, the first-day tournament was over with the winner was announced to the audience
"After a series of amazing performances, we finally have a winner! Congratulations to Lanzelot Dulat from the Lioness Kingdom for defeating Trystan from the Dementae Kingdom!"
The whole crowd cheered and stood up to give a standing ovation for the new unexpected archery champion.
Written by Avans, Published exclusively by NovelFull,